Do you have questions about who is funding and distributing what, who is the right partner for your projects, and how to meet them? Come to the Switchboard to take advantage of expert advice on the people you should be meeting at this year’s market, talk with a range of specialist consultants about where to go next with your project and find out more about our international delegations.
Sign-up has now closed. However, there will still be chance to sign-up on the day.
Switchboard
Walk up to talk with our two switchboard consultants on Monday June 27 and Tuesday June 28 in the Reception Room of Cutlers' Hall.
Lucy Wardley
Open City Documentary Festival
Lucy has worked at Open City Documentary Festival in a variety of capacities before becoming the Festival Producer in 2021. Prior to that, she was the Audience Engagement Manager at Together Films where she helped deliver creative and impactful distribution campaigns. She holds an MA in Documentary Practice from Queen Mary University of London.
Availability: Monday 27, Tuesday 28 June | 9:00 - 18:00
Expertise: UK film market, creative input, impact, distribution
Zeynep Guzel
Documentary Association Europe (DAE)
Zeynep Güzel received her BA in Film and Television from Istanbul Bilgi University and her MA in Sociology from Boğaziçi University. She managed Turkey's first private documentary fund called the New Film Fund (Yeni Film Fonu) between the years 2015-2019. She programmed the industry workshop series !f Doc Lab from 2016 to 2019 in the scope !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival. Her debut experimental documentary Come Rain or Shine premiered in April 2019 as part of the 38th Istanbul Film Festival’s national documentary competition. She is one of the workshop experts on storytelling and funding at the Toolbox program by Berlinale EFM's Doc Salon since 2020. She is the workshop expert and trainer respectively at the 1st edition of Her-Docs Documentary Film Festival's industry program in Warsaw and DOK Leipzig’s German Preview in 2020. She is among the active members and consultants of the Documentary Association of Europe since its foundation in 2020. She currently resides in Berlin and works on her first narrative feature film, When the Sun Comes Out.
DAE acts and advocates for everyone working in documentary storytelling professions inside and outside of Europe.
Expertise: Creative advice, networking, funding resources
Availability: Tuesday 28 June | 9:00 - 16:00
Consultants
Book or walk up to meet with the organizations and consultants in the Reception Room of Cutlers' Hall.
Rebecca Day
Film in Mind
Rebecca Day is a qualified psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and freelance documentary producer. She founded Film In Mind, a therapy service for filmmakers, in 2018 to address mental health in the film industry. She combines her therapeutic skills with over a decade of documentary production experience to offer consultancies, workshops and therapeutic support to filmmakers working in difficult situations and with vulnerable people. She is also a co-founder of DocuMentality, an international research project currently in action that will lead to the creation of an online support space for documentary makers. She has been invited as a guest speaker and mentor on panels and at workshops at events such as IDFA, IDA Getting Real Documentary Conference, WIFTV, Berlinale and Sheffield DocFest.
Expertise: Mental health, therapy, working with difficult subject matters
TATE
Tate commission and publish around 50 short films a year across their online platforms.
Most of our work focuses on artists in our collection – this means a broad range of internationally-based topics and we work with freelance filmmakers and crew from around the UK and abroad. For us, the collection refers to thousands of artists and artworks which Tate holds for the nation, and this isn’t limited to current or upcoming exhibitions or programmed events.
We are looking to expand our roster of crew and filmmakers, particularly those based in the UK outside of London and the southeast. We have a team of in-house producers, but mainly work with freelancers for all our production and post-production. We'd love to meet you if you're a producer, director, DoP, sound recordist, composer, animator, or editor.
We aren’t looking for pitches and are unlikely to get on board with or distribute anything already in production. We also aren’t able to host a screening in the galleries or distribute your finished film online.
But we are happy to chat about ideas, about your work and how you might get involved with some of ours. Some familiarity with our content on Tate and Tate Kids channels is an important starting point. Watch some of our recent films to understand what we’ve been up to and the sorts of formats we tend towards – this will make for a more productive meeting.
Call for freelancers working outside of London and southeast.
Availability
27th from 10am – 4pm
Tuesday 28th 10am – 1pm
Indie Growth Fund
Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund was set up in 2014 to invest and grow production companies to reach their full potential. Since its inception, the fund has taken minority stakes in 17 companies, with 16 currently in the portfolio. With a mixture of both scripted and unscripted companies based in London, and Nations & Regions, the portfolio represents an exciting and diverse mix of UK production talent.
From start-up companies to more established Indies with ambitious growth plans, the Indie Growth Fund is a strategic partner offering support, guidance and strategic advice to help grow the company towards an ultimate sale.
Caroline Murphy, Head of the Indie Growth Fund, and her team want to hear from companies with the tenacity, desire and vision to grow and take their business on to the next level.
Expertise: production company, business, start-ups
Availability
June 27 - Booking slots from 11 to 1pm & 2pm-5pm
June 28 - drop-ins from 10:30 to 12pm
Creative UK
Creative UK is the independent network for the UK Creative Industries. Our goal is simple: to cultivate a world where creativity is championed, valued, and nurtured. Come and meet the Creative Enterprise team to learn how we may be able to support you and your business.
Expertise: training opportunities, business advice, networking
Availability: TBA
Department for International Trade
The Department for International Trade (DIT) secures UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment, and championing free trade. We help businesses export and grow into global markets and we also help overseas companies locate and grow in the UK. Our services are provided in over 100 markets throughout the world.
The UK has a diverse pool of talent producing some of the worlds most renowned documentaries and immersive storytelling experiences.
Availability: Monday 27 June and Tuesday 28 June from 10:00 - 18:00
The BFI Certification Unit
The BFI Certification Unit is the first point of contact for projects wanting to qualify as British in order to access the UK’s creative sector tax reliefs. Senior analyst Chris Halliday and analyst Niall Davies are on hand to talk to you about how your project could qualify and access the tax relief to help finance your documentary, whether it is a feature, short or alternate reality it is available for anyone to access.
The relief is worth up to 25% of your budget and can be accessed during production or retrospectively. Chris and Niall will talk through certifying your project as British via the cultural test or as an official co-production; what you need to supply and how the process works. Please do come and have a chat, we’re happy to discuss projects at any stage of production and of any budget size.
Expertise: tax relief, UK co-production
Availability: Monday 27 June
Partner Consultants
Doc Society Drop In Day
Join Doc Society at our Drop In Day - a full day of Doc Soc news, views and networking. Sign up for a 1-2-1 surgeries with the Doc Soc team and industry guests, and get the lowdown on our funds and resources, including advice on BFI Doc Society Fund feature funding, how to keep your project Safe & Secure and ways to cut down on your carbon footprint.
Open to all filmmakers & the doc curious - walk ups welcome. Check @TheDocSociety for updates. #DocumentaryLivesHere
Friday 24 June from 10:00 - 17:00 at Sidney & Matilda’s
Happy Hour starts at 17:00
Expertise: film funding, resources, creative input
