BFI NETWORK south west, in partnership with Bournemouth Film School (BFS), is pleased to announce our Director Lab cohort that will be taking part in an in-person day of tutor-led masterclasses, followed by workshopping with professional actors and the chance to be offered £2,000 from BFS to make a micro-short based on their script.
Luke Sims
Luke David Sims is a writer-director and cinematographer based in Plymouth, with a First Class BA in Film and a background as a video producer. His work focuses on, and is driven by, character-centric, emotive storytelling.
Katie Bonham
Katie is a writer-director from a working-class background based in Hampshire. Katie’s work usually explores social commentaries within the surreal and uncanny. Her short film, Mab, was awarded the Melies D’Argent at Abertoir Horror film Festival and she was commissioned by BBC Arts for short surreal comedy Selfie Stick, which broadcasted on BBC4 and is now on iPlayer.
Rachel Tillotson
Rachel is an award-winning Bristol-based director with a Masters in Film Direction from the Royal College of Art. Her passion is in creating unforgettable stories told from a dynamic female perspective.
Toby Parker Rees
Toby is an Exmouth-based writer-director. He wrote an episode of Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning anthology series On the Edge (which will be broadcast this August), a mermaid story about finding yourself in a body that won’t do what you want it to – based on his experiences with adult-onset epilepsy. Toby also won the Beyond Award commission from Film and Video Umbrella to adapt his play The Great Dog, Pan (written and directed on attachment at Bristol Old Vic) into a short film.
Ornella Hawthorn Gardez
Ornella is a BAFTA accredited writer-director based in Bristol, creating genre narrative, suspense-filled films that take the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions. Originally from an acting and self-shooting background in extreme sports, Ornella uses these influences to colour her narrative work.
Alice Panerai
Alice is an experienced commercials director based in Bristol, with award-winning work that spans TV, social and cinema. She is currently focusing on short film projects and expanding her experience in narrative filmmaking.
Matthew Sterling
Matthew is a writer, director and producer based in Bath, with South African and Persian dual heritage. His short films have been selected at BIFA, BAFTA and Academy Award-qualifying festivals and have featured on the BBC, Vimeo, and FilmShortage among others. He’s currently mentored by Otto Bathurst through the Directors UK Inspire scheme.
George Magner
George is a Bristol-based filmmaker who co-founded production company Mountain Way Pictures in 2017 and who tells stories about moments of crisis, parallel perspectives, and transcendental moments in ordinary lives. Be it pure drama, participatory or research-led films, or corporate/commercial work, he’s chasing the stories through which we shape our Selves.
Website