UKRAINE'S REFUGEE CHESS PRODIGY
Director | 10', 2023
Maksym and Iryna are two of the millions of refugees who fled Ukraine in 2022. And Maksym is one in a million. He left Ukraine the day that Russia invaded, and won a chess tournament four days after arriving in the UK. This film follows the wins, losses and many battles fought by both mother and son as they seek to build new lives whilst keeping old dreams alive.
Produced by Happenstance Films for Al Jazeera. Link to film here.
THE BOXING BISHOP
Director, Producer | 19', 2022
When youth violence in the North London town of Edmonton escalated to a fatality a month, a local Archbishop made the bold suggestion that young people in the area throw more punches. Almost 20 years on, the boxing club he established and runs has become an iron-clad and iron-fisted community, where he’s turned lives around through his work in and outside of the ring.
Commissioned by Talkies Community Cinema & Enfield Council.
THE CURTAIN
Self-shooting Director, Editor | 7', 2022
Awards:
Longlist: One World Media Award for Refugee Reporting, 2024
Festivals / Screenings:
London Short Film Festival, 2024
Manchester Film Festival, 2023
Thirty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, three generations of Ukrainian women relay their memories of three distinct stages of the USSR, and the three decades since its fall. Filmed in the year before Ukraine would have to fight anew for independence, the women’s memories of bygone eras ring with devastating relevance, and their hopes for the future take
on stinging new significance.
LATIN AMERICAN WOMEN'S AID
Director, Producer | 3', 2021
Short film for Latin American Women's Aid (LAWA), the only organisation and refuge for Latin American women in the UK. Highlighting, through the stories of the women they work with, how LAWA offers not only
a safe space and support, but a community and home away from home.
Commissioned and executive produced by Media Trust.
MISHA
Self-shooting Director, Editor | 2', 2021
Festivals:
GlobalGirl Media Film Festival , 2023 (Nominated for: Best Documentary; Best International Film; Best Director)
FICIMAD, 2023 (Winner: Best Documentary Editing)
Tampere Film Festival, 2023
EFN Short Film Festival, 2022
Sunday Shorts Film Festival, 2022
Little Wing Film Festival, 2022
Sunderland Shorts Film Festival, 2022
London Migration Film Festival, 2022
Awards:
Finalist: Charity Film Awards 2023
Housebound amputee and former USSR sailor, Misha, laments his lot, reminisces over his past, and longs for a grandson-in-law. Shortlisted for Encounters Film Festival’s Depict! competition, receiving a special mention for the Royal Photographic Society Cinematography Award. Selected by Leeds Film for screening in schools, as part of a 2023 educational programme.
