UK Feature Docs: A study of the feature documentary film industry in the UK

‘UK Feature Docs: A Study of the Feature Documentary Film Industry’ is an AHRC-funded study of the UK’s feature documentary film industry.

Working in close collaboration with key partners from across the industry value chain, the project will first map the contours of the industry and the multitude of organisations and institutions involved in the finance, production, distribution and exhibition of feature documentary films.

Second, the project will historicise the emergence of this distinct sector of the UK’s film and television industries and explore the key factors that have shaped its development.

Third, the project will analyse the strategic models, concepts and approaches at work in the industry, investigate the challenges faced by those involved and examine how these can be addressed.

The project will map the industry, historicise its development and explore the manifold challenges involved in the finance, production, distribution and exhibition of feature documentary films in the UK.

In 2019, the team launched what became the largest survey ever conducted of UK feature doc producers and directors. Keeping it Real: Towards A Documentary Film Policy for the UK, is based on the survey findings and reveals a sector that was in urgent need of intervention even before the advent of COVID-19.

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