As well as offering world-beating locations, infrastructure and financial incentives, the UK also boasts some of the best directing and writing talent; one of the essential criteria for any projects looking to apply for the new Enhanced AVEC for Lower Budget Film (also knows as the Independent Film Tax Credit or IFTC).
Here’s a look at some of the brightest up-and-coming talents from across the UK’s nations and regions.
Isla Badenoch
Filmmaker and artist Isla Badenoch lives in the Celtic borderlands, and is currently developing BFI-backed rite-of-passage feature Not Drowning, which is inspired by her background in documentary filmmaking. Previous works include short documentary The Elvermen and experimental short The Dead are Jewels to Me. Badenoch is also writing a treatment for Whisperer, about a neurodiverse teenager inspired by two real-life people.
Contact: Isla Badenoch
Paddy Campbell
A Northern Irish writer based in Newcastle, Paddy Campbell is an alumni Channel 4’s screenwriting course and Creative England’s iWrite Scheme, and has also featured on the BBC New Talent hotlist. His 2021 short film Mr Whippy was produced by Elation Pictures/BBC Films and he is writing a feature film with the same team. He co-wrote the final episode of Bodkin for Netflix.
Contact: Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, Kara Fitzpatrick
Laura Carreira
Writer/director Laura Carreira’s feature debut On Falling was produced by Jack Thomas-O’Brien of Sixteen Films and BRO Cinema, with the support of the BFI, BBC Film, Screen Scotland, ICA and sales agent Goodfellas. Premiering at Toronto in 2024, it won her festival plaudits and a place on Bafta’s 2025 awards long list. Portugal-born Carreira is based in Edinburgh, and is working on a second feature script.
Contact: The Haworth Agency, Catherine Goldstone
Bryn Chainey
UK-Australian writer-director Bryn Chainey’s feature debut Rabbit Trap screened at Sundance this year. The 1976 Wales-set psychological thriller follows a series of shorts including Moritz and the Woodwose (2013) and Jonah and the Vicarious Nature of Homesickness (2010). Chainey was part of the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2009.
Contact: Curtis Brown, Nick Marston
Abdou Cissé
South East London creative Abdou Cissé is currently developing his debut feature Voice of Reason with BBC Film. His debut short film, 2019’s Serious Tingz, won Best Narrative Short at the 2019 Shiny Awards before being nominated for a BIFA. His follow-up, Festival Of Slaps (2023), a reflection on cultural stereotypes through the slap of a Nigerian mother, was nominated for a Bafta for Best Short Film in2024.
Contact: United Agents, Christian Ogunbanjo
Eoin Cleland
Belfast-based writer-director Eoin Cleland has written and directed shows for myriad broadcasters, channels and networks including BBC3, C4, CITV, BBCNI and RTÉ. His 2019 comedy Ups & Downs was nominated at the 2020 Edinburgh TV Festival and won the best TV Movie at the New York TV Festival. He recently directed comedy pilot William of Orangedale for Channel 4, Ted’s Top Ten, a CITV sitcom and CBBC sitcom Picklestorm.
Contact: Berlin Associates, Emily Wraith
Matty Crawford
British Filipino writer/director Matty Crawford’s short film Stomach Bug this year garnered a Bafta nomination for Best Short Film. Written and directed by Crawford and produced by Karima Sammout-Kanellopoulou, both NFTS 2022 graduates, the psychological horror is a product of the NFTS and BBC Film Bridge to Industry short-film initiative, spending almost a year in development with the BBC. Crawford is now developing a feature.
Contact: Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, Nina Amini / Sophia Zhang
Mathew David
Cardiff-based actor, writer and producer Mathew David wrote, directed and starred in BBC’s Skinny Fat in 2022. Having trained at the Royal Welsh College Of Music and Drama, David co-produced the 2022 short film comedy Cardiff and is in development on a feature.
Contact: LJP Management, Louisa Jayne Palmer
Richard Gadd
Scotland-born actor, writer, producer and former stand-up comedian Richard Gadd’s 2024 series Baby Reindeer topped Netflix charts in more than 80 countries. After years on the comedy circuit, Gadd’s Emmy-winning hit which he created, wrote and starred in, came from a raft of self-generated projects at various stages of development. He has written and is filming dramady Half Man in Scotland for the BBC and HBO.
Contact: Casarotto, Abby Singer / Markham, Froggatt and Irwin, Richard Gibb / IAM, Chris Quaile
Daisy-May Hudson
Writer/director Daisy-May Hudson’s 2024 fiction debut Lollipop attracted backing from the BFI and BBC Film. It followed her debut feature documentary Half Way, which came about after she began filming her family’s experiences of homelessness whilst living in a hostel in 2013. After co-directing the 2024 London Film Festival Audience Award-winning documentary Holloway with Sophie Compton, Hudson is now writing a second feature fiction in collaboration with Parkville Pictures and BBC Films.
Contact: Sayle Screen, Matthew Bates
Karan Kandhari
London-based Indian artist and filmmaker Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight, which he wrote and directed was this year nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding British Debut following its premiere at Cannes in 2024. Written and directed by Kandhari, the dark comedy secured financing from Film4 and BFI. Kandhari’s shorts have screened in international festivals, and he has directed music videos for The Vaccines and Franz Ferdinand.
Contact: Curtis Brown, Jessica Cooper
Sasha Nathwani
UK-based filmmaker Sasha Nathwani’s debut feature Last Swim, which he directed and co-wrote with producer Helen Simmonds, is a day-in-a-life drama which opened Berlin’s Generations sidebar in 2024 and won the Crystal Bear for best film. Nathwani has previously directed shorts including 2017’s Play The Game about a 1980s Black footballer in England and 2021’s Raj’s Story. He has worked extensively in commercials and music videos.
Contact: 42 Management & Production, Alex Bloch
Rich Peppiatt
Belfast-based Rich Peppiatt recently picked up the Bafta for Outstanding British Debut for documentary Kneecap, which he wrote and directed. Previous credits include feature documentaries One Rogue Reporter and Cyndi Lauper: Let The Canary Sing. Peppiatt has set up a production company in Belfast with Kneecap producer Trevor Birney, named Coup d’Etat Films, to focus on original scripted content.
Contact: MMBcreative, Michele Milburn
Miranda Stern
Glasgow based writer/director Miranda Stern’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduation short film Milk garnered a Bafta nomination for Best Short Film in 2025 short film nomination. Milk, which she made with producer partner Ashionye Ogene, follows Stern’s previous short documentaries Clean and Two Copper Wires. Her fiction short Revert is in post-production, and she is currently writing a feature with a view to directing the script.
Contact: Miranda Stern
Sandhya Suri
London-based British-Indian writer/director Sandhya Suri’s Hindi-language narrative fiction debut Santosh premiered at Cannes in 2024, and was nominated for an Outstanding British Debut Bafta. Suri, who made her debut with the 2005 documentary I For India, is now working with BBC Film on a JG Ballard dystopian love story adaptation.
Contact: Lark Management, Harriet Pennington
You can find full information on the Enhanced AVEC for Lower Budget Film on the BFC Website
