Short & Suite: Getting your film into festivals

Are you a young filmmaker, sitting on a film with no idea how to get it shown, studying film with dreams of getting into Cannes one day, or just have an idea for a film you’d love to get made?

Wherever you are in your filmmaking journey, this event is for you! Join us for a screening of young filmmakers’ work produced by Rural Media and MediaActive, followed by a masterclass in which industry experts from across the Midlands will discuss getting your film off the ground. We’ll end the event with a short networking session, perfect for making connections and getting your foot in the door.

Industry experts include Flatpack’s film programmer Max Harding, Birmingham based filmmaker Nadine O’Mahony, film producer Lauren Parker and film distributor Delphine Lievens.

Speaker Bios

Max Harding
Max is Short Film Programmer at Flatpack Festival. Originally from London, he went to university in Birmingham, and has stayed ever since. After stumbling across it by accident, he has been programming (with a particular attention to animation and short film) for 5 years now, and has worked for festivals across Europe. He also facilitates sessions for "Build Your Own Film Night", where he equips groups across the Midlands with the skills to host their own film events.

Nadine O'Mahony
Nadine is a writer/director of Jamaican and Irish descent who creates character based stories with striking visuals. Alumnus of the Filmmaker Development Programme, her BFI funded short film Rushed has been selected for screening at the Flatpack and Windrush Caribbean Film Festivals. She was a judge at the Worcester film festival in 2022 and is a programmer for her local community cinema Screen B14.

Delphine Lievens (she/they)
Delphine is a freelancer in UK independent film distribution and exhibition. She has previously held roles as Head of Distribution at Bohemia Media, a UK distributor with a specific focus on diverse voices, at Gower Street Analytics as a Senior Box Office Analyst, and at Altitude Films as a Theatrical Sales Executive. She has worked on the UK releases of a number of critically acclaimed independent films including Nana Mensah’s directorial debut, Queen of Glory and Academy Award winner Moonlight. She enjoys discussing current trends in the screen industries and the urgent need for more diversity in film, both on and off screen.

Lauren Parker
Lauren is an East Midlands based producer with her company Kato Pictures. Her recent short Majority was supported by the BFI NETWORK and screened at Krakow, Palm Springs and BFI London Film Festival. It also aired on BBC 2 as part of their Festival of Comedy. Past work includes the BFI NETWORK/ Creative England supported Wash Club which premiered online with Short of the Week and gained a Vimeo Staff Pick. In 2018 Lauren was selected for the Edinburgh International Film Festival Talent Lab with the feature film version of Wash Club. She has just completed the BFI NETWORK supported short film Lord of the Free Range.