Selected Works
Films
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Mechanical Souls, 2019
Author ('inspired by'), Concept, Co-writer 360° VR immersive theatre Directed by Gaëlle Mourre Starring Janet Hsieh, George Young, Patty Pei-Yu Lee, Sharon Landon, Lang Tsu-Yun Produced by Digital Rise & DV Group & Serendipity Films Original music by Jasmin K. Rodgman Supported by the Google Jump Start Program and Kaohsiung Film Archive Inspired by Reflections in a Mechanical Eye Screenings include: - Sundance Film Festival (USA) - SXSW (USA) - Kaohsiung Film Festival (Taiwan) - Lille Grand Palais (France) - New Images Festival (France) "Best Social Experience [of Sundance]... Mechanical Souls blends role-playing with VR video to strong effect. The experience puts a handful of people into the role of quality assurance testers at Mechlife, your average amoral manufacturer of eerily humanlike androids. After gathering at a table, they’re asked to analyze some VR video of a disastrous incident involving a robotic bridesmaid at a ritzy wedding. But the videos all seem slightly different, and when participants start discussing what they’ve seen, it’s hard to pin down what actually happened. The workshop turns into an open-ended talk about what might have motivated the artificial being, with occasional contributions from actors playing robotic attendants — who don’t seem quite right themselves. It’s an experience that would translate well into a full live-action role-playing game" - Adi Robertson, The Verge "For the first time in VR, Mechanical Souls uses an AI-driven narrative engine to bring each member of the audience a one-of-a-kind viewing experience tailored just for them" - Broadway World |
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The Feast, 2018
Author, Co-writer, Associate Producer A dystopian fairytale Directed by Gaëlle Mourre Starring Katie Leung, Joan Walker, Jonathon Kemp Produced by Fat Red Bird Original music by Jasmin K. Rodgman Based on The Feast Screenings and Q&As include: - St. Louis International Film Festival (USA) - London Short Film Festival (UK) - Prince Charles Cinema for Underwire Festival (London, UK) - Bermuda International Film Festival - Schnit Worldwide Film Festival (Bern, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Moscow, San Jose, Bangkok) - Lund International Fantastic Film Festival (Sweden) - Laemmle NoHo 7 for LA Shorts Fest (USA) - The Ditchley Foundation's 'Festival of Ideas', co-hosted by Oxford University's Balliol College, on the theme of 'Future Human: Future Communities' (Ditchley Park, UK) - Prince Charles Cinema for Euro Shorts International Film Festival (London, UK) - Ciné Lumière at the French Cultural Institute (London, UK) "Based on a dystopian fairy tale by L. P. Lee, the story showcases the talents of Harry Potter star, Katie Leung, who... finds herself in that all-too-familiar Faustian bargain of the powerless, where to achieve the agency over her own destiny not afforded her by birthright, class, gender, colour, sexuality etc., she has to risk losing something of her sense of self, agency or dignity. The Feast literally makes an eye-popping, mouth-watering meal of this metaphor - it’s quite remarkable to watch" - Michelle Olley, Phace Mag "...a sumptuous mystery of the gluttonous kind, with an appetising premise and a rich aesthetic. Not only this, the performances are simply delicious... The nature of the story touches upon numerous enduring themes of innocence, greed, ambition and more, coalescing into an immersive viewing experience that will leave you swirling" - Chris Olson, UK Film Review |
Journals
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In the Spaces of Strangers, Nature, 2019
- The story behind the story The Little Hedgehog, Litro, 2018 Eurasian Makes Okonomiyaki, Firewords (Vol. 9), 2017 The White Fox, Popshot Magazine (Vol. 18), 2017 (reprint) The Jars, Popshot Magazine (Vol. 16), 2016 The Feast, The Fabulist, 2015 The Feast, The British Fantasy Society - Horizons (Vol. 1), 2015 The House of Locks, Rousing Reads, 2014 Call of the Cicadas, Litro, 2014 |
Anthologies
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Virtual Futures: Near-Future Fictions (Vol. 1), eds. Dan O'Hara, Tom Ward and Stephen Oram, Virtual Futures, 2019
Best New Horror (Vol. 27), ed. Stephen Jones, PS Publishing, 2017 The Obsidian Poplar and Other Stories, ed. Euan Davidson, The Lightfall Literary Agency, 2014 |
Events
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Auntie Doris, Near-future Fictions (Vol. 3), Virtual Futures Salon, 2017
Truth and What Comes After, Near-future Fictions (Vol. 2), Virtual Futures Salon, 2017 The Virtual Futures Salons (the "Glastonbury of cyberculture" - The Guardian) were held at the Lights of Soho (London, UK). |
Podcasts
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The White Fox, PodCastle (#492), 2017
The House of Locks, Tales to Terrify (#263), 2017 Hibakusha, PodCastle (#452), 2017 |
Awards & Selections
Nominated for Best Storytelling at SXSW, 2019
Google's Jump Start Program for VR, 2018
Finalist (Short Screenplay), Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF), 2018
Winner (Short Screenplay), California Film Awards, 2017
Winner "Best Dark Comedy" (Short Screenplay), Hollywood Hills Screenplay Competition (HHSC), 2017
Winner "Best Technique" (Short Screenplay), The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards, 2017
2nd Place (Short Screenplay), Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards (LAIFFA), 2017
3rd Place (Short Screenplay), Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival (HIMPFF), 2017
Shortlisted for the TSS International Flash Fiction Prize, 2017
Shortlisted for the To Hull and Back prize for comedy, 2017
Nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2015
Film screening selections: Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Kaohsiung Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, Underwire Festival, Schnit Worldwide Film Festival, Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, LA Shorts, Ditchley Festival of Ideas, Euro Shorts
Google's Jump Start Program for VR, 2018
Finalist (Short Screenplay), Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF), 2018
Winner (Short Screenplay), California Film Awards, 2017
Winner "Best Dark Comedy" (Short Screenplay), Hollywood Hills Screenplay Competition (HHSC), 2017
Winner "Best Technique" (Short Screenplay), The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards, 2017
2nd Place (Short Screenplay), Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards (LAIFFA), 2017
3rd Place (Short Screenplay), Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival (HIMPFF), 2017
Shortlisted for the TSS International Flash Fiction Prize, 2017
Shortlisted for the To Hull and Back prize for comedy, 2017
Nominated for the Pushcart Prize, 2015
Film screening selections: Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, Kaohsiung Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, Underwire Festival, Schnit Worldwide Film Festival, Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, LA Shorts, Ditchley Festival of Ideas, Euro Shorts
Interviews
In Conversation With the Filmmakers Behind The Feast, interview by Katrina Russell, The Content Journal, 2017
Note on Illustrations
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Many thanks to these talented artists: Annie Ridd ('The Man-root', 'Call of the Cicadas', 'The Feast', 'Hibakusha'), Isabel Albertos ('The Jars'), Rocky Kelley ('Reflections in a Mechanical Eye') and Vector That Fox ('The White Fox').
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