It’s a wrap on the second edition of the HOME Film Lab! Over 5 and a half intensive days led by Director Dan Thorburn, 10 Greater Manchester filmmakers explored the importance and art of collaboration.
Aimed at filmmakers over 25 who have made film(s) with little or no funding and training, the programme explored the different facets of filmmaking from the development process with the producer through to script editing, working with a DOP to create a coherent cinematic language, up to the all-important post production, editing and sound design, ending with a discussion with emerging directors on their career paths so far.
We’re looking forward to what the participants do next!
Andreas, also known as Taleporos, is a Greece-born, Manchester-based computer engineer with a passion for film. His work spans editing, directing, and writing short films and documentaries, including So Learn… (2016) and Dragged Off a Cliff, Crete 1947 (2017), which screened at the 19th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Andreas is also the creator and host of Μουσική στο Celluloid (Music in Celluloid), a Greek podcast exploring the relationship between music and cinema through unique stories. He is currently developing a dystopian short film about memory commodification and is passionate about making the leap from the world of computers to the world of cinema.
A filmmaker from Manchester, Annie studied Filmmaking BA Hons at the Northern Film School. Annie enjoys making film inspired by real people mixing realism with fantasy and fantastical elements. She is also a Freelance Videographer specialising in music videos, live gigs and events.
Originally from Manchester, Emma is a performer and filmmaker who studied at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in LA. Since graduating, she’s worked on a variety of projects from major music videos, award-winning short films, web series and national commercials. She has starred in feature films Spring and Stowaway. She is a SAG-AFTRA actor and BAFTA Connect Member currently based in Manchester.
Emma is passionate about normalising queer characters and creating thought-provoking, relatable stories. If she’s not doing something creative, you can find her playing any sport or drinking Diet Coke.
Her short film directorial debut “Three’s A Party”, which she also wrote and acted in, will be entered into the film festival circuit this year.
Nick Dunleavy is a Bolton based Writer / Director, with a keen interest in offbeat historical films. Although he is a Medieval & Renaissance Studies graduate from Lancaster University, he found his way into TV, working on various Entertainment shows across BBC, ITV and Netflix to name a few. When Covid hit, he was forced to re-evaluate his career, and is now looking to truly follow his passion, making films set in the past, following intriguing characters and events.
Born and raised in north Manchester, Patrick previously worked at Metrodome, Feel Films, BBC News and for a BFI short film ‘Middle Passage’. In 2014, he wrote, directed and produced three short films on black & white 16mm film in New York City. His first writer-directorial effort on returning to England came in 2016 in the form of brooding psychological thriller short Still Dark, which he also wrote and produced.
He made his first short film to be shot in his hometown of Manchester: The Spirit of ’58 for which he was nominated for ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Short of the North’ at the 2017 Manchester International Short Film Festival. After making a dystopian Brexit-allegory Thriller FORTYEIGHTPOINTONE funded by Roundhouse (London), he took a break focusing on mental health activism using the arts as a platform (as well as his own mental health), before taking part in the BFI Creative Producer’s Lab 2021.
Whilst also a filmmaker, he currently works as a Neighbourhood Organiser for Moston, for Factory International with the aim of bringing arts/training opportunities to the lower-income areas of North Manchester, as well as hosting/compering events or giving talks to people in the community about mental health and the creative industries.
Renée Coler-Williams is an actor, writer, director and filmmaker with a degree in Performing Arts from Manchester. Interested in both theatre and film, she combined her two passions in her one woman theatre show Hot Pepper Sauce, where she featured some of the short films she had made. The play covered race and gender; themes that Renée is incredibly passionate about and often explores in her work. Her lockdown short film Femi’s Wrath was screened at Filmed Up in 2024. All her films so far have been written, filmed and edited on her phone in her house. She currently has short films and music videos in the works
Predominantly an actor, Ross has always loved being a creative. As the company director of Farewell Theatre Company, he has ample experience in the theatre world so has recently transitioned into film & tv.
Ross has produced and co-directed “Robinson’s Family BBQ”; a 16 minute one-shot short film, set to hit the festivals this year. He has also ventured into the world of music videos (producing and directing) with Farewell and Longmondays- they have already worked with the likes of Lady ICE and Savanna Darnell with more artists to follow in the coming months.
Sam is a writer-director based in Manchester, making realist-ish comedy-dramas exploring the lives of young adults in contemporary Britain. He also dabbles in music video, documentary, and theatre, with his films having been screened by Film Hub North, BFI and BBC.
Sofia Antonia Milone is a Yorkshire-born, queer, working-class, neurodivergent woman who has been working in the creative industries for over 25 years. She returned to her acting roots in 2022 to reconnect with narrative filmmaking and better prepare for producing her own work. Currently crafting Queer high-concept, future-realistic Sci-Fi stories with a basis in philosophy, she loves to explore themes of: resilience, truth, grief, identity, and conflict as a result of differences in perception. She is committed to amplifying marginalised voices in all areas of production.
Will Dean is an independent filmmaker who has independently produced eight short films, one of which won an award. Their work has screened at HOME, Showroom Cinema, The Dukes, Café Blah, Withington Public Hall, and West Art Collective. Exploring social isolation, their films follow sympathetic characters navigating surreal worlds, searching for connection through chaos and synchronicity.
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