Disabled Creatives Team Up to Revitalize the Horror Genre in New Development Program
EXCLUSIVE: A new development program has been introduced to assist disabled creatives in the UK as they venture into the horror genre, featuring the creators of Reunion and We Might Regret This.
104 Films has launched a D-Horror program, supported by the BFI Creative Challenge Fund. This initiative aims to guide ten projects from script development to preparing “market-ready pitch materials” over the next four months.
As a UK production company, 104 Films emphasizes its commitment to empowering disabled creatives. The organization seeks to address the lack of representation of disabled individuals in a genre that is “one of the most globally bankable.”
“Disability has been used as the metaphor, the monster, the threat, or the twist in countless horror films — almost always authored by non-disabled creatives,” the company stated. “D-Horror directly challenges that imbalance by supporting disabled filmmakers to reclaim the genre.”
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Justin Edgar, director of 104 Films, remarked, “Horror has always been a genre for outsiders — a place where the margins become the centre. D-Horror gives disabled filmmakers the space, support, and industry access they’ve been denied for too long, and I can’t wait to see the stories they bring to life.”
Among the successful participants are William Mager, known for his critically acclaimed BBC drama Reunion, which tells the story of a deaf man’s struggle for redemption, and Kyla Harris, who created and starred in BBC’s We Might Regret This. A full list of participants follows.
The participants
Saida Ahmed — A Black South-Asian disabled actor, poet, and writer, Ahmed has screen credits that include Jerk (BBC), Brassic (Sky), and Film4’s Mo <3 Kyra.
Rebekah Fortune, Rosy Deacon & Jack Tarling — This collaborative team, led by openly autistic filmmaker Rebekah Fortune (Just Charlie, winner of Cannes Ecrans Juniors), also features Emmy-winning writer Rosy Deacon and BAFTA/BIFA-winning producer Jack Tarling (Kneecap, God’s Own Country).
Aruhan Galieva, Jess Gardner & Benjamin Adnams — In this group, writer-performer Aruhan Galieva, disabled producer Jess Gardner (Doctor Who, GALWAD), and NFTS director Benjamin Adnams work together on Limerance, following multiple award-winning collaborations and the First Flights Film Fund Award.
Ella Glendining & Kyla Harris — BAFTA-nominated writer-director Ella Glendining (Is There Anybody Out There?) partners with BAFTA-nominated creator and Emmy-winning producer Kyla Harris (Patrice: The Movie, We Might Regret This).
Annie Jenkins & Aduke King — This duo, comprising writer-director Annie Jenkins (BFI London Script Lab, HollyShorts, Theatre503) and producer Aduke King (BFI London Film Festival programmer), focuses on developing Ripe, a psychological body horror exploring themes of masculinity and inheritance.
William Mager — A writer, creator, and executive producer of the international award-winning thriller Reunion (Warp Films/BBC), Mager premiered at TIFF and was selected as a Broadcast Hot Shot for 2025.
Toby Parker Rees & Anna Keeley — Writer Toby Parker Rees (Wet Look, Channel 4), a Broadcast Awards nominee, collaborates with Anna Keeley of Escape Plan Productions (Saint Maud, Out of Darkness) on international genre projects.
Lettie Precious — A writer known for psychologically driven genre stories, Precious is currently developing The Man Inside, a psychological horror feature with producer Rob Watson of Air Street Films.
Kate Shenton — An award-winning screenwriter and games writer, Shenton has been nominated as Screen International’s Rising Horror Star, with credits including Egomaniac and Netflix & Kill, and is working on the next installment of the Dead Island saga.
Isabelle Stead — A BIFA-winning producer and Sundance alumna, Stead’s films, including Son of Babylon and The Journey, both have premiered at Toronto and Berlinale, with submissions to the Academy Awards.
