DIRECTORS ROSTER

TO READ 2023's BEST SCREENPLAYS

We currently have 92 talented directors from around the world on our roster to read the best screenplays entered into this year’s screenplay contests.

View our Judges and Industry Roster

We will always get prior approval before sending a writer’s work out to our directors. 

ALEX MURAWSKI

Alex’s short films Kiss, Ari, Frail, and Snow have screened at 90 film festivals, including Berlin and TIFF, and have won multiple awards worldwide. Together they have 7 million online views. He is a winner of the Lexus Australia Film Fellowship and is mentored by Academy-nominated director Bruce Beresford. His feature scripts have been placed as Finalists in the Golden Script, WeScreenplay, Shore Scripts, and Nicholl Screenwriting competitions.

ALEX THOMPSON

Co-founder of Runaway Train, Chicago-based director, and producer Alex Thompson produced the features “King Rat” and “Our Father”, and directed the features “Brother Sister” and “Saint Frances” this past year. Short films and pilots he produced and/or directed have premiered at festivals around the world. He has a BA from DePauw University and an MFA in directing from DePaul University.

ALEX VON HOFMANN

Alex von Hofmann is a writer-director with a love of genre films. He has made a number of shorts that have had success on the festival circuit, including an AACTA nomination. He has recently moved to Melbourne Australia and is focused on making his first feature film. Alex was selected for a Director’s attachment, shadowing a TV director, David Petrarca, while he filmed two episodes of Netflix’s Marco Polo. Recently Alex was placed in the top five of the Australian Writers Guilds Monte Miller Awards.

ALICE SEABRIGHT

Her last film, SEX ED, was produced via the NFTF and EON Productions. In 2016, Alice directed PREGNANT PAUSE, which starred Alexandra Roach, and was made through Film London’s London Calling scheme. It premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and was longlisted for a BAFTA. She is a member of directing collective Cinesisters and is represented by Troika Talent Agency.

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ALISSA TORVINEN-KOUAME

Alissa trains her eye on moments of lyricism and magic in the everyday world. She’s collaborated with Liev Schreiber, Zooey Deschanel, and Will.I.Am and worked on campaigns for Johnson & Johnson, Wix, and HP. Her first feature film is set to premiere in the Fall of 2019.

AMY WANG

A Chinese-Australian filmmaker whose undergraduate film Blind Luck, 2010 received an honorable mention at the LA Film Festival and screened in numerous festivals around the world.  In 2018 Amy won Gold at the New Directors Cannes Lions Awards for her film Unnatural. Amy is currently developing a limited series aimed at humanizing social pariahs and two features focused on two extremely flawed women. 

ANDREW ADAMS

Andrew is a Cali-living, genre-loving, globe-trotting writer/director and travel videographer. He has directed shorts for Disney XD and Crypt TV, as well as commercial content for a variety of major brands. Currently developing an indie horror feature which he plans to direct. House-broken. Has all shots.

How to be a screenwriter. Screenplay Contests.

ANDREW MORRIS & ROB SILVA

London-based director duo Andrew Morris and Rob Silva have been making films together for over a decade. Their most recent short film, LIMBO, starred Emun Elliot, Ivanno Jeremiah, Louise Brealey, Gethin Anthony, Rosie Day, and Esther Hall. Rob also works as an executive at Heyday Films (Harry Potter, Gravity, Paddington), and Andrew is a graphic designer, art director, and editor.

ANNA SOUTHGATE

As well as being a Screenwriter for nearly 20 years (Hugh Bonneville attached to her feature comedy) and a freelance Script Editor for the BFI, Euroscript & Rather Good Films, Anna is also an award-winning Director. Her short film I SEEK ASYLUM starring Emma Thompson was selected for 8 international festivals. She is currently developing a comedy-drama short with Globe Productions (Universal Music).

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ARIEL HELLER

Ariel began his career in NY as an actor, appearing in Blue Man Group, then later in War Horse at Lincoln Center Theater. Now based in LA, Ariel studied at USC’s graduate film program where his thesis film Mammoth won a Student Academy Award in 2017. Currently, his first feature script Red Salvador is on the 2018 Hit List, and his new short will be starting its festival run this fall.

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AURORA FEARNLEY

Aurora is an award-winning director with a slate of genre projects in development, including TIPPING POINT, with BFI Vision Awardee Lunar Lander Films. Her ambitious sci-fi short PULSAR starring David Gyasi and Jessie Buckley was recently released by DUST. 104 Films produced Aurora’s short STRUCK, which screened at Sydney, Edinburgh and Cork Film Festivals before being released online by Shortoftheweek.com. Directors UK commissioned her suspenseful short MURMUR.

