South West Screen Unveils 2010 Digital Shorts Filmmakers

by SWS on 07-Jul-10 10:57

South West Screen, the development agency for creative media in the South West, has commissioned a broad slate of both new and emerging talent from across the region to make this year’s round of Digital Shorts films.

A director tipped as one of Screen International’s ‘Stars of Tomorrow’, a documentary maker making his fiction debut and a returning BAFTA winner, have all been selected to make short films of up to 12 minutes’ duration under the UK Film Council’s scheme, which awards Lottery money to filmmakers across the country.

This year South West Screen has boosted the scheme’s development credentials by enlisting the services of Producer, Nicole Cauverien, whose credits include productions for ITV Productions, Ecosse Films, Clerkenwell Film and TV, Renaissance Films, and the BBC. She is working with the commissioned filmmaking teams, providing a fresh injection of development support, which, she says is already paying off:  “Making a ten minute film, a kind of mini-movie, affords a rare opportunity for a film-maker to hone his or her storytelling skills in a way shorter shorts don't. It's been great to see the teams' growing confidence in their ability to shape and refine scripts during the development period.”

Dan Gitsham’s Ella is a short horror film about a father and daughter's relationship, which gets pushed to the limit in a terrifying game of hide and seek. Recently nominated by Screen International as one of their ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ (of which previous nominees include Bristol-based Felix Massie, whose digital short The Surprise Demise of Francis Cooper’s Mother screened at numerous festivals worldwide), Dan’s work has largely been self-funded shorts of six minutes or less and he says being selected for this scheme has given him the opportunity to step up to the next level of filmmaking:

“It's great to be selected and have the opportunity to work with a budget and a more ambitious script. The development process has been really encouraging giving us the confidence to move into production.”

Little White Lies marks Stuart Napier’s move from documentary to fiction. The multi-award winning director’s credits include Titter Ye Not: The Real Mr Howerd and Cary Comes Home, both for ITV. For his Digital Shorts film, which is written by successful Bristol playwright, Jenny Davis, he has opted to tell the story of two mixed race brothers and the dramatic events that unfold after meeting their mother’s new boyfriend.

Rachel Tillotson directed the 2002 BAFTA-winning television drama, Offside, and was nominated for a BAFTA for her 1999 short film, Safer. She teams up with producer Jayne Chard for I’ll Tell You to provide Digital Shorts’ only all female team. Her film uses the story of a new-born baby and memories of the past to examine the meaning of love and conflict.

Finally, Small Talk -written by Dom Rowe, Produced by Sam Alani and Directed by Matt Grinter, explores the power and fragility of communication through the story of nine year-old mute, Eva and her crippled and reclusive father, John, who live at the top of a block of flats. 

Dom Rowe, who is also one of the writers selected to take part in the BBC-backed writers’ workshop, South West Voices, says:

“The Digital Shorts initiative is hugely important for budding filmmakers. This sort of support is often the difference between getting something finished or not, and it is difficult to prove your worth without results. Aside from the financial benefit, the ongoing dramaturgy and feedback is invaluable and helps keep you marching on, even if you’re not yet steady on your feet. There are some really interesting things happening creatively in Bristol and the South West at the moment, and to be involved in Digital Shorts is fantastic.” 

2010 marks the last year of the Digital Shorts scheme, which has been running since 2001 as the UK Film Council reviews its funding programmes. Previous award winners include Esther May Campbell, who went on to win a  BAFTA in 2009 for her short film, September, and Emma Lazenby, whose Mother of Many was one of 2009’s crop of Digital Shorts made under the 4mations scheme with C4 and which went on to win the BAFTA for best short animation in February of this year.

Tagged:Digital Shorts 2010, South West Screen, SWS Press Release