Derek Boyes - Biography
Born in 1972, I spent the first few days of my life in an incubator after having an emergency blood transfusion. This early isolation might explain my need to be noticed, constantly showing-off and (as my Dad put it) buffooning around. In these early years I also indulged in scrupulous amounts of Dr Who, Basil Brush and Morecambe and Wise, but it wasn't until I experienced the phenomenon that was Star Wars, at my local Granada cinema in Maidstone, that my imagination was so joyfully ignited.
The 1980's began with my parents divorce, followed a few years later by the unexpected death of my grandparent. Unbeknown to me at the time, these two events would become the basis behind several reoccurring themes in my work. At secondary school, the need to be accepted by my peers only encouraged my 'clowning around'. My school reports repeatedly described me as 'easily distracted in class' resulting in below-average marks. My only salvation was having a genuine talent for art, where I consistently achieved A grades.
Outside of school I had ambitions of becoming a world famous magician and developed some impressive sleight-of-hand skills (that I still use on my daughter today). Unfortunately by the time I was old enough to join the prestigious Medway Magical Society, the world of filmmaking had already reeled me in and by the end of the decade I was making spoof videos in a disused quarry as an excuse to experiment with home-made special effects.
Three years later, having moved up north, I wrote, produced, directed, edited (and starred in) my first 16mm film - A ridiculously ambitious fantasy short filled with stunts, pyrotechnics and animatronic dragons. Moving on to university I produced three slightly more sensible 16mm shorts, before heading into the feature-film industry, where I miraculously landed my first job on Star Wars - Episode One (Yes, I know).
The next four years were to be some of my most memorable, witnessing first-hand the talents of Tim Burton, George Lucas, Beeban Kidron and Robert Altman. By now I was itching to direct again and decided to apply to The National Film & Television School's fiction direction MA. Two years later I emerged with a spellbinding graduation short called The Happiness Thief that premiered in competition at Cannes in 2004 and went on to play at film festivals across the globe.
Attracting a reputable agent at Curtis Brown, I soon acquired my first drama commission from the BBC and directed a Digital Short for Screen South. My first screenplay was optioned by Ipso Facto Films, after the gripping thriller beat over 200 projects to the final of The Big Pitch. In 2011 I became a proud father to my wonderful daughter, whose vivid imagination inspires me daily. I now continue to build a slate of magical and emotionally engaging film projects in the hope that I will soon be able to share them with the world.
