The Grierson Trust has begun the search for its next chair after Lorraine Heggessey announced her intention to step down after 11 years.
Heggessey, the former controller of BBC1 and boss of Fremantle’s Talkback Thames, has overseen the Grierson Trust since 2014.
The charity trumpeted her work in expanding the Grierson DocLab, which has trained more than 200 people from underrepresented backgrounds in the art of factual storytelling.
The Trust also pointed to training partnerships Heggessey has helped forge with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, while underlining the work she has done to stage the Grierson Awards.
“In a world where views are increasingly polarised and expressed in bite-size quotes, documentaries have a crucial role to play whether they’re telling truth to power or unravelling the complexities of international and domestic stories,” Heggessey said.
“It’s a wrench to leave such a wonderful organisation but I do so with full confidence that the Trust is in great shape and will continue to thrive, innovate and make a lasting impact on the documentary community for years to come.”
Sylvia Bednarz, managing director of the Grierson Trust, added: “Her passion for documentary filmmaking and tireless support for emerging talent have been instrumental in shaping the Trust’s vision and impact. It has been a privilege to work alongside her.”
It has not all been smooth sailing. The Grierson Trust sparked unrest last year after hiring and then swiftly firing Asif Kapadia as a patron.
The Oscar-winner acknowledged that some of his social media activity around the war in Gaza was “ill-judged” and likely to be considered “antisemitic.” But in the weeks following the incident, there was a feeling in the UK television’s Muslim and South Asian community that Grierson acted rashly in defenestrating Kapadia.
In a separate incident, Grierson banned an individual from its events after they approached three Jewish people at the 2023 awards to confront them about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The Grierson Trust has opened its search for a new chair, setting a July 11 deadline for applications.
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