Project Detail

Stephen

Name: Stephen
Director: Melanie Manchot
Genre: Experimental, Woman Director, Drama
Released: 2023
Duration: 78 min

Melanie Manchot/STEPHEN FILM Ltd

Synopsis

Ste Giddings grew up with addictions in himself and those around him. At 26 he was giving up on life. STEPHEN is a film-within-a-film that combines narrative fiction with real-life observation and archive material. It takes us on intimate journeys into two characters as Ste auditions for and takes on a role in a fiction film. Produced with a mixed cast of people in addiction/recovery alongside four professional actors, the film presents alternative perspectives on urgent social questions including alcohol/drug misuse, gambling and mental health. As fiction merges with reality the separation between person, actor and character at times dissolves.
Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2023 - World premiere

Details

Year: 2023
Type of project: Features
Running time: 78 min
Format: 4K Video
Director: Melanie Manchot 1st Feature
Producer: Elena Hill
Co-Producer: Melanie Manchot
Executive Producer: Solon Papadopoulos
Editor: Graeme Hanks, Liza Ryan-Carter
Screenwriter: Leigh Campbell
Director of Photography: Andrew Schonfelder
Production Designer: Stephanie O'Hara
Sound: Phil Hartley
Composer: Forest Swords
Principal cast: Stephen Giddings, Michelle Collins, Paislie Reid, Kent Riley, Michael Starke
Trailer password: Stephen

Genre

Experimental Woman Director Drama

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

STEPHEN Film Ltd

Melanie Manchot & Elena Hill
33 Dunloe Street
London
E2 8JR

Visit Website

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

When his estranged half-brother is kidnapped in Kibera, a hapless British outsider plunges into Nairobi’s largest slum. Out of his depth and desperate, Steve teams up with Mshai, a streetwise hustler with plans of her own. As double-crosses mount and loyalties shift, Steve must decide whether he’s come to save his brother — or himself.

Action Drama Thriller

Pebble Spiral created by Jim Ede for Kettle's Yard in 1957

a way of living : kettle's yard

Director: Chris Vile

Year: 2026

Henry Moore beside a pebble. Barbara Hepworth next to broken china. No labels. No velvet ropes. No explanation. Art stripped of its usual deference and curatorial esperanto. Art revealing its true power. Art for all. ‘You want to look at how it is and marvel at the ordinariness of it and the extraordinariness of it all’ (Lubaina Himid) Kettle’s Yard is a small, humble home. Created by a couple, Jim & Helen Ede, who, with little money, became supporters and friends of many of the most important artists of the 20th Century. Jim survived the trenches of the First World War but despaired of a society that could allow such horrors. His is a quiet, very British, revolution that has a powerful resonance today. Antony Gormley, Edmund de Waal, Cornelia Parker, Ai Weiwei and others, passionately explain why this humble place is so important to them and why Jim’s radical ideas are vital for us today.

Art / Artists

Maleek sits against a soft furnishing, wearing a cream knit top. He has a shaved head and beard, and his expression is contemplative and emotional. Natural light falls across his face.

Between Realms

Director: Romaine Reid

Year: 2026

Guided through shifting realms shaped by memory, spirit and emotion, Maleek is forced to confront the unresolved wounds that continue to echo across generations. As reality blurs and time slips away, what begins as a search for connection becomes a journey of healing and transformation. Official Selection, S.O.U.L Festival 2026

Black Drama Fantasy Sci-Fi