Projects in genres: Thriller

Synopsis

In the world of London's drug war, there is no place for weakness. Mickey O'Brien a common working man is sick of struggling to survive. He wants, he feels, he deserves more - more money, more respect, and more power. On a chance night out he meets a drug dealer and his climb through the ranks of the drug world begins. Driven by ambition and an unholy thirst for power. The more he rises, the more heartless he becomes. Kiera, who once loved him, was there by his side. She always believed in his dreams, made excuses for the warning signs, and told herself there still existed good in him. However, as Mickey's fascination with control distorts into paranoia, and his hands get covered in blood, Kiera sees the monster he has turned into. Now, pursued by his foes, tormented by his own mind, and having no one to turn to, Mickey has his final reckoning. In a world where loyalty is a commodity and power is ephemeral, the question really is when you fall to the top, who will be watching you hit the ground?

Synopsis

A young woman's psyche is haunted and fractured by the relentless demands of the predatory industry she sought to break into. Set against the backdrop of a female actor returning to the casting room, a psychological short film about the mental experience of dissociation. Through a surrealist lens, the film explores themes of performance, identity, gendered power, and a destructive nature of ambition.

Synopsis

Ten days before the millennium, Hope, a single mother, arrives in London with her two infants, clutching only the clothes on their backs. Escaping a haunted past, she seeks refuge in a city gripped by Y2K paranoia. A charismatic stranger offers sanctuary, but as Hope navigates an uncertain future in unfamiliar streets, she uncovers his chilling motives. The threat to her family dwarfs the feared technological collapse. In a pulse-pounding race against time, Hope must protect her children at any cost, no matter the personal sacrifice. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - Short Film Competition

Synopsis

Lewis, a young, dishevelled, unsuspecting man finds himself in a cacophony of trouble, as a local gang leader, Frankie takes advantage of his need for connection and sets up shop in his flat. At its core, this film is a gritty, cinematic look into the manipulative world of cuckooing and what happens when you underestimate someone's abilities to make their own choices. Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

A Palestinian surgeon drives home after a long night shift, but little does she know that a commute through a desolate West Bank road will change her forever. Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2025 - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025 - Winner - Short Film Competition Official Selection Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

After the death of her husband, Janet decides to distract herself by rearing a goose, which is to be the centrepiece of her Christmas dinner. However, as she grows ever more isolated from her daughter, Janet’s need to nurture the goose becomes an obsession: one which will cost her dearly. A modern-day Grimm’s fairy tale about grief, isolation… and a goose. Official Selection Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025 - Winner - Thelma Schoonmaker Prize for Short Filmmaking Excellence Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2025

Synopsis

A character-driven horror-thriller set at Lockbridge Academy, an isolated school on the coast, run by the powerful aristocratic Aberdeen family, who are hiding a dark secret. Eddie, a mute burdened with caring for his cruel, ailing mother, on the cusp of losing their home takes a caretaker position at the foreboding Lockbridge. There, he meets Marie, sparking and instant connection that will alter the trajectory of his life, while unraveling a sinister mystery lurking within the school that could shatter the Aberdeen family legacy forever.

Synopsis

A Drama/Thriller that follows three different characters in a post-apocalyptic world, where danger lurks in unexpected and expected places. Things aren't always how they appear to be.

Synopsis

A surreal Palestinian slice-of-life short. Through radio snippets and salon chatter, early teen Nara meets Ms Moodswings, the personified menstruation blood blob. A tapestry of interrupted life, where growing up unfolds amidst implied socio-political chaos. Official Selection Animafest Zagreb 2026 Official Selection Slamdance Film Festival 2026

Synopsis

After a young woman disappears, a corrupt detective and his volatile partner stumble through London’s starless underbelly, only to discover their prime suspect is entangled in a vast conspiracy - one that reveals the missing woman’s secret double life.

Synopsis

Dexter, a scientist, pushes human knowledge and invents a time machine. The invention spirals into chaos when it unwittingly becomes a malevolent black hole, threatening the world’s very existence. She uncovers the aftermath of her creation when she discovers a cryptic watch, sent through time as proof of her invention's power. Then, face-to-face with her future self, Dexter becomes involved in a high-stakes battle against her destiny, eventually determined to prevent the very creation of the time machine. A shocking twist unfurls as a further version of Dexter emerges, a sinister doppelgänger orchestrating events from the shadows, manipulating the time machine's inception to fulfil a clandestine mission to alter her family's tragic destiny…

Synopsis

CRYBABY is a deeply personal animated short by Welsh filmmaker Eleri Edwards, created through Ffilm Cymru’s Beacons scheme and produced by Biggerhouse Film, a company dedicated to amplifying marginalised voices. Drawing on her own experiences of late-diagnosed autism, Edwards crafts an intimate portrait of self-discovery, memory, and the struggle against internalised negativity. The film follows Carys, a 24-year-old woman packing boxes as she prepares to leave her parents’ house. What begins as a simple act of moving soon dissolves into an otherworldly landscape where she is overwhelmed by endless boxes and the haunting weight of her past. Lurking in the shadows is Carys’s internal voice, brought to life as an angry, chaotic scrawl of pencil scribbles - an embodiment of self-doubt and internalised stigma. As she sorts through the fragments of her childhood, memories of early school days and teenage sleepovers resurface, revealing the pain of exclusion and misunderstanding that shaped her. The 2D animation shifts fluidly between reality and imagination, capturing the turbulence of Carys’ inner world. CRYBABY is both a personal reckoning and a universal story - an exploration of autism, mental health, and the fight to silence the critic within.