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AZEEM BHATI

Azeem is a British-Pakistani writer, director and playwright, based in London. Projects he has worked on have included the film Page One and the Scott Free and Google produced documentary, India in a Day. In 2018, three of his plays were performed on the London stage. His first written and directed short film, Our Kind of Love was long-listed for a BAFTA in 2019.

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BAILEY TOM BAILEY

Award-winning UK-based writer/director with a background in painting. Bailey creates absurd and surreal nightmares which grow out of everyday life, focusing on personal crises; psychological and physical. Sometimes these are funny, as in upcoming short THE HISTORY OF NIPPLES. His works have played international festivals and featured on Nowness. He is currently developing feature scripts.

BEN GUTTERIDGE

Ben has worked as a Director in Commercials and TV Drama in various countries, for brands from PRADA to VOLVO and the BBC and Channel 4 – in both English and Spanish. He’s had shorts in renowned festivals as a Writer/Director and is developing Film and TV. He is a BAFTA LA Newcomer, Warner Bros Emerging Film Director Finalist and Shore Scripts Fund Winner. He’s represented by Independent Talent in the UK and Grandview in the US.

BEN MALLABY

Ben Mallaby is a BAFTA-nominated director of comedy shorts and commercials. Most recently he finished work on the second series of Climaxed for BBC3.

BEN TRICKLEBANK

Emmy-winner, Ben Tricklebank, prides himself on his interdisciplinary visual expertise and has a clear focus on intelligent and visually driven storytelling. From directing short-form content, commercials, interactive films, VR, installations, and digital experiences, his career has been focused on finding innovative ways to tell stories, engage and excite audiences.

BEN WATTS

As a writer, his feature scripts have placed highly in the Nicholl Fellowship, as well as Script Pipeline and Shore Scripts. He is currently in pre-production on his feature debut, IN CASE OF RAPTURE (featured on The Hit List  as one of the best specs of the year in 2016).

BILLY MULLANEY

A Writer/Director based in London. Self-taught in film making from a young age, Billy has written and directed many short films such as Absent (2013), The Break Up Of Dave (2015), Household (2017), and Father’s Day (2018) which won a BFI Future Film award for Best Drama. Billy believes that anyone can make a film using only what’s around them… as long as what you have around you is a camera… that helps.

BRENDAN BEACHMAN

Brendan write, directs and edits commercials for major brands and agencies. In 2015 his award winning short film “Intersection” played at major film festivals worldwide. He has since picked up feature film representation with Management 360 and is in the process of pitching several feature screenplays, which he also plans on directing.

 

CAREY WILLIAMS

Hailed by Filmmaker Magazine as one of 2018’s New Faces of Independent Film, Carey Williams is a director bringing a unique and visually striking cinematic eye to the exploration of the human condition. Carey’s most recent film EMERGENCY has received awards from festivals such as Sundance and SXSW. Most recently he joined NBC’s Emerging Director Fellowship Program and aspires to evoke thought, reflection, and positive change with his work.

CAROLINA GIAMMETTA

Award-winning Film, TV & Theatre writer/director – winning Best Short Film Awards across the world (I DON’T CARE, PAPA, MAN UP & NIGHT ARMOUR) Series of period short films CIVIL WAR FILMS won 2x CANNES TV & Media awards & RTS AWARD. TV includes CASUALTY, SHAKESPEARE & HATHWAY, VERA. Her feature film PIZZA FACE has received funding from BFI/CREATIVE ENGLAND to make a pilot HOLY CANNELLONI.

CARYS WATFORD

Carys Watford is an award-winning Writer/Director based in London (UK) passionate about making films packed with personality and heart. Her latest film ‘Space Girls’ has screened internationally at over 25 festivals & recently won the Grand Prize Children’s Live Action Short Award at the Oscar & BAFTA-qualifying Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival. Carys is a member of BAFTA Crew.

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CHLOË WICKS

Chloë is currently developing her debut feature with the BFI. Her short films have played at festivals including London Short Film Festival, Underwire, Prague, Short Waves. She is part of directing collective Cinesisters.

CHRISTIANA EBOHON-GREEN

Christiana is an award-winning drama director, selected for the BAFTA Elevate 2017 scheme. She has directed Call the Midwife, Father Brown, Holby City, Doctors, EastEnders, Hollyoaks and Emmerdale and recently, a Film London Calling Plus short called, Support and a Creative England supported short, Some Sweet Oblivious Antidote starring Sir Lenny Henry, Wunmi Mosaku, Colin Salmon, and Fatima Koroma. The latter was longlisted for the 2018 BAFTA Awards.

