Screenwriting graduate’s short film ‘Going’ makes waves at UK film festivals
29 January 2025
Screenwriter and script consultant Brad Brookes has received numerous accolades for his work since graduating from Writing for Script & Screen MA (Online) in 2021.
A specialist in drama scripts for film and TV, Brad’s latest short film ‘Going’, written and co-produced with director Rupert Ratcliffe, was awarded Best UK Short at the 2024 Northeast International Film Festival, qualifying the piece for consideration at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) later this year.
We recently talked to Brad about his early forays into screenwriting, his time on the master’s and his upcoming projects.
When did you first become interested in drama and writing scripts?
I’ve always had a love for film and TV, and I’ve always dabbled in hobbyist filmmaking but didn't really imagine I’d do it as a job. However, after breaking through in the advertising industry as a copywriter, I began to take an interest in the science of how film scripts are crafted. I was probably in my mid 30s before I started to try and take it seriously, but when I did, I felt like I’d finally found my calling.
What made you decide to join Falmouth’s Writing for Script & Screen master’s?
My wonderful wife was a huge driver. She knew I’d pretty much run my course in advertising and really encouraged me to take a leap into doing something that I really wanted to do. Having been out of education for 20 years and without an associated undergraduate degree, I wasn’t sure I’d really fit on a screenwriting master’s course. After chatting to a few different universities, I spoke to an amazing course advisor at Falmouth who had such a positive and proactive attitude; I applied there and then.
What was the most valuable thing you discovered while on the course?
The course is so expansive and there are so many skills to learn, it’s hard to pick one thing. It really began the journey of finding my voice as a writer and to understand what I’m trying to say with my work. Getting a grasp of characterisation was a bit of a eureka moment and it turbo-charged my writing. Also, more broadly speaking, it was a joy to engage with education as an adult; I’d chosen to learn about something that I really love, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
What do you most enjoy about being a professional screenwriter?
Writing a screenplay is a little bit like playing God: you are entirely responsible for the creation and actions of every character as well as the universe they inhabit. You almost become everyone that you write about, and in part, each character takes a piece of you with them on screen. And when you do get to the magical point of the screenplay progressing to its next stages of production, the collaboration process can be very rewarding. Once you’ve shared your worlds with other creatives, it becomes a team game, and the work takes on an almost organic life of its own.
You’ve won lots of awards for your work since graduating. Is there an accolade that you’re particularly proud of?
There’s a couple of film festivals I really loved visiting and was thrilled to be a part of, but a year after I graduated, I won the Best Unproduced Screenplay award at Manchester Film Festival, which was the first gong that I’d received at a Bonafide festival. Receiving my award in front of a cinema full of filmmaking peers really was awesome.
Your short film 'Going’ has been making waves across the industry. Can you tell us more about that project?
‘Going’ is a post-apocalyptic thriller starring Genevieve O’Reilly (Star Wars, The Dry Tin Star) and Nicholas Pinnock (This Town, For Life, Marcella). It’s a bit of a mystery and keeps the audience in the dark for a while, as the characters’ journey slowly reveals the reality of what’s really going on. We premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival last year, which was a great experience and people seem to be loving it so far. We’ll be showing at film festivals in the UK and internationally for the rest of 2025.
What are your ambitions for the future?
The next project I’ll be on is a feature length adaptation of ‘Going’. It’s been a great success so far and by design, the short film was created to boost interest in the feature. We have a great script and a fantastic team behind it, so I have high hopes we’ll get it into production. I also have a TV pilot that’s been getting some attention and a couple of speculative film scripts I’d like to develop. Some projects come to fruition and others don’t, but that’s part of the thrill of it all. As I learned while on the course and from every seasoned filmmaker I’ve encountered since, just keep moving forward, pushing your projects in the right direction, and you can make things happen.
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