Directors U.K. Extends Membership Net

LONDON - Directors U.K., the fee collecting and lobbying group for British movie and television directors birthed in 2008 is throwing its member netwider, opening up to “all screen directors working in any medium.”

It marks Directors U.K.’s transition to becoming the single professional organization supporting and campaigning on behalf of all directors in the U.K. The launch of the new Directors U.K. Membership Scheme, trumpeted in London Monday (Nov. 28) aims to unite directors working in all forms ofaudio-visual media into an even stronger, self-supporting, creative community.

The membership base will soon include directors working in new media, games, music videos, commercials, corporate and short films as well as movies and television.

From its origins as a pure collecting society, Directors U.K. is aiming to establish itself as a professional association championing screen directors and representing their views to government and industry.

Directors U.K. contributed recently to the Film Policy Review, the BBC’s Delivering Quality First consultation, the Hargreaves IP review and EC Consultations on State Aid for Film and Online licensing.

Directors U.K. president Paul Greengrass said: “Directors are speaking up for creativity, quality and leadership and it¹s more important than ever that we do. The more directors we can bring into the community the more powerful our voice will be. It does matter what we think about the key issues affecting our industry, and government, broadcasters and stakeholders are now listening to us and asking for our views.”

Andrew Chowns, chief executive of Directors U.K. said: “We can represent and speak for all audio-visual directors, from the most eminent award-winning film makers to the student director just starting their career. The true voice of directors will be heard as we make a full contribution to the future of our industry.”