Sheffield DocFest Hires BFI Exec Annabel Grundy as Managing Director

Annabel Grundy is about to affix main U.Okay. documentary competition Sheffield DocFest as managing director following its return to a predominantly in-person occasion this June.

Grundy will take part December from her present position as venture supervisor with the British Movie Institute’s U.Okay. International Display screen Fund.

As MD of Sheffield DocFest, which noticed attendances exceeding 30,000 this 12 months, Grundy will probably be chargeable for the charity’s enterprise affairs, partnerships and fundraising, manufacturing and operations in addition to viewers improvement. The position is a brand new joint management place and can work collaboratively with Raul Niño Zambrano who serves as appearing artistic director.

Zambrano is chargeable for setting the agenda throughout the competition’s movie packages, alternate realities exhibition, market and expertise actions, and talks and classes for the thirtieth version in 2023.

Grundy is a Sheffield native with over 20 years of expertise together with producing festivals and movie trade occasions in Sydney, London and Edinburgh and has labored with British Council, Riverside Studios, Edinburgh Worldwide Movie Pageant and the BFI Movie Viewers Community.

In 2021, after a interval of turbulence when a conflict between inventive and industrial values led your complete programming group to be ousted following the departure of inventive director Cintia Gil, the competition appointed Clare Stewart, former competition director of BFI London Movie Pageant as interim CEO. Stewart will assist the transition for each managing and inventive administrators and conclude her position on the finish of the 12 months as deliberate, the competition mentioned.

Stewart mentioned: “The competition performs a vastly necessary position within the British documentary ecosystem, has spectacular world impression and is deeply embedded in a metropolis that embraces creativity and curiosity. At a time of nice problem for movie festivals in all places, you will need to underscore and correctly worth how a lot this charitable organisation achieves, and to assist its inspiring new management – Annabel Grundy and Raul Niño Zambrano – and their imaginative and prescient for the long run.”

Alex Cooke, chair of the board of trustees, Sheffield DocFest, mentioned: “Strategic and business-minded, Annabel combines worldwide perspective and expertise with a deep dedication to Sheffield and audiences within the North, evidenced by her time working with BFI’s Movie Viewers Community. This mixture of strengths sees Annabel well-placed to consolidate all of the potential that South Yorkshire presents and to proceed to develop Sheffield DocFest’s world impression.”

Grundy added: “Sheffield DocFest backs native expertise and has robust bonds with a global group in a rising sector. We additionally proceed to increase boundaries of storytelling and expertise with our immersive alternate realities program. It’s an thrilling time to affix the group as we transfer past pandemic restoration and concentrate on our true objective – championing the artwork of docs – for native audiences on the lookout for a unprecedented expertise on their doorstep, and for the makers and filmmakers who proceed to affix us for inspiration, enterprise connections and a good time in June annually.

The competition celebrates its thirtieth version in 2023 and can run June 14-19.