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CLAIRE FOWLER

Claire Fowler is a Welsh writer & director. Her short film, SALAM (our first Short Film Fund Winner) premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Recently she directed eight episodes of the BBC Wales/S4C digital series RESPECTABLE WOMEN before heading to Morocco to shadow director Alex Graves (GAME OF THRONES) on Ep. 5 of the final season of HOMELAND. She is currently developing several projects that combine her interests in social justice and fiction storytelling.

CLARE MACDONALD

Clare is a writer and director of comedy. She read Classics at Oxford and trained at NFTS. Her debut short was nominated Best Comedy, Best Writer, and awarded NFTS Star of Tomorrow at BAFTA. Recent work includes six-part web series Bleachers, a short starring Lou Sanders, a feature, winner of JETS, Berlinale ‘18, Bad Nun, finalist at Sundance X YouTube Episodic Lab, Table Read winner at PLTV18.

CORAL AMIGA

Coral’s work has screened in competition at BAFTA and Academy qualifying festivals around the world, including SXSW and Hollyshorts. Her recent horror short BUG which she co-created with Nicole Hartley was commissioned by 20th Digital Studio and released on Hulu as part of their Bite Size Halloween series. She currently has two feature films in development, a satirical horror supported by the Torino Film Lab and a family dramedy developed by Parkville Pictures and the BFI. She’s based in London and represented by Curtis Brown.

How to be a screenwriter. Screenplay Contests.

COURTNEY HOPE THEROND

Courtney Hope Thérond is an award-winning director whose films have played festivals such as BFI London, New Orleans, Outfest, St Louis, and Nashville. Her work has been featured on Short of the Week, RogerEbert.com, Fast Company, Filmmaker Magazine, and awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick. Courtney is a graduate of NYU and was a Cinereach Fellow. After four years in France, she now lives in Los Angeles.

DAN CASTELLA

In 2017 Dan directed the short film “To Wendy Who Kicked Me When I Said I Love You” supported by Film London. It has gone on to screen at over 15 festivals around the world. Dan started his career as a directors assistant working for Nicolas Roeg, Alex De La  Iglesia, and Armando Iannucci. In 2016, Dan directed his first pilot for BBC 3, “3 GUYS EAT”. He has just directed a series of comedy films for TSB and the Guardian in early 2018.

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DEVA PALMIER

Deva is shooting FINDING CLIVE, a Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinalist, starring Shirley Henderson, with Revolution Films in 2019. Her short films have won numerous awards, screening at many BAFTA & Oscar-qualifying festivals. Fishy, distributed by Shorts International, is now on iTunes. The Grab, her latest short film, will premiere at a top BAFTA qualifying festival – to be announced in May 2019.

DOROTHY XIAO

Award-winning narrative film director and writer Dorothy Xiao is based in Los Angeles and has a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA. A Chinese American daughter of immigrants, Dorothy brings an empathetic and thoughtful perspective to her work and aims to make people feel less alone in the world. Her short DIVE BAR is currently playing onboard Alaska Airlines, and her most recent short AS BITTER AS SWEET is starting its festival run. She is also a participant in the CBS Leadership Pipeline Challenge.

DREW BOYLAN

Drew is a Los Angeles-based director who has created numerous pieces for clients such as Fuse, MTV and Sony. In 2018, his short film STRAY is making the festival rounds, most recently at the Palm Springs International Shortfest.  He is currently developing a docu-series that will follow the journeys of several elite female wrestlers as they battle for a spot on the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team. 

ELENA WELLES

Elena Welles is an award winning writer/director who graduated from Columbia’s MFA program in Film. Her short, RUST IN PEACE, premiered on Short Of The Week after its festival run. Her latest spec, TRANQUILITY, she co-wrote with Matt Fennell and is being developed at De Line Pictures. Elena gets excited by stories about identity, otherness, conformity, self-built cages, dissociation, dark freedom, and of course anything featuring any sort of vehicle or spaceship. She spends most of her free time doting on her two children, Agnes and Peppercorn (both cats).

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ELHAM EHSAS

Elham is an actor and filmmaker born in Afghanistan but who immigrated to London at the age of 10. He started off his acting career in the critically acclaimed film The Kite Runner and many others before filmmaking. As writer/director, Elham makes films that portray ethnic stories that haven’t yet been told on screen. His first short, Our Kind of Love, was long-listed for a BAFTA in 2019 and within a month of release on Youtube has been viewed by almost half a million viewers and rising.

ELLA JONES

Ella moved through Film and TV development, into directing and script editing. Her short films have played at festivals including Phoenix, Triforce, LOCO, LA Comedy Fest, Portland, Cambridge and Encounters. Her latest short ‘Sarah Chong is Going to Kill Herself’ was made through Creative England’s ‘Funny Girls’ scheme. Ella’s first feature, a romantic comedy about polyamory, is in development with Film4.

