Charlotte Regan | Writer/Director

Charlotte Regan | Writer/Director

(She/Her)

Star Wars. The MCU. James Bond. These are the blockbuster ambitions of writer-director Charlotte Regan, whose debut feature film, Scrapper (2023), has been wowing critics and audiences alike for its innovative storytelling and breezy aesthetic. This coming-of-age tale, set on a London housing estate, is an accomplished debut, pairing the authenticity of a Ken Loach working-class drama with the imaginative whimsies of such filmmakers as Terry Gilliam and Wes Anderson.

Scrapper is not autobiographical, but aspects of Charlotte’s life clearly inspired it. She spent part of her youth living with her grandmother on a north London estate, but it was far from the grim experience often portrayed onscreen. Indeed, she loved it, with an ensemble of friends just a few doors away. At age 15, she started filming music promos for her grime artist friends – 100s, she estimates – helping to hone her directorial eye before making her first short film, Standby (2016). This film won Charlotte a BAFTA nomination, which in turn brought new opportunities her way, including music videos for the likes of the Stereophonics and Mumford & Sons.

In their own words...

“The dream is to do a big budget epic movie... I do want to do a Star Wars film. I think if I mention it enough I’ll just manifest it. I’d like to do a Bond movie. But I only want to do one – I want to come in, make it the best one and then not do another.”

“Loads of people who I admire have done [BAFTA Breakthrough] in the past... It’s always been that cool gang I wanted to be a part of but didn’t think I was cool enough. But here we are, they slipped me in... I’ve not come from a filmmaking background, so I’m constantly thinking, ‘What do I do now?’ You find people along the way, but naturally you’re all at different levels, whereas this feels like a similar space in our careers.”

Perhaps in the spirit of fulfilling her dream of joining the Star Wars lexicon, Charlotte is currently writing her sophomore feature, which is in the science fiction space. She also recently shot an episode of The Responder.

Charlotte’s breakthrough credit is the scripted fiction film Scrapper

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