Applications open today to apply to take part in the BBC’s Documentary Directors’ Initiative, offering aspiring film makers the opportunity to make their first documentary film for BBC Three

BBC Three announces two new films from the most recent cohort of participants in the initiative - Sudden Death: My Sister’s Silent Killer and Abused by My Sports Coach

In addition, a new BBC Two commission, The Essex Lorry Murders, telling the story of one of the biggest manslaughter inquiries the UK is announced today, from initiative alumnus Niamh Kennedy

Applications open today for aspiring film makers to be part of the next cohort of the New Documentary Directors’ Initiative. The initiative finds and supports the next generation of documentary film makers, giving four participants the opportunity to produce and direct their first long form documentary for BBC Three.

The initiative has had huge success with a large number of brilliant and award-winning films including Manchester Bomb: Our Story, Abused by My Girlfriend, Why Dad Killed Mum: My Family's Secret, Grandad, Dementia, and Me and Defending Digga D.

Many alumni from the initiative have moved on to direct on flagship BBC documentary series such as Ambulance and Hospital or on powerful one-off films like The Case of Sally Challen and Me, My Brother and Our Balls.

Today we are announcing two new BBC Three films from participants in the New Documentary Directors’ Initiative: Sudden Death: My Sister’s Silent Killer from new director Lindsay Konieczny follows 17 year old Patrick as he attempts to understand the sudden death of his 19 year old sister, Lauren; and Abused by My Sports Coach directed by Helen Spooner follows journalist Charlie Webster as she investigates sexual abuse of young athletes.

In addition, we are announcing today a new film directed by initiative alumnus Niamh Kennedy. Niamh directed the award-winning new directors’ film Abused by My Girlfriend and has gone on to direct a number of other projects including Toxic Town: The Corby Poisonings for BBC Two and the forthcoming Joey Essex: Who Am I? (w/t) for BBC Three. Her new film for BBC Two, The Essex Lorry Deaths, tells the story of one of the biggest manslaughter inquiries the UK has ever seen after the discovery of 39 dead Vietnamese migrants in the back of a lorry an Essex industrial park.

Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, History and Religion says: “The BBC has an important role to play in nurturing new talent and I’m thrilled that the New Directors’ Initiative is opening its doors once again for aspiring film makers. We want to provide opportunities for directing talent to grow their careers and tell the stories that matter to the audience. In addition to the directors who take part in the initiative, I want to ensure we are championing talented new film makers across the BBC, such as directors Angela Byrne (Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn) Tash Gaunt (Leigh-Anne Pinnock: Race, Pop & Power) and Lyttanya Shannon who is directing Subnormal: A British Scandal for BBC Two.”

Beejal-Maya Patel, Commissioning Editor, Documentaries says: “I’m delighted that we are once again opening up applications for the new documentary directors initiative. Getting that first break is so important and to do that with masterclasses and mentoring from leading industry talent gives new directors on the initiative the support they need to make their first film. It also gives them a fantastic calling card to help build careers and I would encourage anyone interested to apply.”

Sudden Death: My Sister’s Silent Killer

After the sudden and unexplained death of his 19 year old sister, Patrick is left grieving, while struggling to understand how a young person could go to sleep and never wake up. Every year over 600 young and seemingly healthy people die suddenly and unexpectedly from a Sudden Cardiac Death. For Patrick’s sister Lauren, her death was registered as SADS, or Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, a cause of cardiac death even the experts don’t completely understand.

Patrick finds himself unable to talk to his friends or family, but he needs answers. What could have been done to prevent Lauren’s death and is there a way to stop other young people dying this way?

He and his family undergo cardiac tests in hope of understanding what happened to Lauren and Patrick meets other young people who have lost a sibling to SADS.

Patrick discovers that Sudden Cardiac Death is the leading cause of death in young athletes during exercise. He visits Tonbridge Angels Football Club in Kent who lost three of their players to Sudden Death and instigated a screening programme as a result.

Footballer Fabrice Muamba famously survived SADS after collapsing half way through a match a Tottenham stadium. He and Patrick retrace Fabrice’s steps, as Fabrice tells Patrick how it felt when his heart stopped for 78 minutes.

Patrick meets leading cardiac-pathologist, Professor Mary Sheppard, who believes SADS deaths are under-reported. From the information gathered through Professor Sheppard’s research, she understands Sudden Cardiac Death to be the third biggest killer of young people, after road traffic accidents and suicide.

Sudden Death: My Sister’s Silent Killer was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries and Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three. It is being made by Storyvault Films where the Executive Producer is Danielle Graham, Stewart Prebble and Sam Richards and the Director is Lindsay Konieczny. The Commissioning Editor is Beejal-Maya Patel.

Abused by My Sports Coach

Charlie Webster started running when she was 12. When she joined an elite running group in Sheffield, she was sexually abused by her coach. She was 14 when it started. The abuse went on for more than three years.

She never spoke about it to other girls in her group, and no one ever spoke to her about what was happening to them. And when their abuser was arrested, Charlie never saw them again.

As a journalist and broadcaster, Charlie specialises in investigating, uncovering and telling other people’s stories, but now it’s time for her to tell her own.

Charlie’s quest to make sense of her own abuse is the powerful, emotional core of the film. In order to understand what happened and how, Charlie will discover other stories just like hers. Her journey takes her back into her past but brings the issue right up to date as she meets other survivors from across the country.

