Thanks guys!

It's always very nice when a little personal project gets some love from a reviewer. Thanks David Reviews! You can also check out the trailer for the film below too.

​Last year I directed a series of short films for Jewellery Designer Bear Brooksbank which launched today at a screening at the W Hotel in Leicester Square. 

My approach to the film was to mine as much beauty and personality out of the one day shoot as was humanly possible. Bringing on an incredibly talented and experienced Director of Photography Dean Grey, (the only male crew member - lucky him) and the most creative (not to mention nicest) hair and makeup artist in the business, Mary Cuffe, this tiny crew used sleek tracking shots and classical compositions, drawing inspiration from the old masters, to create a very high end film on a low budget. 

This is a voiceover lead film, with Bear Brooksbank talking about her work, ethos, and collections. Her unscripted reflections are illustrated with a behind the scenes look into her world - her studio, her notebooks, a consultation with a client. We move into a more impressionistic photoshoot sequence, where each collection is given a different personality, all relating subtly to female empowerment and a contemporary take on traditional ideas and aesthetics.

In the final collection, Bear’s earliest, our model Dionne takes control of the viewer’s gaze as she turns the camera on us to underline that her role is not passive. In some of the shorter versions of the 3 minute hero film, we use only the photoshoot footage Byron’s ‘She Walks In Beauty’ for the voiceover, read by Myanna Buring, (Twilight Saga; Kill List; Ripper Street) along with a haunting soundtrack. The trailer below gives a taste of the look and mood of the films.

We got very lucky with the light on this shoot for Scottish Labour - it was freezing but the sun came out to give us some beautiful shots in this film introducing the key policies and background of Scottish Labour's new Leader, Richard Leonard.

So excited to be producing and directing a series of documentary shorts about subcultures in London for Tastemade Travel. The series will focus on a different subculture each episode, and we have developed stories and researched contributors in four very different worlds; Flair Bartending, Street Art, Northern Soul and Urban Exploration. Here are a few stills from what we have shot so far - some incredible stories coming together in ways we couldn't have anticipated! 

I recently shot and edited this little documentary about Deptford X, one of the UKs longest running arts festivals.

For the past year, Patrik Hermansson, a young, gay, anti-racist activist from Sweden has been undercover inside the alt-right for HOPE not hate. He risked all to go undercover in some of the most notorious far-right networks in the US and the UK, culminating in the violent clashes in Charlottesville. I've just got back from filming additional footage for this feature documentary in New York, and feel privileged to play some small part in the making of such an important documentary. 

We're wrapped on Samira's Party! It was real. Amazing cast and crew, talent for days. Loved every minute. And we just found out we got into the London Film Festival!! Congratulations all. 

So I spent my Saturday directing and shooting a 7-camera production about fundraisers dangling from Broadgate Tower in Liverpool Street. How was yours?

Dauntless Pictures (i.e. Joanna and me) are producing a short film written and directed by Bijan Sheibani called 'Samira's Party', which shoots mid-June in London. It's a sweet little coming of age tale about a 13 year old boy and his mother and will star Jodhi May and Georgie Farmer. Here's a little picture of our production team (minus me, behind camera) with the director., pretending to work. Really excited for the shoot!