INQUISITIVE
PICTURES
Linda & James are an award-winning German/English writing and directing duo based in the UK.
Their festival debut short MAN OF THE HOUR starring Charlotte Ritchie and Ed White was awarded "Best Short Film" at the AmPav Emerging Filmmaker Showcase during the Cannes Film Festival 2018 and went on to have its World Premiere at the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. They completed an outstanding festival run, securing 4 wins and 7 nominations, including Best Director, and their film was reviewed as “among the best short films ever” by MovieViral. Three times Oscar-Nominee John Logan described their short as “a beautiful film, a richly realized slice of life with touching shadows of heartbreak. Elegant, evocative and emotional, the film captures a true and difficult moment of life and explores it gracefully”.
In 2021, Linda & James's debut feature script MAN WITHOUT HEART, a drama about neurodiversity, placed as Quarterfinalist in the Raindance Script Competition, one of only 30 screenplays selected worldwide, receiving an incredible score card of 9.1 out of 10 overall. Shortly after, it placed as a Quarterfinalist in the ScreenCraft Feature Competition. As a neurodiverse/autistic directing duo, they are interested in stories about unique perspectives; about characters who don’t fit the convention.
Their work has screened at the majority of leading UK festivals qualifying for the BAFTA, such as Leeds International Film Festival, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, UnderWire Film Festival, Foyle Film Festival and Cambridge Film Festival. Internationally, they have screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals.
Linda & James trained in film production at Oxford Brookes University and both hold a 1st Class Honours Degree in Film Studies, including a 3-year focus on Screenwriting and Film Form. They were each awarded "Best Film Project" upon graduation in 2013 and 2014 respectively and Linda was awarded the "Student Film Award, for the overall achievement in filmmaking".
As part of their extensive and ongoing work training professional screen actors, Linda & James have been screen tutors at The Actors Centre, founded by Anthony Hopkins, since 2018. They run private training for selected screen actors working in film and TV by BBC, ITV and Channel 4 among others.
In 2021, their music video ALONE was selected as one of 24 music videos worldwide to screen at the renowned BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
Linda Ludwig & James Curle are represented by Peter MacFarlane at MacFarlane Chard
R A N D O M F A C T S A B O U T L I N D A & J A M E S
Unsatisfied with the output of YA novels at the time, Linda wrote her own fantasy epic and became a professional novelist at age 17
Linda assisted in breaking the Guinness World Record for "The Most People Motion Captured in Real-Time"
James once handed Barbara Broccoli a corkscrew and personally delivered a blue plaster to Daniel Craig
In order to film their student short, Linda & James had to pass the same security as Brad Pitt; FURY (2014) was filming on the same plot of land
Linda & James were among the first people to test the, at the time unreleased, RED Epic Dragon camera
At age 15 James decided to film a 45min dystopian war epic - the production was cancelled because none of his friends were free on the weekend
WORK
MAN OF THE HOUR
Short Film | 18mins | 2018 | UK | 2.35:1 |
AWARDS
Best Short Film Jury Prize at the AmPav Emerging Filmmaker Showcase during the Cannes Film Festival 2018 | Best Short Film and Best Cinematography at Chelmsford Film Festival 2019 | 3rd Place East Frisian Short Film Award at International Filmfest Emden-Norderney 2019
NOMINATIONS
Best Production Design at UnderWire Film Festival 2018 |Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Score at Chelmsford Film Festival 2019
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Leeds International Film Festival | Aesthetica Short Film Festival | Foyle Film Festival | Cambridge Film Festival |UnderWire Film Festival | HollyShorts Film Festival | Bermuda International Film Festival | International Filmfest Emden-Norderney | Dhaka International Film Festival | Catalina Film Festival | International Short Film Festival in Drama | San Jose Film Festival
UNDER THE BLUE
Short Film | 15mins | 2024 | UK | 2.39:1 |
AWARDS
Best Director Drama, Honourable Mention at the London Director Awards 2024
UPCOMING SCREENINGS
23rd March, 12:15pm, AMC Westshore, Tampa, FL
27th April, 6pm, Arc Cinema Beeston, Nottingham
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
Beeston Film Festival | Gasparilla Int'l Film Festival | New York Shorts Int'l Film Festival
PRESS
“Man of the Hour is a beautiful film, a richly realized slice of life with touching shadows of heartbreak. Elegant, evocative and emotional, the film captures a true and difficult moment of life and explores it gracefully. And Ed White's performance, especially, is nothing short of hypnotic.”
- John Logan, writer Gladiator (2000), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), The Aviator (2004)
"Man of the Hour is among the best short films ever."
"I was deeply impressed. The story moved along well with interesting characters, then took me by surprise, then extended the surprise until it ended in succeeding in making me empathize with the loneliness of the main character."
- Rosanne Welch, TV writer-producer Beverly Hills 90210, Picket Fences, Touched by an Angel
A “unique and ambitious film”
- Leeds International Film Festival, Official Selection ‘British Short Film’ 2018
"Man of the Hour is a very polished production - performances, direction, art design, everything. But it has a strong script to work from - one written with nuance and sparseness. It is a story that hooks you in quickly and one that will leave you wondering where it is going. I'd be very interested to see more work from this team."
- Roland Moore, creator of Land Girls (BBC1) and head writer on Humans (China)
© 2018 Amirah Parker
IN DEVELOPMENT
CONTACT
Linda Ludwig & James Curle
represented by Peter MacFarlane at
113 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6PP
+44 (0)20 7636 7750