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A family adventure feature about a dyslexic London school kid sent to live with his grandmother in Scotland has topped the annual Brit List for the top unsigned TV and film projects.

Super Gran, which is from Keri Collins and with London-based producer Brock Media, scored 22 recommendations, four more than the second placed project, Henry Blake and Xiao Tang’s ‘body horror love story’ feature The Golden Radiance of a Beetle. The results were revealed at an event in London this evening in the UK. Scroll down for the full list.

Collins’ film treatment follows a boy who sent to his boring, cantankerous granny’s home in Scotland for Christmas only to discover she has secret superpowers and spy base beneath Loch Ness. He is taken on an epic adventure in her flying 1980s Mini to do battle with an arrogant tech bro, who wants to bring about instant climate change for profit.

A family adventure comedy has topped the 2023 edition of The Brit List, the U.K.’s version of The Black List for unproduced scripts.

Earning 22 recommendations, Keri Collins’ Super Gran — based on the British children’s TV series (which had a theme song performed by Billy Connelly) — led a total of 13 scripts that made the final list, which this year required a minimum of 12 recommendations for inclusion. For the first time since being established in 2007, the 2013 Brit List — which over the years has included Oscar winners including The King’s Speech, The Danish Girl and The Favourite — combined both film and TV scripts.

“What an exciting year! Thirteen scripts, from fourteen fantastic writers have made it onto The Brit List 2023. And I’m particularly delighted that this year three feature scripts have topped the List — the first time since The Brit List combined both film and TV scripts. I’m hoping...

Henry Blake and Xiao Tang’s ’The Golden Radiance Of A Beetle’ also made the list

Keri Collins’ family adventure comedy Super Gran has topped the 13-strong Brit List 2023 for unproduced scripts from emerging UK talent.

Collins was a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2014 and won the Welsh Bafta Breakthrough the same year for his feature debut Convenience. Super Gran surrounds a 12-year-old with dyslexia who reluctantly goes to stay with his Scottish grandmother only to discover she has superpowers and needs his help to bring down an “arrogant tech bro”.

Next in line with 18 recommendations is The Golden Radiance...

‘Super Gran’ and ‘The Outrun’ will be adapted through Sarah Brocklehurst Productions.

UK producer Sarah Brocklehurst has optioned two new books, following the recent release of literary adaptation and Sundance hit Animals.

Sarah Brocklehurst Productions has picked up Forrest Wilson’s Super Gran, about a witty Scottish grandmother who gains superpowers and defends her grandson and elderly friends from a dangerous criminal.

The book sold 750,000 copies when first published in 1978 and was turned into an Emmy-winning TV series in the 1980s, which sold worldwide.

The feature is being scripted by filmmaker Keri Collins, who won a Bafta Cymru in 2014 for feature debut Convenience.

Exclusive: Catherine Linstrum and Keri Collins movies shortlisted for development and production scheme.

Ten movie projects have been shortlisted for the Ffilm Cymru Wales/Film Wales’ Cinematic development and production scheme.

This year, nominated features include Nuclear by Cannes award-winning director Catherine Linstrum (California Dreamin’) and Sorted by former Raindance entrant Keri Collins (Convenience).

The programme, for films with budgets up to £300k, is financed in partnership with the BFI and S4C with additional support from Fields Park Entertainment and Warner Music Supervision.

Shortlisted film teams will now receive input from industry professionals including producers Julie Baines (Creep) and Emily Leo (Under the Shadow) as well as director Ben Parker (The Chamber), alongside sales and distribution representatives such as Jezz Vernon, formerly of Metrodome, and Deborah Rowland.

Three selected films will then be made over the next 18 months.

FfCW will invest approximately £180,000 production finance into each of the final three films. As part of...

A hold-up turned hostage situation in an all-night store is played for laughs

Director Keri Collins won a Bafta Cymru breakthrough award for this Clerks-y comedy about a petrol station convenience store that becomes the scene of a bungled robbery. Simon Fantauzzo’s script propels two haplessly indebted mates – driving force Ray Panthaki and Four Lions graduate Adeel Akhtar – into the all-night store where Vicky McClure’s seen-it-all shop assistant proves more than a match for her would-be captors (“Er, when does the Stockholm syndrome kick in?”). As the night wears on, a succession of clueless customers, including Verne Troyer, Tom Bell and Tony Way, all fail to grasp the gravity of the situation. Panthaki and Akhtar have droll double-act chemistry, McClure is indomitably entertaining (as ever) and the low-budget vibe produces a few good giggles.

