I am a young screenwriter and visual storyteller, curious about how stories help us find and make connections; with ourselves, with others, and, importantly, with the environment(s) we live in.
I find stories fascinating, both how we shape them and how they shape us. At the heart of my work lies my profound desire to create relevant, authentic and nuanced screen-based stories, allied with a strong dedication to reimagining the role of women, both on and off the screen. Stories shape experience… what a dangerous and exciting power they have.
So far, my writing has mainly explored established forms and audiences. However, my interest increasingly leans towards experimental, non-linear, interactive and immersive storytelling. The only way to do this, I believe, is by stepping out of my comfort zone… and the comfort zone of traditional storytelling and filmmaking. As a result, I'm currently busy writing, making and developing films with other likeminded creators, artists and thinkers.
The need to understand and exploit interactive storytelling's potential is a central cultural challenge of the early C21st. Mediated connectivity is now part of our everyday life; we are ubiquitously connected, both with content and each other, through a plethora of devices and communication channels. It sometimes feels as if we storytellers are lagging behind the technological curve. I want to know how we can move both content and form into somewhere new. What happens when the viewer truly becomes an active participant in the story, or indeed in its creation?
As a visual storyteller, seeking to push and test these new boundaries using complex and fragmented narratives, I have become increasingly interested in emerging forms such as, VR, games, second-screen and cross-platform mediums. I seek to combine this interest in innovative, challenging and emerging platforms with a deep curiosity about the expression of the human experience through the art of storytelling at its most basic and profound.
A storyteller by nature, and of English and Malaysian heritage, I grew up as somewhat of a nomad, never really fitting into a specific class or social group. My family are multi-racial, a fascinating and complex mix that has given me infinite inspiration and creative potential. I write to challenge the representation of gender, race and class by exploring intricate and relatable characters, the fluid plurality of identity, and stories that engage with the environment. I want to shed light on untold stories and give voice to society's margins in ways that destabilise genre, narrative and ideological structures.
A little more on some of my work: after working on several film sets to learn more about filmmaking and directing, I co-wrote and starred in the feature film Adira's Dream, which premiered at Madrid IFF 2019 and won several international awards, including Best Story. I then worked as a screenwriter for Goldfinch Studios/Highfield Grange Studios, writing feature films for their slate. Since then, I've been commissioned by Megaverse to adapt my story Collision into an 8-part interactive short film series, for a location-based VR experience as part of their emerging platform, Parallels, showcasing nationally in 2022. I am currently adapting and directing my feature film story, The Hut, the psychological thriller, into a formally and narratively ambitious short film with Megaverse. Apricity, my most recent short film, which I wrote and directed, is a visually atmospheric stop-motion piece (shot and post-processed using analogue techniques) about a woman in a creative and mental stasis and is in post-production. My original feature film script, Our Names in Water, is in the development stage.
I live in York, and I am also Creative Director for art and design studio Last Maps and a Yoga teacher. I have a First-Class BA Honours degree in English...and I'm a peanut butter advocate.