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Source: BBC

BBC documentary strand Storyville is moving under the remit of BBC Film, as part of a broader restructuring of the BBC’s filmmaking output. 

Storyville commissioning editor Mandy Chang and assistant commissioner Hayley Reynolds will now report to BBC Film director Rose Garnett, effective immediately.

Chang and Jo Lapping will work in factual acquisitions across the BBC’s channels and iPlayer, while co-ordinator Hollie Gibson will work across both teams.

The news was announced in an email to staff from Clare Sillery, head of documentaries commissioning at the BBC.

”The market for features is increasingly competitive and exciting,” Sillery wrote. ”Bringing scripted and unscripted commissioning closer together under Rose will both strengthen our offer for audiences, and how we work with our creative and funding partners.”

The change is part of a broader ongoing restructuring of the BBC’s feature film output, of which the name change from BBC Films to BBC Film is another signifier.

Storyville launched in 1997 as a vehicle for bringing non-fiction stories to festival, cinema and television audiences. It debuted two titles at Sundance Film Festival this year – Welcome To Chechnya and Softie.

It has also acted as a co-producer on the former, as well as other documentary features, including Bolshoi Babylon and Notes On Blindness; and has previously broadcast critically-acclaimed titles including BlackfishCity Of Ghosts and The Eagle Huntress.