FOUNDERS / DIRECTORS

JAIME TAYLOR (SHE/HER)

Jaime has been making documentaries since 2007, as director, producer, editor and ethnographer for television, museums, education and the third sector.  She holds a MA with Distinction in Documentary Making from the University of Sussex.

She has recently completed her debut feature documentary H is for Harry, about a boy starting secondary school unable to read and write.  Co-directed with Ed, the World Premiere was at Open City Documentary Festival (2018) and its cinema release is in March 2019.  Jaime has years of experience working with young people, making scores of short films with 6 year olds and older, whether they are in front of the camera or alongside her making the film.

Jaime’s other specialism focuses on telling personal histories, especially through finding and working creatively with archive material. This includes her role as Producer on the BAFTA nominated, double Grierson winning The Secret History of Our Streets (BBC2), described by The Guardian as ‘wonderful… it prodded your brain awake as it broke your heart’, which she worked on across two series.

Prior to filmmaking she was an Ofsted graded ‘Outstanding’ teacher in Further Education, working mainly in inner London and with vulnerable groups.  She continues to teach, now as Associate Tutor in Ethnographic Filmmaking at the University of East Anglia.

Ed Owles (HE/HIM)

Ed has shot and directed films in over 20 countries for broadcast, festival and online. He recently produced BFI Doc Society/Sundance/Whickers funded RED HERRING (dir. Kit Vincent, 2023) which is currently screening at festivals worldwide (True/False, Thessaloniki, Sheffield).

His debut feature - The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers - was described by The Hollywood Reporter as “tremendously vivid and expertly entertaining”. It screened at over 20 film festivals (including Dok Leipzig, Open City London, DOCSDF Mexico, Al Jazeera Doha, Cairo, Jean Rouch Paris) and was broadcast in multiple territories. His second film H is for Harry (co-directed with Jaime) is available on Netflix across Europe and was longlisted for the 2019 BIFA Discovery Award. It has been used as an advocacy tool across the country, screening in Westminster, the OECD and with grassroots literacy organisations. His short film IntranQu’îllités, made with a group of Haitian artists, won the AHRC Research in Film Awards 2019 and the 2021 Social Media Impact Award for Creative Activism.

Ed is a 2022 Film Independent Fellow and Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grantee. His work is character-led and observational; creating intimate, sensitive portrayals that still leave space for humour. He’s also made numerous short films for public and third sector organisations, including the UN, Rainforest Alliance and the Mayor of London.

Ed speaks Italian and Spanish and has worked as an Associate Lecturer in Documentary/Ethnographic Film at several UK universities. He’s a member of the Royal Anthropological Institute's Film Committee, has a 1st class degree in Social Anthropology from Cambridge and an MA in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmiths.

Dara McLARNON (THEY/THEM)

Dara is a BIFA nominated director and co-founder of Postcode Films. With a background in ethnography, philosophy and a masters in Visual Anthropology Dara has worked since 2006 producing, directing and editing documentary film and audio. 

Their first feature Even When I Fall (2017, co-directed with Sky Neal) was winner of the RAI audience award, nominated for the BIFA Discovery Award, the Tim Hetherington Award and a One World Media award. 

Dara is now focusing on their work as a documentary film and audio editor, most recently editing Fierce Grace (produced by Satya Films). 

Their work has been supported by Sundance Documentary Film Fund, Chicken and Egg Pictures, Worldview and The British Film Institute. Locations have included Kathmandu, Beijing, LA, New York, Dublin, Helsinki and Patagonia. Collaborators have included anthropologists, musicians, social entrepreneurs, service designers, curators, teachers and students.

As a guest lecturer and workshop facilitator Dara has taught film and ethnographic research at universities, schools and community projects throughout the UK. They hold a masters in philosophy and academic awards from Trinity College Dublin.

STEPH BEESTON (SHE/HER)

Steph is a self-shooting director and editor based in London. Her experience spans the charity and commercial sectors where she’s created films for clients like the Little Dot Studios, Greenpeace, Shelter and The Smalls.

Beyond client work she’s produced her own independent documentaries which have screened internationally and won awards including the London Emerging Award at Cheap Cuts Doc Fest and Best International Short at Ethnocineca Film Festival.

Steph holds a masters in visual anthropology at Goldsmiths University and has been a guest lecturer in documentary and ethnographic film at a number of UK universities. Whether working in research or making an independent doc, the common thread that runs through her work is a desire to put those in front of the camera at ease and tell character-driven stories with a clear visual style.