Netflix UK’s Documentary Talent Fund Launches Ten Films

Netflix has launched ten short documentaries created by recipients of the inaugural Documentary Talent Fund, awarded to filmmakers across the U.K.

Recipients of the fund received £40,000 ($54,000) to create their own short documentary films. Among the projects launched is Beya Kabelu’s The Detective & The Dog Thief, following a former homicide detective’s hunt for missing pets.

The other films released as a result of the fund are Daisy Ifama and Grace Shutti’s Twinkleberry, about a school in a small town that had more than 30 queer students in one year; Dhivya Kate Chetty’s The Bee Whisperer, about community, belonging and migration through one man and his bees; Jakob Lancaster and Sorcha Bacon’s Seal and the City, centered on a seal who has been visiting London’s oldest fish market for 20 years; Jason Osborne and Precious Mahaga’s Love Languages, in which six Black British men share their personal experiences of love, loss and masculinity; Ngaio Anyia and Aodh Breathnach’s Tegan, centered on Tegan Vincent Cook, a young Black equestrian with cerebral palsy; Sean Mullan and Michael Barwise’s HYFIN, about Jordan-Lee Brad-James, aka HYFIN, who is told that a Northern Irish accent can’t rap; Shiva Raichandani and Chi Thai’s Peach Paradise, following a non-binary Japanese-Irish drag artist; Tavie Tiffany Agama’s Women of the Market, introducing the women that operate within London’s markets; and Tobi Kyeremateng’s ÓWÀMBÈ, about Nigerian traditions in Britain.

The filmmakers took part in Netflix-hosted workshops covering all aspects of production throughout the year and were supported by a mentorship program that gave each team a network of industry figures to guide them through the filmmaking process.

The documentaries, showcased at a premiere event in London on February 15, will stream live via the U.K.’s first TikTok Live Line-Up, taking place on February 18 at 7 p.m. on Netflix’s TikTok account. On February 20, the films will launch on Netflix’s Still Watching YouTube channel.

Jonny Taylor, director of original documentaries at Netflix, said, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with these talented filmmakers and to watch each team’s nucleus of an idea blossom into these fully-formed documentaries that we’re launching today.

“These films have been made in a year when extra challenges and pressures were added due to Covid, and we are immensely proud of the tenacity, grit and creativity demonstrated to get these films made and presented to this final standard of excellence. These films are a testament to everyone’s hard work and an exciting glimpse into the future talent of U.K. documentarians.”