NEWS
** FEB 2024 **
NEW EVENT: DIRECTING OUTSIDE THE BOX. Wednesday 28th February 6:30-8pm
The DCF working in partnership with Directors UK are hosting this online webinar exploring how your skills as a director can help you develop a portfolio career.
As directors, you have a diverse range of transferable skills in your professional toolkit— from mentoring, to creative thinking, to project management. This webinar will explore how to identify those skills, and how to consider additional channels and avenues for potential income streams that could complement and elevate your directing work.
For more details and how to apply, click here
** JAN 2024 **
The DCF announces a new offer to DUK members for low cost online therapy in partnership with Solas Mind. For details see our Directors Therapy Support page here.
** MAY 2023 **
Building Resilience in Times of Adversity, Thurs 25th May 9-10am.
The DCF in partnership with Solas Mind, are hosting this free online webinar for directors.
The link to sign up is here. Places are free but limited to a maximum of 20 on a first come first served basis.
Due to the freelance nature of our careers, many directors experience periods of uncertainty over work, when job opportunities can feel hard to come by. Feelings of rejection, insecurity, and that ‘the phone has stopped ringing’ can present real challenges to self-confidence and motivation.
This session will focus on resilience and how unhelpful thinking patterns can influence our bounce-back-ability. It will offer tools that can enhance resilient thinking, showing how implementing positive changes can encourage personal growth.
The webinar was designed by psychotherapist and suicide prevention trainer Sarah McCaffrey, founder of Solas Mind.
** March 2023 **
Directors Therapy Support : The DCF remains committed to providing low-cost therapy to Directors UK and Stage Directors UK members. We have now made the application process simpler, more direct and confidential.
For details please see Directors Therapy Support.
If you are not a member of DUK or SDUK but feel you may be eligible for Directors Therapy Support please email us: admin@directorscf.org
** May 2022 **
We were delighted to announce the launch of a new wellbeing and mental health support service in partnership with leading therapy professionals, Solas Mind.
You can read our Press Release here, and see press coverage in Screen here and The Stage here.
The DCF Directors Support Hub provides directors with 1:1 therapy from Solas Mind and access to a new online wellbeing support hub, all specifically tailored to directors and their wellbeing needs. To ensure that there is no financial barrier to directors seeking help, the services are made available to those in need at a substantial discount to normal fee levels. In addition, grants are available from DCF that will enable eligible directors to obtain therapy at no cost.
All eligible directors will be provided access to the Directors Support hub. This contains specifically curated wellbeing resources. In addition, directors will easily be able to book 1:1 online therapy sessions through the hub, choosing from a selection of qualified therapists familiar with the creative sector, and finding a time that works for them. The Solas’ model is experienced at working with production schedules, and time slots are readily available outside of conventional working hours, making therapy accessible to directors when they need it. Click here for more information.
** January 2022 **
Wednesday 26th saw the first of our online events discussing mental health issues faced by directors - both stage and screen. We heard from the superb panel about “affecting a culture change” in the industry, as Andy Glynne, Programme Director, Film and TV Charity put it, as well as what support there is available.
Harold Finley, Executive Director of Stage Directors UK, quoted a colleague’s observation that “one of the difficulties of being a director is that you can never leave the room.” Chaired by DCF Trustee Dan Zeff, questions were solicited by the online audience and our panel discussed these with honesty, from personal experience, as well as with encouragement for the positive way their organisations, such as Raffaella Covino’s Applause for Thought, are ensuring that supporting good mental health is being embraced by the industry. As Sarah McCaffrey from Solas Mind put it: “it IS hopeful and changes are taking place”.
We have teamed up with Mind, the mental health charity, and their Mental Health at Work site, to create a new online resource specifically for stage and screen directors. The pages include advice, support and resources, as well as a blog where directors talk about their personal experiences, and can be found here: https://mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/directors
To mark this initiative, we are inviting all directors to join our online discussion UNDER PRESSURE: Directors and their Mental Health THIS WEDNESDAY (Jan 26th) at 6:30pm. To register for this online event, please click here or anywhere on the below image.
Together with key stakeholders at the forefront of the industry response, we will look at specific issues faced by directors of stage and screen, examine how the industries are changing and help navigate to what support and resources are out there.
Contributors include:
Andy Glynne – Programme Director, Whole Picture Programme, The Film and TV Charity
Harold Finley – Executive Director, Stage Directors UK
Sarah McCaffrey – Founder, Solas Mind
Raffaella Covino – Founder, Applause for Thought
The session will be chaired by Dan Zeff, DCF Trustee and Scripted TV Director.
To register for this online event, please click here or anywhere on the above image
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