Sharp Shorts Year 1
Running Time: 16mins
Year: 2021
Synopsis: After a night of intoxication, a hungover and hysterical Nick wakes up next to his boyfriend Charlie and must conceal him from his own homophobic and dysfunctional family.
FILM CREW:
Director: Sean Lìonadh
Writer: Sean Lìonadh
Producers: Alfredo Covelli, Ross McKenzie
Executive Producers: Gillian Berrie, Tiernan Kelly, Rebecca Thompson, Mar Vila Barcelo, Alice Whittemore
Cinematographer: Andrew O’ Connor
Editor: Sean Lìonadh
Production Designer: Tomas Palmer
Sound Designer: Zander Mavor
Music: Eloise Kretschmer
Principal Cast:Ruaridh Mollica, Joshua Griffin, Neshla Caplan, Kevin O’ Loughlin, Oliver Wright, Jane McCarry
FESTIVALS:
Interfilm International Short Film Festival November 2022
This Is England November 2022
Norwich Film Festival November 2022
Uppsala International Short Film Festival October 2022
Bolton International Film Festival October 2022
International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino! October 2022
Out On Film: Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival September 2022
Sidewalk Film Festival August 2022
Edinburgh International Film Festival August 2022
HollyShorts Film Festival August 2022
Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival August 2022
Durban International Film Festival July 2022
Galway Film Fleadh July 2022
Scottish Mental Health Art Festival May 2022
SXSW March 2022
Glasgow Short Film Festival March 2022
BFI Flare February 2022
NOTABLE AWARD WINS:
BAFTA Scotland 2022 – Best Short Film
BIFA 2022 – Best British Short Film
REVIEWS
“One of the Most Intriguing – If Not the Most Intriguing – in Recent Memory” The Word
“I find myself moved to tears… In ratio and balance it is a thing perfect.” Eye For Film
Sean Lìonadh is a poet, writer, filmmaker and musician from Glasgow, known for his visual poem Time for Love which reached millions of people online, won a 2019 Royal Television Society talk award and was translated into five languages. It also inspired a Ted and led to the publication of his first poetry collection, Not Normal Anymore. His short film Too Rough premiered at SXSW 2022, since entering over 60 festivals and winning 28 awards, including a BAFTA Scotland and British Independent Film Award. Sean worked with the Royal Opera House as the librettist on modern opera Honest Skin, live next season. His band, LÌONADH, released their debut EP, I Cannot Go On Reaching, EP in October 2022.
With producers Alfredo Covelli and Ross McKenzie, Sean is developing his first feature film, Nostophobia, a psychological horror about a gay relationship. Sean took part in Berlinale Talents 2020, and BBC Writer’s Room Scottish Voices 2020. His poems are studied as part of the English curriculum in international schools. Aside from making, Sean runs poetry workshops with young people, and is keen to work closely with the LGBTQ+ community within schools, community groups and institutions.
Born in Rome in 1979, Alfredo is an Italian film producer, director, screenwriter, teacher and novelist. After college he started working as an assistant director in Italian feature films and TV series. In 2005 he won the main Italian screenwriting contest (Premio Solinas) and started writing feature films and TV series. In 2012 he created his production company, Meproducodasolo, and started producing short and feature films directed by first- or second-time directors, selected by main international film festivals such Venice, Cannes, Rome and BFI London, distributed in theatres and broadcasted on TV. He works as script consultant in India and Scotland. He’s teacher of screenwriting at the Italian National Film Institute (CSC, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia).
Ross McKenzie is a BAFTA and BIFA nominated producer. He established Devil May Care Entertainment in 2019 to produce films and television drama series for the international market. He recently produced the short film Too Rough by Sean Lionadh, which premiered at Flickerfest in Australia and SxSW. To date the film has been selected for 58 film festivals and won 19 awards, becoming Academy Award qualifying after winning Best Queer Short at the Provincetown Film Festival. His most recent production is the animation Burry Man, which premiered at EIFF and was nominated for the McLaren Award for Best British Animation in Summer 2022. Devil May Care has a number of feature film and TV projects in development with support from Screen Scotland and BFI Network.
