The BBC announces new documentary commissions and the return of the Documentary Directors’ Initiative

On BBC One, Birth (w/t) a new six part observational series from Dragonfly TV, follows expectant parents and the staff who care for them, inside the nation’s busiest maternity hospital - Birmingham Women’s Hospital.

On BBC Two, the highest-performing documentary of the year so far, Forensics: The Real CSI is returning for a second series, and on BBC Three, a new observational series, Fast And Furious - Fashion’s New Frontier (w/t) takes viewers inside the bright, brand new world of ultra-fast fashion.

The BBC has a strong presence at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest (6-11 June 2019) with sessions including:

• Documentary maker Stacey Dooley in conversation with BBC Three Controller, Fiona Campbell
• The BBC Three pitch offering new filmmakers from the North the chance to pitch to BBC commissioners
• Premieres of new BBC documentaries including Arthur Cary’s new film, War In The Blood, James Bluemel’s new film, Once Upon A Time in Iraq and the first episode of Alison Millar’s series Out In The Cold.

Further new films from the international documentary strand Storyville will be announced at a special event on Sunday evening.

Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries (pictured above) says: “With the fast-changing world in which we live, there has never been a more important time for documentaries and I’m proud of the sheer range of content that we produce at the BBC, from building successful returning series that provide revealing insights into modern day life such as Ambulance, Reported Missing and Hospital, to showing single films that have huge impact with audiences such as Nadiya: Anxiety And Me, and David Harewood: Psychosis And Me.

"It’s been hugely gratifying to see our films recognised, with recent Baftas with wins for Louis Theroux's Altered States series, James Newton’s film, Gun No 6 and Joe Bullman’s powerful factual drama, Killed By My Debt.

"Looking ahead, I’m delighted to announce two timely new series. BBC One has unprecedented access to Birmingham Women’s Hospital, from the labour suites to the operating theatres, antenatal clinics to postnatal wards, in an honest portrayal of birth in modern Britain. BBC Three will take viewers behind the scenes of one of the UK’s fastest growing and most disruptive fast fashion brands; and following a successful first series on BBC Two, Forensics: the Real CSI is returning for a second series.

"In addition, I’m very pleased that the Documentary Directors’ Initiative is back for its third year, enabling a new generation of diverse voices to produce their first long form documentary for BBC Three. The initiative has already brought some exceptional films to the screen, from Niamh’s Kennedy’s Abused By My Girlfriend to Lizzie Kempton’s film Manchester Bomb: Our Story and with a particularly high standard of applicants this year, I’m really excited to see what stories the new wave of directors will tell."

EDA

New commissions

Birth (w/t)

A new six-part observational documentary series for BBC One follows expectant parents and the staff who care for them, inside the nation’s busiest and most diverse maternity hospital - Birmingham Women’s Hospital.

With unprecedented access across the maternity department, Birth will combine fixed rig, prime lens shooting and graphics to follow patients from the moment they arrive, no matter where their life-changing journey takes them. The series will feature a range of different birth stories, from pre-term complications on the antenatal ward to those starting to push on the delivery suite and from emergency caesarean sections in theatre to new families in post-natal, getting to know their newborns, before they head home.

Through filming clinics, scans, neonatal and foetal medicine units, Birth will also reflect the important yet more challenging stories of complex pregnancies and births.

Alongside emotional birth stories, each episode will capture daily events across the maternity unit, following the doctors, surgeons and midwifes, dedicated to delivering Britain’s next generation. Together they’ll reveal what it takes - and, crucially, what it feels like to bring new lives into our world, in an honest portrayal of birth in all its richness and complexity.

• Birth (w/t) (6x60') was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content and Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. It is a Dragonfly TV production, executive produced by Richard Bond. The Commissioning Editor is Emma Loach.

Forensics: The Real CSI

With an average audience of 2.5m, Forensics: The Real CSI (pictured top) was hugely popular with BBC Two audiences and it is now returning for a second series. A single drop of blood; a tiny ball-bearing from a spent shotgun cartridge; a fragment of shattered glass; the marks left on a dead body - every crime scene tells a story. Police work that relies on hard factual evidence is more vital than ever and convictions today can rest on the tiniest of margins. In this gripping series, multiple cameras follow serious crime investigations in real time, revealing the crucial role cutting-edge forensic science now plays in bringing criminals to justice.

• Forensics: The Real CSI is made by Blast Films for BBC Two

Fast And Furious: Fashion’s New Frontier

A new documentary series takes viewers inside Manchester’s burgeoning and sometimes controversial new world of ultra-fast fashion, where millennials are making fortunes overnight by supplying an ever-changing wardrobe to a new generation that idolises influencers and reality TV stars - and wants to look exactly like them, with a new outfit to show off every week.

The series is set within the Salford offices of In The Style - one of the fastest growing and most disruptive fast fashion brands in Britain. CEO Adam Frisby left school at 15 with no GCSEs. In just five years he has built a £30 million turnover company. The series follows the 32 year-old and his young team through six frantic weeks as the company competes with rival fast fashion brands to sign up the latest talent, come up with the hottest styles and supply them faster than anyone else.

