Yarns announces finalists for 2022

After a closely fought contest, Yarns has announced the four finalists that will vie for first place in this year’s competition.

A not-for-profit initiative, Yarns has often identified the next wave of directing talent. This year is no exception, with Homespun selecting four aspiring directors to create their own professional short film. Now in its seventh iteration, this year’s edition is in association with Kodak and Slingshot Intergalactic. Entrants were invited to base their idea on several Greek Myths, ranging from Pandora to Midas. Competitors then took elements from these classic tales to make their own legend.

After a two-year break, Yarns saw an exceptional number of entries submitted, with many high-quality scripts in the mix. A shortlist of ten met the Homespun panel, impressing with their unique takes on the brief as well as their pitching skills. Such was the standard of the competition, Homespun decided to select four finalists this year, rather than the usual three.

Tim Hardy, Co-owner of Homespun commented: "We’re delighted that Yarns is back, and we really had our work cut out selecting our finalists this year! Having received some truly exceptional entries, it only felt right to open up the final and include an extra finalist. We’ve ended up with four fantastic ideas, and with two of our finalists making their directing debuts, we’re looking forward to seeing how they all develop throughout the process.”

ABOVE: (LtoR - Ashley Hamilton and Bex Connyngham-Hynes, Naomi George,Emma Parkinson, Carys Thomas and Thorbjørn Kragh)

Ashley Hamilton and Bex Connyngham-Hynes

A very international duo, Connyngham-Hynes is half Australian, half American and working at Pablo London; While Hamilton is half Liverpudlian, half Filipino and working at Droga5. Making their directing debut in Yarns, the pair have already been involved in several major projects for Brewdog, Diet Coke and The Euros, creating everything from puppets to a Matrix style time warp. On being selected as Yarns finalists, they said: “We are very grateful for the opportunity to direct our first comedy short, and we're feeling a mixture of excitement, excitement and excitement”.

Naomi George

A freelance Marketing and New Business specialist who has worked at Blink, Knucklehead and The Line Animation, George can’t wait to get started on her directorial debut: “Woah,This is one for the books. I’m equal parts terrified and excited, but I can’t wait to get this made!”

Emma Parkinson

Parkinson is a BFI Film Academy alum and former BAFTA mentee, whose short film Et Tu won Best Young UK Filmmaker at the Shakespeare Film Festival. As a writer, she has recently co-written a short with NFTS director Hannah Lahren, which is currently in post-production. She is “Massively mega happy to have had the Yarns Gods smile down upon this upcoming short” and “can’t wait to get stuck in”.

Carys Thomas and Thorbjørn Kragh

A duo starting out on their directing careers, Thomas and Kragh are currently working at Karmarama and Anomaly respectively. Selected for their script It’s not you, it’s me, they can’t wait to start their Yarns journey: “We are thrilled to be Homespun Yarns finalists as we have always been fans of the amazing work that comes out of the competition. Plus, any opportunity to make a film is a big hell yeah from us!”