Creative Enterprise announce the new 22/23 Market Trader cohort

Creative Enterprise is excited to announce the new cohort of  the Market Trader programme. The 11 participants will learn how to succeed at international film markets with Market Trader, an intensive business development programme for talented producers who are looking to take their projects to market across the world. 

This programme aims to equip participants with the knowledge and support they need to understand the film market better, plan and target their approach and come away from international markets with the best possible results. 

Market Trader will be delivered through a combination of intensive workshops, mentoring, market attendance & networking. The programme will consider and contrast differing needs and perspectives from all parts of the film value chain – makers, buyers, sellers – and hone skills in pitching, negotiating & closing deals.

Let’s meet the cohort.

 

Market Trader 2022/23 Cohort

Adam Gregory Smith – Hidden Art Films

A published Marine Biologist turned independent film producer, Adam attended Central Film School London, The Production Guild’s Production Management Training Scheme and NFTS’s Produce Your First Feature courses.

Adam is a BAFTA Connect producer and attended the Edinburgh International Film Festival Talent Lab 2022, Reykjavik Talent Lab. He spent four years on the BFI Network x BAFTA Crew producers’ program, Talking Point Mentoring Scheme and is a committee member of Producers Collective UK.

His short films have screened at BAFTA Qualifying, Academy Award Qualifying, BIFA, European Film Award and Canadian Screen Award qualifying festivals internationally.

Adam founded Hidden Art Films, a PACT affiliate production company creating shorts and features. The company demands well-drawn characters; clear genre movies and stories that allow the nurturing and expressing of strong directorial voices from New and Emerging Talent.

Adam has a track record of producing high quality films starring established talent such as Julia Deakin, Tim Key, Amit Shah, Emma Sidi, Gemma Jones, Shirley Henderson and many more.

 

Ana Fernandez Saiz – Impronta Films

IMPRONTA FILMS is an International Media Sales Company.

We base our strategy on creating channels for cultural fusion worldwide. Our mission is to go beyond geographic and cultural borders to bring entertaining, thought-provoking and humane documentaries to audiences worldwide.​

 

Angela Gourley – Amber Eye Films

Angela Gourley is an award winning Producer, Director and Series Producer with over 15 years experience in TV documentary and docudrama. She specialised in high end adventure/Travel and history programmes for Discovery and Nat Geo including ‘Lonely Planet’, ‘Bear Grylls Caught on Camera’, ‘Gold Rush’, and ‘Globetrekker’. She also produced comedy shows ‘Borat’ and ‘Ian Wright Live’ as well as factual entertainment and docudramas for Channel 4, MTV, ITV and Channel 5.
Angela has now moved to scripted feature and TV series, and is currently developing three features and two TV series with her company Amber Eye Films. She has produced a Scottish short film which won the Alexa/Arri competition and numerous awards at BAFTA qualifying festivals.
Angela was a member of the 2018 and 2021 BAFTA BFI network and is a BAFTA connect member. She was a 2022 participant in the EIFF talent lab. She was awarded a Creative England grant for business development and strategy for Amber Eye Films, and a Creative Enterprise grant for two well known mentors in her field, Elizabeth Karlsen of Number 9 Films and Patrick Fischer of Creativity Capital.

 

Fozia O’Dowd (née Khaliq) –  Public Display of Affection Films Ltd

Fozia is a Producer and founder of Public Display of Affection Films, an emerging Film and TV production company showcasing ambitious and authored storytelling from across the globe.

In 2020 her short film HOME, written by Jackie Okwera) was selected for numerous international short film awards and winner of the Best English Short Film at the Short Film Awards 2021.

In 2021, BFI awarded Fozia was awarded development funding to produce the feature adaptation of the play BRAIDS by Olivia Hannah and the film was pitched at this year’s Film London’s Production Film Market. Fozia is also working with Sky Drama on her debut TV show, IT’S MY PARTY and hosted the company’s first industry facing table read staring Steve Oram, Nigel Planer, Shobna Gulati, Safiyya Ingar, Faith Omole and Lorrain Ashbourne.

In 2022 Fozia was selected onto Birds Eye View’s prestigious Filmonomics Producers programme, DV Talent’s HETV’s Producers Masterclass Series and Galway’s International Film Fleadh Market 2022 as well as PACT’s International Television Co-Production Market, Content Without Borders.

Fozia has most recently been shortlisted for the EAVE Producer’s Programme and WFTV’s Mentoring Programme.

