Sharp Shorts Year 2
Year: 2023
Synopsis: A recently widowed father can’t stop his baby from crying so he can pray. What is his relationship with his faith now that the person he converted for is gone, and can he raise his daughter alone?
FILM CREW:
Writer / Director: Miranda Stern
Producer: Marii Stoltsen
Production Manager: Sam BarberExecutive Producers: Sarah Drummond, Paul SngDOP: Andrew O’ConnorEditor: Manuela LupiniSound Design: William AikmanComposer: Umberto Gaudino
1st AD: Rory Power-Gibb
Script Supervisor: Diana Aden
Location Manager: Billie Owens
Gaffer: Stewart Torley
Production Design: Gail Bowman
Costume Design: Denise Coombes
Hair & Makeup: Fiona Park
Casting Director: Anna Dawson
Cast: Ryan Hunter, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Ellie Haddington, Gail Watson, Brae Opoku-Agyema, Reign Okungbowa, Nieve Torrance
Photo credit: Chris McCluskie
Miranda was one of Scottish Documentary Institute’s New Voices of 2020. Her first zero budget short drama Everybody’s Business (writer / director) came second place at the 16 DAYS 16 FILMS festival and was screened at the Channel 4 cinema, receiving a bursary and a special mention from distributors Modern Films (Wildfire, Manifesto, I Am Cliché, UTØYA, Skate Kitchen etc.). Her short documentary Clean – a personal documentary about recovery from a heroin addiction – was selected by Screen Scotland and Scottish Documentary Institute for the Bridging the Gap short film fund and recently premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Marii is a multi-disciplinary producer with over 10 years of experience across advertising, music video, corporate, broadcast and short form narrative production. She worked as an AP for CBeebies’ series Down on the Farm before settling as a producer with LS Productions. For the past five years she has worked with some of the biggest brands, directors and talent from the UK and abroad.
Marii has also directed multiple zero-budget short films, one of which was selected for the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2020. Originally from Estonia, Marii lived in Southeast Asia and North America, before settling in Scotland. A keen observer of the world and people, she is drawn to stories that give an insight into cultures, traditions and beliefs different from what she was raised with.