ERICA ROSE

An award-winning Brooklyn-based director focusing on queer and female-driven stories. She co-created, executive produced, and directed episodes for the ROKU ORIGINAL SERIES, THE LESBIAN BAR PROJECT, which is currently streaming. Her work has screened at festivals internationally, including Academy Award-qualifying Tribeca Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Outfest, Flickerfest, the Florida Film Festival, and the BAFTA-qualifying Iris Prize Festival. She has directed national commercials and branded documentaries for clients including Jägermeister, TCS New York City Marathon, EasyKnock, Parents Mag, and Effen Vodka. She’s directed music videos for Sony Music and others.

FABIEN DUFILS

Fabien is from the self-taught school of filmmaking. Born and raised in Paris, he moved to New York with his family in 2008. His feature film One Buck won several Awards including the Manhattan Film Festival, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Texas, Sydney, Madrid, Calcutta, Brazil, Portugal, Italy and 34 more awards globally.

FUNKE ALAFIATAYO

Funkẹ is an award-winning filmmaker from Manchester UK who enjoys telling engaging culturally-relevant stories that challenge and inspire. Her films have screened globally at BAFTA & Oscar-qualifying festivals including the Pan African Film Festival and Underwire, with her most recent short film EVERYTHING’S FINE currently available on BBC online platforms. Funkẹ remains the first and only UK winner of the JCSI Young Creatives Award from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and is an alum of talent schemes including Momentum (We Are Parable/Channel4), Other Cinemas Film Collective and Kyoto Filmmakers Lab.

GARRET WALSH

Wrote, produced and directed “The Observer Effect” which began its festival run in August 2017 with its premiere at the prestigious LA Shorts International Film Festival. Since then it has gone on to win numerous awards and festival selections across the US and Europe.

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GARY DAVID ROBERTS

A writer/director based in London. His debut short film, THE PROBLEMLESS ANONYMOUS, screened at prestigious BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals around the world. It won the Méliès d’Argent prize for best European Fantasy Short Film and premiered online with Short of the Week. His second short film, MEMORIES LOST TO SLEEP, played at numerous festivals in Europe and was awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick.

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HARRY SHERRIFF

Harry Sherriff is a writer-director based in Manchester, UK. In 2014 Harry made his short film Hits Like A Girl through the inaugural iShorts scheme, and in 2016 he went on to make 12 shorts in 12 months. Harry has been awarded video of the day on VOTD.tv and was chosen as a One To Watch by HIIIVE. In 2018 Harry was selected to join the BFI Network BAFTA Crew.

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ILIANA SOSA

Iliana Sosa is a narrative fiction and documentary filmmaker based in Austin, TX. Her work has been supported by various organizations, including Sundance, the Ford Foundation, Firelight Media, the Logan Nonfiction Program, and Field of Vision. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2020. She is also a 2020 Women at Sundance Adobe Fellow.

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ISAAC TOMICZEK

Isaac is a writer-director working across film, TV, and theatre. Isaac has an original series in development with Urban Myth Films, is a member of the Stockroom writersroom, and has written episodes of the forthcoming series SPELLBOUND for Hulu. In 2022, Isaac’s script TWO BECOME ONE made The Brit List with twelve mentions, and his play VAR was named runner-up for the ATG Playwright’s Prize. He has previously directed for Channel 4’s Random Acts and the BBC’s Sparks series. He has been awarded a place on the Victor Adebodun Foundation mentorship scheme and will be mentored by Fiona Lamptey of Netflix.

ISABELLA WING-DAVEY

An award-winning director and NYU Grad Film alum, Isabella is a FI and NYFF Artist Academy Fellow and Sloan award recipient. Her short films have played at festivals around the world incl Cambridge, Leeds, LSFF (nom. Best woman director), RIIFF, Woodstock, IFFBoston, with casts incl. Hermione Norris, Chloë Sevigny, and Tim Blake Nelson, and producers incl. James Franco and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

JACQUELINE PEPALL

Jacqueline Pepall is an award-winning director for film and television. Her recent credits include the short film “Wishin’ & Hopin'” (BFI Flare), “The Hotel Affair” (London Short Film Festival), and the comedy pilot “Upstaged” (CBC Canada; Best Pilot, LA Comedy Festival). She is one of the Edinburgh TV Festival’s ‘Ones to Watch’ for 2018/2019. Her work celebrates new, underrepresented heroes.

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JACQUIE DRAGER

Jacquie is a London-based director and writer. Her recent short film about the intricacies of the gender pay gap, Just Ask For It, premiered at the 2018 Austin Film Festival. Jacquie grew up in Canada and worked professionally as a Civil Engineer on commercial construction projects. She then went on to complete her MBA and shifted her career to directing in 2016.

