SAFE
2025
21 min
Isle of Man
English
When a compassionate helpline counsellor begins to grow concerned for the safety of one of her clients, she’s forced to decide whether to trust her instincts or follow protocol. Safe is a tense, quietly powerful drama about the weight of responsibility and the courage it takes to listen.
Director Biography
Govind Chandran is an award‑winning filmmaker and Senior Lecturer in Film Production at Oxford Brookes University. He is known for blending mythic, queer, and emotionally tactile storytelling with a sharp cinematic eye – be it the post-apocalyptic ‘Hello Kitty meets Punk’ vibes of the webseries Do We Eat Him? (2025) or gothic feminist vampire short Scarlet (2023), his films are defined by atmospheric world‑building, intimate character work, and a fascination with the intersection of myth and identity.
Showcased at festivals worldwide – including BIFA and Academy Award qualifying festivals – Govind was awarded the Isle of Man Short Film Fund in 2025 for Safe (2023) – which has begun its festival run by winning Best Short Film at the 10th annual Birmingham Film Festival. He is currently working to continue development of the webseries Do We Eat Him alongside co-creators Fran St. Clair and Kelsey Cooke, as well as applying for funding for his next short film – a queer Pirate-Mermaid love story titled ‘The Sapphire of The Sea’.
Instagram: @govindchandran
Web series: https://www.youtube.
Social Media for Safe: @safe.ashortfilm
Best Actress Kelsey Cooke Biography
Kelsey graduated with a Masters in Acting from Guildford School of Acting. Before enrolling at GSA, Kelsey studied at the University of Exeter and earned a Dual Honours BA in English and Drama. She won Best Actress at MANIFF 2023 for her performance in the short film ‘Little Fantasies’, along with awards across festivals for her performances in the shorts ‘Mr Mimoto’, ‘Stone’, and ‘Scarlet’, the latter of which she co-wrote with Govind Chandran.
Kelsey can currently be seen as Yvonne Baseden in Sky’s ‘The Lost Women Spies’ and Melissa in the feature film ‘High Wire’ which premiered at BFI London Film Festival 2025. Other work includes the role of Tara in Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ and Piper in the comedy web series ‘Do We Eat Him?’ which she co-created with Fran St Clair and Govind Chandran.
Instagram: @kelseycooke
Web series: https://www.youtube.
