Paul Holbrook

Writer/Director
Screenwriter, Director and Filmmaker

Bristol, United Kingdom

Member Since:
November 2012

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

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About Paul

Paul Holbrook is a multi-award-winning writer and director.

A proud working-class Bristolian, he was born and bred in Hartcliffe - a council estate in the South West of England. Despite a lack of any formal education, Paul started his career as a screenwriter, 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) with his coming-of-age feature 'Snog'. He was also selected for industry-backed career development through Creative England, Bafta, and the BFI.

As a writer/director, Paul's films fuse the flair of genre cinema with grounded social realism, and his passion for intimate, character-driven stories is evident in all of his produced work thus far. His films have been selected for numerous Bafta, BIFA, and Oscar-qualifying film festivals around the world including Palm Springs, BFI London, Encounters, and Aesthetica, winning many awards along the way.
His short film ‘Hungry Joe’ was nominated for a London Critics Circle Award in 2020 and was described by Short of the Week as "One of the UK's great modern horror shorts" and his highly anticipated follow-up ‘Hollow’, which was produced through The Pitch Film Fund has garnered similar critical acclaim across the industry, including picking up best cinematography at Rhode Island International Film Festival. His short film 'Shiney' which was funded by BFI Network has also racked up over 2 million views online and 'Old Windows' was released in 2023 via Directors Notes.

Paul is developing various film and TV projects with established and emerging production companies, including TV comedies Joan of Park (with Yellow Door Productions & Sky) and Whatever Happened to Pete Biscuits? (with Bristol AF Productions), as well as feature films Hungry Joe (with Buffalo Dragon) and Snog (with Victoria Falls Entertainment).
In 2022 Paul was selected for Network@LFF and the BBC Voices scheme, as well as being attached to 'Wolves' - a feature-length thriller in development with Film Cymru.

Paul is a returning BAFTA Connect member and is represented by United Agents.

Gender:
Male

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Credits

Hollow (2021)
Film Writer
Hungry Joe (2020)
Film Writer
Paintball Massacre (2020)
Film Actor
Fear Haus (2019)
TV Series Director
Cherry (2018)
Film Writer
The Maggsy (and Holbrook) Show (2018)
and Holbroo Writer
Dad for Dinner (2018)
Film (Short and Comedy) Actor A father and son share an awkward moment in a restroom.
Instant Death (2017)
Film (Action) Actor A vicious gang war for drug dominance draws in a disturbed Special Forces veteran John Bradley. Trying to adjust to normal life and haunted by inner demons of a violent past, the underworld's retribution on his last connection to humanity, a daughter and grandchild leads to a descent of fury and violence that not even the brutality of gangland is prepared for. Written by Raging Pictures
Cell (2017)
Film (Short, Horror and Sci-Fi) Writer A Prisoner of war wakes up in a Nazi prison cell to discover he's the unwitting test subject in a cruel psychological experiment where all is not as it seems.
Sunday Worship (2017)
Film (Short and Drama) Writer A lonely septuagenarian struggles to conceal his ailing health from his doting wife, finding solace watching a local football team, his levels of fandom start to border on obsession.
Lie Hard (2016)
Film (Short and Comedy) Actor Two idiotic fantasists bicker and battle for the self-proclaimed title of 'hardest hard man'
Daddy Cool (2016)
Film (Short and Comedy) Writer Two children argue about who has the "coolest dad" but there will be only one winner.
A Girl and Her Gun (2015)
Film (Short, Drama and Western) Writer A tormented and neglected twelve year old finds solace watching classic western movies. When she finds a gun in her late father's loft she stands up to her tormentors, just like her gunslinging heroes.
Porphyrophobia (2014)
Film (Short, Drama, Horror and Mystery) Actor A middle-aged, single mother lives a claustrophobic existence with her eccentric son and his debilitating phobia. She longs for escape, but is imprisoned by her commitment to his vulnerabilities. Cabin fever sets in as a rare, celestial event draws near. Written by Paul Holbrook
Shiney
Writer