The Whickers Film & TV funding Award Shortlist 2026
I'm thrilled to announce that ‘The Useful Time Machine’, a feature doc that I’ve been working on fro 5 years has been shortlisted for The Whickers Film and TV Funding Award 2026, making the top 15 out of over 500 applications.
When I started this project, I was simply trying to solve a puzzle. Two Mini DV tapes. Unknown faces. An obsession I couldn't shake. I never imagined it would become what it is now.
I've tested the teaser with friends, family, fellow filmmakers and pitched the film to strangers orally, the response has been overwhelming. People are resonating with the themes, the connections, the humanity of it. This validation means everything as I've continued developing the film.
This is the first project I've tackled since discovering I have AuDHD. For years, I fought against the way my brain works, trying to emulate a neurotypical approach to life and filmmaking. But this time, I showed up as myself, no masking, just me. I let my unconventional process live without suppressing it. And it resonated. Getting shortlisted feels like the universe saying: removing the mask is a good thing!
This shortlist is a celebration of the story and the journey so far. Regardless of what happens next, I know this film is going to get made, I’m way too hyper-focused, the last time got hyper focused about a project, I ended up with a worldwide premiere that the 69th BFI London Film Festival!
With this project, I'm excited to push myself as a filmmaker and experiment with mixed media, blending forms, using whatever tools are around me to tell this story in a way that is just as captivating as those made with massive budgets.
Sure, I aspire to work on big sets with incredible crews and equipment one day. But right now, I'm energised by the creativity that comes with limitations. There's something powerful about that constraint.
So I'm excited. I’m inspired. I'm motivated, and most importantly, I’m feeling very creative as I'm continue to shoot and develop this important film.
Making the shortlist for the Whickers Film & TV Fund 2026 award feels like the universe saying: keep going, you’re onto something here. Don’t doubt yourself.
‘The Useful Time Machine’ | Eno Enefiok