About Us
Suffolk Shorts was established as a Community Interest Company in 2019 with the aim of bringing exceptional short films to Suffolk as well as encouraging local filmmaking. During 2019 the team curated programmes for First Light Festival, and brought The Best of the Fest to Leiston Film Theatre. In May 2020 submissions opened for the first Suffolk Shorts awards. Then COVID happened. Rather than launching our full festival online we decided to extend the submissions. We held the first full festival in real life, and online with our partners, Ipswich Film Theatre, in October 2021. In 2022 the festival moved to The Riverside at Woodbridge, which remains our home. We are a team of passionate people who care about bringing British and International Independent short films to Suffolk. We all believe that short films are the future. Get in touch if you want to know more or want to join us!
Team
Claire Whittenbury
Festival Director and Student Short Programme Lead
After many years in film and TV production Claire became part of the team that launched the FilmFour channel, where she discovered her love of short film through the Short Attention Span Cinema strand. She went on to produce The Shooting Gallery with Mark Kermode, profiling filmmakers and introducing new short films to a late night audience on Channel 4. She’s dedicated to bringing international short film to Suffolk and determined to encourage investment in local young talent.
Rachel Aldridge
Festival Director
Rachel spent ten years in London working for ITV, working her way through the ranks to become Producer/Director on a number of factual and entertainment programmes. Since moving back to Suffolk she has worked as a Suffolk-based location manager and location scout. She works part-time for Screen Suffolk, the county’s official film office, supporting and promoting filmmaking in the county. Her aim is to raise the profile of filmmaking in East Anglia, and to create a fund specifically for that purpose.
Neil McGlone
Festival Director
Neil is the Manager at The Riverside cinema in his hometown of Woodbridge, Suffolk. He is researcher for The Criterion Collection in New York having worked on every release since 2013. Neil is festival advisor and consultant to Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic and Cinema Reborn in Sydney, Australia. Neil has worked on Aki Kaurismäki’s new film and is also a contributor to Sight and Sound.
Guy Lindley
Development Producer
Guy is a young Producer based in Suffolk and London. His short film “Big Ears’ (Written and Directed by Sam Baron) won Best East Anglian Short Film 2022 at Suffolk Shorts and Norwich International Film Festival in 2022. He is passionate about allowing access and equal opportunity to young filmmakers from rural backgrounds.
Clio McLeary
Narrative Programme Lead
Clio is a Producer, currently at creative agency Mother. She is passionate about storytelling through short form visual content. Over 6 years she has continuously developed and refined her craft in advertising, working across an eclectic mix of clients from PlayStation to John Lewis. A stint at Somesuch also provided valuable exposure to the other side of the coin working on campaigns for the likes of Nike, Amazon and McDonalds.
Joshua Dickinson
East Anglian Film Programme lead
Joshua Dickinson is an actor, writer and director. His independent film work includes Dry River (2021), Redcon-1 (2018) and The Mirror (2014). His first short film as a writer/director ‘Spiral’ is in development with Paradox House. As Head of Filmmaking for Young Film Academy in London he delivers courses on screenwriting and filmmaking, he also teaches screen acting at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Christine Howell
Advisor - policy
Christine Howell is a specialist in policy and security, having been Senior Director of Policy and Security at Oracle for 16 years. Christine advised us on our application to be incorporated as a CIC and is working on general administration of the festival with a particular focus on equality and diversity.
Brad Geller
AV Technician and Student Liaison
Brad has a solid foundation in both the technical and creative aspects of filmmaking. His work as an AV Technician at University of Suffolk, and as a Course Facilitator with the BFI Academy, highlights his commitment to honing his craft and contributing to the wider film community. Brad’s is the crucial link between Suffolk Shorts and the student team working to help shape the festival.
