New Shorts Focus 22/23 selected projects
Date Posted: October 25, 2022
Four writers have been selected to develop their short film projects through our New Shorts Focus short film scheme in 2022/23. The scheme is for fiction development projects specifically for under-represented new and emerging Northern Ireland resident writer and writer/director talent. The four projects and writers are:
DOT
Unorthodox art student Dot and his fiery, disabled mother Angela share a unique and intimate bond. Dot is a mental and physical support to his mother, whose mobility and independence are limited. Angela is the driving force behind every one of her insecure son’s successes. Sometimes Angela becomes depressed and loses her temper. Sometimes Dot is too much ‘in his own world’ to look out for his mother. Most of the time, the two of them face hardship with humour and silly, spontaneous songs. The intermittently tender and tumultuous relationship between mother and son becomes increasingly tangled as Angela’s condition develops and Dot experiences a series of unsettling visions at the factory at which he works. Across a string of darkly comedic vignettes, this short film aims to give a sideways and nuanced perspective on a parent/child relationship impacted by disability.
Joanna McClurg is a Northern Irish filmmaker who uses magical realism, improvisation and digital media to explore themes of isolation and connection. Joanna completed her BFA at theRuskin School of Art, Oxford University, where she received the Mansfield-Ruddock Prize and Gibbs Proxime Accessit Award for her experimental short films. Joanna’s first funded short, Napoleon’s Nose (2022), will premiere in competition at the BAFTA qualifying Belfast Film Festival this November. Joanna is currently producing two Northern Ireland Screen backed shorts. She is also a mentee on the 2022 ScreenSkills/Cinemagic mentorship programme and was recently selected as a delegate on The Network 2022, the Edinburgh International TV Festival’s entry-level talent scheme. Joanna is excited to be developing her next film as part of the New Short Focus 2022/23 cohort.
JEGGIES
JEGGIES takes place on a boiling hot day in July 1997. Eight-year-old Claire’s parents are fighting and the streets on the estate she lives on are empty. With distracted parents and an unquenchable desire to find some craic, she cobbles together a round of sandwiches and takes her younger brother in search of adventure.
Louise Parker is an actor and writer from Lisburn. As an actor she can be seen in BBC Three’s Wreck and in the upcoming BBC One series Blue Lights. Her previous short films include Weird Sister (BBC Two Minute Masterpiece) and Wavelengths (East Side Arts Festival). Writing for radio includes an adaptation of Kate Mansfield’s A Pair of Silk Stockings which was broadcast on Radio Ulster and Personal Space which was commissioned for NI Mental Health Arts Festival. For theatre she has written for Threes Theatre Company and Pintsized Productions.
MY BOY
MY BOY tells the story of TJ and Dwayne. TJ, a 13 year old boy lives with his single mum, Sandra. They do everything together. Despite his age, he’s the man of the house. Or “my little man” as she likes to call him. Life is simple – they don’t have a lot, but they’ve never needed a lot. Dwayne is now 38 years old. He was 28 the last time he saw his son, TJ. Ten years in prison does a lot to a man. He’s changed. He’s older, wiser. He craves a quiet life with his family.
We meet Dwayne as he arrives home. Release day. He’s been waiting for this day for what seems like a lifetime. Except home, isn’t waiting for him.
TJ doesn’t know him, nor does he want to know this stranger now living in his house.
MY BOY shows the complexities of “family”. It tells the story of a young boy getting to know his father. And a father getting to know his boy for the first time.
Zak Razvi is a NI based filmmaker. His route into making films began producing commercials and executive producing music videos. He now directs commercials, short films and music videos. His first short film, Jordanne, was officially selected at over 20 global film festivals, including London, Dublin and Sheffield. His work has been commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen and BBC Northern Ireland, and broadcast by BBC Northern Ireland.
NO GOOD ANSWERS
NO GOOD ANSWERS examines the value of friendship, logic and somatic awareness when illness and disease present us with our own mortality. It tells the story of 14 year old Kevin Edburg who just overheard the doctor inform his mother that he wont live beyond the age of 30. He doesn’t feel scared though. Or sad. Or angry. Kevin simply has questions. Lots of them. But as he sets out to explore questions about life, cosmic energy, ageing and death he finds the grown-ups around him – school staff, family, neighbours and even his own mother – are reluctant or simply ill-equipped to help. Instead, it’s the simple gestures and presence of his schoolyard mates that help Kevin process the enormity of what he’s facing.
Paul Mulgrew comes from a background in graphic design and worked in the industry for many years before moving into the arts and completing a Masters in Contemporary Art at the Edinburgh College of Art. The course eventually led Paul into filmmaking and his first short film, Zipper, was a finalist in the online Raindance shorts competition. This was followed by another short film, Tea, which was part-funded by the BBC and made available on BBC iPlayer as well as being selected for a number of film festivals in Ireland, England and the US. While experimenting with genres, Paul’s projects maintain a consistent thread around issues of identity, illness and social construction.
