Member Article

Film-maker helped by Transmit Start Ups

Marley Morrison, 25, who played football for Newcastle UFC Ladies as a teenager, has gone from being homeless in Hemel Hempstead at 16 to running her own successful film business in London, with a national feature film and two international documentaries in the pipeline.

Her business, Hazey Jane Films, started in April and is being supported by Transmit Start Ups with a loan to help fund her website, buy equipment and provide business mentoring.

Marley has already got an impressive record of working with major film industry experts including award-winning director Suri Krishnamma of Dark Tourist fame and Adam Kempton, who produced Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp. They are currently collaborating on a feature film about the 2011 riots in London which took place on Marley’s doorstep, and will be based on her script.

Hazey Jane Films has also just completed a video for up and coming London rapper and songwriter Jake Emlyn who has toured with Mark Owen and features Robbie Williams on his new single.

Other projects for the company include two documentaries which are being directed in Thailand by Marley’s Partner, Christopher Lambert, with executive producer Emily Sansiri based permanently in the country. One of them, ‘wayung kulit’ will explore the mystical tradition of Bali’s shadow puppets and the other, ‘Below paradise’ will focus on a homeless couple who have lived under a bridge in Bangkok for 30 years.

Marley said: “I was totally off the rails from 16 – 18, taking drugs, battling with severe depression and at the same time my stepbrother died from a drug overdose. I realised my life could go one of two ways so decided to sort myself out and enrolled on a performing arts course at WAC Arts in Belsize Park, London. They were a great support to me.

“After graduating I was an actor first and foremost but started to write my own material so I had scripts to work on that were interesting to me. While I still work as an actor, my writing snowballed and led to me starting my own company, writing and directing bigger projects such as the feature film script and short films which have been shown in a range of independent festivals.

“I decided to create Hazey Jane Films to formalise my business and look for new clients. The Transmit Start Up loan has been great as it will fund my website and enable me to grow the promo video and feature film element of my work. There are also a number of offers coming in which can’t be delivered without more resources so the loan will help us to buy equipment as well.”

Richard Myers, director, Transmit Start Ups said: “Marley is a perfect example of the type of young, creative entrepreneur we want to support. She is a self-starter who has overcome obstacles to create a fantastic business which is already making a name for itself. We are delighted to be able to play a part in her future success and help her company take advantage of the great opportunities coming along.”

Marley’s ambition for Hazey Jane Films over the next three years is to make major feature films as well as an interesting spread of music videos and to become an internationally known production company making innovative film content that transcends culture for a worldwide audience.

Further information on Transmit Start Ups is on www.transmitstartups.co.uk and for Hazey Jane Films, www.hazeyjanefilms.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Transmit Start Ups .