Continue reading...

With Convenience hitting screens across the UK on October 2nd, in the build up to the release of this entertaining comedy, we sat down with the writer Simon Fantauzzo and director Keri Collins, who explained to us exactly where this idea came from, and the process that then followed in taking it to the big

The post Writer Simon Fantauzzo and director Keri Collins on British comedy Convenience appeared first on HeyUGuys.

★★☆☆☆ Convenience (2015) starts with a bang as half naked Shaan (Adeel Akhtar) runs from the Russian mafia down a wet street as music pounds in the background, bringing to mind the kinetic energy of Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. It won't be the last influence to be cited in Keri Collins' spritely, entertaining if somewhat shop worn British indie-comedy. Shaan, it turns out, has inadvertently run up a huge bill at a local strip club and leads his pursuers back to his flat.

Stars: Ray Panthaki, Vicky McClure, Adeel Akhtar, Anthony Head, James Bradshaw, Joe Marsh, John Norton, Velibor Topic, Verne Troyer | Written by Simon Fantauzzo | Directed by Keri Collins

What’s this? I hear you cry. Nerdly reviewing a new British comedy? Yes, given the fact we tend to avoid British productions – especially those featuring football hooligans and/or gangsters, two “genres” which tend to proliferate the shelves of DVD stores and supermarkets everywhere (and two genres I consider the nadir in filmmaking) – and focus on mainly horror output from these shores, seeing Convenience reviewed on these pages may come as a shock. However never let it be said we (well, mostly I) won’t step out of our comfort zones once in a while. And this case I’m glad we did.

The feature debut of director Keri Collins, Convenience was filmed way back in 2013 and has already scored Collins the...

BAFTA Cymru-winning film stars Vicky McClure, Adeel Akhtar, Ray Panthaki.

New distribution outfit B-Attitude Films has announced that its BAFTA Cymru Award-winning film Convenience is to be released in UK cinemas on Oct 2 and on demand/DVD on Oct 5.

The comedy heist film is directed by former Screen Star of Tomorrow Keri Collins.

Produced by Ray Panthaki and written by Simon Fantauzzo, Convenience stars Vicky McClure (This Is England), Adeel Akhtar (The Dictator), Ray Panthaki (28 Days Later), Anthony Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Verne Troyer (Austin Powers).

The buddy comedy heist movie follows two convenience store robbers who bungle the crime and end up working there for the rest of the night.

Collins won the BAFTA Cymru Breakthrough Award for Convenience last October.

Screen Star of Tomorrow awarded at British Academy Cymru Awards.

Screen International 2014 Star of Tomorrow Keri Collins won the Breakthrough Award for his film Convenience at the 23rd British Academy Cymru Awards held on Oct 26.

Convenience, a crime comedy starring BAFTA award-winner Vicky McClure (This is England), was also a Raindance 2013 official selection. The film follows two best friends as they attempt to rob a petrol station to clear a debt owned to Russian strip club owners.

In all, 28 programme, craft and performance categories were awarded at this year’s ceremony, honouring excellence in broadcasting and production within Film and Television in Wales between April 2013 and March 2014.

The list of winners:

Factual Series - The Call Centre

Director Factual - Gwirionedd y Galon -Dylan Wyn Richards

Single Documentary - O’r Galon - Yr Hardys: Un Dydd ar y Tro

Editing - 35 Diwrnod - Dafydd Hunt

Photography & Lighting - Y Gwyll / Hinterland -Richard Stoddard

Photography Factual...

Forty Canadian and international producers will head to the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s annual International Financing Forum in Toronto.Scroll down for full list of projects

The ninth-annual International Financing Forum (Iff), a feature co-financing market for English-language projects, will run Sept 7-8 during Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 4-14).

The two-day event includes one-on-one meetings, an industry panel discussion, roundtable meetings, a networking luncheon, and a producers’ opening night networking reception.

Iff partners include Telefilm Canada, UK Trade and Investment (Ukti), and Toronto Film Commission & Entertainment Industries.

