Eloise Singer, CEO of Singer Studios, served as Odyssey film festival‘s Jury President this year. With a plethora of experience extending beyond just TV and film into the exciting medium of VR, she brought a unique perspective to the role.
Asma spoke to Eloise about her fascinating journey into leading her own production studio and her experience serving on the jury panel.
You studied Political Science and International Relations at the University of Leeds, then going on to study Film Production at the London Film Academy. What pushed you towards studying film and do you think that your politics and IR background has shaped your work?
I always wanted to work in film. I was very lucky when I was about 15 I got work experience at a film set. From that moment onwards, I realised this is where I’m supposed to be. So I knew that I wanted to do film, but a film producer I knew said, “Whatever you do make sure that you have a degree in something else if it all goes wrong.”
But I just wanted to work in film, it was all I really wanted to do. I studied politics and IR because my dad and brother were diplomats, so it was something in the family. I quite liked languages and grew up in South America — it just made sense. I loved my course, it definitely has influenced the projects that I choose which end up more international-focussed, or they have some impact-driven element. It had a huge impact on how I tell stories, which stories I find appealing, and the impact storytelling can have on society.
Were you in South America because of your father’s work as a diplomat?
Yes, my dad was in the army and then became a diplomat, so we went to Chile when I was 11, and stayed there till I was 15. It was great — I went to an international school, on the playground everyone was speaking in different languages, came from different places. It was such an interesting experience but I think when you’re a kid, you just think what you’re doing is normal. Only when I look back, I think, ‘wait, that wasn’t normal.’
It gave me a huge appreciation for how our culture and identity are so intertwined, curiosity in learning about different cultures, as well as an appreciation of languages and how it defines our ways of thinking. I was speaking with Hiu Man about numbers in Chinese versus in Latin-based script, and how the Chinese language allows for easier understanding of maths, which is so interesting. When speaking in Spanish, I’ll think a bit differently to how I think in English.
Because of this enriched experience and understanding of different cultures, when creating Singer Studios in 2017 did you have the intention of weaving in a diverse thread into the company?
Honestly, when I first started Singer it’s something that came naturally, rather than being the driving force. The projects that we do all have a different element to them: the story about Bertha Benz in Trailblazer is very much a German one, Pirate Queen is obviously a Chinese story.
Maybe because I grew up in different places, I recognised the value of culture, and the irony of a white woman telling a story like Pirate Queen — it’s like if a friend from Chile told me they were going to make a story about Shakespeare in Spanish, but not consult anyone from the UK or any experts in the field, which would be quite challenging.
Also, I think the West has not always valued telling stories in such a way. For me, I thought if we are going to tell this story, we need to ensure we show the importance of the setting and work with a team that reflects the story. You can’t assume to understand a culture you don’t really know. The diverse thread was a happy accident, to be honest.
I was producing a film and we needed a production vehicle for it so I set up Singer Studios. Over time, I just worked out which projects were important to me — whenever I consider taking on a project, if I can finish the sentence of, “I fundamentally believe in this story because…”, then I’ll take the project. Making anything in this industry is so challenging.
On a recent project, everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong: a camera got salt damage, a van had been burgled, an iPad was stolen. When those situations arise, which isn’t uncommon, you reach low points where you question why you’re doing this. Now, if I can’t answer the question, I can’t do the project and it’s not right for me. The projects we’ve recently done either focus on forgotten or impactful women from history, whose stories would incite a conversation — I guess my background in international relations drive me to foster these types of global conversations.
That was the foundation of it, really. We built a team around Pirate Queen that became a really beautiful collaboration, which I really love and champion. During the making, one of our programmers taught us how to draw Chinese calligraphy. There was such a mix of people in our team, some who could speak Mandarin or Cantonese, or were artistic, so they were great – it was a beautiful celebration of cross-cultural collaboration.
Singer Studios works with various media forms, such as film, TV, immersive VR and podcasts. Was Pirate Queen always intended to be in VR format?
When we first started Pirate Queen, we were developing it with the BFI as a feature. We had teamed up with a production company based in Beijing and went through development for almost four years. But the pandemic hit, and no one knew what was going to happen.
