Author name: Mat

Film, News

Cost of the Crown At The Hive

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The Cost of the Crown had a screening at Wolverhampton’s Lockworks Cinema, with both Moe and I signing posters and talking about our future plans.

The screening was part of The Hive Connect (June Edition), during which two films were shown. As well as The Cost of the Crown, we also watched I’m Toby.

After the film was shown, director Moe Acharki and I answered questions, then took part in a networking session. It was tremendous to meet so many passionate filmmakers, and I love what the guys behind The Hive are doing. We heard about lots of exciting projects. Some are in post-production, others in pre-pre-pre-production. I can’t wait to see them all come to fruition.

As part of the event, a signed Cost of the Crown poster was given to a member of the audience, and we were signing copies as part of the network event. It’s a beautiful poster, and that was reflected in the interest. Thanks to everyone who bought one, or who came and chatted with us.

We managed to talk a little bit about our next project together – a feature film set against the backdrop of an historical event in Morocco. We also were asked a few times about a sequel to The Cost of the Crown, although neither of us really wants to do it. Don’t forget, I wrote a sequel to The Haunted House Hotel here.

We both really enjoyed our time with The Hive. I’d seriously recommend them to filmmakers in the West Midlands. Check out their Instagram for details of any upcoming events.

News, Short Stories

Dinesh Allirajah Prize Anthology Available Now

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The anthology for the Dinesh Allirajah Prize 2026 is now available. It includes my winning story, In His Life.

‘Fandoms’ is available to purchase on Amazon, and includes fantastic stories by Ruth-Anne Walbank, Ben Daggers, Louisa Hann, David Hartley, Alison Armstrong and Shekina Rose. It’s available for 99p, and is brilliant value at that price.

My contribution, In His Life, is the story of a father and son going to The Dog and Lamb pub to see a Beatles tribute band. Real life returns, and the joy of the night is short-lived. Other tales include Elvis impersonators, cliff divers and radio DJs, and all are worth reading.

You can also buy the full collection of Dinesh Allirajah anthologies for a decent price.

News, Short Stories

A Brief Encounter Accepted for Publication

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A Brief Encounter, a piece of flash fiction I wrote earlier this year, has been accepted for publication.

The piece will be published at 101 Words in August. The website publishes stories of exactly 101 words.

The story is about unrequited love and fantasy, and was originally the first part of a novella I intended to write. Exciting to see the first 101 words find their place. Maybe I’ll return to it one of these days!

With that said, one of the things I enjoyed with this is fitting an entire world into so few words. It’s not a slice of a novella but a character piece all of its own.

A Brief Encounter, which editors described as “beautifully bittersweet”, will be available on August 7.

Film, News

Updates and Reflection in the Gibraltar Chronicle

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A new interview with Moe Acharki in the Gibraltar Chronicle looks back on our work together, and hints at what’s coming next.

Following the success of The Cost of the Crown, Moe gave an interview with his local paper. The interview goes into the making of the film, the challenges of working on two projects at once and hints at what we’re working on next.

It’s very early days on that project, and you never know how things are going to go. We know roughly where we’re heading towards and have a mountain of reference films and materials we’re exploring. But we’re also not in any rush on this one. Either way, we’re having fun exploring what it might end up being.

Moe and I have worked on a number of projects together, including The Eyes in the Box, The Haunted House Hotel and The Cost of the Crown.

Film, News

The Cost of the Crown Wins Best Film

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The Cost of the Crown has had another major win – Best Film at the WLV Screen Awards.

Moe travelled to Wolverhampton yesterday to see our latest film screened at the Wolverhampton-based festival, and came away with the award for Best Film.

It’s our second screening, and our second award. The film won Best Cinematography at Leavesden in April.

The Cost of the Crown is an historical drama. It follows a king as a mob of his angry followers try to knock down his door. It takes place over just a few minutes.

We made the film at Nu Boyana studios in Sofia, Bulgaria, and shot it at more or less the same time as The Haunted House Hotel.

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