Children’s Capital of Culture 2025 – Festival Launch Film

One of my biggest projects of 2024, this festival launch film for the Children’s Capital of Culture 2025 had to be delivered in just two weeks. With a decent budget but an extremely tight turnaround, I handled every stage of production—scriptwriting, casting, crewing, filming, and editing. The result was a vibrant, celebratory piece that set the tone for the upcoming festival, and I’m proud of what we achieved under such intense time pressure.

Credits:
Director / Writer / Producer / DOP / Editor – Darshan Gajjar
Client – Children’s Capital of Culture
Production Assistant – Nayungma Rai
1st AD – Ibrahim Ahmed
Painter / Artist – Rebecca Fenely
1st AC – Byron Twigger
2nd AC – Mikey Pugh
Drone Operator – Paul Morton / Steel City Drone Pilot
Gaffer – Luke Green
Sound Recordist – Waqar Shah
Location – Wentworth Woodhouse / Rotherham
BTS Photography – Juan de Leon-Padmore
Children – Leon Thompson, Sujani Sivasuthan, Esme Grace Harker, Jayarama Asthana, Ellie Hague, Annie Gurner

A woman with pink and purple hair and glasses sits in a room with dark green bookshelves, large windows, and wooden flooring, with an easel and art supplies nearby.
Illustration of a building surrounded by trees, with a Paraguayan flag, a green medical cross, and a red heart symbols around it.
A young boy wearing a red Liverpool FC soccer jersey, with his arms outstretched and mouth open in joy indoors near a window.
Person painting a red building with black accents using a small brush and white paint.
Aerial view of a city with a prominent church featuring a tall spire, surrounded by buildings, trees, and a stadium in the distance.
A black and white soccer ball on a wooden floor with a young boy in red shorts and jersey standing in the background.
Close-up of an abstract colorful painting with red, yellow, blue, and white brushstrokes.
A woman dressed in traditional Indian attire, specifically a blue saree with gold details, performing a classical dance inside a room with wooden shelves filled with books and a large window in the background.
A photo of a church spire with a clock, surrounded by colorful bunting and red and green trees, with a digital drawing of a yellow sun with rays in the sky.
A robotic cartoon character standing on a city sidewalk with trees and buildings in the background. The robot is yellow-orange with a boxy body, smiling face on its head, and holding a spray can. It has colorful markings on its body, including a red
A young girl with short brown hair, glasses, and a colorful, heart-patterned shirt, sitting on a chair in a dimly lit room with large windows, bookshelves, and art supplies on the floor.