Biography
Louisa Connolly-Burnham, an award-winning writer, director, and actress from Birmingham, is the founder of Thimble Films. Recognized as a bold new voice in British cinema, Louisa is celebrated for her emotionally intense, darkly sensual, female-led narratives and her captivating presence both on screen and behind the camera.
In 2024, she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the breakthrough short film Sister Wives, featuring BAFTA-winner Mia McKenna-Bruce (known for MUBI's How To Have Sex). The film was long-listed for the 2025 Oscars and BAFTAs, as well as the 2024 BIFAs, and was subsequently acquired by Film4 and Channel 4.
Sister Wives won over 50 awards at more than 100 international festivals, including Best Director honors at The British Short Film Awards, HollyShorts, Sunrise Film Festival, The Shark Awards, One Fluid Night, and Brighton Rocks. It also received Best British Short, Best Actress, and the Audience Award at The Iris Prize, supported by Pinewood Studios.
The film was listed in Letterboxd's 2024 Year in Review as the #3 Highest Rated Live Action Short Film worldwide.
Louisa’s directorial debut, The Call Centre (2020), garnered festival acclaim with nominations at Oscar-qualifying Foyle Film Festival and BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica and Underwire, where it earned a Best Producer nomination. It won Audience Awards at ÉCU - The European Independent Film Festival and Sunday Shorts, amassing over 2 million views on Omeleto, ranking it among the platform's most successful shorts.
Her follow-up short, The Track (2021), maintained her momentum with selections at the Oscar-qualifying Durban International Film Festival and several BAFTA-qualifying festivals. It won Best Director at the 2022 World Indie Film Awards and is available on Omeleto and Minute Shorts.
Her third short, The Ceiling (2022), which examines themes of consent and arousal non-concordance, screened at Exit 6, Cannes Indie Shorts Awards, and San Diego Short Film Festival, and was featured on Director's Notes.
Fleeting (2023), her fourth film set during Ireland's 2018 Repeal the 8th referendum, was selected by IFTA-qualifying festivals Fastnet, Catalyst, and Disappear Here, and is available on Minute Shorts.
In recognition of her creative accomplishments, Louisa received a BFI scholarship in 2024 to join the Female Film Club and served as a juror for the 2024 BAFTA x Rocliffe New Writing Competition.
A passionate advocate for underrepresented voices in film, Louisa founded Kulty, a safe, inclusive space for women, non-binary, and gender-queer filmmakers. She is also an active member of Directors UK, Women in Film & TV (WFTV), and Cinesisters.
Her work has been featured in major outlets including Variety, BBC News, Glamour, Collider, Deadline, Film Stories, British Cinematographer, Attitude, Diva, Pink News, Yahoo, and Awards Daily.