 

Harry and Grace Chadwick – Interflix Media 

Siblings Harry and Grace Chadwick are multi award winning filmmakers focused on interactive media. They have over twenty years combined experience working in the film industry, with their first short film being long listed by the Oscars.

With their heritage in award-winning Film combined with the knowledge and skills in the interactive space, it has meant that they understand what goes into crafting quality Live action ‘choose your own adventure’ games.

They Formed Live Action Games studio, Interflix Media in 2020 and work together to produce, write and direct feature length ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Games. Their first major game, ‘The Isle Tide Hotel’ is launching Spring 2023.

 

Jackie Sheppard –  Footprint Films

Footprint Films’ ethos as story tellers is firstly to tell compelling tales that will inspire an audience to leave the cinema wanting to actively engage with what they have just seen, and, secondly, to support emerging filmmakers. Of their 6 feature films produced to date, 5 have been directed by first time filmmakers, 5 by female directors (1 co-directing with a male director) and 1 by a black male director.
Footprint’s most recent feature films, with Jackie Sheppard producing alongside Mark Blaney, saw them tackling the issues of HIV/AIDS, sex workers, child soldiers and lack of education for children across Africa in the family adventure, Africa United (Pathé, BBC Films); and the injustice of apartheid in the Daniel Radcliffe starrer Escape from Pretoria (eOne/Signature).
Jackie has also produced the funded shorts, Home (Reel Issues Films), Curfew (Screen South/UKFC), and Supraman and the School of Necessity (The Doorpost) with Mark Blaney. They also produced, with Kae Bahar, the multi award-winning (60+ to date) short film I Am Sami, filmed in Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) and A Special Guest.
She has also produced the funded shorts, Home (Reel Issues Films), Curfew (Screen South/UKFC), and Supraman and the School of Necessity (The Doorpost) with Mark Blaney. They also produced, with Kae Bahar, the multi award-winning (60+ to date) short film I Am Sami, filmed in Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) and A Special Guest.
Together they Exec Produced four short films for the UKFC/Screen South’s Digital Shorts programme.
Away from Footprint Jackie produced the short films Unscripted, Derelict, Rahab, The Black Scholes Conspiracy, The Light, Pulsar, the BAFTA Cymru nominated Only Child, The Widow’s Last, Leash, Bingo, White Gold (Oscar longlisted), Hollow, 5000 Stars, Kanto (Stump) and The Innkeeper (all with Luke Walton for Reel Issues Films), as part of Footprint’s consultancy for The Pitch film fund.
With extensive experience of filming overseas, Jackie has produced films in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Finland and Kurdistan (N Iraq).

 

Joe Jeffreys – Hanway Films

HanWay Films is a UK based international sales company specialising in quality, high-profile and commercially driven films from visionary and unique filmmakers from around the world. Established in 1998 by producer Jeremy Thomas, HanWay offers full service solutions; arranging financing, sales, marketing and distribution. Hanway films has longterm global producing partnerships with a broad slate of international talent above all, our team is passionate about movies.

 

Michael Groom – Laal Blue Dot Ltd

Michael has 18 years’ experience in high-end feature film production, and has a firm understanding of all elements of filmmaking, from concept to prep and production, post-production and delivery. He was the long-time assistant of acclaimed director David Michôd, who mentored him, along with other directors (Michael Winterbottom, Jean-Marc Vallée, Garth Davis and Matt Shakman). Production credits include The King, War Machine, Mary Magdalene, Prometheus, Venus, The Young Victoria and many others. Writing in his spare time, Michael acquired representation at PFD when he was just 24, and sold his first script to Damian Jones and Mark Herbert in 2009 (a film that was finally made by Vertigo Films and Protagonist Pictures). He juggled writing and freelance work thereafter.

Michael also produced and directed a number of short films, such as festival-favourite award-winning The Merciless Beauty (which played at over 40 film festivals worldwide, including Leeds IFF).

He spent three years in the far north of Scotland, living in a fisherman’s cottage on the beach and honing his writing craft. In 2019 he was a long-listed for the BBC Writersroom. In 2022 he was long-listed for Creative UK/Netflix’s Breakout scheme. He’s had work optioned/developed by Revolution Films, Sprout Pictures, DJ Films, Outsider Films and others; and worked as script-coordinator on Hulu’s The Great. Between the Lights is his debut feature as director, co-producing with his brother David after they established their production company Laal Blue Dot (which was selected as one of just 9 companies to partake in Creative UK’s Evolve programme).

 

Paula Comley – Ça Marche Media

Paula is a UK based film producer and publisher with a professional business background as a Chartered Accountant, combining commercial sensibilities with creative flair.

