Vaishalli Paatil is the founder of Wirral-based production company Photo Stories and one of the producers taking part in Into The Lead, a new Screen Alliance North programme supporting independent screen leaders in the North of England. We recently sat down to discuss her journey into the film and TV industry and her experiences of producing in the Liverpool City Region.
Photo Stories was founded in 2019, while Vaishalli was already working across a range of production roles and quietly building her own projects alongside freelance work. “I started as an assistant director initially, then stepped up as a production head and then an associate producer” she says. “I’m really passionate about storytelling and I wanted to grow in this business and do something independently.” Starting out with small documentaries, video production and editing work, those early projects eventually grew into Photo Stories, now based in Bromborough.
Her route into film and television was far from straightforward however. After moving to the UK from India in 2007, Vaishalli made the decision to step away from a ten-year career in dentistry. “I didn’t want to re-qualify for the exam to practise dentistry here,” she explains. “I’ve always been a creative person. I like telling stories.” A media production course became her way in, alongside part-time work with an arts organisation, where making dance videos at weekends sparked a deeper interest in filmmaking and editing.
Wanting a proper understanding of how productions work from the inside out, Vaishalli began training herself across different disciplines. “I wanted to learn all aspects of filmmaking,” she says. That led her to self-teach the skills needed to be a director, cinematographer and Apple-certified FCP editor, all while professionally progressing through the industry. Now, her focus is firmly on establishing herself as a producer.
Since moving back to the region from London 2 years ago, a project that stands out to Vaishalli is a voluntary documentary she made for Royden Park, an organisation that provides training for autistic people on the Wirral. It’s work she describes as “really close to my heart.” Spring boarding from that, Vaishalli is now developing new projects locally, operating more widely in our region she describes as “visually rich”, with strong regional incentives and accessible locations helping her put plans in place to bring a film production to the LCR later this year, filming across Liverpool and Bolton.
Joining Into The Lead felt like a natural next step for Vaishalli. Much of her work so far has been with Indian productions filming in the UK, but she’s keen to widen that circle. “I want to diversify,” she says, “to collaborate with other production houses and see how other cultures work.” She’s also looking to build her knowledge around emerging technologies, particularly AI, and how that might shape future projects.
