We’re thrilled to introduce the participants of the 22nd edition of Bridging the Gap!
A big thank you to everyone who submitted their projects this year — the competition was incredibly tough. Ultimately, these 12 talented filmmakers stood out, and we are excited to support them on their journey.
Over the next three months, they will take part in a series of customised workshops, working closely with industry professionals to refine their ideas. At the end of their training, each participant will have the opportunity to pitch their project to a panel of experts, competing for the chance to be commissioned.
Without further ado, meet the shortlisted talent:
HUSS Aya
HUSS is a queer Arab multidisciplinary artist based in Glasgow. Tackling personal and political themes through performance, moving image and sound, Huss uses his work to raise issues facing the Arab world that lack acknowledgment in western society, especially topics of displacement, queer laws and how much it has always censored and endangered artists like himself.
Lewis Baillie
Lewis is a Scottish director based in Edinburgh. His work focuses on fostering understanding and social change within Scotland’s creative landscape through collaboration and community-driven projects. Working with companies such as Converse, Clash Magazine, Spotify and NikeSB, whilst consistently exploring experimental local narratives.
Miranda Carter-Watson
Miranda is a filmmaker from the North East of England. She studied Anthropology followed by Directing Documentary at the National Film and Television School and worked for many years as an AP and Story Producer at London based Raw TV. She has recently moved to Belfast.
Dhillon Clarke
Dhillon is a Scottish filmmaker with a passion for character-led documentaries that highlight diverse experiences. His previous films have screened at festivals across the UK and he was selected for the Grierson DocLab 2023. He holds a postgraduate degree in Filmmaking and currently works as a researcher in unscripted television.
Maryam Haddadi
Maryam recently graduated with a Master’s in Directing Documentary Film from the University of Edinburgh. She focuses on women’s stories of resilience and has served as an Assistant Director on three award-winning documentaries. Additionally, she directed two films and received a 2024 Small Grant for the Refugee Festival Scotland.
Eric Liddle
Eric has been working within the Scottish film industry for over 5 years as a writer and director, as well as being the founder of the independent film production company Humble Film Productions. This year, he made his first non-fiction work in collaboration with the National Theatre Scotland. He is eager to continue his journey into documentary filmmaking through Bridging the Gap.
Becky Manson
Becky Manson is a filmmaker from Orkney. Interested in routine, repetition and ritual, she tells small stories that explore universal themes. Her first documentary short, Bin Day, premiered at EIFF in 2019. In 2022 she co-directed the documentary feature, The Ballad of a Great Disordered Heart, which premiered at EIFF.
Gauri Sharma
Gauri is a documentary filmmaker with three years of experience in the Indian non-fiction television industry. During this tenure, she has worked on award-winning shows for networks like DW, Discovery Channel and National Geographic. As a director she is making a shift from factual entertainment to creative documentary. Her first short documentary is titled About Grief. The film deals with themes of grief, art-making, Sufi Islam and spirituality.
Marie Trestrail
Marie is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Glasgow. Originally from the States, she recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh’s Documentary Film Directing program. She’s a long-time storyteller passionate about art at an intersection, exploring and questioning the liminal spaces and in-betweens that make up our world.
Klarissa Webster
Klarissa has been involved in several short films in a variety of roles and has written and directed two shorts. She is very passionate about documentaries and wants to move towards making non-fiction films, with a list of ideas she wants to bring alive to the screen.
Aimie Willemse
Aimie Willemse is an award-winning Scottish genre filmmaker who recent short film Unravelling has just premiered at Screamfest in Los Angeles. She has trained at Screen Academy Scotland’s MA Film and now is exploring multiple sclerosis by blurring the lines between fantasy and documentary.
Meg Wriggles
Meg recently graduated with a degree in Film & TV from ECA. Her first commissioned short documentary followed Kenny Hunter’s creation of Scotland’s first Covid memorial for the Royal College of Surgeons. Most recently, she directed Wild Horses, a collaboration with Roxy and Red Bull featuring Emily Grimes on a surf trip along Scotland’s northern coast, completed on horseback. She is the co-founder of Foundry Films, a female-led production company specialising in documentaries about art, nature, and community, with a focus on analogue film.
Bridging the Gap is Scotland’s leading documentary talent development scheme supported by Screen Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen.
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