TIME & LOCATION
About
In NI’s first panel event with We Are Doc Women, the grassroots peer support group supporting women’s TV directors, we’ll spotlight and celebrate the work going on to improve statistics around female directors in NI. Diving into the latest stats on representation in crew through a Northern Irish lens, this panel seeks to highlight the great work being done to support female directors as well as what can be done to build on this ensure a steady improvement for the future at broadcaster, indie and freelance level. The discussion will take an integral and broad approach with Q&A section at the end for audience members.
Chair
SPONSOR
Panel
Creative Director, Walk on Air films
Rachel is Creative Director of Walk on Air films, a BAFTA nominated Belfast indie specialising in premium factual content for audio and TV. She has a track record in sensitive, access based films, working collaboratively with contributors to find stories hidden in plain sight. Rachel started her career as a journalist in the BBC Belfast newsroom in 1996, and then ran the BBC NI audio docs unit before moving into film and TV as a director, producer and development exec. Recent WOA credits include ‘Death of a Showjumper”, a 3 part box set for Sky , the critically acclaimed ‘Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland’, a co production with KEO films for BBC/ PBS and ‘The Brighton Bomb’ a 10 x 15’ podcast for BBC Sounds which has just won gold at the British Podcast awards.
Filmmaker
Gill Callan has been making documentaries on a wide range of topics for over a decade, including observational, archival and presenter-led films. Her journalistic integrity paired with strong emotive and visual storytelling has led to a reputation for making compelling films. Recent credits include Stitched Up? Surgery in the Sun, We Built a Zoo, The Year that Rocked Irish Dancing, and I Dream in Photos. She is currently working on a feature documentary with Little Wing Films.
Assistant Commissioner, BBC Documentaries & BBC Northern Ireland
With over a decade of experience in documentary filmmaking, Raphaëlle has built a reputation for handling editorially challenging and sensitive subjects with care and integrity. Now working in commissioning, she champions bold, diverse storytelling across both scripted and unscripted for BBC network and Northern Ireland. Recent credits include Glow Up, Stacey Dooley: Growing Up Gypsy, Stacey Dooley: Meet the Shoplifters, This Farming Life, Bad Nanny, Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland's Mafia, Stitched Up? Surgery in the Sun, and Video Nasty. Raphaëlle is passionate about supporting emerging voices and creating space for stories that reflect the complexity and richness of contemporary life.
Documentary filmmaker and NI rep for We Are Doc Women.
Sarah Gwynne is a documentary filmmaker from Derry, working on productions for the likes of Sky, Channel 4, Prime Video and BBC. She sits on the We Are Doc Women management committee and is passionate about meaningful intersectional representation in front of and behind the camera. In 2024 was selected as a 'One To Watch' by Edinburgh TV Festival.