Chair of the DPRS, Mary McMurray, has said the organization has agreed to throw its weight behind a campaign kicked off last month by a group of filmmakers to save Storyvillefrom threatened budget cuts.
According to well-placed sources, the BBC is planning to reduce the strand's annual budget from £2.2m to £1m.
In a letteraddressed to Thompson, McMurray said: 'I am writing to voice the deep concern of the membership of the DPRS to the threatened emasculation of the BBC's Storyvillestrand.
'We understand that while the BBC's internal spending review is not yet complete, Storyvillehas been told to expect the elimination of its BBC2 funding and a reduction of its BBC4 budget by 50%. The resulting cuts would reduce the current Storyvillebudget by approximately 60%, which would be thoroughly disproportionate to the much smaller overall cuts (3%) the BBC are required to make.
'We believe that, given the importance of this one surviving strand for long-form creative documentaries on the BBC, Storyvilleshould be strengthened, not weakened, and its budget increased.'
Campaigners have claimed the BBC is planning to turn Storyvilleinto an acquisition strand by abolishing funding for its UK co-productions - a claim the BBC has denied.
This could mean there will be 25 fewer documentary commissions a year for UK directors and producers.
At present an average of five Storyvillesare aired on BBC2 per year, with the remaining 35 to 40 on BBC4.
In her letterMcMurray said that turning Storyvilleinto an acquisition strand is not the answer and that planned cuts will destroy what is a 'creative oasis'.
'How could that possibly help better documentaries to be made when even less is spent on them and the producers and directors have to spend much more time searching for small pockets of money around the globe to make their films?' the letter asks.
'We strongly urge you to avoid the temptation of short terms cuts. We look to the BBC to expand, not reduce, the creative opportunities for our directors and to increase the number of high quality international documentaries for its UK audience.'
The letterconcludes: 'We believe in a strong BBC and its importance to the cultural health of this country. If it remains intent on destroying wonderful strands like Storyville, the BBC's claim to cultural importance will be sadly and dramatically diminished.'
As revealed earlier this month by Broadcast, the BBC is planning major cuts to a raft of its flagship factual strands, including Horizon, Imagine, Timewatchand The Culture Show.
According to BBC sources, One Lifewill be phased out following the series after next, while a second series of forthcoming BBC2 documentary series Wonderland(working title) is now being reconsidered.
An ipetitionset up by October Films' Tom Roberts, freelancer Leslie Woodhead, Le Vision Film Productions head of development Friederike Freier and Renegade Pictures' Alex Cooke, to save Storyvillehas so far attracted over 1780 signatures.
Storyville boss speaks
The editor of Storyville, Nick Fraser, has written in today's Guardian that he is 'fascinated by the 1,750-odd petitioners demanding that Storyvillebe save.'
He said: 'It would be unwise of me to overtly declare my sympathy with these petitioners, but I am knocked over by how many - not just from within the media - get the value of what is portentously known as the 'authored documentary'.
'For obvious reasons I can't comment on the BBC's plans, which are in any case not finalised.'
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