Events

Session led by Adrian Dean and Rhys Davies Lights, camera... auditions! We’re entering the casting phase for our exciting Sutton FilmMakers Anthology Project, and this club night will be dedicated to auditioning actors for a selection of the short films we’re producing as part of the series. We’d like to invite performers from local drama ... Read more

Session led by Owain Dain History of Horror is here! Welcome, boils and ghouls! Prepare to take a deep dive into the history of horror and discover why we at SFM just can’t get enough of being scared. We’ll explore how horror has evolved over the years, discuss how the “rules” of who lives and ... Read more

Session led by Sara Jordan Bring your stage craft to camera This event has passed. However you can see the write up and footage here Screen Acting Workshop, One Line at a Time Bring your stage craft to camera with clarity and confidence. This focused, two hour workshop is designed for theatre trained performers who ... Read more

Session led by Adrian Dean Welcome back to the writers room. We are turning the evening into a live script workshop. If you have a script, or even just a few scenes, that you think could be stronger, this is a chance to put it in front of your fellow filmmakers and get some honest, ... Read more

Join us at The Parochial Halls in Cheam on Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 7.30pm for our Christmas social, with drinks, nibbles and member made films from this year. Our final meet up of the year is a relaxed Christmas social at The Parochial Halls, Cheam, Sutton, starting at 7.45pm on Tuesday 16 December 2025. ... Read more

Session led by Owain Dain Lets Dive Back In Tonight, we’re diving back into the world of horror for a follow-up, and trust me, it’s not just about jump scares. Horror is full of surprises: genre-bending stories with symbolism and hidden themes, monsters that represent real fears, and subtle tricks that make you question what’s ... Read more

Rather than trying to squeeze a Christmas meal into a hectic month, we’re having a more relaxed club social meal in January, when it’s usually easier to book and nicer to chat. On Tuesday 20 January we will not be holding our usual meeting. Instead, we’ll meet at 7:45pm at ECO, 23 The Broadway, Cheam, ... Read more

Join us for a practical club night looking at camera movement and focusing techniques, the sort of stuff that can quietly lift a scene from “fine” to “that feels like a film”.

We’re delighted to welcome Col Spector to the club for a talk on something most of us only learn the hard way, how to shoot a documentary that actually turns into a film, not just a pile of interesting footage.


Col has worked across documentary, commercials and fiction, and he’s known for being both practical and refreshingly direct. This evening he’ll be sharing his “8 rules” for documentary making, the kind of rules that stop you drifting, keep you honest about what you’re trying to say, and give you a structure you can lean on when the shoot starts throwing surprises at you.


Col Spector set up documentary consultancy to help documentary filmmakers make emotionally engaging films that get seen and launch their careers. Using the principles/guidelines that he developed throughout his career as a documentary maker at the BBC, Col has worked with hundreds of early career directors helping them turn their ideas into films that have been commissioned and screened on the BBC, Netflix and many top tier film festivals. See some testimonials from filmmakers Col has helped and for more about how he can help you at www.thedocumentaryconsultant.com

Join us for a practical club night looking at camera movement and focusing techniques, the sort of stuff that can quietly lift a scene from “fine” to “that feels like a film”.


This is not a sit back and listen kind of evening. Expect plenty of exercises, short explorations, and supportive feedback as you work on what casting people and directors actually respond to, believable character, clear choices, and an actor who feels present rather than “performed”.

On 18 March, Adrian Dean is running a Film In A Night challenge built around a simple idea, one concept told in multiple genres. We’ll split into teams and be given a basic plot plus a genre to tackle it in.
Each group will then discuss and plan quickly before going off to shoot their idea, aiming to edit in camera so we can screen a finished film to the rest of the club at the end.

If you’ve ever sat in front of a timeline and thought, “I know what I want this scene to do, but it’s not landing”, this evening is for you. We’re keeping it simple and practical, a night focused on the basics of film editing and the core decisions that make a sequence feel clear, natural, and emotionally right.