Among this year’s international projects are:

The Lunchbox producer Guneet Monga with sci-fi drama Punha, starring Kanal Nayyar of The Big Bang Theory;

Land Ho! producers Mynette Louie and Sara Murphy reteaming with director Aaron Katz on Settlers;

former Screen International Future Leader Sol Bondy of Germany’s One Two Films with Us-based Jennifer Fox with her thriller The Tale to star Laura Dern, Ellen Burstyn and [link...

Screen International is today unveiling its 2014 UK Stars of Tomorrow, profiling rising actors, writers, directors, producers and heads of department.Click here for the digital edition [Subscribers]Gallery: UK Stars of Tomorrow 2014

The 2014 Class of Screen International UK Stars of Tomorrow are: (click on each name for individual profile)

The Actors

Jamie Blackley

The South London native will star opposite Chloe Grace Moretz in If I Stay for Warner Bros/MGM.

Olivia Cooke

The 20-year-old Manchester native is already a familiar face in the Us, where she stars in TV series Bates Motel.

Sophie Cookson

The Oxford School of drama graduate landed the female lead in Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service.

McKell David

At just 17, this Harrow teenager is a veteran of his own YouTube show and will star in three new features: Don’t Grow Up, Legacy and Montana.

Calvin Demba

The 20-year-old East Ender has just shot an episode of Babylon and will star...

Ten film projects, including features from Doctor Who director Euros Lyn and Borrowed Time producer Olivier Kaempfer, have been selected to progress to the first round of the Film Agency for Wales’ low budget film scheme.

The teams behind these projects will now participate in a training and mentoring programme supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, which is funded by the National Lottery via the BFI, and through the Skills Investment Fund (Sif).

The Film Agency for Wales devised and developed Cinematic in partnership with the BFI Film Fund, BBC Films, S4C and Soda Pictures to support emerging filmmaking talent from Wales in making “contemporary, dynamic and distinctive feature films” with budgets of around £300,000 ($480,000).

A total of 56 applications were made to the programme following its launch in June. The ten projects and their filmmaking teams selected to continue with the programme are:

Craig’s Film (working title)

Producer: Pip Broughton

Writer / Director: [link...

WikiLeaks founder to judge films at the 21st Raindance Film Festival; 2013 line-up unveiled.Scroll down for full line-up of films

Julian Assange has joined the jury of the 21st Raindance Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 6), a London-based event that celebrates independent film in the UK and around the world.

The appointment is a controversial one. The Australian editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning about sexual assault allegations.

It is understood that he fears Sweden would extradite him to the Us, where he believes he is wanted in relation to WikiLeaks’ disclosure of a significant amount of classified Us military and diplomatic documents.

Commenting on Assange’s appointment, Raindance founder Elliot Grove said: “Every year Raindance invites interesting people to join our jury. In the past we have had musicians like Mick Jones, Marky Ramone and [link...

As director Kenneth Branagh's highly anticipated adaptation of "Thor" enters its third month of principal photography, word from the production has continued to come from unexpected sources. British screenwriter and director Keri Collins — whom Branagh is mentoring — recently spoke out about his time on the set.

“Obviously I can’t reveal anything of what I saw whilst there but needless to say I had an awesome time and gained so much more than I expected in terms of career development," exclaimed Collins on the Marvel Movies Facebook page. "I think you guys are going to be very happy when the movie is released; what I saw absolutely blew me away."

"I was also struck by just how friendly and welcoming everyone on set was," continued Collins. "Including the fantastic Craig Kyle and Kevin Feige from Marvel who could easily have told me to go away and stop malingering around their movie set,...

Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures have released the official plot synopsis for Thor and while brief, it does give an idea of what to expect in terms of general structure of the film’s story.

In recent weeks, as the Thor cast and crew push further into principal photography, the Marvel movie news ticker has instead centered around that of the casting process for that other Avenger, you know, The First Avenger: Captain America. While we anxiously wait as director Joe Johnston and Marvel narrow down their choices in selecting who will play Steve Rogers in that movie, and while Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. light up the post-Oscar internet party with the unveiling of the second official Iron Man 2 trailer, we now have some more on Thor!

First and foremost, here is the official plot synopsis for Thor:

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure,...