Paul Holbrook

Paul Holbrook is a multi-award-winning writer and director. Fiercely working-class, he was born and bred in Hartcliffe – a council estate in Bristol. Despite a lack of any higher education, Paul started his career as a screenwriter, writing feature-length scripts on spec. He made encouraging progress, advancing through various industry-backed screenwriting competitions including Page, Shore and Screencraft. In 2018 he made the final 1% of The Academy Nicholl Fellowship (The Oscars). He has also been selected for industry-backed mentoring and career development through BBC, Creative England, Bafta, and the BFI.

Paul’s work looks to fuse grounded social realism with commercial flair, and his passion for intimate, character-driven stories is evident in all his produced work thus far. His films have screened and won numerous awards at Bafta, BIFA, and Oscar-qualifying festivals around the world including Palm Springs, BFI London, Encounters, and Aesthetica. His short film ‘Hungry Joe’ was nominated for a London Critics Circle Award and was described by Short of the Week as “One of the UK’s great modern horror shorts”. His highly anticipated follow-ups, ‘Hollow’ which was produced via The Pitch Film Fund, and ‘Old Windows’ starring Larry Lamb have both gone on to receive similar critical acclaim.

Paul is a Bafta Connect member, is listed on the Shore Director’s roster, the Slick Director’s Roster, has been funded by BFI Network, and has recently been selected for both BBC Voices and Network@LFF. He is developing various TV and film projects with established production companies in the drive towards longer form work. He is also a proud ambassador for Youth Moves, a charity empowering young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to thrive and break away from the stigmas they face.

Paul is currently developing with BFI Network on his debut feature, Hungry Joe (based on the award-winning short of the same name).