EXCLUSIVE: A development programme has launched to help disabled UK creatives break into the horror genre featuring the creators of Reunion and We Might Regret This.
104 Films has opened a D-Horror programme backed by the BFI Creative Challenge Fund, which will guide 10 projects from script to “market-ready pitch materials” over the next four months.
104 Films is a UK production company focused on training disabled creatives. It said the development programme is about helping those who have “largely been absent from shaping one of the most globally bankable genres” to have a voice.
“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,” it added. “D-Horror directly challenges that imbalance by supporting disabled filmmakers to reclaim the genre.”
Justin Edgar, who runs 104 Films, said: “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.”
Successful participants include William Mager, whose critically-rated BBC drama Reunion followed a deaf man fighting for redemption, and Kyla Harris, who was behind and starred in BBC dramedy We Might Regret This. Full list below.
The participants
Saida Ahmed — Black South-Asian disabled actor, poet and writer, Stage Debut Award nominee, with screen credits including Jerk (BBC), Brassic (Sky) and Film4’s Mo <3 Kyra.
Rebekah Fortune, Rosy Deacon & Jack Tarling — The team behind Lex Maleficarum, led by openly autistic filmmaker Rebekah Fortune (Just Charlie, winner of Cannes Ecrans Juniors), Emmy‑winning writer Rosy Deacon, and BAFTA/BIFA‑winning producer Jack Tarling (Kneecap, God’s Own Country).
Aruhan Galieva, Jess Gardner & Benjamin Adnams — Writer-performer Aruhan Galieva, disabled producer Jess Gardner (Doctor Who, GALWAD), and NFTS director Benjamin Adnams develop 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?) joins forces with BAFTA-nominated creator and Emmy-winning producer Kyla Harris (Patrice: The Movie, We Might Regret This).
Annie Jenkins & Aduke King — Writer-director Annie Jenkins (BFI London Script Lab, HollyShorts, Theatre503) and producer Aduke King (BFI London Film Festival programmer) develop Ripe, a psychological body horror exploring masculinity and inheritance.
William Mager — Writer, Creator and EP of international award-winning thriller Reunion (Warp Films/BBC), which premiered at TIFF. Selected as a Broadcast Hot Shot in 2025.
Toby Parker Rees & Anna Keeley — Writer Toby Parker Rees (Wet Look, Channel 4), a Broadcast Awards nominee, partners with Anna Keeley of Escape Plan Productions (Saint Maud, Out of Darkness) on internationally focused genre work.
Lettie Precious — Writer of psychologically driven genre stories, currently developing The Man Inside, a psychological horror feature with producer Rob Watson of Air Street Films.
Kate Shenton — Award‑winning screenwriter and games writer, nominated as Screen International’s Rising Horror Star, with credits including Egomaniac and Netflix & Kill, and currently doing AAA work on the next instalment of the Dead Island saga.
Isabelle Stead — BIFA-winning producer and Sundance alumna whose films have premiered at Toronto and Berlinale, including Son of Babylon and The Journey, both submitted to the Academy Awards.