Harold Chapman – writer/director
A graduate of the Northern Film & Television School in Leeds and the Netherlands Film & Television Academy where he specialised in Production Design (he has worked on BAFTA and EMMY nominated docudramas, commercials, music videos and feature films) Harry’s move into writing and directing has been equally successful. As director, his films have been shown in more than 100 international film festivals including OSCAR qualifying Rhode Island, Athens, USA, Huesca in Spain, Bermuda and LA Shorts and BAFTA qualifying Leeds, Tampere, London International Documentary Festival, Aesthetica, London Short Film Festival and Raindance. His films have been screened on every continent and in 2011 he was one of four film makers to be selected to screen his work (including “Maestro”, “Invisible” and “Sweep”) in the prestigious Film Makers’ Section of the Sapporo Short Film Festival in Japan. He has been awarded a total of 22 prizes from festivals in the US, UK, Italy, Bosnia, Spain, Peru, Indonesia, Romania and India including three Audience Awards and two Grand Jury Prizes. In 2012 his short drama “Invisible” was Long Listed for a BAFTA for Best Short Film. His latest short is the genre-bending “Florian’s Last Climb” about the disappearance of Edwardian mountaineer Florian von Liechtenstein. It was completed in 2018 and is currently screening on the festival circuit where it has picked up 7 awards including the Golden Maple for Best Documentary at the Jahorina Film Festival and Best Experimental Film at the Trujillo Independent Film Festival, Peru.
As a screenwriter he has adapted his own gang/coming-of-age novel, “Tribes” and was selected by the Film Council to attend the film mentoring course run by ‘Arista’ to write the feature thriller “Stillwater”. He is currently developing a feature project based on the theme and protagonist of the multi award winning “Invisible”. This project reached the final selection of Oaxaca Film Festival’s feature finacing competition “Make My Dream Film”. His short script “Everything You Say I am, I’m Not” was also longlisted for the Bluecat Screenplay Competition run by Philip Seymour Hoffman’s brother, Gordy Hoffman.
Harry is also at home with the medium of documentary. He has shot commissioned documentaries for charities based in The Palestinian West Bank and the Yemen and has made a series of collaborations with the Homeless charity “Open Cinema” including “Stranded” which premiered at Edinburgh International Film Festival. “Twenty Days in June” was a documentary he made following his Open Cinema charity cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats. ‘Sweep’, shot as a companion piece to ‘Invisible’, explored the lives of real London street sweepers and was included in the Wellcome Trust’s annual 2011 exhibition, “Dirt”.
Harry also writes and illustrates prose fiction, travelogue and reviews. He is a regular contributor to the British arts and culture magazine The Arbuturian. His short stories “Brown Lake” and “Henry Bird” have both been long listed for the Cinnamon Press Writing Awards. In 2012 he travelled to Italy to interview the mountaineering legend Reinhold Messner. “Two Gentlemen of Verona: When Harry Met Reinhold” was the narrative that resulted. The encounter was also the inspiration for “Florian’s Last Climb”.
As well as developing the feature “Invisible” he is also developing a comedy series of his recently shot pilot entitled “Epic” and a six part series of faux historical documentaries based on the method and style of “Florian’s Last Climb”.
David Chapman – writer/producer
A graduate in law from the University of Wales, David started in the film industry working on music promos with such names as ‘Take That’ and ‘Bananarama’.
He became marketing manager for international sales company J&M Entertainment handling international releases for such films as “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”; “The Road To Wellville” & “An American Werewolf In Paris”.
He left J&M to attend the Media Film Business School as a producer with thriller feature film project –
“The Criminal” directed by Julian Simpson
(starring Eddie Izzard; Steven Mackintosh; Bernard Hill)
Screened at the London Film Festival and released internationally in 2000-2001 (Released through Paramount Pictures in English Speaking Territories).
(winner BEST DIRECTOR Fantasporto International Film Festival
nominated BEST NEW DIRECTOR London International Film Festival)
Subsequently David formed the company Primal Screen and produced –
“This Different Night” directed by Joseph Pisano
(starring Jason Isaacs)Released as screener with the UK theatrical release of “Suzie Gold”
“Maestro” directed by Harold Chapman
(winner GOLD SPECIAL JURY AWARD Houston International Film Festival)
He also co-produced the feature comedy –
“The West Wittering Affair” directed by David Scheinmann
(winner SPECIAL JURY PRIZE BEST ENSEMBLE CAST Cinequest Film Festival; winner BEST WORLD PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT UK Jackson Hole Festival)
David has also co-written, with his brother Harry, the feature screenplays “Tribes” and “Stillwater”. With the latter they were selected by the Film Council to attend the film mentoring course ‘Arista’ to develop the screenplay.
He has produced the short film “Invisible” and is developing a feature project based on the short film.
In 2011 David was selected for and attended the Berlinale Talent Campus.
