Holly pulled her first all-nighter at the age of five after watching Grease. Overwhelmed by the joy a story could stir, she just couldn’t sleep. She’s been chasing that cinematic high ever since.

Her style blends bold, visually distinct worlds with wit, surreal charm and cartoonish energy. Inspired by the camp, makeshift aesthetics of the New Romantics and fuelled by her ADHD-level pace and OCD-level precision (a blessing and a curse), her films are fast, playful and obsessively crafted. If you treat everyone like a unique character, the world feels more magical. That’s the world she builds on screen and the characters she writes.

Before directing, Holly pierced ears at Claire’s Accessories and taught life drawing at hen parties. She got her break at Wieden+Kennedy as an art director, working on campaigns for TK Maxx, Nike, Lurpak, Sainsbury’s and Sprite. After collaborating with some of the best female directors in the business, she set sail on her own filmmaking ship, which she describes as more of a dinghy, really.

Her debut short Banana Boat, which she wrote and directed, was selected from thousands for funding by Yarns Film Festival. It went on to win Best Honorary Film at her favourite cinema, The Prince Charles. Her film Crunch, inspired by her misophonia (hatred of loud crisp eaters), was filmed guerrilla-style on a packed summer train. It was featured on It’s Nice That.

Holly is a born creator. She’s taken shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, written poetry, made stop motion, drawn and sold her own cartoons and even made BBC News for sketching Sir Richard Branson as a pigeon. Her work has appeared in PromoNews, David Reviews, Kerrang! and been championed by Girls in Film.

She’s directed award-winning underground music videos for bands that match her ironic taste. Last Christmas, she wrote, starred in and directed her own Christmas number one, filmed in her local village hall. You’ll be seeing more of it this December. Move aside, Mariah.

After being on report the whole way through secondary school up to 18 (humble brag), Holly’s head teacher told her she’d end up in prison or working in the local West Country Costa, and she’s determined to prove him right. This directing thing? Just a very elaborate detour.