Crawley Creatives

Callum Andrew Johnston

Callum Andrew Johnston is a film writer & director from Crawley who wrote and produced the original RH11 film which was the first feature length movie shot in Crawley. His next TV drama series ROMEO. HOTEL. ELEVEN is based off the original concept and is set to be released late 2023.

Callum was born and raised in Crawley growing up in Bewbush and attending Ifield Community College. He's now the founder & Head of Developments at Crawley Film Initiative, a local cultural film hub that helps develop and train young people.

Helen Fraser

I work as a 2nd Assistant Director in TV and Film.

I started my career as an in house runner at a production company in London, then after a year went onto one of their productions as a Floor Runner (Trainee position). From that point on I was out in the big bad world of freelance Film & TV and steadily worked from job to job. I've been working as a 2nd Assistant Director for about 14 years and have worked on a range of productions from Soaps to High-end TV Dramas & £100 million+ Films.

My job entails many responsibilities which include looking after the cast and their schedules, managing my department, organising fittings/rehearsals/tests, liaising with other departments in logistically planning each filming day, and compiling the daily "Callsheet" which contains the timings & necessary information required for each shooting day, for example, crew call time, scene numbers, cast, extras, story days, equipment & departmental requirements etc.

I have worked on productions for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Netflix, Disney, Sony, Warner Bros, and my career has taken me all over the UK. I've lived and worked in London, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast. My work has also taken me overseas to Majorca, Gran Canaria, Spain (Mainland), Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Germany & Bulgaria.

My credits include:
Feature Films - Sunshine on Leith, High Rise, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, The Children Act, Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, Our Ladies, See How they Run
Television - Shetland, Victoria, The ABC Murders, Dracula, A Discovery of Witches, Pennyworth.

I recently finished working on a huge exciting new drama for Netflix & am hoping for a feature film next.

I was born and raised in Bewbush, Crawley and after living a somewhat nomadic lifestyle for many years, have recently moved back to Crawley & now live in Three Bridges.

I attended Gossops Green Primary & Middle School, then onto Ifield Community College. After school I went to University in London & completed a BA Hons in Drama, Film & Television

Jacob Punter

Founder of Crawley Film Initiative CIC.

Jacob is a cinematographer who has worked in the film industry as a freelancer for 6 years. To date, he has produced over 60 music videos, camera operated on a feature length documentary ‘The Balance’ and recently was the Director of Photography on a new TV series called 'ROMEO. HOTEL. ELEVEN'.

Jacob’s work has recently been shown at Cineworld and The Hawth Theatre in Crawley along with his feature length documentary that over the past year has been toured around cinemas across the globe.

Jacob has always had an affinity with Crawley as even though he didn’t grow up here, it became a vital place for creative opportunities in his career. He began his film journey by making music videos where he first came across a local music scene in Crawley full of fantastic artists that he was able to collaborate with helping him build a portfolio of work. In 2020, he then founded a production company called the Crawley Film Initiative (CFI) based in the town centre that aims to give local young filmmakers the opportunities to learn film through hands on experience on set.

Mark Kipling

Mark is a film editor with 14 years of industry experience. He has worked with big companies and brands, creating viral content and advertising for the likes of The Sidemen & KSI, YouTube, Google, Ford, and provided content for some of the UK’s biggest music events like Capital’s Summertime Ball and X-Factor Tour. Documentary feature credits include One Night in Al-Aqsa and Medina: The Enlightened City.

His recent documentary film work has been released and viewed in cinemas worldwide in the UK, South Africa, Canada, the USA and across Europe.

Mark was born in Crawley but moved up north with family before eventually returning to study Media Production at Crawley College. He’s always seen the town as a second home due to the friendships he’s formed here, and felt it was the right fit for him when co-founding the CFI to help mentor young film makers.

Rebecca Fisher

I spent 4 years working as an editor in the TV industry, and now I’ve been a Media Studies teacher for 15 years, as well as a You Tuber for about 5 years making Media Studies revision videos.

I’ve lived in Crawley for nearly 10 years.

Simon Edwards

I am photographer, filmmaker and artist. I Studied fine art in Birmingham and then went into TV production working in motorsports for 7 yrs, I have been freelance since 2007. I have worked as an editor, camera person. I am currently exploring more of my own work as a photographer.

I moved to Crawley in 1999 when I got my first production job with Formula 1. We have lived here ever since. I am part of the WORDfest Crawley committee which I have been part of since the very beginning in 2011.