We’re pleased to announce the second cohort of our Queer Storytelling Workshop, for writers who identify as LGBTQIA+, led by award-winning filmmaker and writer Jason Barker. We’re excited to work with this group of writers who are keen to find new ways of exploring queer themes in their writing, have an interest in film and an ambition to write for the screen.
Emily Taylor (they/them)
Emily is a writer who enjoys telling stories across a variety of formats and genres, including articles for blogs and magazines, branching and interactive narratives, scriptwriting and poetry. They are currently interested in clowning techniques and ideologies, folklore and place, queerness and neurodivergence, oral histories, activism through art, and AI safety.
Alongside the BFI NETWORK SW Queer Storytelling Workshops, they are developing theatre for young audiences as part of the Eastern Angles Young Creatives team and are furthering their practice through involvement with The School of Dramatic Unlearning.
Jessica Eleni (she/her)
Jessica Eleni is a Bristol-based collector and maker of things. Her career to date has focused on TV and film, working as a set decorator/designer. She is a lover of complex stories, particularly those that that tell the truth about people trying their best.
Imogen Palmer (she/they)
Imo is a theatre-maker, writer, MC and facilitator. She is the Artistic Director of The Delight Collective, creator of multiple 5* shows which centre queer and womxn voices, including IMOGENÉ: the improvised pop concert and The Bish Bosh Bash. They co-wrote an apocalyptic musical with the award-winning composer Tim Gilvin. ‘Help! We’re Still Alive’ premiered at Seven Dials Playhouse in September 2022. Imo has been facilitating for 12+ years, leads workplace training for Bristol Improv Theatre and has just qualified as a Dramatherapist. Imo is excited to explore themes of mental health and LGBTQIA+ identities during the lab.
Tyron D’mello (they/them)
Tyron D’mello is a writer and producer. They love writing stories that resonate and represent their identity as a Queer, Non-Binary, South Asian person. Their work often centers on grounded characters and explores the connections these characters have with themselves and those around them. Much of their storytelling draws deeply from personal experiences, making writing a powerful tool for reflection and self-discovery. Beyond writing, they enjoy reading short story collections by women of color. Cooking and baking are also passions, serving as both a way to unwind and a means to connect more deeply with their cultural heritage.
Freya Gillard
Freya is an 18-year-old poet from Devon, whose work is rooted in rural life and community. A top 15 winner of Foyle Young Poets 2023, her work has been published multiple times with the Poetry Society, and she is also involved in their Bog Talk project, which uses poetry to educate young people about biodiversity in our local ecosystems. By taking the step into writing for the screen, Freya is looking to develop projects focused on our inherited lives and labour in the rural west country.
Tegan Vincent-Cooke (she/her)
Tegan is a 23-year-old international dressage rider, producer, and content creator from Bristol. With a degree in Film, TV & Digital Production, she combines her passion for storytelling with her career in the equestrian world. As a proud advocate for inclusion and diversity, Tegan works to raise awareness on issues surrounding the Black and LGBTQIA+ communities. Through her creative projects and online presence, Tegan aims to inspire others to embrace their individuality and champion equality. Whether in the saddle or behind the camera, Tegan is dedicated to creating impactful change through her work.
Nelly Weston (she/they)
Nelly graduated with a Masters Degree in Drama Writing from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School this summer, and creates work that is introspective, textural, haunting and playful. She is currently working on a play called ‘Sappho Could’ve Bathed Here’ in Bristol, a theatre and community project generating a sapphic eco-system to fight loneliness and the under-representation of queer women and non-binary characters through magical-realism and quick-witted comedy. Also, with a love for non-verbal storytelling, Nelly is eager to extend her practice to screenwriting, and is hungry to see more happy, hopeful and authentic sapphic characters on screen!
Sophie Deer (she/her)
Sophie Deer is an animator and writer based in Plymouth. She has been published in Pittsburgh, Seattle and the south west, including a poem in The Dreamers Anthology (Pittsburgh, 2019) and a series of short plays in the Plymouth art vending machine, which was featured on a BBC spotlight in 2023. She is currently working on a short animated film and would like to explore writing for animation.
Jazmin Walters (they/she)
Jazmin is an emerging filmmaker whose creative background lies in performance and theatre-making. They recently developed their drag persona ‘Lady Byron’ with Soho Theatre’s Drag and Cabaret Lab and are now excited to be writing their first play with Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab. Jazmin’s work centres around the intersection of queerness and neurodivergence, and she is eager to visually explore this through a post-human lens. She also loves rats in films.
Evie Hillier (she/they)
Evie is a compassion-led filmmaker who is motivated by creating work that instils hope. They are interested in reimagining familiar stories through a queer lens, creating films they wish they’d seen more of growing up. Their films are visual letters to their younger self. They enjoy creating filmic fairy tales and moving paintings that displace the mythological in a modern setting. They wish to show how the magical and surreal can infiltrate the ordinary and the everyday.
BFI NETWORK South West are pleased to present our participants for the New Voices scheme 2020.
BFI NETWORK, in partnership with production companies Blak Wave & Little By Little Films, are pleased to present our participants for the New Voices scheme 2021-22. This talent development opportunity aims to help aspiring South West and Midlands based filmmakers looking to develop their five-minute short film idea.