About Winward Studios and it's founder
Winward Studios was founded in 2011 by brothers Andy and Tony Winward. In the years that followed we produced many short films, some of which have won awards/competitions. Tony has since stepped away from being on screen in the films, but actively helps out behind the camera when needed.
Winward Studios operates on 'No Budget' and therefore makes films with anything and everything I already own or can easily get hold of. My actors comprise of friends and relatives, and as such film making for me is a personal and fun experience.
I like to experiment with different genres, but my favourite is horror. I'm heavily inspired by Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy and the many Hammer Horrors, especially those featuring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
Filmmaking isn't where my journey began though, it was 2010 and I had just finished a Photography degree, but had moved away from this area. I tried revisiting painting and drawing, as I've always been creative in a variety of areas. Then I finally revisited filmmaking which my brother and I had first explored as children when our Mam won a home camcorder, and we would spend hours recorded 'Mini Movies'.
I got back into filmmaking after lending a Flip Camera off a friend and making my first 'proper short'; 'The Number 7'. And that is how I got the filmmaking bug. I bought my own Flip Camera, then my Grandad bought me a home camcorder which produced my films for 10 years, until 2022 when I upgraded to more professional equipment.
For over 10 years, filmmaking has been a hobby. I accepted that living in Teesside and being a home bird, this would develop no further. So I got jobs working in a shop and then a factory while actively continuing my hobby. Then during the 2020 lockdown, my mental health, which I've always struggled with, broke down further and I fell into a deep depression and actually went on the sick from work. As the months went on, I came to the decision that the job wasn't right for me and made the bold decision to leave my job and return to university studying Film and Television Production.
In 2021, I was officially diagnosed Autistic and I went on an exploratory journey of this in my first ever documentary 'Autism & Me' which has resonated with a lot of people. both Neuro-Diverse and Neuro-Typical, alike. Autism is very personal for me, I don't hide it away, I openly tell people about it and about my struggles. My major struggle being social skills.
Winward Studios has been and continues to be an escape for me, and a creative outlet for my own personal mental health, and hopefully for those involved in the films. My dream is to one day make a feature, I'd happily make a B-Movie that goes straight to DVD, I just love the idea of being able to hold in my hand an item of my own creation that I can pass down the family. I think this would be pretty cool.
