Marcus and Oz
Marcus Anthony Thomas completed the NFTS Directing Fiction MA course in 2021 and his films have since been screened and won awards at several BAFTA and Oscar Qualifying film festivals. His horror/thriller The Retreat released online via Short of the Week and Alter, and his Graduation film Caterpillar won Best Student Film at Norwich Film Festival and an RTS Award. Upon graduating Marcus was selected for an elite 16month mentorship scheme with WarnerMedia where he shadowed the Showrunners & Directors on HBOs House of the
Dragon, finishing in July 2022. Since then Marcus has co-created The Directors Take Podcast which aims to demystify the pathway to becoming a working director and has just completed his next project titled SPACE PLUG, an existential science fiction film which was made in partnership with Disney x NFTS, and premiered at BFI London Film Festival 2023.
Born and raised in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Oz Arshad transitioned to filmmaking after a successful teaching career. He attended the National Film and Television School's Diverse Directors program, earning recognition for his work. He joined Warner Media's Director Mentorship scheme, spending 16 months f/t on HBO's 'House of the Dragon' Season 1 and is mentored by Miguel Sapochnik. His new short film Opening Up (Tamzin Outhwaite and Gary Beadle) is having a successful festival run. Oz was selected for the BBC Studios and Directors UK Continuing Drama Directors workshop in 2022 and completed Screen Yorkshire’s FLEX talent lab 22/23 as a writer. His TV pilot scripts have climbed high on the BBC Writers Room for drama, Top 3% (from 4287 scripts) and Top 9% (from 4600 scripts). His short script ‘Halal Chop’ was awarded the Uncertain Kingdom Belief grand.