Directors Digest — Thursday 5 January

This week, the privatisation of Channel 4 has formally been scrapped, and a USC Annenberg report reveals the lack of substantial long-term gains in diversity behind the camera. Read all about it in this week's digest below.

Channel 4 privatisation plans have been formally abandoned, The Guardian reports. For more information about the latest decision, see the government’s press release, which pledges reforms to boost the broadcaster’s sustainability and commercial freedom.

The latest diversity reports From USC and SDSU reveal that there is still significant room for improvement in the hiring of women directors and directors of colour. Read The Hollywood Reporter’s breakdown.

Chinonye Chukwu, the director behind Till, speaks to Little White Lies about the challenges of portraying a traumatic piece of American Black history on screen.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Joseph Kosinski and Gina Prince-Bythewood are a few of the directors discussing their craft in The Hollywood Reporter’s director roundtable.

Variety explores the impact of Avatar: The Way of Water on other major film franchises.

And finally, Waterloo Road returns to screens after an eight-year break with a new reboot. (BBC)