Directors Digest — Fri 30 May 2025

In the news this week, Dean Ormston has been elected as chair of the CISAC board, industry figures report Black British TV makers are “fighting over scraps”, and all the winners from the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Read about it in this week’s Digest.

News

•  Dean Ormston has been elected as chair of board of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the global network of collective management organisations of which Directors UK is a member. (Variety)

•  Black British TV makers are “fighting over scraps” because of the lack of opportunities, industry figures have said, arguing that conditions are worse now than before the Black Lives Matter movement that emerged in 2020. (Guardian)

•  The British Independent Film Awards has selected 30 filmmakers for the latest run of its Springboard training programme. (Screen) Congratulations to the 30 filmmakers selected, it’s great to see Directors UK members Adura Onashile, Chloe Fairweather, Debbie Howard, and Georgia Parris selected for the scheme.

•  Channel 4 has told the production companies in its Indie Growth Fund not to be alarmed by its plan to convert the investment initiative into a majority stake-focused Creative Investment Fund. (Broadcast)

•  The BBC has published the competitive tender for Casualty, revealing an intent to “evolve the show into Welsh portrayal”. (Broadcast)

Features

•   YouTube is Becoming a Studio IP Scouting Ground. (No Film School)

Opinion

• Following the news that the BBC is to follow more ambitious criteria for out-of-London productions, Directors UK Board member Peter Strachan says these new expectations must be matched by industry-wide action. (Broadcast)

Director Interviews

•  Wes Anderson on his latest film The Phoenician Scheme. (Little White Lies)

Awards

•  The 2025 Cannes Film Festival came to a close last week. Congratulations to all the filmmakers with films in the festival, and to all the winners. You can see the full list of the winners here. (Cannes Film Festival)

Obituaries

•  Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, the first Arab and African director to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes, has died aged 91. (Guardian)