U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab Unveils Inaugural Selection of Project as Mike Flanagan Joins Masterclass Program (EXCLUSIVE)

The first edition of the U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab, the initiative founded by Film Constellation, Mason Fantastic Film Festival and Tatino Films, has found its first projects.

Following an open call led by Myriam Sassine, Evrim Ersoy, and Edward Parodi that saw hundreds of filmmakers apply to be a part of the development lab, 12 feature film projects have been selected highlighting genre stories from around the U.K.

Meanwhile, the program has secured additional masterclasses from some of the world’s leading genre filmmakers. Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Jessica Hausner (“Little Joe”), and Tea Shop Productions (“The Surfer,” “Fall,” “47 Meters Down”) have joined the roster of award-winning talent contributing to the lab alongside Patrik Andersson, Jenna Cato Bass, Verena Gräfe-Höft, Antoine Waked, Carlota Pereda, Andy Starke, Dan Martin and Frank Kruse.

The U.K. Next Wave Genre Lab is a development initiative and recipient of the BFI Creative Challenge fund, awarding National Lottery Funding. Created to build and support the next generation of genre talent coming from the UK, the lab aims to highlight emerging filmmakers and their projects on an international scale and give them the tools to break out into the global market.

The selected projects in development will be supported over a seven-month period starting this week, for which all participants will be paid, comprising online masterclasses and consultations, an onsite workshop in Cardiff, followed by writers’ residencies abroad.

The projects selected for the inaugural edition span the breadth of genre filmmaking, from horror to fantasy, and feature a variety of topics including identity crisis, toxic masculinity, crime, revenge and more. It also sees some filmmaking teams reunite for more ambitious projects following their previous successes, such as Joy Wilkinson and Cassandra Sigsgaard (“7 Keys”), and Sasha Nathwani, Helen Simmons, and Campbell Beaton (Crystal Bear winner “Last Swim”).

See the line up of 12 projects below:

“Don’t Go Back”
Written and directed by Joy Wilkinson
Produced by Cassandra Sigsgaard (Jeva Films)

“Enclave”
Written and directed by Federico Barni
Produced by Priya Palak (Ansible Studio Ltd)

“Mauled by a Dog”
Directed by Sion Thomas
Written by Owen Davies, Oliver Gabe
Produced by Oskar Pimlott, Rik Green (Pulse Films)

“Plastic“
Directed by Margarita Milne
Written by Xiao Tang
Produced by Victoria Bavister (Two Birds Entertainment)

“The Pigeon Heart“
Written and directed by Em Gilbertson
Produced by Michelle Brøndum (Jante Films)

“Little Bird”
Written and directed by Faye Jackson
Produced by Carley Armstrong (True Moon Pictures)

“Arkadia“
Directed by Rebekah Fortune
Written by Rosy Deacon
Produced by Hannah Tookey (This Little Rock Ltd)

“A Man at the Window“
Written and directed by Lucy Rose
Produced by Maria Caruana Galizia (Candle & Bell Limited)

“They Came from Below“
Written and directed by Max Ward
Produced by Will Butters (Qualia Films Co, Ltd)

“Leech“
Written by Omar Khan
Produced by Fozia O’Dowd (Public Display of Affection Films)

“Befriender“
Written and directed by Elize Du Toit
Produced by Becket Pennington Legh, Jacob Thomas (Aries Films and Ngauruhoe Film)

“Confidence Man“
Directed by Sasha Nathwani
Written by Helen Simmons
Produced by Campbell Beaton (Pablo & Zeus Ltd)