For Screen Scotland, Ross worked across a range of feature films, feature documentaries and television series as Executive Producer including Dorte Bengtson’s animated feature film Vitello in a co-production with Zentropa; Annabel Jankel’s Tell It To The Bees, Neasa Hardiman’s Sea Fever, Scott Graham’s Run; and Ben Sharrock’s BAFTA and BIFA nominated refugee drama Limbo. He also oversaw strategic support for Scotland’s animation sector and two of Scotland’s leading talent development initiatives: the Scottish Film Talent Network (SFTN) and the Bellrock Screenwriting Workshops.
In 2011 Ross produced Michael Pearce’s BAFTA and BIFA nominated short film Rite. He has worked for companies including BFI, Paramount and Film London. He teaches at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) and is a Major Project Tutor on Edinburgh Napier University’s MA Screenwriting programme. He is a graduate of Spain’s Media Business School.
Sharp Shorts Year 1
Running Time: 17mins
Year: 2021
Synopsis: Hannah is a withdrawn, awkward teenager who has been asked to leave school for not participating. Her mother has set her up with a trial shift at a beauty salon and pleads with her to do her best and Hannah, knowing this is her only option to turn her life around, reluctantly agrees.
FILM CREW:
Director: Leyla Coll-O’Reilly
Producer: Laura McBride
Exec Producer: Gillian Berry, Tiernan Kelly, Rebecca Thompson, Mar Vila Barcelo, Alice Whittmore
Writer: Leyla Coll-O’Reilly
DOP: Lorena Pages
Editor: Jack Goessens
Sound Design: Richy Carey
Composer: Richy Carey
Production Design: Iveta Smidte
Costume Design: Elle Wilson
Hair & Makeup: Kat Morgan
Cast: Mollie Milne, Michelle Donnelly, Sharon Young
Photo credit: Tiu Makkonen
FESTIVALS:
Interfilm International Short Film Festival November 2022
BFI London Film Festival October 2022
Bolton International Film Festival October 2022
Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival August 2022
Leyla Josephine is an artist originally from Glasgow, now residing in Prestwick. She is a performance poet, theatre maker, screenwriter, facilitator and project leader.
Her solo shows Hopeless and Daddy Drag have taken the UK by storm with sold out shows across the country. Hopeless was runner up for Saboteur’s Best Spoken Word Show 2018. Daddy Drag won the Autopsy Award 2019 which celebrates artists making ground-breaking work in Scotland. It was also shortlisted for Filipa Braganca Award 2019, which honours solo female artists creating important work at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Leyla’s short film Groom was funded by Short Circuit and BFI Network and produced by Lothian Films. She was mentored by Lynne Ramsay and Jennifer Reeder through the process. Groom has played at BIFA, BAFTA and Academy qualifying festivals including Edinburgh International Film Festival, Bolton Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Glasgow Short Film Festival where it won Attic Pitch Award. Leyla won First Prize for Direction at Academy qualifying Rhode Island Flickers Fest. Groom was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA 2022.
Leyla has been named one of Screen International’s Rising Star Scotland 2022. She recently took part in Edinburgh International Film Festival Talent Lab and is part of the BAFTA Connect.
Lothian Films is an Edinburgh based independent Film and TV production company founded by Laura McBride, which has a focus on championing diverse voices and women writers and directors from both Scotland and further afield.
Laura has produced award winning short films, including recently completed Scuzz, written and directed by Alia Ghafar which was commissioned by BFI Network. Laura and Alia are currently developing Yellow Moon – Alia’s first feature which is an adaptation of the play by acclaimed Scottish playwright, David Greig.
Laura has over 7 years’ experience working within the Scottish Film and HETV industry across development, production, exhibition and education. She is currently P/T Head of Development at Compact Pictures working with John McKay, has worked in-house at Synchronicity Films as assistant to Claire Mundell, has managed events at Edinburgh International Film Festival and has production department credits on The Cry (BBC One), Only You’ (The Bureau), Get Duked! (Sigma) and Vigil (World Productions).
Sharp Shorts Year 1
Running Time: 14mins
Year: 2021
Synopsis: When a Palestinian woman claims asylum in the UK, she faces the indifference of British bureaucracy and the disillusionment of an asylum officer on the verge of leaving the country for good.