JENNA KANELL

Jenna Kanell delivered a TEDx Talk on the experience of filmmaking alongside her disabled brother, leading them to speak at institutions such as Harvard Medical School. Since then, she has written and directed numerous award-winning short films across a variety of genres, premiering at a number of academy-qualifying festivals. She’s assistant directed several features, written and produced features in the narrative and documentary space, and continues to work as a union actor and stunt performer. She identifies as queer, and remains proudest of teaching her cat to high five. 

JENNIFER SHERIDAN

An award-winning director and editor from London. Her short ‘Rocket’, won the grand prize at the Virgin Media Shorts competition in 2012 and since then she has directed six more award-winning shorts. Nominated for Best New Director at the D&AD Awards 2017; as one half of AFLOAT. She is currently in development with First Look Media (NY), on a digital series and shooting her debut horror feature next year.

JIANNA MAARTEN SAADA

Jianna Maarten Saada is a writer|director who’s done over sixteen shorts. Her film SIN CIELO (HBO), won Grand Jury prizes and audience awards at SIFF, Santa Barbara International, Palm Springs, IFF, and Champs Elyées, among others. Graduating from Columbia University’s writing program and AFI’s Directing MFA, Jianna is a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow and recipient of the Blue Mountain Center residency. Currently finishing up a new film for 2023 release.

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JOHN ADDIS

John Addis is a writer-director based in London. His music promo for Dead Man’s Suit was nominated for Best Newcomer at the UK Music Video Awards and his first short film STARCROSSED was also nominated for Best Newcomer at RUSHES Soho. His most recent short film LUCKY BREAK was nominated for the British Short Film award at the 2021 BAFTAS and he is currently in development on his debut feature.

JON DREVER

Jon is an Emmy nominated Director / Producer working mostly in comedy. He founded an Oscar-winning production company which he then sold to concentrate on comedy, like an idiot. His debut feature the superhero rom-com “SuperBob” was critically acclaimed and got 4 stars from Empire magazine, which he’ll probably have etched onto his gravestone. He works with the UK’s top comedy talent and is totally fine talking about himself in the 3rd person.

JONES

Jones is the filmmaking project of Michael Woodward and Max Barron, based in London and Mexico City. Their film and advertising work has received numerous awards and nominations worldwide, including European Young Director of the year at Cannes, a CICAE Art Cinema Award, Edinburgh’s Michael Powell Award, best TV drama series at Monte Carlo, and a BIFA. Their work has been screened at New York’s Rochester Museum of Fine Art, and their music videos have been viewed more than 50 million times online. Their latest piece, the satirical short film Three Meetings Of The Extraordinary Committee, was nominated for a BAFTA in 2022.

KATE SURINSKAYA

Kate Surinskaya is a bicoastal Russian-born award-winning actress, screenwriter, and director, who is passionate about telling heartfelt stories that move people. Her debut coming-of-age drama short PARALLELS screened at 25 festivals across the US and worldwide and received multiple awards including Best Drama Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cast. Kate’s background in acting and working as a 1st AD helps her to communicate with actors and draw out subtle, nuanced performances. She’s currently working on raising funds for her feature scripts, including a horror-thriller script DOMOVINA (Slavic: a hut of death) which has placed highly in multiple contests.

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KEITH RIVERS

Keith Rivers is an award-winning commercial director and screenwriter. Popularized through his work for Microsoft, Rivers inadvertently started Workhouse Creative, a production company that was acquired by Wild Gravity in 2018. Rivers’ screenplay, Flight Plans was shortlisted in the 2019 Austin Film Festival. He lives in Malibu, directs commercials, and writes comedy and drama for the screen.

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KEITH WILHELM KOPP

Keith Wilhelm Kopp is an award-winning film director and army veteran from Oregon based in Bath, UK. He is interested in films about transformation, trauma and difficult relationships. His short films have screened in film festivals globally and have screened on Sky TV in the UK. He is currently developing his first feature film with the BFI early development award.

LEONORA LONSDALE

Leonora is a Student Academy Award-nominated director whose short films have won a Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc. grant & screened at multiple BAFTA & Oscar-qualifying festivals. She was selected for 2016’s iFeatures with Ex Sanguis & is currently developing the film with Ardimages UK (God’s Own Country). She attended NYU Tisch’s graduate film program and is represented by Independent Talent.

LOLA BLANC

Lola Blanc is a writer, director, actor and musician whose journey into filmmaking began with music: first writing songs (including one for Britney) and then directing music videos, soon graduating into writing and directing narrative. She recently directed a short starring Kenny Lucas of the Lucas Brothers. Blanc’s directing work has been spotlighted by Funny or Die, Billboard, Popcrush, & more.