Glamorous photo shoots with celebrities have to be set up in time for speedy sales launches so that on-line shoppers can have the latest outfit delivered to their door hours later. Delivering fast and affordable is challenging in itself, but can Adam and his team steal a march on the market by meeting the increasing demand for ethical style as well?

• Fast And Furious: Fashion’s New Frontier (w/t, 6x30') for BBC Three, is made by Optomen. It was commissioned by Fiona Campbell, Controller, BBC Three and Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. The Commissioning Editor is Emily Smith and the Executive Producers are Sarah Elgin and Nick Hornby.

Documentary Directors' Initiative

The BBC’s Documentary Directors’ Initiative is returning for a third year to continue nurturing and championing new talent, and once again offering six aspiring film makers the opportunity to make their first long-form documentary.

Successful applicants are housed at leading production companies and partnered with executive producers who act as mentors throughout the process of making the film. In the past this has included Morgan Matthews at Minnow, Katie Bailiff at Century, and Fran Baker at Blakeway North. The initiative also includes masterclasses in crucial areas of documentary making which have included Peter Dale on storytelling, Kirsty Cunningham and Sacha Mirzeoff on compliance and Chris Bird and Sam Santana on editing.

The films are commissioned for BBC Three with most also being transmitted on terrestrial channels. Alumni of the initiative include Niamh Kennedy and her remarkable film Abused By My Girlfriend; Lizzie Kempton and her film, Manchester Bomb: Our Story On A tragedy That Affected The Nation; and Dominic Sivyer, with his very personal film, Grandad, Dementia & Me.

This year’s successful applicants are:

• Ziyaad Desai - Ziyaad has worked on a broad range of documentaries as a producer and shooter. He's worked on series like Valley Cops and Indian Summer School, and is most passionate about character-driven observational filmmaking.
• Helen Spooner - Helen has worked as a producer on observational and current affairs documentaries, predominantly with vulnerable contributors and often in hostile environments. She's produced two films with Stacey Dooley in Iraq, one of which was awarded a One World Media prize. She's currently producing a new sensitive police access series. Her passion lies in character-driven documentaries and following strong personal journeys.
• Ashley Francis Roy - Ashley started his career with the BBC as a Creative Access trainee. He recently worked for Seven Wonder as a producer on Hometown - a new six-part series for BBC Three exploring the case of a young Asian man who was shot and killed by police. Ashley enjoys making films that offer entertaining and challenging perspectives on race, sexuality, and society.
• Candace Davies - Candace has a background in fine art and has been working in documentaries for five years. She has worked as an assistant producer and producer on high profile and sensitive access series and single films and has been involved in projects covering topics such as mental illness, sexual offences, and the police. She wants to make films that give a voice to people who often go unheard.
• Danielle Spears - Danielle is a journalist who has been working in documentaries for over six years. As an assistant producer she has worked on access-based and character-driven documentaries about complex and diverse subjects including anorexia and sex trafficking with Louis Theroux. She is currently a producer on Murder 24/7 series for BBC Two. She is passionate about tackling current affairs stories with a documentary approach.
• James Corbin - James started his career making branded content before moving into the in-house team at BBC Three. He has been making short form singles and series and for the last four years has developed, directed and edited short documentary formats at BBC Three. His more recent work has been in factual entertainment formats. He thrives on finding new ways to tell important stories across multiple platforms and how to innovate stories for audiences.

The BBC at Sheffield Doc/Fest

The BBC has a strong presence at the Doc/Fest this year with major interviews, pitches, panel sessions and film premieres.

BBC documentary maker Stacey Dooley is headlining with the BBC interview, talking about life after Strictly Come Dancing and her next projects, including films exploring the arms trade and American vigilantism with Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three.

There are three BBC produced panels:

• Famous Faces In New Spaces includes speakers Ed Balls, presenter of Travels In Trumpland and Clare Mottershead, BBC Commissioning Editor, discuss their experiences of creating some of the most entertaining television of the past 12 months
• Real Drama: What’s Next For The Access Doc? looks at how to turn access into compelling stories, with speakers including award-winning film maker Colin Barr and presenter of new BBC Three series Hometown, Mobeen Azhar; and Secrets And Lies: Testimony And Archive in Contemporary History explores the resurgence of archive and testimony in history filmmaking, with a panel of producers and contributors from some of the BBC’s most successful recent projects.

Further supporting new talent, the BBC Three Pitch gives emerging filmmakers from the North the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of BBC commissioners, including BBC Three Controller Fiona Campbell, for the prize of a documentary commission for BBC Three.

BBC commissioners Clare Sillery, Tom McDonald, David Brindley and Mark Bell will be taking part in panel discussions and there will be screenings of new BBC documentaries War in the Blood, Seahorse, The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files, Nomad, Untouchable, Once Upon A Time in Iraq and Out In The Cold.

Full details of all sessions are available at: Sheffield Doc/Fest

Related Web Links

• Sheffield Doc/Fest