The London and Wales-based outfit focuses on documentary and features helmed by acting talent
Need to know: Documentaries and features directed by acting talent are the two staples of London and Wales-based Western Edge, founded in 2010 by former actor Vaughan Sivell. Franki Goodwin joined soon after (the pair are now married). The five-strong company aims to always have one documentary and one feature in production. Sporting credits include 2022’s Gazza for the BBC and Discovery+ doc Tom Daley: 1.6 Seconds about the UK diver. On the scripted side, actress Alice Lowe is a frequent collaborator, producing 2016 Venice premiere Prevenge and 2024 SXSW title Timestalker.
Key personnel: Vaughan Sivell, CEO and founder; Franki Goodwin, executive producer; Tom Wood, producer.
Incoming: On the scripted slate, Western Edge is prepping Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds’ first feature as director, Dog Person, in which the actress also stars, with James Norton and Hugh Bonneville attached. Sivell is set to direct Lanterne Rouge, starring Asa Butterfield and Francis Lovehall, about a cycling holiday gone wrong. The company has bought the rights to Chris Read’s Edinburgh Fringe musical The Back Line, with Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) attached to direct. Sivell is developing a slate of projects with actor Tom Burke.
Lowe’s next two features are also in development: Sprites, a horror comedy set in England in 1980 about a girl guide troop who summon demons, and a version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Coming up is Gazza, a scripted biopic of footballer Paul Gascoigne, directed by Brady Hood and co-produced with Laura Jackson.
In production on the doc front is Centaur, about jockey Declan Murphy, which Sivell is directing. Next to shoot will be Ciaran Cassidy’s Gaelic football documentary The Glory, produced with Dublin-based Little Wing Films.
Vaughan Sivell says: “More and more, agents are sending us projects and scripts that their acting talent have developed or want to develop. Actors have, in their DNA, an instinct for storytelling. That’s something I really believe in.”
Contact: info@westernedgepictures.co.uk
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