Introducing Our Stories to Shorts Writers Cohort 2025.

After a competitive assessment process, eleven talented Midlands-based writers were selected to develop their short film scripts as part of our Stories to Shorts Programme.

Stories to Shorts is a collaboration between BFI NETWORK and BFI Film Academy in the Midlands, supporting writers at lots of different stages in their career with taking an idea to script stage.

The programme kicked off with a series of masterclasses with BIFA and BAFTA-nominated Writer-Director and Script Editor Laura Tunbridge, and was followed an intensive programme of working alongside script editors to develop ten diverse and brilliant screenplays from exciting Midlands talent.

The cohort received guidance on refining concepts, structure, character development, writing dialogue, creating treatments and pitching documents for short films, as well as having the opportunity to work one-to-one with a script editor to polish their ideas.

The programme drew to a close with a trip to Aesthetica Film Festival, where the cohort had the opportunity to head to the many industry talks and screenings as well as pitch their projects and network with the cohorts from In Development Producers Lab and the Northern Script Lab.

Many of these projects are still looking for the rest of their creative team, and so if you are interested in connecting with these writers, please contact us at BFINETWORK@filmhubmidlands.org

Read on to learn more about the talent and their exciting projects.

About Aimee

Aimee is a writer from the West Midlands. She was selected for BBC Write Across Birmingham and the Black Country in 2024. She wrote and composed MAMA (Best Job in the World) with support from Birmingham Rep/Notnow Collective and Arts Council England; co-wrote and composed the interactive family animation Chase Tales for Birmingham Rep/Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles; and co-wrote The Other Mothers with Rae Mainwaring, sharing an early version at Story Engine Birmingham in 2025.

She is also an actor, musician, and voiceover artist. Her screen work includes playing Tina in My Name is Leon, based on Kit de Waal’s bestselling novel and directed by Lynette Linton (BBC2/Douglas Road Productions). Her theatre credits include Bright Places by Rae Mainwaring, directed by Tessa Walker (Carbon Theatre); The Decision, directed by Anthony Almeida (Birmingham Opera Company); and My Big Fat Cowpat Wedding (Kali Theatre/Black Country Touring).

Aimee regularly performs with Spoon in a Jar Publications, working with a live band to share stories and songs in independent bookshops such as How Brave is the Wren, and at Birmingham Jazz Festival. She has also appeared in commercials for brands ranging from P&O Cruises to Branston Pickle, and has delivered voiceovers for dozens of organisations including the NHS and the RSPCA.

Aimee co-produces Story Engine Birmingham, where they champion West Midlands talent in the theatre and screen industry.

About Ali

Ali Khan is a British Actor, Writer, and Director from Nottingham, England. He began his acting journey at the age of 9 at the BAFTA award-winning Television Workshop and graduated from King's College London with a BA in History in 2022. He has worked as part of the main cast in major studio productions such as A Haunting in Venice (Dir Sir Kenneth Branagh). As well as critically acclaimed independent films such as Brides (Sundance 2025). 

About Charlotte

Charlotte is a writer and director working across live action and animation, crafting bold, character-driven stories that fuse humour, emotion, and visual flair. Her work examines the search for authenticity within a hyper-mediated world, often through unconventional characters caught between self-perception and public image. She is fascinated by how technology and media shape identity, influence relationships, and redefine what it means to be seen.

She has directed projects for Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, and DreamWorks, amongst others, with her work amassing over a billion views on Youtube. Recent writing credits include 'The 11% Club' (a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe 2025 show) and 'The After Party', debuting at Soho Theatre in November. Charlotte is also currently working on '4½ Minutes', a short documentary about the last colour analogue photo booths, alongside 'The Apology', the narrative short developed with BFI Stories to Shorts.

