Back in July, Lifetime’s “Broad Focus” initiative in partnership with Women in Film & TV UK, kicked off with a short film competition celebrating women behind the camera, and the winners of the shorts competition have just been announced.
The competition attracted almost 200 entries from UK-based filmmakers. The winners were selected by a judging panel comprised of Women in Film & TV UK (WFTV UK) CEO Kate Kinninmont; WFTV UK Chair and producer Cassandra Siggsgard; actor and producer Michelle Collins; director Destiny Ekaragha; and General Manager UK at A+E Networks, Heather Jones.
“It has been an absolute pleasure judging the high caliber entries to Lifetime’s short film competition and I’m delighted to announce the seven outstanding films,” said Jones in a statement. “We are very proud to champion the work of so many talented UK female filmmakers.”
The winning short films will be presented at a screening at London’s Curzon Soho on November 22 where judges will announce the grand prize winner of the competition. The winner will be awarded £10,000 (about $12,400)in prize money. The other six filmmakers will receive £1,000 (about $1,200) each. All seven films will also be broadcast on Lifetime (Sky, Virgin, BT, TalkTalk) on November 30, available on demand on Curzon Home Cinema beginning November 23, and showcased on www.Lifetimetv.co.uk.
Check out the list of winners below, courtesy of Lifetime. We’ll be on the lookout for these ladies in their future filmmaking endeavors.
Adara Todd- “Twiddly Things”
Adara Todd was born in London in 1992. She has lived in Norway and Spain, and now currently resides in Reading, England. Adara recently graduated from Middlesex University where she studied Animation. During her third year at university she won an award for a TV Licensing competition run by Red Bee Media. “Twiddly Things” is Adara’s graduation film and was inspired by her time working in a dementia care home.
Charlotte Regan- “Standby”
Charlotte is a 22 year-old London-born filmmaker who started off creating rap videos for local artists when she was 15. Since then she has created over 200 music promos and has worked with artists of all genres, from Dot Rotten to Keaton Henson. She recently took her first step into scripted content with short film “Standby,” which received its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Charlotte is currently in pre-production for her short film “Fry Up.”
Lauren Morton- “3,217”
A British world record holder, adventurer, and filmmaker, Lauren is passionate about showcasing women’s physical and mental strengths. In 2015, Lauren skippered Row Like a Girl, a team of four women rowing unaided across the Atlantic Ocean. The 3,000 mile journey saw the team collect both the fastest and youngest female ocean crossing world records and raise over £75,000 for charity. Originally from Yorkshire, Lauren continues to explore challenging adventures; including walking coast to coast through Sri Lanka’s jungle and running seven marathons, in seven days, in seven countries.
Megan K. Fox- “GIRL”
Megan K. Fox is an Irish writer-director based in London. She is an MA Directing Graduate and award winner, her accolades including winning the Colchester 60 Hour Challenge with short film “Slow Down” and being named Best Producer at the BFI Future Film Festival. She’s an advocate of women’s rights and mental health awareness, speaking openly about her personal struggles with depression in projects such as her graduation film, “Battle.” She is influenced by the works of Andrea Arnold, Ava DuVernay, and Richard Linklater. Currently Megan is developing her first feature film project, with the support of Corona Pictures London.
Rosie Gaunt-Mathieson- “Raymond”
Rosie is a comedy writer-producer who loves making people laugh, usually at life’s little things. She has worked in TV for the past 8 years and has won a Broadcast and RTS award for comedy short form projects “Spencer Jones’ Christmas” (Producer) and “Tea and Charity” (Writer/Producer/Director). Her shorts have played at LOCO, Latitude and the Women in Comedy Festival in Boston. She is currently Development Producing scripted comedy at Me and You Productions, where she loves nurturing and working with funny new talent, especially women. In her free time she chases cats for affection (it’s usually not reciprocated).
Ruth Sewell- “Countryphile”
Ruth Sewell is an in-house filmmaker at 3angrymen Productions where she has directed promos for The NSPCC, Build Africa, The Green Party and Plan International, amongst others. In 2013, she established Dauntless Pictures with Joanna Thapa and together they’re cultivating a slate of features, TV projects and documentaries. Their latest documentary for the Guardian, “From The Bronx To Yale: The Power of High School Speech” premiered at Sheffield DocFest this summer. Ruth is currently on the ‘Storytelling for the Screen’ course at the Screen Arts Institute, with support from the BFI, where she is working on a feature length script.
Sarah Clift- “The Good Mother”
Sarah graduated from Staffordshire University in Advertising and Graphic Design with a First Class Honours Degree and has worked in commercial media for 18 years, in London and Paris. She has creative-directed numerous UK and global award winning campaigns and worked alongside some of the world’s top commercial directors. Sarah began focusing seriously on writing and directing herself twelve months ago. In that time she has co-directed her first commercial (with Jorge Aguilera) for Buchanan’s whisky featuring Chris Hemsworth and six months later embarked upon her own solo-directing debut: her first short film “La Madre Buena” (“The Good Mother”).