LOUIS PAXTON

Louis did an MA in Directing at the National Film and Television School. His latest short, SATAN HAS A BUSHY TAIL was completed as part of Film London’s shorts scheme and has picked up multiple best comedy awards during its festival run. Louis is currently in development with the Scottish Film Talent Network on THE INCOMER – this will be his first feature film as Writer/Director.

LUCY BRIDGER

Raised in the Midlands by a beauty therapist and civil servant, Lucy splits her time between personal projects and commercial work. Influenced by the likes of Andrea Arnold and Jill Soloway, Lucy wants to tell stories that feel real, intimate and absorbing with a focus on awkward transitional periods in people’s lives. Lucy’s first short ‘Mothering’ has already been selected by 4 BAFTA recognised festivals.

MATTHEW PALMER

A writer and director whose award-winning work has screened around the world. Most notably, he was featured in the 2017 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at Cannes.

MEGAN K. FOX

Megan K. Fox is the award-winning Writer/Director of short films including Cailín Álainn (2019), The Shift (2018), Calling Home (2017), and GIRL (2016). She is a graduate of the MA Directing programme at Met Film School London and studied Screenwriting at Trinity College Dublin. Her short films have secured funding from the Arts Council of Ireland, RTÉ, Film in Cork, o2 Think Big, and more; screening and winning awards at festivals including Cork International Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Iris Prize, Aesthetica, DIFF, Galway Fleadh and many more BAFTA and Academy affiliated events. Alongside her film work, Megan has extensive experience directing for TV with credits on RTÉ’s Fair City and BBC flagship drama Eastenders.

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MIKKO MAKELA

Named by IndieWire as one of 25 LGBTQ Filmmakers on the rise in 2019, Mikko is a Finnish-British writer-director based in London. His debut feature A MOMENT IN THE REEDS screened at over 80 festivals worldwide, premiering at the BFI London Film Festival, and was nominated for the BIFA Discovery Award. Mikko is passionate about stories that explore identity, with a particular focus on marginalized characters and individuals at odds with society.

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MOARA PASSONI

Moara Passoni is an award-winning filmmaker living in SP and NY. She was a writer-producer to the Academy Awards Nominee and Peabody winner, THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY (Netflix, Sundance). ÊXTASE, her first non-fiction feature, premiered at the CPH:DOX 2020. An alumnus of the L’atelier de Production La Fémis/Cannes, she is an MFA candidate on directing at Columbia University. Filmmaker Magazine named her one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” of 2020.

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NATHAN DEMING

Nathan Deming is a filmmaker from Wisconsin. He studied filmmaking at the London Film School where he made several shorts (Dog Days, Tongues) that were featured in the London Short Film Festival, the Edinburgh Film Festival, and Premiers Plans d’Angers. His first feature, Speaking in Tongues, premiered at the 2018 Austin Film Festival. His films are usually personal, focused on culture, religion and growing up in the Midwest.

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NICOLE POTT

Nicole Pott is a British writer and director creating films about freedom-seeking mavericks. She has directed award-winning short films including KALEIDOSCOPE (2019), POWERLESS (2020), and ASPHYXIATE (2020). Her short film ALICE (2021) was selected to be funded by Genera Films and she is in development for her debut feature, OBSESSION, which was selected to pitch at Filmarket Hub’s UK Online Pitchbox.

NOUR WAZZI

Tipped as a future star on BBC’s 2017 hotlist, JBA awardee Nour Wazzi has collaborated on award-winning features (e.g. OSCAR nominee ‘Waste Land’) and shorts – most recently directing on the BBC mini-series ‘The Break’, short thriller ‘Baby Mine,’ and sci-fi/thriller ‘Lab Rat’. She’s worked with talent incl. Emilia Clarke (‘Solo: A Star Wars story), and Maisie Williams (‘X-Men: The New Mutants’).

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OONAGH KEARNEY

Oonagh is a freelance writer and director represented by Jasmine Daines Pilgrem at Lisa Richards Creatives. Her most recent short film FIVE LETTERS TO THE STRANGER WHO WILL DISSECT MY BRAIN won Best Irish Short Film at the 2019 Dublin International Film Festival. Oonagh’s feature screenplay SNOW ON BEARA was selected for the Athena IRIS Screenplay Lab in NYC and BBC Drama Writers Room and is in development with Screen Ireland.

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PAT SANTANA

Patricia is a writer, director, and producer with a love of striking visuals and game-changing narratives. Originally from Barcelona, Patricia now works in LA. Her narrative work has been selected at renowned festivals like Cinequest and Hollyshorts. Her short film, “Streetlights”, premiered at the Oscar-Qualifying LA Shorts Fest. She is now in development for her first feature, Mal Aire, based on the short film she shot with Werner Herzog whilst in the jungle of Peru.

