As an English Literature student and, now, teacher, stories interest me ... a lot. And whilst written-word stories may be my main preoccupation, film, with its power to convey those same stories, visually, perhaps even without words, is my little bit on the side.

I cannot tell you my favourite film – I just couldn’t pin that down if I tried, but I am a huge fan of the work of Baz Luhrmann and Christopher Nolan, though narratively speaking, sometimes the quiet ones knock me out, like Greta Gerwig’s Ladybird.

I started writing film reviews for UK Film Review about 4 years ago, submitting a review of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk – one of the most audio-visually striking films I have experienced in a long time – and the lovely Chris Olsen decided to give me a shot. Focusing mainly on short films, I have been lucky enough to review the full range of genres, budgets and styles and am in awe of what some filmmakers have been able to achieve, often with just a phone camera and a few quid to pay the actors with a beer at the end of the day. There is some real talent out there, particularly in the UK, and I am a huge supporter of those projects which seek to tell their story in ways we don’t always expect.