Founded by Katie Harriman, Fly Girl Films is a female-led film production company based in Yorkshire. With 10 years of experience so far, the company’s core focus has been accessibility and compassion within the world of filmmaking, working closely with arts communities and local authorities - amplifying the voices of the most vulnerable in our society and telling important stories.
I connected with Fly Girl Films on Instagram a few months before I first met Katie in person. We worked together as part of a research and development project with Huddersfield theatre group Dark Horse (I’ll be documenting my time with the ensemble for Read The Room very soon). Both self-confessed introverts, we ended up chatting more online than we did at the busy R&D sessions, often about the injustices and inequalities within the film industry. However, what I was able to observe during the intensive three days at the Lawrence Bately Theatre was Katie’s passion and extensive knowledge of her craft. She’s exceptionally good at what she does.
I asked Katie if she’d be willing to talk to Read The Room about her brilliant film company and she very kindly agreed.
Alfie Whitby: A little getting to know you question: When did your love of filmmaking begin? What inspired you to pick up a camera?
Katie Harriman: I feel like I should romanticise this answer a bit because the reality is a bit flat! I’ve never been a huge film buff but I’ve always been creative, and this started with a passion for music. I joined the local sixth form after leaving school and wanted to take music with history. They ended up clashing with each other so I had to pick up a different subject and chose media studies. I’m glad I did because it shaped my entire career and I also met my husband in that class!
Immediately I found I had a flair for making films, but I was insistent that music was where I was going. I then did a degree in music and film with the intention of composing music for film, but gradually over the three years I ended up taking on internships with media companies and eventually working on film sets. I think people expect it to have been a “love at first sight” story, but that just wasn’t the case.
AW: How did Fly Girl Films come about? Is there a story behind the name? Are you based strictly in Yorkshire?
Katie: Aha! I get asked about the name a lot. In one of the internships I took way back in uni I met Andrew Olssen who is a brilliant editor and still a great friend today. (He’s just stared working with me too on a few projects!) One day when I was sat trying to think up a name for my company he texted me out of the blue saying “Hey Fly Girl!”. I’d been desperate to find something that was fun and showed I didn’t take myself too seriously. A few people urged me to not use it because when you googled it, it came up with a retro porno! But that was all the more reason for me to use it. Andi still tells me now that I owe him royalties for coming up with the name.
As for starting Fly Girl, I had worked in the industry for about a year after graduating. I’d gone from runner jobs to camera assistant jobs and a role as an editing assistant on a documentary feature. I absolutely hated that entire year of my career and it’s taken me a long time to unpick why that was. The film and TV industry wasn’t a place that I felt welcome. I felt singled out for being northern and working class and hated the whole “set etiquette” which meant kissing everyone’s arse to get a decent job. As a neurodivergent working class northerner, it wasn’t for me at all! In between jobs I had worked with an amazing community theatre company for adults with additional needs called Castaway Goole, creating video content for their upcoming show. I was sat in my office in London one day wishing to god that I was back working with them. So a few months later I came back and set up Fly Girl. I haven’t looked back!
And no, I don’t only work in Yorkshire, we travel all over the UK. Most of my work tends to take place in Yorkshire, but we don’t have a specific place where we work the most. It’s all here, there and everywhere.
AW: We recently worked together on a research and development project with Dark Horse theatre in Huddersfield. It was super cool to see you doing your thing in the wild. What do you look for in potential projects?
Katie: I absolutely love Dark Horse! And the R&D project was brilliant.
When I first set up Fly Girl I made a vow to myself that I would solely work with arts organisations and never sell out doing corporate work! The thing is, there are a lot of companies who do corporate brilliantly, and it just isn’t my bag. Over the years the niche has expanded to working with local authorities and community groups too. My main focus is to work on social engagement projects, often with marginalised groups.
AW: Looking back over the last 10 years of Fly Girl Films, what have been your highlights? Any pieces of work that really stand out or were really memorable for you?
Katie: What a great question. I’ll probably forget something incredibly important but the ones high on my list are:
A project from Hull City of Culture in 2017 where I worked with Artlink to document Sophie from The Alternative Limb Project creating some incredible limbs (or pieces of art?) for disability rights activist and model Kelly Knox. It was an incredible project to be a part of.
“Huggo”, a short film I directed in 2022 which starred Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley, Downton Abbey) which explored themes of baby loss. I started the project pregnant with my son Leo and sadly lost him halfway through my pregnancy. This project was very special to me and helped me get through a very difficult time in my life.
More recently we’ve worked on some incredible campaign films with the likes of the NHS on a project with Eastern European women to encourage Polish and Romanian women to attend cervical screenings. We’ve worked with the National Theatre on films with young people on mental health and sexual assault. We’ve also worked with Humberside Police on 3 campaigns on knife crime, sexual abuse and One Punch. There are also many more which I’m incredibly proud of!
AW: Is there a particular genre of film you haven’t had a chance to work on yet that you’d love to (although I’m guessing you’ve probably had a chance to play around with quite a few genres, especially with some of the young people you’ve worked with)?
Katie: I feel like we’ve probably touched upon every genre imaginable in some way! We do make a lot of short films with community groups and young people. Some of them can be absolutely bonkers (which we love!!). A recent one was a satire on Big Brother set in the 80s. So yeah, I think we’ve had every genre thrown at us but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone pulled something weird and wonderful out of the bag which we never would have expected!
AW: You’re really focused on accessibility and inclusivity in your work. It’s also impressive to see a team entirely made up of women! It still feels like there’s so much work to do in the screen industry to make it truly accessible. So many barriers. What do you hope to achieve with Fly Girl Films in the future? Any exciting plans coming up?
Katie: Ah thank you! Yes, these things are all incredibly important to me. I will just say though, I always say we’re “female led” as we don’t just have women on the team but women run the company. We do have a diverse team, the majority of us are diagnosed with a neurodivergence or disability, and I painstakingly pick the best people for my team who understand our ethos.
As for the industry, I feel like it’s quite dire at the moment when you look at the statistics. The Guardian published an article a couple of days ago claiming that 30% of people making decisions in the industry were privately educated. It’s absolutely mind-boggling to me. I work day in and day out with groups of people who have never made a film before and their ideas are creative and unique. They have raw, human stories to tell and these are the voices we should really be hearing from. It’s something that has bothered me for a long time and this year, after years of talking about it, I’m finally starting up a CIC (Community Interest Company) which will focus on those community voices. It’s something I’m incredibly excited for. Watch this space!
You can find out more about the work of Fly Girl Films here.
Words and interview: Alfie Whitby (they/them)
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