Sea Change Animated Women

**Screen Argyll are delighted to announce a new residency Sea Change Animated Women supporting six individual creatives from across the UK to develop animated feature film projects.**

Powering a more inclusive future for UK cinema. This dedicated residency provides women and marginalised gendered animators with the space, support, and resources to scale their ideas for animated features from concept to screen.

The residency programme takes place across 7 months hosted through a mix of on-line group and one-to-one mentoring sessions enhanced by a core seven-day residential development lab embedded alongside the annual Sea Change Film Festival in Tiree. The programme will culminate in a project showcase at the 2027 MOVE Summit.

The Projects
Following a competitive application process we’re delighted to announce those taking part and their projects selected for support:

Animation artist Sarah Beeby (working with Louisa Wood) with Salty Fangs. When Unity Shoals’ most obedient mermaid helpfully posts a revolutionary manifesto, she gets into a LOT of trouble and falls in with the washed-up rebel who wrote it.

Northern Ireland-based writer, director and animator Solène Guichard with Sunny Is Dead. When Sunny dies, she discovers the hard way that love can be forever.

Writer and director specialising in 2D and mixed-media animation Lauren Orme with Swimming Lessons. Learning to become a mother while losing her own parent, a woman haunted by visions of drowning must learn to stay afloat.

Graphic novelist and animator Sydney Padua – with Lerhu. When floods destroy her island home at the end of the Ice Age, a young girl must learn to survive in the dense forests of ancient Britain.

Animation director known for her distinctive stop motion style Honor Price, with Unhealthy Relationships. After his date abandons him and the feast he cooked for her, food-obsessed Harry creates his perfect woman from the contents of his fridge. The Lady in the Fridge becomes his perfect soulmate, but when a real lover comes along, Harry’s appetites, and his edible companion, spiral into a deliciously grotesque and manipulative love triangle.

Animator and producer Ana Stefaniak with Flipside. When flames devour everything and everyone Orphee knows and loves, the only way forward seems to be to move in with her estranged aunt and make friends with a ghost or two.

“We were thrilled by the shortlist, which reflects the breadth and ambition of animation talent across the UK. It’s exciting to support such distinctive voices as they develop feature-length work, we are looking forward to supporting them on their journey and can’t wait to see the results”
Jen Skinner, Director, Sea Change Festival

What will the residency look like?
Supported by a professional team, participants will explore feature structure, visual narrative, and realistic finance pathways taking part in script workshops, peer review sessions, mentoring and development exercises tailored to their feature idea. At the end of the residency participants will have a chance to join a session at the MOVE summit in Edinburgh with their animatic trailer and a pitch presentations. The programme emphasis will also be on nurturing a network of peers, contacts and support to carry forward beyond the residency.

Programme Overview

Early September – 2 half day on-line introduction & preparation workshops
September 15^th – 22nd 7-day residential lab on the Isle of Tiree
On-going peer-to-peer support and network development
October – February 2027 – monthly progress meet-ups and one-to-one work with mentors for each project
February 2027 – Project showcase at MOVE summit Edinburgh
March 2027 – Submission of draft scripts and treatments

By the end of the residency, we hope each project will have:

– a developed feature treatment setting out their story, characters and visual approach
– a substantially progressed script draft reflecting the development work from the programme
– an audience and market positioning outline identifying genre, target audiences and potential routes to distribution
– a preliminary finance and packaging plan outlining possible funding routes, partners and next development steps
– a concise pitch presentation and supporting materials to help them communicate their project confidently to potential collaborators, financiers and industry partners

Who will they be working with?
Through both our Sea Change Festival and Young Industry programme, Screen Argyll attract a wide-ranging network of supportive professionals from the animation industry, many of whom will be contributing to or connecting with this programme. Industry contributors supporting the in-person lab will include Anna Zaluczkowska (Script Specialist, Northern Film School), Camilla Deakin (Lupus Films), Paula Povida Urrutia (Animation Scotland), Rachel Bevan Baker, Selina Wagner and Vicki Howarth (Industry Practitioners).

If you have any questions about the programme – please contact the Animated Women producer Nina Pope nina@screenargyll.co.uk

Sea Change Animated Women is delivered by Screen Argyll supported by the BFI National Lottery Creative Challenge Fund, awarding National Lottery Good Cause funding.