FILM CREW:
Director: Razan Madhoon
Producer: David Jack, Paul Welsh
Writer: Razan Madhoon
DOP: Julian Schwanitz
Editor: Martin Allison
Sound Design: William Aikman
Production Design: Andy Drummond
Costume Design: Kirstin Rodger
Hair & Makeup: Kat Morgan
Cast: Joelle Zaghbour, Joanna Kaczynska, Brian Pettifer
Photo credit: Kevin J. Thomson
FESTIVALS:
Exit 6 September 2022
Glasgow Short Film Festival March 2022
British Shorts January 2022
Razan is a Palestinian writer/director based in Scotland. She holds an MA in Film Directing from the UK. She has written/directed the short film, Go Home, supported by Short Circuit programme, funded by Screen Scotland and BFI. Go Home screened at 20 different festivals in 6 countries including LSFF, GSFF, British Shorts, and others.
In 2019, her feature screenplay The Good Spirit got selected for development at BellRock Screenwriting Residency funded by Creative Scotland and she took part in BellRock directing lab, led by Guyla Gazdag, the head of Sundance directors lab. Her feature script Flowers was shortlisted for Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab the same year.
In 2021, she took part in Edinburgh International Film Festival EIFF talent lab, and BFI NETWORK x Crew mentoring programme 2021, mentored by the director Dawn Shadforth. This year, she started training for BBC Studios as a TV director on River City.
Sharp Shorts Year 1
Running Time: 16mins
Year: 2022
Synopsis: A young Taiwanese woman on the run finds friendship and shelter in the home of a lonely grief-ridden widower.
FILM CREW:
Director: Paul Sng
Producer: Johanna Blair
Screenwriter: Maisie Chan
DOP: David Lee
Editor: Christopher Chow
Sound Design: Emma Butt
Composer: Sarah Playford
Costume Design: Siam Colvine
Hair & Makeup: Jak Morgan
VFX: Envy
Casting: Claire Catterall
Cast: Joseph Marcell, Shin-Fei Chen, Paul Donnelly, Andrew John Tait
Photo credit: Chris McCluskie
Paul Sng is a bi-racial British Chinese filmmaker based in Edinburgh, Scotland whose work focuses on people who challenge the status quo. His films have been broadcast on television and screened internationally, and his feature documentary credits include Dispossession, Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (winner of BIFA 2021 Best Documentary, BIFA 2021 Raindance Discovery Award) and Tish (Sheffield DocFest 2023 Opening Gala film). He has directed two short drama films, Folding (featuring Joseph Marcell and Shin-Fei Chen) and Aska (featuring Jenny Ryan and Kate Dickie). He is a 2022/23 BAFTA Breakthrough Artist.
Maisie Chan is a multi-award-winning children’s author, best known for her debut novel Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths, which was also shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2022 and the Diverse Book Award 2022. Her latest novel is Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu. She runs Bubble Tea Writers Network which was set up to support and encourage writers of East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) descent in the U.K.
She won the BBC Writersroom competition BBC Bites in 2008 for Lychees and Bingoballs and was shortlisted for Digishorts with B3 Media and Screen West Midlands for her short Aston Manna. More recently, she completed Write4Film with Scottish Film Talent Network in 2020, was also a BEATS Screenwriting fellow that same year, her mentor was Emma Reeves. Maisie completed the Write for Animation Screenskills course with Myles Mcleod which led to her training with Magic Light Pictures to write on Pip and Posy, of which she wrote an episode for season two. Folding (BFI/Screen Scotland)is her first short to be produced. She is currently working on an idea for a TV drama. She lives in Glasgow.
Sharp Shorts Year 1
Running Time: 15mins
Year: 2021
Synopsis: Long after her death, a lonely widow’s home is infested by the mouldy manifestation of her dead daughter’s spirit, but when her son returns from university and confronts her emotional entombment and festering guilt she’s forced to choose between the living and the dead.
FILM CREW:
Director: Maryam Hamidi
Producer: Alysia Maciejowska
Writer: Maryam Hamidi
DOP: Laura Dinnett
Editor: Megan Green
Sound Design: Heather Andrews
Composer: Mariam Rezaei
Production Design: Grace Edge
Costume Design: Denise Coombes
Hair & Makeup: Michelle Watson
VFX: Scott McCartney
Cast: Nathalie Armin, Armin Karima, Stella Sorensen, Daniel Hoseini
Photo credit: Kevin J. Thomson
FESTIVALS:
Girls In Film November 2022
Exit 6 September 2022
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival April 2022
Poppy Jasper International Film Festival April 2022
Glasgow Short Film Festival March 2022
Underwire March 2022
Maryam was born in Iran and moved to the UK as a young child during the Iran-Iraq war. She now lives in Glasgow and is a mother to two young children. This informs her writing practice and the kind of stories she wants to tell.