We couldn’t get out off the ground, but at the same time I was speaking to the former head of PlayStation, who I had met a few years earlier. He suggested turning it into a game. I hadn’t really considered it before, but I saw a grant from Creative UK for prototype VR funding, so Dave (former head of Playstation) and I teamed up to build a prototype version of Pirate Queen. The demo won Raindance, and Meta helped to fund it into a full game. We then got accepted into Tribeca at which point Lucy Liu came on board. We released it and got nominated for the Emmy.
Now, we’re developing it into a TV series and a graphic novel with Simon and Schuster, which is really cool. When we first started Pirate Queen, I never really imagined it would grow into what could be quite a big franchise. If one door closes it doesn’t mean everything is over, it just means you have to find another door.
What is your favourite medium to work in? I imagine VR would be quite tricky to develop.
VR is really hard, but it makes you a better storyteller. It’s like playing 3D chess in terms of narrative and trying to make it work, but then every other medium becomes way easier. I encourage everyone to try it, even though it’s probably the hardest way to tell story. Working with a team of game designers, programmers, experts definitely makes it easier. It’s the most challenging way of telling a story, but also incredibly clever.
When it comes to telling stories, I’m a bit of a magpie. I love creating and always have, so I don’t really have a preference. I could be in an editing room for hours, or sit and write a script and I’d be really happy. We just finished writing the script for the Pirate Queen graphic novel with Lucy and we’ve had such a blast — it’s probably been my highlight this year. I love getting into the weeds with the characters and figuring out how to bring them to life.
Earlier you said you have to be able to finish the sentence of “I fundamentally believe in this story because…” when choosing projects. What made you decide to join the Odyssey film festival 2025 as the Jury President?
When Hiu Man reached out to me, it was a no-brainer. Through creating Pirate Queen, I really valued the importance of cross-cultural collaboration, which is everything that Odyssey stands for and something that I love to be part of and champion. I was so touched and honoured that Hiu Man thought of me, and I couldn’t say no.
What was your experience being the head of the panel this year?
I loved it. There’s so much love for the festival which comes from a place of genuine passion, and I really respect and resonate with that. It was great meeting Robin and hosting the Q&A at the opening night. I really enjoyed seeing the variety of storytelling and personal expression in the films — this beautiful cross-collaboration is something we should be celebrating at the moment, rather than tearing apart which is unfortunately happening currently. Now more than ever, it’s something that we should stand for and discuss.
When reviewing the films, what specific criteria do you focus on?
I don’t really have a specific criteria. I focus more on what the story is telling and how it’s being told. Categories like ‘Best Cinematography’ or ‘Best Editing’ are obviously more technical, but for ‘Best Narrative’, it’s really about what resonates most and how the story unfolds. It’s very subjective, so it was great having such a diverse panel of people from different backgrounds, where we all see the films in different ways, but come together to put forward our opinions and finalise a decision.
What advice would you give to young female creatives or producers just starting out in the industry?
My biggest piece of advice is to get a mentor. I’m very lucky that I have a board where each of them are pretty much one of my mentors. Make sure you find mentors that are both men and women, who would all have different opinions — it’s always very useful to get different pieces of advice.
Be tenacious. ‘No’ doesn’t mean ‘no’, it means that it’s not the right fit, or you need to reshape what your value proposition will be. We’ve had people say ‘no’ initially and then turn around to say ‘yes’. And don’t take rejection personally — the most successful people I know still deal with rejections. Even with Pirate Queen, I can’t tell you the mountain of rejections we got before Meta said yes.
Your latest project is taking you back to Jersey. How are you feeling about returning back there and what can we expect from the TV show?
We actually finished filming that project recently it has been seven years in the making. It’s been a journey, and with it being so close to home I’m excited but also a bit nervous for it to come out, but I’m sure it’ll be great.
Eloise Singer is an Emmy-nominated, multi-award-winning producer, writer and director, and the founder of Singer Studios, known for telling bold and innovative stories across film, TV, podcast, and immersive media.
Photography by Lola Lee, Louis Lingjaerde and Elsa Wu.
Asma Waheed is a journalist and film reviewer at Private Waves. Alongside acting as PR Lead for Odyssey Film Festival 2025, she is a policy researcher with the UK-China Film Collab.
