Our Work / Feature Film
The (First)
Last Screenplay
A Sandstorm Films Production — 90 mins · Drama · 2026
Official Trailer
Watch the Trailer
Presenting Our First Feature Film
Synopsis
Debbie Scott, an influencer turned film producer, runs what she proudly calls “Hollywood in the UK countryside” — a studio she presents as thriving, ambitious and firmly in control.
At its heart is Richard Wadsworth, an aging Hollywood film editor struggling to finish the cut as dementia erodes his sense of time, memory and continuity. As Debbie’s carefully constructed world begins to unravel, the line between the film she is producing and the life she is staging becomes increasingly blurred — revealing an intimate portrait of care, denial and an industry that believes every failure can be fixed in post.
The (First) Last Screenplay is a micro-budget feature written, directed, shot and edited by Thomas J. Ward. Made independently with a lean, agile approach to filmmaking, the entire production was captured in just five days of principal photography, followed by three additional days of pickups.
Coming Soon 
Featuring
Our Cast
Jane Lee Jones
Debbie Scott
Emily Moment
Marla
Andrew Norman
Richard Wadsworth
Freddie Cohen
The Hipster
Olivia Thackray
Emma
Behind the Camera
Our Director
Thomas J Ward — known on set as Tom Ward — has been directing for over 30 years.
At just 13, he wrote, directed and shot his first feature film, Lost Angels.
He went on to build his career, and Sandstorm as a production company, around commercial filmmaking, visual effects and technically demanding projects.
The (First) Last Screenplay marks his return to long-form narrative drama, and his feature directorial debut as an adult. Written and directed by Thomas, the film was shot in an intentionally stripped-back style, with a skeleton crew and an exceptionally short production schedule.
The story was deeply personal. Its origins lay in two events that happened almost simultaneously: the closure of the countryside film studio he had spent years building, and his father’s diagnosis with dementia.
Winner
London Independent Film Festival
The (First) Last Screenplay was officially selected to open the 2026 London Independent Film Festival, where it had its UK premiere at London’s Genesis Cinema.
The screening was followed by a Q&A with director Thomas J. Ward and members of the cast and crew, including composer Charlie Flint, who shared their experiences of making the film.
The film went on to win Best Low-Budget Feature Film — a great result for everyone involved in making Thomas’s first feature.
Film
Reviews
Straight from the red carpet of our premiere at the London Independent Film Festival, here’s what attendees had to say about The (First) Last Screenplay:
“An impressive debut feature from Thomas Ward”
“The music is able to invoke so much emotion throughout the film, making its exploration of memory and memory loss all the more poignant”
“Jane Lee Jones makes Debbie Scott equally empathetic, antagonistic and vulnerable as the reality of her world crumbles”
“Emily Moment’s Marla continually makes you question what is real and what isn’t”
You can find more reviews on What Movie and the Fan Carpet
On Location & On Set
Production Stills
Behind the Scenes
The Making Of
In this exclusive interview, Tom Ward looks back at the making of The (First) Last Screenplay — the inspiration, the challenges, and what it really takes to produce an independent feature film in 2026.
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