Syd Heather
Director, producer, and Writer in London, United Kingdom
Syd is an award-winning filmmaker, multimedia producer/director and BAFTA Crew Participant 18/19 from South East London.
Alongside writer/director Oliver Mason, Syd was recently commissioned by the BBC and BFI as part of the Born Digital: First Cuts emerging filmmaker scheme exploring the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web. Their documentary-drama film, "Have We Met Before?", explores the way gay men have hooked up throughout the decades from the 1970s to the present day, incorporating how the internet has changed things forever.
After a short period working as a social media creative in London, Syd made the move into freelancing full-time and has since worked on a number of features, shorts and promos for various organisations such as Hasbro, NHS and Confused.com.
To date, Syd has produced 15 short films that have screened at BAFTA, OSCAR and BIFA qualifying film festivals such as LSFF, Aesthetica, Leeds International Film Festival, Norwich Film Festival and Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Satirical comedy Textual Relationship premiered at the BFI Future Film Festival and most notably won Best Comedy & Film of the Night at the Limelight Film Awards in October 2017.
Syd also co-produced 2017 Challenge Alexa winning script, Gypsy’s Kiss, starring BAFTA winner Gemma Jones and supported by Directors UK and ARRI Rental, which was long-listed for the BAFTA short film category in 2018.
His short film portfolio also includes the fantastical dramedy Moose Limbs; which screened at LSFF, MECAL & Morbido Film Fest; The Messenger; winner of the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the London Rolling Film Festival; and Dalstonian, a modern-day romantic drama set on the streets of Dalston, partly funded by The Hospital Club’s Emerging Creatives Scheme 2017.
Making the move into features, Syd’s feature producing portfolio includes The Rizen and The Rizen: Possession from Lost Eye Films starring Sally Phillips, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Bruce Payne, Ade Edmondson and Laura Swift. After premiering at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival, The Rizen was released on DVD and VOD worldwide in late 2017. The sequel will be released in late 2019.
Syd is also currently in postproduction on Micropubs - The New Local, his first feature documentary as both director and producer.
Outside of filmmaking, Syd can be found playing badminton, referencing The Simpsons and daydreaming about building a shipping container home.