PAUL HOLBROOK

Bristol/UK based working-class director who writes character-driven genre cinema with a grounded, real-world feel. Paul has had films selected for Bafta-Qualifying ASFF and LSFF as well as winning several awards across the globe including ‘Best UK Short’ at MANIFF and ‘Best Film’ at CFF. Paul was part of Creative England’s Talent Module 2016 and BaftaXcrew 2018.

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PAUL KOWALSKI

Paul is a British-Polish filmmaker based in LA. His feature Paper Tiger won audience and jury prizes at Austin Film Festival 2020, was sold by Gersh and is distributed by Gravitas Ventures. He is a Brown University and AFI Conservatory grad, BAFTA Newcomer, and was recently named among AFF’s 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Paul’s films center around identity, exile, obsession, and dark psychologies.

PHUMI MORARE

Phumi Morare is a writer/director from South Africa who is passionate about redeeming the African and feminine identity in cinema. Her short film Lakutshon’ Ilanga (When The Sun Sets) was shortlisted for the 94th Academy Awards, won an NAACP Image Award, and was acquired by WarnerMedia OneFifty. She is a Tribeca Chanel Through Her Lens Women’s Filmmaker Program alumnus and a Film Independent Screenwriting Lab Fellow. She completed her MFA in Film Directing at Chapman University and has a background in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and management consulting at McKinsey & Company.

PRANO BAILEY-BOND

Named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow, Prano’s strong body of shorts and music videos invoke imaginative worlds, fusing a dark vocabulary with eerie allure. Her short NASTY screened at over 100 festivals, premiering at BFI London Film Festival. She is developing her debut feature with the BFI, Film Cymru Wales, and Creative England. Prano is represented as a writer/director by Casarotto.

PRATYUSHA GUPTA

Born in India, Pratyusha now lives and works in London. Her most recent short ‘Oysters’ commissioned by Film London and BFI NET.work was selected for the East End and Underwire Film Festivals in 2017. Her short ‘Safar’ first showed at Aesthetica and won the audience award for best short film at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. She is currently developing her first feature as a writer-director.

RICHA RUDOLA

An NYC-based statistician-turned-filmmaker, Richa’s first short film “Taaza Khoon” (Fresh Blood) has won 7 awards across 25 film festivals. Her scripts have been shortlisted for programs such as ScreenCraft Film Fund, Shore Scripts Film Fund, and Nashville Film Festival’s Pitch. She’s currently working on her second short film “The Seal”.

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ROB LAMBERT

Writer/Director Rob Lambert has always been fascinated by case studies on human behavior. He started off working in film pre-production at Paramount Pictures before launching LA-based production company Rimrock Pictures. After receiving the Shore Scripts 2016 TV Pilot Grand Prize for Los Niños Sicarios, Rob sold and developed the show for a year with Crackle before adapting it to a feature screenplay. His first feature film CUCK will be getting a theatrical run in October 2019.

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RUTH PICKETT

An Emmy-nominated Writer/Director, with a particular affinity for dark or dramatic comedy, Ruth’s short films, and music videos have played at festivals including LOCO, the UK’s biggest comedy film festival, and Bafta-affiliated Aesthetica and Underwire. Her feature film The Opposite of Everything was awarded development funding via Film London’s Microwave scheme and she is a member of Cinesisters.

SAM & TOM McKEITH

Sam and Tom McKeith are Sydney-based directors. Their first feature, Beast starred Garret Dillahunt and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it was nominated for the DropBox award for a best first feature. Their short films have played at Berlin, Telluride and Busan amongst other festivals. They are interested in exploring the human frailties of characters striving for something better in their lives. Their work often has a social focus. 

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SAM BARON

Recently wrote and directed the short film The Orgy starring Amit Shah (Crashing) & Alexandra Roach (Black Mirror), which received funding from the Shore Scripts Film Fund. Sam’s previous comedy short films have over 6 million hits online, received Vimeo Staff Picks, and been featured on Short Of The Week. Sam is developing his feature The Science Of Love And Laughter with the BFI. The script won the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship award.

SAM DAWE

Sam is a writer-director based in the UK working mostly in short film. Sam fuses high-concept genre elements with an authentic social realist aesthetic. His work has been shown at several BAFTA-affiliated festivals and been awarded Best Film at MANIFF and CFF in 2018. Sam also works in wildlife documentary television.

SAVVAS STAVROU

A Cypriot filmmaker based in London. His narrative short films have screened internationally at festivals and as a music video director his work has been picked up by platforms such as Nowness. Savvas’ latest feature script was one of 8 projects to be selected for the Sundance Mediterranean Filmmakers Lab in 2018. 

