Meet the Member: Rebecca Manley, Director and Writer for Live Action and Animation

In 2020, Rebecca’s debut live-action drama Of Thread and Almonds was long-listed for a BAFTA, won Best Drama at the Bristol Independent Film Festival, and received both the Heart Award and the Audience Award at Cambria in California. The short screened at BAFTA and Academy Award-qualifying festivals worldwide and streamed briefly on Omeleto.

Rebecca is represented by Jessica Cooper at Curtis Brown. In 2023 she was made a member of BAFTA Connect - recognising both her contribution to the industry and promising career ahead; and in 2022 she was selected for Women in Film and TV’s prestigious Four Nations Mentoring Scheme.

Her films have featured the voices of Ewan McGregor, Nicholas Hoult, Victoria Yeates and Davina Moon, and have earned honours including a Vimeo Staff Pick, Best Animated Short Film at Kino Fest, and the DepicT! Audience Award at Encounters. Her work has appeared at The National Gallery London, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in LA and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. She has also directed and designed commercial work for major global brands such as Starbucks, Hershey’s, Google, P&G, Sony, Kraft and FIFA.

Rebecca is developing her debut feature, If Destroyed Still True, supported in Early Development by the BFI and National Lottery and presented at Film London’s UPStream in 2025. Based on true events from her East Anglian childhood, it follows eleven-year-old Pen as her world is turned upside-down by the arrival of three foster teens. She is also preparing to shoot TV Screen Mind — the final short in her Postpartum Poems trilogy—in January 2026, and in future aims to create hybrid live-action/animation long form work that empowers women and girls.

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Q: Tell us a little bit about your journey to writing and directing animation and live action. Did you always want to work in this industry?

Weirdly, I knew I wanted to work in animation from the age of eleven. I grew up in a creative family—my mum is a graphic designer and my dad managed creatives in advertising for thirty years—so my ambitions were always encouraged. Still, I knew almost nothing about the animation industry, the different production roles, or where I might fit. After A-levels, I completed a Foundation course in Art and Design at Colchester Institute, then earned a place on the BA Animation course at SIAD/UC Farnham, where I spent three years studying the craft. The course leaned more towards independent filmmaking than technical animation, and during that time I grew into an aspiring writer/director with a strong personal vision.

During my summers, I gained experience as a receptionist and runner at several London animation companies, including Bermuda Shorts and Hibbert Ralph. I met many talented and generous people there—several of whom remain friends and collaborators today.

For my graduation film, Waiting for Dogot, I shot on a 16mm Bolex. While waiting for the rushes to return, I began experimenting with sand-on-glass animation under a rostrum camera. That experimentation sparked the idea for The Girl & the Horse, which became my first professional film. I submitted the concept to Channel 4’s Animator in Residence scheme—a sadly now-defunct but invaluable stepping stone for emerging filmmakers—and won one of four annual places. I animated the film solo over several months, starting on paper in my parents ’attic and later under a 35mm rostrum. It was intense, exhilarating, and a huge learning curve. When the film aired on Channel 4, it became my first television credit.

After that, I was signed as a director by Chris Shepherd and Maria Manton, who had just founded their Brick Lane studio, Slinky Pictures. I spent seven years with them, directing numerous commercials and short films for major brands including Kraft, Sony, Starbucks/Hershey’s, FIFA/Comic Relief and Fairy Liquid/Make-a-Wish Foundation.

I was later head-hunted and represented by Independent Films/Indy8, where I made the Channel 4 Random Acts short Table Manners, and most recently by Aardman. Being part of one of the world’s leading animation studios was an exciting and formative experience! At present, rather than being tied to a single production company, I am represented by my agent Jessica Cooper at Curtis Brown for long-form TV and feature work.

In 2018/2019, shortly before having my son, I wrote and directed my first live-action drama short Of Thread and Almonds. It was long-listed for a BAFTA and won Best Drama at the Bristol Independent Film Festival, among several other awards. In 2024, I was selected by the BFI and supported through Early Development on my debut feature, If Destroyed Still True, a live-action coming-of-age drama incorporating animated vignettes. My long-term goal is, to use hybrid live-action, animation/animatronics, to tell stories that dismantle patriarchal tropes and empower women and girls.

Q: What do you love about working in film and television?

What I love most, is working with an incredible crew of talented people. I’ve said it so many times, but the privilege of being a director—of bringing together a team of individuals who are either at the top of their game or just starting out, full of wonder, energy and enthusiasm—and then building something extraordinary with them, is genuinely one of the best feelings. In the short, intense period you spend together, you inevitably become a little family. That bond forms quickly, becomes deeply rooted, and is always hard to walk away from when the project wraps.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

I think more than the best piece of advice I have ever received, it’s an observation I have made, over the years, watching directors that I admire work on productions anywhere from animated commercials through to TV drama— and that is to be kind, to everyone. One of the best directors I worked with at Slinky was an amazing artist called Suzanne Deakin (check out her work). She was always immensely friendly, welcoming and inclusive and so all her teams invariably worked their socks off for her. Equally she would never ask for more than the job required and was a very strong leader. She gave me a chance to animate on her projects when I was starting out, full of insecurity and self doubt. And I will always be grateful for that.

I also shadowed a mentor of mine, and extremely talented film and TV writer/director, Charles Sturridge on a high end TV drama some years ago. I came away admiring him even more because of his generosity and humanity on set - even in the face of a very tight schedule, diminishing light, pouring rain on location and lots of people breathing down his neck!

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced—and will continue to face—is that writing and directing, for the most part, is a very lonely job. Being on set is wonderful, but it only makes up a small fraction of your working life. Self-motivation is an essential skill to develop. What I’ve learned, particularly as a woman in film, is the incredible value of creating an accountability network of women who meet regularly, whether on Zoom or in person. I was fortunate to take part in the WFTV Four Nations Mentoring Scheme in 2022, and we still have a WhatsApp group where we can reach out to each other for support and advice.

I’m also a founding member of an all-female writers ’group we started during lockdown, when I had an eight-month-old baby. That group has become my constant. The women are now close friends, and their encouragement and support have been instrumental in helping me reach the stage I am at with my work.

Q: What’s next for you?

After pitching my debut feature, If Destroyed Still True, at Film London’s UPStream event in Covent Garden this March, I’m thrilled to have completed the first draft. The next step is finding the right producer for the project. At the moment, the script is with two incredibly talented women, so I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed as I wait and prepare for the next stage of this marathon. In the meantime, I’m updating the treatment and visual deck to ensure everything is polished and ready to move forward.