Name: Beyond Shorts: Launch Event
Start: 2025-02-11T18:30:00+00:00
End: 2025-02-11T20:00:00+00:00
Location: Exeter Phoenix

A special event to launch Beyond Shorts, a career-development programme designed to elevate south west-based producers and directors.
About this Event

At BFI NETWORK in the south west (a project delivered by Watershed) we want to champion the future stars of filmmaking, and recognise that making the leap from shorts to long-form projects can be daunting and difficult to navigate, particularly for those based in regions where connection to the industry is limited.

That’s why we’re pleased to announce Beyond Shorts, a career-development programme designed to elevate south west-based producers and directors who have a strong track record in screen-based work and are ready to take the next step into making features or high-end TV.

To celebrate the launch of the programme, we're delighted to screen a selection of short films made by previous participants of the scheme (formerly known as Shorts2Features) followed by a panel discussion hosted by BFI NETWORK Talent Executives with writer-director Xenia Glen and producer Lowri Roberts. We will be chatting with them about their experience on the programme, the impact it has had on their careers, and what they have been up to since. Afterwards, we invite you to join us for drinks and a chat in the bar.

Featuring...

The Golden West (24min, dir. Tom Berkeley) pictured above

1849. Having fled the Great Famine, two warring Irish sisters seek their fortunes in the gold rush. But with winter fast approaching and nothing to show for their efforts, their age-old feud soon threatens to become deadly.

Margin (12min, dir. Daniel Rands, prod. Chuckie McEwan) pictured above

In an after-school, last-chance, catch-up class, 16 year-old student Ria's struggle to better herself clashes with her teacher Emily's battle to get through an English lesson evoking racial tensions and societal issues that they soon find to be all too relevant.

Alo (9 min, dir. Xenia Glen)

Alo, an undocumented overseas Filipino worker, is struck by a latent seizure which jeopardises his status in the UK.

Outside Noise (8min, dir. Ethan Evans, co-written by Jess Bartlett)

An overwhelmed woman listens to a sleep ambience app to unwind before bed, but when the sounds eerily begin to blend with reality, she suspects it has conjured something frightening into her room.