Awards / Highlights
Broadcast Digital Award Winner for Transaction
Bafta Connect member & BFI Network x BAFTA Crew
International Emmy Award Nomination for Printfriends
Finalist in Film London's Microwave scheme for feature film script The Opposite of Everything
Winner of the Endemol Shine Short Cuts film competition for Wasteland
Winner of Best Short Film Made in Wales at BAFTA-qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival for The Honeymoon
Short films were part of the Official Selection at over 50 film festivals including BAFTA-qualifying festivals Underwire, Aesthetica and LOCO.
Ruth Pickett is an Emmy-nominated and Broadcast Digital Award winning Writer & Director, with a particular skill for narrative and character-driven comedy, and darkly comic drama. She directed Series 3 of LADHOOD for BBC3, written by & starring Bafta-nominated comedian Liam Williams, which received critical acclaim including a 4* review from the Guardian which described it as "consistently great... clever, moving comedy"
Ruth recently made a comedic short for CPR charity Resuscitation Council starring Sex Education's Connor Swindells: which was a finalist in the British Arrow awards. Prior to this she directed Comedy Central's 6-part digital series TRANSACTION, written by & starring Jordan Gray, which won a Broadcast Digital Award for best short-form scripted series. She was part of the final BFI Network x BAFTA Crew cohort and is now a BAFTA member as part of their Connect membership strand. She is also a member of female film collective Cinesisters. As a writer, she has won awards for her short films, had a feature film script in development with Film London as part of their highly competitive Microwave scheme, and had a short play produced by the Old Vic theatre which played at the Vineyard theatre in Manhattan.
Ruth's passion is for comedy/drama, dark comedy and comedy/horror with a character-driven narrative and a cinematic aesthetic. She has an inclination towards stories that tread the fine line between tragedy and comedy; which have heart and explore poignant or socially conscious topics, as well as being funny. She is a firm believer that comedy can be just as visually inventive as drama and is always looking for imaginative, dynamic ways to enhance a story - or a joke - visually. Some of her favourite directors include Edgar Wright, Bong Joon-Ho, Daniels, Lynne Ramsay, Stanley Kubrick, The Coen Brothers, Melina Matsoukas, Taika Waititi and Jordan Peele.
Ruth is from a mixed heritage family and was educated at a state school in Yorkshire. She went on to attend Cambridge University, where she began her comedy career as part of the student comedy group, the Cambridge Footlights. She is represented by Curtis Brown for narrative work and Hungry Man for commercials and music videos.