Ian Waugh is a writer, director and artist. His visceral films explore identity and belonging, with conflicted characters echoed within wild and unforgiving landscapes. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, EIFF Talent Lab Connects, and the flagship development programme BFI Network@LFF as an artist disrupting conventions with international focus and ambition.

Hailing from North East England, he studied Photography & Film at Edinburgh Napier and Advanced Film Practice at Screen Academy Scotland. His medium length drama Leaves premiered in competition for Best UK First Feature at East End Film Festival, and his short films have played at international festivals such as Drama, Stockholm, Kyiv, Busan and BFI London.

His short As He Lay Falling was backed by Creative Scotland and premiered in competition at Edinburgh. It screened at 30 international festivals, winning the Directors’ Jury Award at Soria and Special Mentions at Reykjavík and ISFF Cyprus. As He Lay Falling is being developed into a feature film with support from Screen Scotland and the BFI Network.

Waugh works with photography to explore emotional landscapes and the psychological experience of place. He has exhibited at home and abroad, received numerous artist bursaries, and made work in residencies in Iceland, Finland, Germany and Scotland. His ongoing series The Cleared Country is supported by Creative Scotland and being developed into a book.