Teaching

I teach on the BA (Hons) Filmmaking degree at UWE Bristol, based at Bower Ashton Studios on the City Campus. It’s a practice‑based course designed to equip students with industry‑ready creative, technical, craft, and critical thinking skills — but just as importantly, to help them find and trust their own authentic voices as filmmakers.

UWE Bristol is based in Bristol: City of Film, part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and this location actively shapes my teaching. We consistently explore the relationship between screen, place, culture, and responsibility, encouraging students to see filmmaking as both a creative and civic act. Across the course, students are supported to engage critically and creatively with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, using film to respond to pressing social, cultural, and environmental issues.

My teaching philosophy is rooted in creative risk‑taking, socially engaged storytelling, and real‑world industry engagement. I encourage students to think critically about what they are making, why it matters, and how it will live in the world once it leaves the studio. At UWE, we don’t just prepare students to enter the screen industries — we challenge them to help shape them.

The course is ScreenSkills‑accredited and delivered in partnership with BAFTA Albert Education, and I play a central role in embedding sustainability, professionalism, wellbeing, and ethical responsibility across the curriculum. Sustainability is not an add‑on to my teaching; it’s a fundamental creative and industrial skill. I’m particularly passionate about sustainable film production and climate storytelling, supporting students to understand the environmental impact of their work while also exploring how film can contribute meaningfully to conversations about climate and social change.

Our students’ films regularly win national awards — including RTS Student Television Awards and NAHEMI Kodak Commercial Awards — and screen at major festivals such as Encounters and Aesthetica. From documentary and drama to commercial and experimental work, I’m proud to support students as they develop ambitious films, resilient working practices, and strong collaborative identities.

I work with students across Levels 5 and 6, supporting them as they move from experimentation and research to ambitious, industry‑facing creative work.

A consistent thread through my teaching is creative risk‑taking. I encourage students to step beyond familiar roles and formats, to test ideas through making, and to see uncertainty as a productive part of the creative process. This approach is informed by my own background as a filmmaker and practice‑based researcher, and by a belief that innovation emerges when students are trusted to explore, fail, reflect, and refine.

Previously, I taught Narrative and Experience, where students explored hybrid, cross‑media, and immersive forms of storytelling, including locative, participatory, and experimental screen practices. That interest now feeds directly into my teaching on Creative Futures, a module that introduces students to future‑facing research and innovation methodologies within the screen industries.

On Creative Futures, students work collaboratively to address real‑world social, political, and environmental challenges through screen‑based research and creative inquiry. The module develops their ability to critically engage with knowledge generation, research ethics, and theoretical frameworks, while also building practical project‑planning skills. It acts as a vital bridge between earlier analytical work and the more independent, self‑directed projects that follow at Level 6.

Across my teaching, I place strong emphasis on:

Sustainable film production and climate storytelling, drawing on BAFTA albert principles
Ethics, diversity, and inclusion, aligned with contemporary industry standards
Industry awareness, including festivals, audiences, distribution, and professional presentation
Collaboration, co‑creation, and resilient creative teamwork

I also support students through the final stages of their degree, helping them shape graduation projects, festival and distribution strategies, and professional portfolios. This includes preparing work for public and industry showcase contexts, and supporting students to articulate their creative identities as they transition into the screen industries.

One of my great privileges is leading the graduate film screening, where students see their work projected on the big screen for the first time. It’s a genuinely celebratory event, bringing together industry guests, family members, cast and crew, alongside technical and academic staff and the UWE executive team. Seeing students’ films exhibited in this context — recognised as professional, ambitious work and celebrated collectively — is a powerful culmination of their degree and a moment that marks their transition into the industry.

Ultimately, my aim as an educator is to help students become thoughtful, adaptable, and responsible filmmakers — capable not only of making strong work now, but of shaping the future cultures and practices of the screen industries.

Postgraduate

Supervision & Research Interests

I’m passionate about supervising both practice‑based and traditional PhDs, particularly projects that combine rigorous research with creative ambition. I’m especially interested in proposals engaging with:

Screen heritage and cinema cultures
Festival curation and public engagement
Cary Grant
Angela Carter
Bristol and regional screen histories
Adaptation studies
Filmmaking as research
Sound and voice in film
Apparatus theory
Cinema mapping
Locative, pervasive, and mobile media
App development and digital storytelling

If your work sits at the intersection of screen, place, history, and practice, I’d love to hear from you.

