Next Generation Of Rural Artists Release ArtFlicks

Leading rural touring theatre company Pentabus and Hereford-based production company Rural Media are releasing Pentabus National Young Writers ArtFlicks projects. Six young writers, the next generation of rural writing talent, have been mentored and supported by both organisations to each create three 90 second films that will be released across the Art Flicks TikTok Channel.

ArtFlicks will be released across the next four weeks across the ArtFlicks channel.

First to be released are Daniel Grimston's Trespasses, three films on queer awakening in nature directed by Amara Heyland, and Izzie Harding-Perrot's Boxes, a comic take on the beginnings of love and the complexities of opening up when there's magic involved. ArtFlicks continues with Jacob Kay's She, Them, and It, a modern cosmic horror. The next release is Lily Bedigan's L.T.O.S., inspired by Laura Bates' book Fix the System Not the Woman, before Raina Geifer's three-part exploration of clowns, self-acceptance and kink. ArtFlicks concludes with Leah Gayer's The Allotment.

Rural Media's previous ArtFlicks projects have already received over 470,000 total views.

Each National Young Writer's first piece will be released on the Wednesday of their week, their second on the Thursday, and third on Friday.

Release schedule:

• Initial releases: Daniel Grimston's Trespasses I, II and III and Izzie Harding-Perrot's Boxes 1, 2 and 3.
• Week of 16th Sept: Jacob Kay's She, Them & It
• Week of 23rd Sept: Lily Bedigan's L.T.O.S 1, 2 & 3
• Week of 30th Sept: Raina Greifer's The Shame, The Foreplay, The Climax
• Week of 14th Oct: Leah Gayer's The Allotment 1, 2 & 3

Pentabus and Rural Media's digital co-productions have had recent success. Their full-length digital plays DESTINY, by Florence Espeut-Nickless, and The Silence & the Noise, by Tom Powell, were both Off West End Award finalists for Best Online Production 2024, which The Silence & the Noise won, and together were seen by over 4,000 people online and in person, with screenings in London, Ludlow, Hereford, and Milan.

A live stream of Driftwood by Tim Foley, a Pentabus co-production with ThickSkin, is currently nominated for this year's Off West End Award for the same prize. Former Pentabus Young Writer Liv Hennessy was Olivier nominated for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play in 2024.