International acclaim for Leeds film company thanks to funding

YORKSHIRE-based film production company Human Film is set to expand the distribution of its groundbreaking films thanks to advice from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

The company, which was set up two years ago by Isabelle Stead, Danny Evans and Mohamed Al Daradji, has just secured funding through regional development agency Yorkshire Forward’s Targeted Export Support Scheme (TESS) to hold a film making workshop to help identify future film making talent in the Middle East.

Human Film has already established a reputation for cutting-edge films “with a conscience” following the success of its first film ‘Ahlaam’, which won 18 awards.

The film, which is set among the bombed ruins of a psychiatric family, was shot in Baghdad by Al Daradji in a gruelling 55-day shoot with the situation so unstable that the project was filmed with a camera in one hand and an AK47 in the other.

The latest workshop will be set around the production company’s third film ‘Um Hussein’ – a story about a mother looking for her missing son in Iraq.

It’s not the first time that a TESS grant has enabled the firm to promote its work. Last year it attended the famous Cannes Film Festival and successfully secured a contract with Middle East-based UK broadcasting channel Al Jazeera to produce a 30 minute feature film on the making of ‘Ahlaam’.

Ms Stead said: “In setting up Human Film we have combined Mohamed’s skills as a writer and film director with Danny’s technical skills and my own experience as a producer and in marketing.

“In Cannes we also met people from the US film industry as well as from the British Film Council. All in all, it turned out to be an opportunity that opened doors in lots of different directions internationally for us.”

She added: “Even though it was a lot of hard work, our presence at such a prestigious festival in the film industry has allowed us to get a real foothold in the business.”

Melanie Potts, international trade adviser for UKTI in the West Yorkshire region, said: “Human Film was delighted with the support we were able to offer them through the Yorkshire Forward scheme.

“TESS funding can assist all kinds of local companies in their bids for international trade in the most innovative ways. Human Film found it be instrumental in building
up their international profile and getting them the right connections
in the film world.”