Shore Scripts Announces Spring 2024 Short Film Fund Production Grant Recipient Harvey John

LOS ANGELES - June 20, 2024 - PRLog -- Shore Scripts announces its Grand Prize Winner of the Spring 2023 Short Film Fund, which awards a $15,000 cash production grant to emerging filmmakers. To Catch a Siren written by Harvey John is about a young orphan as he desperately searches for the mermaid he believes to be his mother before he is adopted and sent to live far away.

Harvey is a London-based filmmaker from North Yorkshire, England, who seeks to tell allegorical stories that tackle important social themes. He is the founder of The Developing Room (a film company committed to helping emerging filmmakers break into the industry), a current member of the Raindance Industry Committee, and a past British Short Film Awards judge. His previous work as a writer/producer includes the award-winning feature film Sticky Toffee Pudding (2020), the award-winning short film The Girl and the Tide (2022), and the BAFTA-qualifying short film Swingers (2021).

To Catch a Siren will be directed by Raphaela Wagner whose first short film Saitenstich premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Chicago International Children's Film Festival and was long-listed for a Swiss Film Prize. She went on to direct the short film The Draft, which was shot entirely in virtual production and after a successful festival run, is now available on the sci-fi channel DUST on YouTube. In 2022, Raphaela also live-action-directed the mid-length video game / interactive film Cuttlefish.

The project is being supported by Refugee Support Group, who have connected the filmmaking team with two refugees from Iran with lived experience of coming to Britain on boats. They have agreed to consult on the project to ensure respect and authenticity regarding the film's subject matter is upheld and to amplify the film's message in order to enact positive social change.

The grant's prize package also includes industry guidance from two-time Oscar-nominated producer, Maria Gracia Turgeon (FAUVE, Brotherhood), camera equipment rental provided by ARRI Rental, film festival strategy consultency from Tribeca programmer, filmmaker, and Academy member Kimberley Browning, and more.

The 2nd Place Prize of $1,000 cash was awarded to Luis G. Santos for Later is too late ('Pa Luego Es Muy Tarde'). The Fund awards prizes for 15 Finalists and accepts short scripts, proofs-of-concept, and submissions from in-production short films seeking finishing funds.

Shore Scripts' first Short Film Fund grant was awarded in 2016 for Salam, written and directed by Claire Fowler, which premiered at Tribeca in 2018 and went on to win a BAFTA Cymru in 2020. Recent alumnus Alexandra Qin's short Thirstygirl was an Official Selection at Sundance 2024. Learn more at https://www.shorescripts.com/shortfilmfund/.