Netflix, in partnership with non-profit Creative UK, has unveiled the six teams and projects selected for Breakout, the filmmaking programme launched to discover and support talented up-and-coming storytellers in the UK, with participants including Screen Star of Tomorrow Helen Simmons and children’s TV star and presenter Kim Tserkezie.
Emerging filmmakers are given the funding and opportunity to advance their debut feature into development with the partnership and support of Netflix. The selected teams comprise talent who haven’t yet made a feature but whose work has garnered industry or public attention.
Scroll down for the full list of projects
A statement from Netflix said those selected represent “a range of backgrounds, with attention given to groups traditionally underrepresented in funding awards” with the features representing “a distinctive slate of commercial projects in genres not often supported through UK development programmes, including comedy-horror and rom-com”.
The six teams each received £30,000 of development funding to take part in the programme, delivered by Creative UK. The opportunity included a series of labs and workshops exploring the essential production and business elements needed to bring their projects to screen. Guest speakers included Nativity writer-director Debbie Isitt and I Used To Be Famous filmmaker Eddie Sternberg. The programme is ongoing, and started last autumn. At least one film will be greenlit with an approximate £1.5m budget and a global launch on Netflix.
Caroline Norbury, chief executive at Creative UK, said: “Creative UK’s partnership with Netflix is a significant evolution of our support for emerging filmmakers over the last decade. Breakout has given a hugely talented cohort access to the expertise of both Netflix and Creative UK to help unlock their potential and push up to the next level. We are thrilled for our first cohort, who we’re sure have been emboldened by Breakout to realise brilliant films that will impress, engage and thoroughly entertain in equal measure.”
“Breakout was created out of the belief that daring and ambitious filmmaking can drive commercial as well as critical success and can emerge from all backgrounds. There are so many talented emerging filmmakers who are under-served by existing UK funding options and through Breakout we hope to help find and nurture the next generation of diverse UK filming talent,” said a statement from Netflix.
Netflix Breakout projects
Synopses provided by Netflix
Mistletoe Kiss
Team: Natalie Malla (dir-scr), Emily Precious, Lizzie Brown (prods), Cheri Darbon (associate prod)
Synopsis: When Nick shows up in Mel’s local pub on Christmas Eve, almost 10 years after they very nearly shared a magical kiss under the mistletoe, reluctant romantic Mel attempts to convince her feminist super-mum Debbie that Nick is her one that got away and fate may have reunited them for a reason.
Mortal
Team: Peter King (dir-scr), Chloe Fernandes (prod)
Synopsis: During a zombie apocalypse, a group of misfits discover the only way to survive is to keep drinking alcohol…
One More Time
Team: Shakii Mongulu (dir-scr), Joivan Wade (dir-scr), Percelle Ascott (prod), Chunkz and Yung Filly attached to star.
Synopsis: At the height of Chunkz and Filly’s success, Chunkz finds love and proposes. Filly is devastated at the prospect of losing his best friend. He convinces Chunkz to travel with him to Africa. But what Chunkz doesn’t know is that Filly has another plan in motion. The trip is just five days before the wedding. What could possibly go wrong?
Polly (amorous)
Team: Ella Jones (dir), Elaine Gracie (scr), Alexandra Blue (prod), from production company Eleven, in association with Bluebird Productions, Carissa Hope-Lynch as executive producer for Eleven.
Synopsis: Polly desperately wants to write romance novels and, being in a borderline-perfect decade- long relationship with “the one” (Luca), she’s sure she has all the right credentials. Right? Wrong!! After a devastating drive-by break up, and with her first potential book deal about to go down the pan, Polly is thrust into the terrifying world of modern dating like a lubed-up clown in a minefield. But will Polly have to ditch everything she thinks she knows about romance in order to learn about love? And could there be more than one way to love - and even, more than one love of her life?
The Wedding Scammers
Team: Mustapha Kseibati (dir), Henry White (prod), Dhanny Joshi (prod), Humza Arshad (actor and scr)
Synopsis: Holding a scam wedding, solely for the traditional cash gifts, is the stroke of genius that brought Hassan and Aisha together. Now, there’s only one thing that could ruin it… falling in love.
My Thoughts Exactly
Team: Kim Tserkezie (co-writer, lead actor), Helen Simmons (scr), Ben Mallaby (dir), Manon Ardisson (prod), co-production between Ardimages UK and Scattered Pictures.
Synopsis: When Newcastle radio DJ Anna Doyle gets the opportunity to co-host a national radio show with the entitled, famous and difficult Joe Arbour, she knows her new gig will be far from easy. He doesn’t like her, that much is clear, and for what it’s worth she doesn’t like him either. When a technical fault in the studio suddenly gives them the ability to hear each other’s thoughts, the former rivals can’t tune each other out… Could getting inside one another’s heads show them they’re much more similar than they once thought? And maybe, just maybe, lead to a real connection..?
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