Paxton is a Scottish filmmaker who graduated in 2007 with an MA in Film and TV from Screen Academy Scotland having gained her honours degree at Edinburgh College of Art. Her award-winning shorts have been exhibited and nominated in competition at numerous international events and prominent film festivals. Winner of Best Woman Director at the 12th London Short Film Festival for her film PULSE, and nominated one of Canongate Books 40 Scottish Storytellers of The Future; artists anticipated to dominate the next 40 years of creative life in Scotland. In 2019 Screen Daily featured her as one of ‘Six emerging Scotland based Directors you need to know.’
Early in her career, Paxton enjoyed development periods with DigiCult and Cinema Extreme, supported by Film Four and the UK Film Council. DigiCult commissioned her film PARIS/SEXY, premiering at the 64th Edinburgh International Film Festival and screening in competition extensively since. The 8th London Short Film Festival showcased a Paxton retrospective where PARIS/SEXY won the UKFC award for Best British Short.
With the support of Donald Dewar Arts Trust Award, Paxton took part in the Directors Series at the NFTS. She is alumnus of many labs and programmes including Guiding Lights 8 professional mentoring scheme. She was selected for BFI NETWORK’s programme during London Film Festival 2017, and has been participant of the Toronto Talent Lab, EIFF Talent Lab, Wellcome Trust’s Ideas Lab, CPH:PIX Sessions, British Council’s Film and Music Archive Lab and jury member at Ukraine’s Wiz-Art International Short Film Festival. In 2014 she was Artist in Residence at the Cucalorus Film Foundation in USA. In 2021 she will sit on a Bafta Scotland Guru Live panel.
Ruth recently delivered her first feature, A BANQUET, a psychological horror produced by Tea Shop Productions and Riverstone Pictures. The film is represented by HanWay Films, and was recently acquired by IFC Films for North America. It has been selected for the Great 8 showcase at Cannes Marche presented by BFI, BBC Films and the British Council, and will have its World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2021, in the Discovery section.
Ruth has directed three blocks of BBC Continuing Drama RIVER CITY, comprising six hour-long episodes. She is a professional mentor with Raindance’s International MA programme and Associate Lecturer at Cambridge University and Screen Academy Scotland. She makes commercial content with leading Scottish company Mallinson Television Productions and is represented by Roxana Adle of Independent Talent Group.
