For this month’s BFI Film Academy Lab, we are delighted to welcome Russell Owen, an award-winning director and co-founder of Kindred Communications Limited.
In this session Russell will share his career journey and offer advice for budding horror directors on how best to work with actors and locations for maximum effect.
Born and raised in North Wales, Russell wrote and directed his first short film Anglesey Road in 2008. The following year he developed, produced and directed his first feature, an experimental low-budget thriller which won him several awards. In 2022, his film Shepherd opened in cinemas to critical acclaim.
Russell will be in conversation with Shelby Cooke, lead programmer and Editor-in-Chief at Film East, the Norwich branch of the Young Film Programmers.
About BFI Film Academy Labs
BFI Film Academy Labs are online events for 16-25 year olds to gain industry insight and get professional advice and support to develop their own film programming and filmmaking practices. Programmed by the Young Film Programmers’ Network (South East) they are delivered as practical masterclasses, workshops and networking sessions.
This session will be live-captioned, we will provide instructions on how to access the captions at the beginning of the event. If you have any questions about the event please get in touch at: info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
You can watch recordings of some of our previous Labs on the ICO YouTube channel.
Speakers
Russell Owen
Director and Screenwriter
In 2008 Russell wrote/directed his first short film ‘Anglesey Road’ sponsored by Panavision and Kodak, shooting on 35mm and building studio sets/models to create something more stylised which would eventually be the foundation of his developing style. The following year he developed, produced and directed his first feature, an experimental, super low-budget art house thriller that won him several awards and work as a commercials and corporate director. In early 2018 Russell was asked to direct horror zombie feature film ‘Inmate Zero’ which then led to him directing his first ever screenplay ‘Shepherd’, which opened in cinemas in 2022 across the world to critical acclaim from major outlets including the New York Times, BBC Film Review and Total Film.
Shelby Cooke
Lead programmer and Editor-in-Chief, Film East
Shelby Cooke is lead programmer and Editor-in-Chief at Film East, the Norwich branch of the Young Film Programmers. Her work for the group has been recognised around the world and has been nominated for three British Film Society of the Year Awards. She is also a freelance culture and media writer, focusing on British cinema, society and the representation of national identity on screen. Shelby co-hosts the podcast ‘Film EAST chats’ which is also broadcast on BBC Radio Norfolk. She was also the editor of Film East's first film theory book, SCREEN DREAMS. Shelby has an MA in Film Studies from the University of East Anglia.