Charli Whatley is an award winning writer, director and poet. Elevating the female gaze, Charli wants to bring lesser seen characters to the forefront and help more viewers feel seen in cinema. Driven by queer characters and outsiders, her narratives often unpack the complexities of mental health, shame, grief and relationships. Visually Charli’s films have colour palettes and a softness that contrast against the often dark emotional drive of the narratives, her way of translating the contradictions that coexist in our daily lives.
Charli has a chronic mental health illness and in 2017 she developed a disabling neurological condition called ME. From her own experience of being stigmatised by her bisexuality, mental illness and disability she is passionate to use the privileges she has to help elevate other under represented groups in the industry.
Credits include; PERIOD. (writer/director) Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2018; DIRTY LAUNDRY (co-creator + writer) Winner of Best British Pilot at Pilot Light 2018; NIGHTWALKERS (writer) Shaded View of Fashion Film, Milan Fashion Film Festival, Copenhagen Fashion Film Festival.
Projects
- Social DistortionAn Art film that subverts the ostracising label of ‘otherness’. Social Distortion empowers the individual and collective refusal to accept social attitudes perpetuated through wilful ignorance. Director: Stefano Ottaviano Producer: Toby Anthonisz Exec Producer: Mike Samir Poem: Charli Whatley Director of Photography: Vlad Jakovlev 1st Assistant Camera: Efe Onikinci Choreographer: Theo TJ Lowe Krump Choreographer: Theophillus ‘Godson’ Oloyade Stylist: Gabrielle Tamasciuk Hair: Timea Cserekyle Ka
- PERIOD.A short film challenging the way we feel about periods. Using spoken word and a visual story, Period. exposes the blood that causes women to feel shame - normalising its image and empowering its purpose. Without menstruation no one would exist. It is a precious burden placed upon women that should be celebrated.
Projects credited in
- Chronically Locked Down dir. Charli Whatley (2020)Made during the height of the UK lockdown in 2020, this 90 second short written and directed by Charli Whatley was initially created for ME Awareness Day. The moment felt right for an audience living in isolation, with their movements restricted to feel empathy for a chronic disease that affects millions worldwide but is little known about. The film discusses the frustration of your life being limited but offers hope for an audience experiencing this for the first time. From such humble beginnin
- The Journey ForwardsTo celebrate its launch, ROADBOOK has created a short film, The Journey Forwards, asking a small community of global creatives about the future of travel. Their responses – ranging from pithy to poetic, entertaining to emotional – have been curated to demonstrate how different our personal journeys are. The answers are set to footage from a pool of directors and videographers around the world, taking you from New York to Shanghai, by way of London, Los Angeles and Brazil. Each moment has its o
- Social Distortion dir. Stefano Ottaviano (2019)An Art film that subverts the ostracising label of ‘otherness’. Social Distortion empowers the individual and collective refusal to accept social attitudes perpetuated through willful ignorance. schonmagazine.com/schon-presents-social-distortion/ Director: Stefano Ottaviano Producer: Toby Anthonisz Exec Producer: Mike Samir Poem: Charli Whatley Director of Photography: Vlad Jakovlev 1st Assistant Camera: Efe Onikinci Choreographer: Theo TJ Lowe Krump Choreographer: Theophillus ‘Godson’ Oloyade
Skills
- Script Writer
- Video Director
- Poetry
- Short Films
- Copywriting
- Team Collaboration
- Entertainment Content
- Storytelling
- Visual Storytelling
- Communicating Ideas
Education
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B
BA (Hons) in Scriptwriting for Film and Television (2:1)Bournemouth University
- Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Awards
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Best British PilotPilot Light Festival
'Dirty Laundry' written by Charli Whatley and directed by Jason Bradbury, won Best British Pilot in the 2018 Pilot Light Festival.