Yarns has chosen four filmmakers - Joseph Osayande, Julia Mervis, Aleah Scott and Heath Virgoe - to explore NOSTALGIA, the brief for this year's not-for-profit short film competition run by London-based editing house Stitch.

The filmmakers will be filming and then editing their individual projects with editors at Homespun - Stitch's division of up-and-coming editors - in the coming months, ahead of a premiere screening at the Curzon Soho in London on 17th November.

This year's Yarns, open to unsigned filmmakers across the UK, invited entrants to explore their relationship with the past. Originally planning to select three filmmakers for the competition this year, Stitch Editing owner Tim Hardy reveals that the quality of the pitches on the subject of NOSTALGIA, led to an expansion to choose four winners.  

"This year’s brief inspired some deeply personal storytelling, with each filmmaker exploring unique perspectives on memory, identity and their relationship with the past," says Hardy. "We came into the process expecting to select three winners, but the quality and ambition of the pitches made it impossible not to support a fourth. We’re incredibly excited to see these four films come to life."

With support from sponsors CANADA, Park Pictures and Sine Audio Post, each winner will receive a £2,000 production budget alongside mentorship, access to The Kusp Hub, equipment support from Kodak and ARRI Rental, an edit with Homespun’s editor roster, and full post-production support from Yarns partners Freefolk, 1920vfx, Bubble, Coffee & TV, Sine Audio Post and RESISTER Music.

Joseph Osayande is a filmmaker, photographer and curator from Hertfordshire, UK. With experience curating collaborative exhibitions and working with institutions including Black Cultural Archives, Gallery of Caribbean Art and the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Joseph’s work explores intersectionality, global Black identity and nuanced understandings of cultural dynamics.

Joseph’s short ‘Norfolk Dumpling’ tells a folk tale about a fostered Black girl who discovers a mask that allows her to block out painful memories.

‘So humbled to be selected for Yarns. I appreciate the team and partners for resonating with my deeply personal, ambitious and bold story. Being able to authentically depict the Black and British perspective in a genre context is such an honour. Deep respect for Yarns for allowing this story to be told! Can't wait to be on set, and it's so reassuring to be able to have such capable and supportive partners as part of Yarns this year, making this process so much more enjoyable!’

Julia Mervis is a filmmaker from London with a distinctive, wry voice and generally pleasant demeanour. Her films are playful, funny and explore the big issues of today through much smaller entry points. She is very happy to have been selected to make a film with Yarns — yay!!!!

Julia’s (not so) very serious documentary ‘Forgive Me, Furby’ offers a critical examination of the deeply unsettling hyper-realistic robot that once threatened to take over human civilization: the Furby.

‘Omfg! What a complete honour to be selected by Yarns. I am so excited to get started and create and grow (figuratively) with their support. As they say in Furbish, dah doo-ay wah!’

Aleah is a director and curator based in London. Influenced by the vulnerability of human nature, she aims to tell stories through an intricate, intentional and empathetic lens, with a focus on underrepresented communities and women-led narratives. She won Best Micro Short at the BFI Future Film Festival 2023 with her film ‘SAFE’, which explores the safety of girls travelling to and from school.

Her short film ‘Passenger Seat’ follows a young working-class mother and her teenage daughter as they navigate adolescence, generational wounds and everyday life through a series of car journeys across 2007.

‘I'm super excited to be one of the winners of the Yarns Short Film Competition this year. I loved the brief and it really got me thinking about what Nostalgia means for me from both a creative and personal level. I'm so grateful for the chance to create something new and a little different to what I usually do - these opportunities as a filmmaker are few and far between so I'm thrilled to be a part of it all.’

Heath Virgoe is a queer writer-director based in Scotland. At the age of six they discovered Doctor Who, and have never been the same since. They tell absurd, comedic stories about lovable idiots and their problems — from paying rent and falling in love to fighting vampires.

Their film ‘Cock-A-Doodle-Do!’ follows a trans woman as her preparations for a date with a childhood friend take a fowl turn.

"I'm so thrilled to be participating in Yarns this year, especially with my script Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! I can't wait to bring this story about childhood memories to life by capturing the rose-tinted, bleary-eyed wonder of accidentally ejaculating in your sleeping bag at a boys' sleepover. That's what you guys meant by nostalgia, right...?"

The finished films will premiere at Curzon Soho on 17 November, showcasing four diverse new voices in British short filmmaking.