About David

David Poole is a Birmingham based writer director experienced in narrative short film and artist moving image. Most recently his sci-fi comedy script “Time Slot” was in the Top 3 shortlist for the Reel Brum ‘Mummy’s Funny Brummies’ production fund, supported by Joe Lycett. He was previously shortlisted for The Pitch Film Fund 2022 with his comedy pitch “A Nice Walk,” and his comedy short films have been funded and broadcast by the BBC, screened at BFI Southbank and nominated for RTS Midlands awards. He has been selected for Talent Labs by BFI NETWORK, Directors UK and London Screenwriters Festival, and his moving image artwork has exhibited at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, been commissioned by CBRE and shortlisted for Royal College of Art commissions. David is currently developing several art film, genre short and feature scripts.

About Kel

Kel is a comedy-drama writer whose work explores loss, longing and impossible dreams. She studied scriptwriting at Bournemouth University.

About Kumyl

Kumyl Saied is a writer-director working in horror. Drawing on gothic, surrealist, and psychological influences, he crafts films that evoke discomfort and offer audiences a distinctly unsettling experience. His directorial debut premiered at the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in 2024 and went on to earn multiple nominations. After completing an MA in Screenwriting at the London Film School, he was selected for Stories to Shorts with the BFI Film Hub Midlands. Kumyl is seeking producers interested in horror from an under-represented British-Arab perspective.

About Leo

Leo Wright is multi-award winning stop motion filmmaker.

He developed his film production skills at Aardman as part of their In-Studio Training Course - an opportunity to create a stop motion short film at Aardman's Gas Ferry Road Studios for 6 months. This included support and industry-level training from animation leaders such as David Sproxton, Peter Lord, Suzie Templeton and Sam Morrison. This resulted in the creation of Leo's short film: The Big Bad Wolf. ​The Big Bad Wolf was shortlisted for the Animation category at the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards and screened at the 69th BFI London Film Festival.

​Leo's student films won two Royal Television Society Awards for Best Writing and Best Production Design, along with an 'Honourable Mention' Certificate for Production Design at the Ray Harryhausen Awards. He also has a First Class BA Hons Degree in Stop Motion Animation, with an additional Certificate of Excellence in Animation. 

Leo has worked in the art department at BBC Studios on the 13th season of 'Father Brown', covering set dressing and graphic design in a live action capacity.

​Leo has received media coverage in Variety, BBC Midlands Today, BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio WM, British Cinematographer, Black Country Bugle, Express and Star. Leo's work has been recognised by the Royal British Legion, British Red Cross and 10 Downing Street.

​He continues to pursue his passion in animation and telling quality, heart-warming stories through the medium of stop motion whilst working on his next project.

About Ruth

Ruth Holder is an ambitious Writer-Director based in the West Midlands with experience working as an industry professional in multiple different roles in HETV. As of 2022, Ruth has made two short films. LOST IDENTITY (2020) which she wrote, directed and produced herself, and premiered at a sold out screening that garnered local press attention. Whereas, SANKOFA (2020) which was a poetry film she directed for a project called Black Words Matter, was an adaptation of a local poet's work about identity and heritage.

Since 2021, Ruth has worked as a floor runner in various high-end TV productions, such as BBC's YOU DON'T KNOW ME (2021). But after taking part in Create Central's TV Production Bootcamp in July 2022, she has since worked on ITV's comedy drama DEEP FAKE NEIGHBOUR WARS (2023) and BBC's fourth season of MAN LIKE MOBEEN (2023).

Ruth's end goal is to follow in the footsteps of directing icons Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve and Guillermo del Toro and create compelling films that will be screened in cinemas worldwide. She hopes to work across many genres with a heavy focus on fantasy and action and wants her work to explore the themes of identity, culture and the complexities of our own humanity.

About William

William Thompson is a stop-motion filmmaker. Since finishing his Film and English degree, he has spent much of the last year in a tiny Herefordshire village making animations on his bedroom floor. His work includes shorts made with Bristol's Calling the Shots, Barrow's Signal Film and Media, and the Aardman Academy. His love of stop-motion formed the basis of his award-winning undergraduate dissertation. 

William cut his teeth making animations on his DS, whilst writing plays and quizzes for a vaguely anarchic cafe church. He has since been a key creative in Wayfarers Theatre, building puppets and props for their outdoor Shakespeare shows. At University, William also became centrally involved in Bristol Improv, directing and performing in shows, including two at the Edinburgh Fringe.