About Us

The Magician’s Niece is an independent film production company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We focus on thought-provoking narrative films and documentaries, though we also make music videos and other content. We make work in a range of languages and collaborate with artists, technicians and thinkers throughout the world.

Our team comprises of Helen, Johnny, Peter and Alfie. Helen is a writer, director and producer who set up Magician’s Niece in 2013, primarily as a vehicle for her own work, although she is involved in a range of other projects, including writing fiction and theory texts and lecturing in philosophy. Johnny is a producer who oversees the running of our larger shoots, as well as our relationships with funding bodies and broadcasters. Peter is a writer and producer involved in conceptualising and developing our films, scriptwriting and fundraising. Outside of Magician’s Niece, he is a well-known public intellectual and philosopher. Alfie joined our team in 2022. He is a writer and producer specialising in media theory and comedy and is a senior lecturer in the Digital and Media Arts department at Royal Holloway, University of London. Alfie also works with Helen as an assistant director on our shoots.

The Magician’s Niece has produced several short films that have achieved extensive festival play and won awards. We have made work for major international recording artists. Videos and content made by Helen and the Magician’s Niece have been viewed over 100 million times online. We have been funded by bodies such as Northern Ireland Screen and Future Screens and collaborate with creative labs and companies internationally, including Field Day at the University of Wisconsin and Agálmata Creative House and Vástago Producciones in Mexico. Our experimental philosophy feature film premiered in competition at Rhode Island International Film Festival. Our four-part premium miniseries on televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker was funded and produced by Vice.