The British Film Institute (BFI) and Film4 have unveiled the nine short films that will receive funding through their Future Takes programme,.
It will see each filmmaking team receive between £55,000 and £90,000 of National Lottery funding, with recipients including Screen Star of Tomorrow 2023 Rory Fleck Byrne and Chuck Chucky Baby producers Anne Beresford and Andrew Gillman.
Actor-director Fleck Byrne, who stared in BBC drama series This Is Going To Hurt, has been selected for In Heat, produced Radha Bhandari, whose short For Heidi premiered at BFI London Film Festival (LFF) last year, and was a Network@LFF 2022 participant. Bhandari is also an associate producer on Naqqash Khalid’s In Camera.
In Heat follows a recovering sex addict who is looking to cruise, at a beach car park, who finds himself drawn into a surreal psychosis.
Beresford and Gillman, the producers of Janis Pugh’s Edinburgh premiere Chuck Chuck Baby have been selected with director Bim Ajadi and screenwriter Angeli Macfarlane for Deliverance. Ajadi was part of the Bafta Breakthrough 2020 cohort. Their short explores parental love, as a mother seeks a cure for her newly deaf child.
Scroll down for the full list of Future Takes greenlit shorts
The aim is to establish upcoming talent within the UK and international industry, and as a stepping stone for emerging filmmakers. After it opened last year in December, the scheme received over 400 applicants, which led to the BFI and Film4 to expand the number of shorts it will greenlight to nine, with the initial callout outlining support for seven. The organisations stated the decisions were guided by the BFI Filmmaking Fund priorities and their commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Projects will shoot between September 2023 and spring 2024. In addition to production funding, BFI and Film4 creative and production executives will support each film through its lifecycle. The completed films will then aim for selection on the international film festival circuit, following which, there will be a focus on reaching UK audiences through a showcase at BFI Southbank and being available on Channel 4’s streaming platform and BFI Player.
Future Takes is piloting an access coordinator role on all projects, supported by additional project funding and in partnership with consultancy Bridge 06 and its co-founder Julie Fernandez. It is a first for BFI production funding, and will test the impact of this role. An access coordinator will be available to the producer from early in pre-production to make sure access needs of the entire cast and crew will be fully captured, and necessary adjustments can be made.
Alice Cabañas, head of BFI Network, said: “We’re all acutely aware that securing funding for indie debut features is tougher than ever, and many short filmmakers are getting stuck. With Future Takes we wanted to be proactive – to build a bridge between BFI Network and the BFI Filmmaking Fund, but also open up access to funding for talent who haven’t been on our programmes before, and then give these filmmakers the resources to really shine.”
“We prioritised imaginative ideas, urgent storytelling, and exceptional cinematic vision from across the UK,” added Farhana Bhula, head of creative at Film4. “We are incredibly excited by the range of genres and worlds these filmmakers will delve into.”
Future Takes 2023 greenlit projects
Deliverance
Dir. Bim Ajadi
Scr. Angeli Macfarlane
Prods. Anne Beresford, Andrew Gillman
Flock
Dir-scr. Mac Nixon
Scr. Daley Nixon
Prod. Matt Ashwell
Homework
Dir-scr. Jamie Di Spirito
Prods. Chloe Culpin, Katie Sinclair
In Heat
Dir-scr. Rory Fleck Byrne
Prod. Radha Bhandari
The Insatiable Appetite Of Lady Jane Grey
Dir. Saskia Dixie
Scr. Maddie Mortimer
Prod. Thomas Viney
Leaving Ikorodu In 1999
Dir-scr. Rashida Seriki
Prod. Tobi Kyeremateng
Magid-Zafar
Dir. Luis Hindman
Scr. Sufiyaan Salam
Prod. Aidan Robert Brooks
Meatmylk
Dir. Lucy Luscombe
Scrs. Adam Welch, Lucy Luscombe
Prod. Tora Young
Under The Wave Off Little Dragon
Dir-scr. Luo Jian
Prods. Paida Mutonono, Susan Dolan
No comments yet