For TV she is currently part of the writing team for series 2 of Vigil (World Productions) and she has a number of originals in development including, Gonaah (Sin) with World Productions and a comedy drama Nose with Objective Fiction.
Maryam has written and directed two short films – BFI Network funded supernatural drama Bahar (15’, 2021 Moquette films) and SFTN funded Bloody Love (7’, 2017 Clan Productions), and she was selected for Edinburgh International Film Festival’s Talent Lab 2022.
As a playwright her work includes Moonset (Citizens Theatre, 2023) which is a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2023 and The Words (A Play, a Pie and a Pint). She has previously been a runner up for the Amnesty: Freedom of Expression Award and a recipient of the Playwright’s Studio Scotland New Playwright’s Award.
Moquette Films is the independent production company established by Alysia Maciejowska. Passionate about good drama, exciting and untold stories, their intention is to facilitate more diversity on screen and behind the camera, to break down barriers, cross borders and inspire tolerance, understanding and partnership, and most of all to make damn good films.
Working with established and emerging writers and directors from around the UK, they are concentrating on their growing slate of shorts, feature, narrative TV series. Their aim is to develop Moquette Films into a reputable, world-class content producer of quality, honest, human and impactful stories.
With over 15 years industry experience in drama and commercials, and having attended co-production markets including Cinemart (Rotterdam) and IFP Week (New York), their aim is to help co-produce exciting international projects and help bring more productions to Scotland.
Sharp Shorts Year 1
Running Time: 12mins
Year: 2021
Synopsis: When Aisha discovers that the birthday party her twin sister Fatima is having is a cover for an initiation ceremony, she must decide whether to intervene and break the vicious cycle or respect the sacred family tradition.
FILM CREW:
Director: Victoria Thomas
Producer: Victoria Thomas
Executive Producer: Deva Smith
Screenwriter: Victoria Thomas
DOP: Tania Freimuth
Editor: Roberta Bononi
Sound Design: Heather Andrews
Composer: Roma Yagnik
Production Design: Siam Colvin
Costume Design: Robert Macfarlane
Hair & Makeup: Jak Morgan
Casting: Hannah Marie Williams, Elisa Musson
Cast: Nahel Tzegai, Yusra Warsama, Shukri Hasan, Ellen Thomas, Fatou Clifford Samuels, Reem Kidane, Rakiya Hassan, Cynthia Gentle
Photo credit: Matthew Towers
Victoria Thomas joined London Film School as the Course Leader of the MA International Film Business Programme in 2019 after a couple of years as an independent producer, specialising in international co-productions and visiting lecturer at London Film School, National Film and Television School, Southbank University, University of Greenwich and London Film Academy.
In addition to her role at London Film School, Victoria is the founder of Scotland’s first black owned film and TV production company Republic Of Story (formerly Polkadot Factory), through which she has co-produced both shorts, and indie features, across fiction, documentary, and animation. She continues to oversee an active development slate that has received funding from the BBC, Screen Scotland and BFI Network among others, alongside freelancing as a Producer/Director/Screenwriter.
Films she has produced have screened at Oscar/BAFTA qualifying film festivals and broadcast on TV internationally, receiving awards and nominations from a variety of organisations including BAFTA Scotland. Original projects on her development slate have been selected for major curated markets including IFP Week, Cannes Producers Network, Fin (formerly Strategic) Partners, Apulia Film Forum and Film London’s Production Finance Market.
As a screenwriter, her original screenplays have been shortlisted for the Oscars Nicholls Fellowship, Sundance Screenwriters lab and in 2020, one of her screenplays won the Meryl Streep/Nicole Kidman/Oprah Winfrey backed The Writers Lab NYC. She is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Sheffield Doc Fest’s Future Producer School, Glasgow Film Festivals Producer Accelerator Lab, Filmonomics, Edinburgh Talent Lab, Emerging Producers, EAVE and the UK’s National Film & Television School.
She serves on several film juries for a variety of awards and festivals including Sunny Side Of The Doc, Durban International Film Festival, the BIFA’s and sits on the advisory board of Film Africa. She regularly moderates panels and discussions at major international film festivals. She is a voting member of BAFTA Scotland and BAFTA UK.
Prior to embarking on a career in the film industry, she trained as a lawyer and worked as a journalist and publisher.