Recent Undergraduate Teaching

Module Leadership

Independent Research Project in Filmmaking

Semester 1

(Level 6)

This module allows students to undertake a self-initiated theoretical and investigative project, either as a written dissertation or an audio-visual essay. Working with an allocated supervisor, students will delve into a topic particularly relevant to their professional development or practice. The module's core aim is to cultivate advanced critical thinking, visual literacy, and writing skills by exploring film and visual media from a range of historical, industrial, and critical perspectives. Students will hone essential transferable skills, including independent research, time management, and professional-level presentation, all of which are crucial for a wide range of careers.

Production 2

Semester 2

(Level 6)

On this module, student produce their final graduation films and work towards an external screening for industry, family, friends and crew at the Bristol Megascreen. An ambitious and transformative final chapter in our graduate filmmaking journey at UWE. This module challenges students to push the boundaries of their creativity and technical skill, encouraging bold storytelling and innovative production. More than just a test of craft, Production 2 is a celebration of collaboration. These films are the result of partnerships forged through shared vision, trust, and creative resilience. As students step into the role of filmmakers, they not only refine their artistic voices but also gain vital experience in managing real-world productions—balancing budgets, timelines, and teams.

Craft Lab

Semester 1

(Level 5, Module Option)

This module challenges students to undertake a short, self-directed project, negotiated and agreed upon with a tutor. The brief is intentionally open-ended, designed to encourage creative risk-taking by allowing students to explore a craft in which they have limited experience. Through this process, students deepen their understanding of the aesthetic and formal qualities of their chosen craft while also enhancing their project management skills. The module's syllabus supports students in deploying creative experimentation strategies and conducting specialist research into the theoretical aspects of their craft, with the ultimate aim of informing their professional creative practice.

Other Teaching

Professional Practice 2

Semesters 1 & 2

(Level 5)

I lead on the BAFTA albert education partnership, delivering the albert Applied Skills for a Sustainable Screen Industry Course. This professional course is integrated into the Professional Practice 2 module, which is a key component of the wider program. While the module itself is designed to develop a student's professional skills and understanding of professional expectations within their field, the albert course specifically introduces them to the importance of sustainability. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impact of the screen industry and equips students with the industry-standard knowledge and tools to create content more sustainably.

Professional Practice 3

Semesters 1 & 2

(Level 6)

My role in the Professional Practice 3 module is to work closely with the module leader on the final, celebratory events that mark the students’ exit from the course. I focus on preparing students for their End of Year Showcases, both online and on campus, which culminate in the final graduate screening. My contribution ensures students can effectively present the professional-grade portfolios, show reels, and online presence they've developed throughout the module. These showcases are the practical culmination of the students’ efforts to create an advanced employability toolkit and a clear exit strategy for their careers. My focus is on helping them craft a final, impactful presentation of their skills and work, ensuring they are truly ready to launch into the industry.

Production 1

Semester 1

(Level 6)

My work on Production 1, a developmental module that leads into Production 2, focuses on the crucial aspects of marketing, distribution, and festival strategies. This is a vital part of my teaching, as it moves students beyond the creative process of filmmaking into the practicalities of getting their work seen. I believe it's incredibly important for students to gain a wider understanding of where their films will be shown and how to find and engage with an audience. This means not only developing compelling story ideas but also learning how to articulate their film's core message in a way that makes people want to watch it. In doing so, I also integrate key industry standards and ethical frameworks into their creative and strategic thinking. This includes drawing on the BAFTA albert sustainability ethos to encourage them to consider the environmental impact of their production from the outset. Additionally, we apply the BFI Diversity and Inclusion standards to ensure they are creating work that is representative and accessible, which is a professional expectation in the modern film industry.

Aesthetica Field Trip

Semester 1

(Levels 5 & 6)

I lead the field trip to the Aesthetica Short Film Festival. This trip provides students with an invaluable real-world experience, allowing them to see a diverse range of films, network with industry professionals, and gain firsthand insight into how films are curated and presented to an audience. It's a practical application of the strategic thinking we develop in the classroom, solidifying the connection between their creative vision and its eventual reception.

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