Opening up new worlds with independent films

Film has the power to transport us to new places and open up the worlds of different characters, and independent film in particular is known for championing new voices to do that. This spirit of independent filmmaking is evident in Extra Geography, a film from producer and 2019 BAFTA Breakthrough Sarah Brocklehurst, BAFTA-winning director Molly Manners, and stage and screen writer Miriam Battye.

Speaking at a screening of their film at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, with a Q&A moderated by Wendy Mitchell, the trio highlighted the importance of creating space for independent film. Sharing their experiences of transforming what was originally a four-page short story into a screenplay and discussing the power of showcasing inspiring stories…

One thing Brocklehurst, Manners and Battye were keen to highlight was how important independent film is for enabling stories like Extra Geography – originally a short story by author Rose Tremain – to be brought to life for a whole new audience.

Manners reflects on the importance of showing this type of exploration of girlhood told through a teenage lens and the “very intense relationships between women growing up, that are really romances and are very formative at a time in your life that you are trying to understand yourself.” She says: “I just think it’s really important that it is represented on screen… there’s an appetite for that and I think that feels like a really important thing for me to get out there.”

While Battye highlights: “You can’t just have films and television programmes that creators presume people want, there has to be the scrappier and stranger and more round the side things… if you only have a certain number of lenses we’ll lose our humanity.”

Something Brocklehurst echoes as well as reflecting on how as an independent film they have also been able to make space for new actors, like leads Galaxie Clear and Marni Duggan, to come to the fore. She says: “I think it’s important for films without movie stars to be able to be made and I think audiences are craving authenticity and to be able to lose yourself in a story without seeing the same people in everything.”

Creating space for different stories to be told is vital. With the power of storytelling to bring people together being something all three women agreed united them when making Extra Geography.

For BAFTA Breakthrough alum Brocklehurst finding and bringing people together around inspiring stories is a passion. She reflects: “There’s something really wonderful about finding a source of inspiration that can inspire filmmakers and that there’s a really strong perhaps quite poetic starting point to then build a universe from. And I guess I like being able to build new relationships with filmmakers perhaps through a book that I’ve found… I find it quite a proactive way to produce… But with Extra Geography Miriam found it and brought it to me and you know it was testament to our relationship and friendship.”

Manners, for whom the film marks her feature debut film, shares how the story made her feel inspired when reading Battye’s script, reflecting: “I just loved the kind of bold truthfully slightly weird, abashed way in which Miriam had brought teenage girlhood to life in her script…I loved the awkwardness and it felt so immediately truthful as well… and also I love doing comedy so I felt like I could take what Miriam had written and [go]. I felt really excited about the teenage lens and bringing that to life on screen and sort of revisiting my teenage self.”

And Battye, who was so struck by the original short story that she was determined to be the one to adapt it and kept writing to the author to make it happen, says: “I really hope there is something of her [Rose’s], kind of sharp accuracy with which she observes life and interactions between people in it. I really hope there is something of her wider work in it.” Though she also reveals that: “I felt really very attached to the story, so much that there were points where I believed I came up with the whole idea which was kind of insane really.”

So, what motivates Brocklehurst, Battye and Manners when picking their projects and what do they hope audiences will take away from this one?

As a producer Brocklehurst reflects on how she is continually motivated by how telling powerful stories we can bring different generations together, saying: “I love stories about really excessive female characters who want everything really hard, and love really hard as well in this particular story, and I am motivated by wanting to make work for girls and women that gets into all of that. I’m [also] really motivated to bring together teams… hopefully a next generation of female filmmakers who are telling very bold and commercially minded stories as well.”

While Battye and Manners highlight how it’s all about finding connection. Battye says: “I’m a really selfish writer I write about what I remember and what I think is interesting, what troubles me. And I think that’s been the only way I’ve ever been able to connect with anyone is to dig quite personally down… so my memories are in this film truly, and the kind of intensity of feelings I didn’t understand are in this film … It’s a weirdo film that’s like me and I kind of [feel] it’s wonderful if anyone connects to my weirdo film that’s very personal.”

With Manners adding: “Because you delve so deep into the truth, then I think the truth is very recognisable… [with Extra Geography] I feel like people will talk about it and relate it to their own relationships at that age.”

At BAFTA we are committed to supporting creative Film, Games and TV talent and one way we do this is through our Learning, Inclusion and Talent programmes. Sarah Brocklehurst was a member of BAFTA’s 2019 Breakthrough cohort (called Breakthrough Brits at the time) – our flagship programme showcasing and helping accelerate the careers of the next generation, and part of our charity’s vision that people from all backgrounds will have opportunities to thrive in the screen industries. Find out more about our BAFTA Breakthrough UK programme, supported by Netflix.

• The new cohort for the 2026 BAFTA Breakthrough UK programme, supported by Netflix, will be announced in early November.