We are excited to unveil the commissioned filmmakers for the 21st edition of Bridging the Gap.
After an intense, bespoke development phase and a highly competitive pitching session, six projects were handpicked by an industry panel to receive a cash budget of £8,500 as well as in-kind production and distribution support. Over the next six months, the selected filmmakers will receive further mentoring to sculpt urgent, authentically crafted and captivating documentaries slated for delivery by June 2024.
Without further ado, meet the shortlisted talent:
Eva Babington
A graduate of Bournemouth Film School, Eva’s recent documentary focused on women’s reproductive health. Its impact has inspired her to concentrate on social cause documentaries. She has experience as a production assistant and camera operator on other productions and is an alumni of Edinburgh TV Festival’s talent scheme The Network.
Mariana Duarte
Mariana Duarte is a filmmaker with a particular interest in migrant cinema. After working as an in-house editor at TV Globo in Brazil and graduating from the Kino Eyes Erasmus Film Masters, she’s now a part-time PhD candidate at Edinburgh College of Art. Mariana directed the short documentary NEWCOMERS (2013) and has edited a number of TV shows and short films, which have screened at renowned festivals. In 2022 she was selected for Berlinale Talents.
Ciara Flint
Ciara Flint is a South African documentary filmmaker living in Scotland, primarily focused on stories of human perseverance. She is a Royal Television Society nominee and was shortlisted for the 2022 Young Scottish Filmmaker Prize. Her award winning short films have screened at a wide array of festivals across the UK, including Sheffield Doc/Fest, Encounters Film Festival, Glasgow Short Film Festival and Wildscreen.
Lipa Hussain
Lipa previously wrote and directed her debut short film PRESS KEY FIVE which was also a bilingual film. Whilst she is still early in her filmmaking journey, she has found a lot of joy in telling stories that provoke discussion and emotion. Filmmaking has in some ways served as her second act, but it has now become an outlet to tell stories that matter to her.
Theo Panagopoulos
Theo Panagopoulos is a Greek-Lebanese-Palestinian filmmaker based in Glasgow. His first short documentary MY OWN PERSONAL LEBANON screened in multiple Bafta-qualifying festivals and his latest short THE PLACE BETWEEN WAS AND WILL BE premiered at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in 2022. His films explore themes of collective memory, fragmented identities and otherness.
Holly Márie Parnell
Holly Márie Parnell is an Irish/Canadian filmmaker based in Glasgow. Through a documentary language, she works across film and expanded cinema. Her practice is motivated by the powerful truths of embodied knowledge and lived experience. She is an alumnus of the FLAMIN Fellowship and an MFA graduate of the Slade.
Bridging the Gap is Scotland’s leading documentary talent development scheme supported by Screen Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen.
Leave a Reply