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The Thread

Generation 14plus 2026
© BBC Films
In the mid-2000s, Grace is growing up as a child of dual heritage: her mother, Esther, is white British and her father, David, Black Jamaican. She lives with her parents and her older brother, Curtis, in a semi-detached house in a small town in the Midlands. On paper, it all seems quite idyllic, yet as she gets older, her awareness of her place in the world also grows. When Grace starts to take her identity into her own hands and wrestles with making sense of the balance between Black and white, many questions arise. Discovering right from wrong through a few lessons at home, she begins to navigate how to exist as a young woman, fully Black, fully white.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Fenn O'Meally (Director, Screenplay)
with Anaya Thorley, Tyrelle Boyce, David Gyasi, Lucy Phelps, Thea Butler United Kingdom 2025 English 15' Colour International premiere recommendation: 14 years and up

With

  • Anaya Thorley (Grace)
  • Tyrelle Boyce (Curtis)
  • David Gyasi (David)
  • Lucy Phelps (Esther)
  • Thea Butler (Emily)

Crew

Director Fenn O'Meally
Screenplay Fenn O'Meally
Cinematography Arseni Khachaturan
Editing Toby Heard, Matt Schaff
Music Duval Timothy, Lil Silva
Sound Design Toby Heard
Production Design Francesca Di Mottola
Costumes Calvin How
Make-Up Michele Baylis
Casting Des Hamilton, Stephanie Okoye, Stafi Samaki
Producers Luca Chapman, Elizabeth Doonan, Patrick Milling-Smith
Executive Producers Patrick Milling-Smith, Brian Carmody, Fergus Brown, Claudia Yusef, Anuradha Henriques, Hannah Linnen

Produced by

BBC Films

London, United Kingdom

SMUGGLER

London, United Kingdom

World Sales

SMUGGLER

London, United Kingdom

Photos

Fenn O'Meally

The filmmaker and photographer was born in Birmingham, UK of Jamaican heritage. Her work focuses on raw and honest stories from real life. Her richly textured visual language draws on her experience in documentary filmmaking, radio journalism and dance, and is grounded in her love of movement and music. She places a great emphasis on her craft in her observational and emotionally moving work.

Filmography

2025 The Thread; short film, Berlinale 2026

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026