Helen Rana

Screenwriter

Bristol, UK

Member Since:
January 2025

Last online:
2 weeks ago

Invites sent:
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About Helen

Helen is a member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and was a Creative Writing Associate at Bath Spa University in 2017-21. Her short stories have been published in anthologies, and her seven full-length and eight short screenplays have all been selected for film festivals or won awards.

Gender:
Female

Badges

2025-01-25

Writers' Room Member

Certifications

Loglines

Heist Counter Heist Drama ⋄ Crime London, 1979. Reeling from the fallout of her father’s suicide, observant teen Jenny devises a foolproof theft, based on insights gleaned from waitressing in a gangsters’ social club. Her plucky two best friends join in - but their plan to pull a counter heist goes badly awry.
Shelley Can't Sing Romance ⋄ Comedy Lonely teenager Shelley fits into her new school so well that people start resenting her. Alarmed, alone, and with a serial killer on the loose, she gives a fake performance at the talent show, in the hope of making friends and getting close to gorgeous Alex. But lying just creates more problems, and in the end being authentic leads to true friendships.
Desperate Measures Romance ⋄ Comedy With the ancestral home collapsing, Lord Jake is forced to seek a wealthy bride. But he’s in love with skint, radical black activist L’Wren, who hides their relationship to avoid being seen as a race and class traitor. Meanwhile, his friend’s assistant Zola sets him up with unappealing rich singletons, whilst falling for him herself.
One-Upmanship Historical ⋄ Comedy Twiggers, an English aristocrat in the 1770s, challenges his four best friends to put on the best soirée – with amusing, shocking and devastating results.
A Good Return Drama Lilah’s had three strokes of ‘luck’ in her life – rape, blackmail and being battered half to death by a VIP. Travelling to her Caribbean island home after seventeen years in London, she finds that life there has changed, and needs to find a way to make a good return.
Saving Christmas at Crackenberry Castle Romance Faced with crises, idle aristocrat Zoe is forced to do everything she can to save her family home, Crackenberry Castle. Along the way she learns the true meaning of Christmas, becomes part of her community, and finds love.
Search and Rescue Drama The last two survivors of a plane crash – an influencer in his 20s and a history lecturer in her 50s – forge an unlikely alliance on a desert island in this odd couple drama, before being rescued by someone he’s been trying to avoid.
The Trouble With Superpowers Horror ⋄ Comedy Joy’s got in with a bad crowd. They've introduced her to weird sex, vampirism and Satanism. Last night they bought some superpowers off a woman none of them know, and it’s all gone wrong.
Breathtaking Horror A Frenchman staying overnight with a local friend in a Zambian village comes face to face with the truth about witchcraft.
A Proper Killing Drama A Death Row inmate’s suicide attempt is foiled, so that he can be killed ‘properly’.

View all 10 loglines

Awards

'Shelley Can't Sing' - Winner, Best Feature Screenplay at PyraMax Film Awards
(2025)
'Heist Counter Heist' - Winner, Best Crime Screenplay, Best Script Award London
(2024)
'A Good Return' - Winner, Best Women’s Film, Dreamz Catcher International Film Festival
(2024)
'The Trouble with Superpowers' - Winner, Best Super Short Script, Barcelona Indie Awards
(2024)
'A Proper Killing' - Winner, Best Screenplay Short at San Diego Movie Awards
(2024)
'Breathtaking' - Winner, Best Short Script, Golden Nugget International Film Festival
(2024)
'One-Upmanship' - Winner, Best Historical Screenplay, Berlin International Screenwriting Festival
(2023)
'A Good Return' - Winner, Best Original Screenplay, Top Film Awards
(2022)
'One-Upmanship' - Winner, Best Feature Script in the Royal Wolf Film Awards
(2022)

Education

Bristol University
(2015-2017)
Cambridge University
(2002-2003)
Westminster University
(1997-1998)
Bournemouth University
(1986-1989)