Sussex based Tegan Muggeridge was awarded the 2025 Captain Adrian G. Pop Memorial Scholarship Award by Fact Not Fiction Films. The award included full company support to direct her first live action short film, attend advanced training courses at Raindance in London and at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Captain Pop became a major shareholder in the company soon after the company was established and passed away in 2024. He had always been a big believer in helping the youth of today and the reward was set up to echo his vision.
His daughter Georgina Pop added:
"My father always said that children are like a bank account; what you put in is what you get out. He believed that it was vital to dedicate time and energy into our younger generations as they would become our future leaders. For my entire life, my father encouraged me to take any opportunity to expand my horizons to grow. I know he would be so incredibly thrilled and proud that his legacy is attached to something so important and supportive for an up-and-coming director."
Tegan was also the co-screenwriter of the film and plays the lead role of ‘Grace’. Tegan commented:
“I feel beyond excited and incredibly privileged to receive this award. To have the opportunity to direct my first short with Fact Not Fiction Films with so much support from members of the local community and to create a micro short that’s both eye opening and poignant/startling is amazing.”
The film was shot entirely at the Hen and Chicken pub and restaurant in Southwater, with breakfast catering support from Gwyn’s Bakery in Horsham.
Fact Not Fiction Films have produced over 30 films, documentaries and TV series since the company was founded in 2006. They have also been also making short public information films since 2019. Their previous short films have raised awareness of issues such as PTSD in the military and mental health in young adults (Finding Wilson), dementia (Missing a Note), lobular breast cancer (Eve Groves), bullying in sport (Aguska) and now identity theft in ‘A Swiped Illusion’.
Tristan Loraine, CEO and founder of Fact Not Fiction Films added:
“Tegan has a huge future in the industry and we are delighted as a company to have played a role in helping achieve her dreams and have the success she deserves. She is a worthy winner of the Captain Adrian G. Pop Memorial Scholarship Award. I would also like to say a big thank you to Belal Ahmed of the Hen and Chicken, all the amazing extras who came from the Horsham / Southwater community to help make the film possible. Big thanks also to our amazing cast, crew and post production team who worked through the night to get the film complete in record time. We could never make our films without the teams who make things possible and the amazing community support.
Tegan who starred in Fact Not Fiction Films previous short film ‘Aguska’ with Simon Callow, got her first big break with her role in the 2022 Warner Bros film ‘A Christmas Story Christmas.’ When asked what Tegan hopes as a first-time director the film will achieve, she stated:
“I would love the audience to walk away with a fresh perspective on how extreme catfishing and identity theft are - massively prominent being 2025, and to raise awareness that identity theft is real.”
The sub-2-minute film will be submitted to film festivals and should premier later this year.