The Brit 50: Sleeper Films

Need to know: The UK and ­Ireland-based company’s first feature, Berlinale 2025 award winner Christy, came about when it was approached by producer Marina Brackenbury to co-develop the coming-of-age drama and be the “boots on the ground” in Ireland. “It’s very important to us to have a UK and an Irish base so we could be as multipurpose a company as possible in a post-Brexit landscape,” says co-partner Lee Magiday, who counts See-Saw Films as a key inspiration.

The company launched in 2021 after Magiday, who previously set up Element’s London office and worked at Focus Features, joined forces with Irish producer Rory Gilmartin, formerly of Impact Pictures and Brilliant Films. Seed investment came from Dominican Republic-based investment firm Media­Net and production company Sampsonic Media, based out of Cyprus and Vancouver. Sleeper’s third partner Wilf Varvill is transitioning to being an independent producer.

Key personnel: Lee Magiday, Rory Gilmartin, producers and ­partners; Emmet Fleming, senior production executive; Daniela Ceresa, senior development executive; Josh Green, development and production executive.

Incoming: Sleeper recently completed post-production on its second feature In The Shadows, an independently financed biopic of the UK’s first Muslim female boxing champion Ramla Ali. Altitude Film Sales is handling international sales and eyeing a festival release for 2026; True Brit Entertainment co-­financed and has UK-Ireland rights.

Several projects are in early prep, including Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ Diamond Shitter starring Eva Green and Ben Whishaw, co-produced with Cuala Films, Smoke Puppy and Rita Productions. There is also Tom Beard’s Rest And Be Thankful, adapted from the Emma Glass novel, and a Christy TV spin-off in the works.

Sleeper is collaborating with Jamie Dornan and Conor MacNeill’s company Blackthorn Films on two projects, and further collaborations are in the pipeline with Colin Farrell and Claudine Farrell’s Chapel Place and Noomi Rapace and Stella Härnström’s Boom Films.

Rory Gilmartin says: “Co‑production and collaboration is a key pillar of what we do. We are forging strong creative partnerships for our next wave of projects.”

Lee Magiday says: “We’re definitely not making arthouse films, that’s not our remit. We are making authored but accessible films.”

Contact: info@sleeper-films.com 

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