Charlie needs to understand what has changed since she was a vulnerable young athlete. She gets messages every single day, from other survivors. 4,000 messages on, and she is fighting for them, as well as herself. She needs answers – and so do they.

Abused by My Sports Coach was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries and Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three. It is being made by Lambent Productions where the Executive Producer is Emma Wakefield and the Director is Helen Spooner. The BBC Commissioning Editors are Beejal-Maya Patel and Emily Smith.

The Essex Lorry Deaths

23 October 2019, 1.37am – Maurice Robinson, a lorry driver from Northern Ireland, calls 999 from an Essex industrial park. Clearly distressed, he says there are a large number of bodies in the back of his trailer. Eight minutes later, police arrive on the scene. 39 Vietnamese migrants are discovered, dead, in the back of his lorry.

This new film, directed by Niamh Kennedy, tells the story of one of the biggest manslaughter inquiries the UK has ever seen. Spanning Britain, Europe and Vietnam, it cracked open a multi-million pound people smuggling ring, operating from Northern Ireland, and responsible for the illegal movement of migrants into Britain on an industrial scale.

With exclusive access to Essex Police, their officers and the evidence, the film will take viewers to the heart of the investigation and shed new light on the hidden world of people smuggling. The film will also explore the stories of the 39 men, women and teenagers who lost their lives, looking at the complex economic reasons which compel people to put their lives into the hands of smugglers, as well as the tragic impact on their family and friends.

The Essex Lorry Deaths (w/t) was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning Documentaries and Patrick Holland, Channel Controller, BBC Two. It is being made by Expectation where the Executive Producer is Ruth Kelly, the Director is Niamh Kennedy, and the Producer is Jess Austin. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Hamish Fergusson.

Case studies

Niamh Kennedy

Niamh directed the acclaimed, award-winning documentary Abused by My Girlfriend as part of the BBC New Documentary Directors’ Initiative. Since then she has gone on to direct a number of other films including The Corby Poisonings for BBC Two, the forthcoming Joey Essex: Who Am I? (w/t) for BBC Three and The Essex Lorry Deaths for BBC Two.

Niamh says: “The New Directors initiative provided an opportunity to get my name known amongst commissioners, and to really showcase what I could do. Making the film on a budget meant I really had to think through every aspect of the production, and figure out innovative ways of achieving the ambition I had. Running the edit was one of the biggest learnings in the whole process, and I’ve learnt that having a supportive and talented editor is so crucial to that.

"The initiative kick started my directing career, and set out a style that I continued to use in future films. I’ve continued to make films for the BBC and build on the relationship that I made. It allowed me to get to know commissioners both within and outside of the BBC, and I carved out an identity telling retrospective stories. My second film was another retrospective story for BBC Two, and I’m now making my fourth documentary for the BBC.”

Marian Mohamed

Marian Mohamed directed the film Defending Digga D as part of the New Documentary Directors’ Initiative. Shown on BBC Three last November, the film followed rising British drill rap star Digga D at a pivotal moment in his life as he is released from a 15 month stint in prison. Previously Marian has produced documentaries including BBC One’s Life and Birth and Channel 4’s Prison and The Sex Traffickers. She is currently Producer Director on the forthcoming BBC Two series, The Fall of the House of Maxwell.

Marian says: “I found the move from producer to director very tricky. It's taken several attempts to get here and I wouldn’t have been able to make the transition without this initiative. I applied online and found the scheme more meritocratic and ultimately more rewarding than the routes that had previously been available to me. This scheme empowered me to make a film when I was genuinely struggling to find a way forward, even though I believed in my own skills.”

Ziyaad Desai

Ziyaad Desai is a participant in the New Documentary Directors’ Initiative and is directing the upcoming BBC Three film Bad Influencer which unlocks the shocking rise and fall of Belle Gibson, one of Instagram’s first super-influencers. He has worked as a producer and more recently as a director on a variety of projects for Channel 4 and the BBC. Most recently he directed an episode for forthcoming new BBC One religion series Being and he has also worked on series such as Valley Cops, Ambulance, Nadiya's American Adventure, and Manson: The Lost Tapes.

Ziyaad, says: “I'm making a doc about Belle Gibson, an Australian wellness influencer who lied about healing her own cancer with a clean eating diet. It's about our complicated relationships with social media, and how wellness culture has slowly crept into our lives, changing our ideas about what it means to be healthy, and it’s been a fantastic experience.

"Being on the New Directors’ scheme has been a great chance to grow. The BBC docs team organised some great masterclass sessions with incredible filmmakers, and Minnow Films have been wonderfully supportive.”

Angela Byrne

Angela directed the BBC Three documentary Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn shown earlier this year to great acclaim. She started her TV career in Manchester, working as a Researcher and Assistant Producer. Since moving to London, she has worked as a self-shooting director on a range of documentaries, including the first series of Saving Lives At Sea, Meet the Ukippers and Universal Credit: Inside the Welfare State. She has worked on several documentaries for Summer Films, including Cutting Edge: Excluded at Seven, Death On Campus: Our Stories, Hostel for Homeless Young Mums and Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn.

Angela says: “I loved having the opportunity to make this BBC Three film, Zara McDermott: Revenge Porn, about a subject matter that not only felt timely and important, but also had the stories of women and girls at its heart. Since the documentary was released, I’ve had messages from not just girls and young women, but from the parents of teenagers who found it helped their understanding of the pressures their children face. It’s really satisfying to know your film is bringing people together. BBC Three was the perfect home for this film, and I felt very supported along the way.”