Her debut scripted feature TO A CINDER – a neo-noir thriller with a feminist twist, was written and directed by Henry Scriven [The Fox (2018), Push (2017), How to Become a Criminal Mastermind (2012)] and based on the graphic novel Her! by Scottish artist, David Taylor. The film is currently in post production and aiming for a 2023 premiere.

Other recent production credits include: I’M WITH THE BAND: NASTY CHERRY, TIGERS: HUNTING THE TRAFFICKERS, DEATH IN BOLLYWOOD, THE PSYCHEDELIC DRUG TRIAL, FROM DEVIL’S BREATH (Finance Director) and the recently EMMY nominated CONVERGENCE: COURAGE IN A CRISIS (Executive Producer).

 

Phillip James Gates – Barefoot Films Limited

Phillip Gates formed Barefoot Films in 2012.

Phillip was UK co-producer on the film adaptation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel’s novel ‘Dawn’ for Delirious Productions. The film was produced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG in Zurich, director was Romed Wyder. Writer was Billy Mackinnon. The cast included Jason Isaacs.

He has a number of projects in development with writer David Gilhooly. These include the psychological horror ‘A Rush of Blood’, the satirical comedy ‘Cruel & Unusual’, and the revenge thrillers ‘Pilgrim’ (tv series) & it’s companion piece ‘Roundabout’, which was originally developed alongside Ted Hope and Ann Carey.

Phillip is a founder of the Isle of Man’s Mannin Shorts scheme. In his spare time he volunteer’s for Oxfam and is a keen sailor.

Prior to working as a producer Phillip studied Jurisprudence at Trinity College, Oxford. After graduation he worked as a location manager & production manager on a number of high profile feature films alongside leading directors including Edgar Wright, Roger Spottiswoode, & Kirk Jones. He is a graduate of the UK’s National Film & Television School where he studied producing.

Sam Lockyer – Iconic Productions

I am a producer/director based in Birmingham and the founder of a small RTS award nominated indie called Iconic Productions. In 2019 I made a feature length documentary called ‘501 Not Out’ which opened the prestigious Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2020 and, following a successful limited run in UK indie cinema’s has also received an offer from FILMCO of theatrical and digital distribution in Trinidad and Tobago. Cricket West Indies would also like to screen the film in their stadia during the next England tour of the region. ‘501 Not Out’ was also an official selection at the Windrush Caribbean Film Festival. The film tells the story of the legendary Caribbean cricketer Brian Lara and his rise to global superstardom in 1994. The film has been compared by audiences to Asif Kapadia’s Academy award winning ‘Senna’. It was reviewed very positively in the world famous ‘Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack’ and earlier this year Brian Lara publicly thanked me and my team at Iconic Productions for making the film and he also shared the trailer for ‘501 Not Out’ to 1.2 million of his fans on his official social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram).

Global digital/VOD, theatrical and TV distribution is a real possibility for the film with cricket being one of the most popular sports in the world. India/Asia being a key territory where Brian Lara is adored alongside the Caribbean, USA, the UK, South Africa and Australasia. However significant finance/investment/backing/distribution deal/sale are required in order to license key archive footage in the film in the relevant territories for it to be able to realise its huge potential and full global reach.

I am currently also producing a second feature length documentary called ‘The Fastest Bicycle in the World’ (working title) which is directed by double BAFTA award winner Michael B.Clifford. This film tells the remarkable 4 year journey of Sir Roger Bannister’s grandson Barney Townsend and his quest to break the world human powered vehicle record at Battle Mountain in Nevada which currently stands at 89 mph. Production has involved filming a ‘Cool Runnings’ style journey of the ‘Aim 93’ team led by Townsend and this is now nearing completion following our recent return from Nevada. Post-production will commence in 2023 with a UK indie cinema release planned for May 2024 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister famously breaking the 4 minute mile barrier. Again, this project has potential for a global release with cycling being a huge sport with a massive following around the world. Key territories will initially be the UK, USA and Europe. Global Cycling Network (GCN) who are a subsidiary of Warner Bros/Discovery have expressed an initial interest in the film and we are hoping to explore opportunities with them around a possible digital deal on their GCN+ channel on Apple TV.

Alongside documentaries I have recently directed a couple of short narrative film projects for commercial clients including Google and Ball Corporation and I am also eager to build this side of my business and, in due course, either direct or produce a short film on a non-commercial basis – i.e.collaborate with a local writer and/or director in bringing an original screenplay/script to life on the big screen and enter film festivals, etc.