SERGE KUSHNIER

A New York-based filmmaker. Serge has been a screenwriter and director for well over a decade. His recent feature film The Idea Of Manhood took home best screenplay and best picture at The Phoenix Film Festival. Serge’s storytelling is rooted in what he sees it means to be human and imperfect.

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SHAHIR DAUD

Film-maker Shahir Daud is originally from New Zealand and is now based in NYC. Shahir’s narrative short attracted a haul of awards including wins at the St Tropez International Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival and the New York Short Fest. Shahir is also the co-host of “The Only Podcast About Movies.”

STÉPHANIE JOALLAND

Originally from France, Stéphanie is a London-based writer-director with a love of elevated genre films. Her sci-fi debut feature film THE QUIET HOUR starred Dakota Blue Richards, premiered on Sky Cinema in the UK and was released on Netflix. Her next projects as a director have received support from BiFan’s NAFF Project Market, Sofia Meetings, Film London Production Finance Market, European Genre Forum, Frontières International Co-Production Market, and the BFI. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents and a member of Directors UK. She is represented by Zero Gravity Management in the U.S.

STEPHANIE ZARI

An award winning, BAFTA shortlisted filmmaker currently in development on her debut feature, a psychological horror, IN OUR BLOOD. The screenplay was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Shore Scripts feature competition and was awarded Creative England/BFI Emerging Talent Development Funds and chosen for the 2018 BAFTA X Crew.

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STEVE HUGHES

Steve is an award-winning UK-based filmmaker who has directed episodes of Doctor Who (BBC), Creeped Out (Netflix), Wolfblood (CBBC) and Land Girls (BBC), amongst many others. He is the lead director on the new CW sci-fi drama Pandora and directed 2nd unit on Killing Eve (BBC America) and Strike Back (Cinemax). He is also a huge film geek and possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of film scores.

THALES CORRÊA

Thales Corrêa is a Latin-American writer/director dedicated to elevating Latinx & LGBTQ+ voices and driving social progress through storytelling. His recent short series POLY PEOPLE was considered for an Emmy, and his feature, BATHROOM STALLS & PARKING LOTS has won audience awards in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Got home video and international distribution by Breaking Glass Pictures. Currently streaming on Peacock. His short films, PARENTS and MILVIO likewise enjoyed international recognition, including at the prestigious Cannes Short Film Showcase. Corrêa honed his craft at UCLA and has participated in two Sundance Collab workshops, solidifying his status as an emerging talent to watch.

TOBIAS TOBBELL

Tobias is a London-based director interested in smart thriller and sci-fi projects. Following a decade shooting shorts and corporates he produced the feature dark-comedy, ‘The Drummond Will’, picking up 8 Best Feature awards. Tobias’ own debut feature, ‘Confine’, a hostage thriller starring Daisy Lowe and Alfie Allen, premiered at Raindance before being released in UK and USA.

Tom Elkins

Tom started his career in production before moving into feature editing. He’s edited Annabelle (New Line), Inferno (directed by Ron Howard), Flatliner’s (Sony), The Prodigy (MGM), and Child’s Play. Editing 2009’s thriller, The Haunting in Connecticut, gave Tom the opportunity to make his directorial debut, directing the sequel which was released by Lionsgate. 

 

TRE MANCHESTER

Tre Manchester is an award-winning film producer and director. He holds several wins and nominations in both national and international festivals including three “Best Feature” film awards, a “Best Picture” nomination from the Houston Film Critics Society, and a “Best Original Screenplay” award for his work on his debut feature drama, The Things We’ve Seen.

How to become a screenwriter. Screenplay Contests.

VICTORIA RIVERA

Victoria Rivera is a New York-based Colombian writer/director, influenced by the work of Lucrecia Martel and Lynne Ramsey. She’s interested in raw, character-driven stories that explore fear and growth, however big or small. Victoria’s award-winning short film Night Swim screened at festivals such as Tribeca and Telluride Film Festival, and she’s currently developing her first feature, Malpelo with the support of Film Independent, Sundance Institute, and IFP Project Forum. In 2020 she was named “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine.

WADE JACKSON

Wade Jackson is a British director living on an island in the Pacific Northwest. Credits include campaigns for BBC, Audi, and The Nature Conservancy. Founder of Manor House Films and recipient of PDN’s Annual Great Outdoor Content and SIFF Jury Prize. His current feature, BREAKER, debuts at festivals in 2019.

WILL WEBB

Will’s short films have played at festivals including Aesthetica, London Short Film Festival and PÖFF Shorts. He was awarded the BFI Future Film Award for Fiction in 2015. He’s currently working on a new short, PERSONAL EFFECTS, and is now drafting his first feature.

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