Talented Wakefield student signs incredible film distribution deal in Japan

Ava Bounds, 17, signed her first distribution deal with Samansa Japan after the short film platform sought her out specifically after being ‘so impressed’ with two of her films.

Tokyo-based streaming service Samansa translates short films into six Asian languages and then charges a fee per view for each short film and is set to be the largest of its kind in Asia having just received major VC (venture capital) backing.

Already the youngest winner ever of the IMDb New Filmmaker Award 2021 and a Film student at CAPA college, Wakefield, Ava has already impressed thousands with her work despite not having an agent.

Bounds says she was absolutely thrilled to go ahead with her first deal: “I’ve worked hard on my writing and filmmaking for three years - it’s a very expensive business - but this deal will help me fund my next film and the ones beyond”.

She says she was apprehensive to sign at first as she hasn't got an Agent, but she hopes this is just the beginning of bigger and brighter things to come.

Following the deal, Ava hopes that this is the beginning of bigger and brighter career.

The talented filmmaker’s next absurd comedy ‘Whatever Happened to Molly Dayle’s Cow?’ follows the titiular character’s final days at the height of the Mad Cow epidemic in 1986.

The film will begin shooting in Batley and Sandsend early next year.