Who We Are and the Company’s Mission
White Egret Films, LLC and White Egret Films, Ltd is a film and television production company operating in the US and UK. The companies were set up in late 2025. The mission is to create compelling, commercially viable drama whether as films or television. We seek like-minded partners.
The two drama productions on the development state that are furthest along are below. Both have scripts and decks and a clear sense of purpose. The award-winning Director, South African Phumi Morare, is already on board for the film, Smouldering Charcoal, that will film in Malawi and South Africa.
There are additional shows in research and development that are dependent on optioning IP and financing. We are actively seeking partners for these projects.
The Founder of White Egret Films is British/American executive Gillian Rose. She is an Executive Producer for Irish production company Soho Moon and worked at NBC Universal and SKY as a Senior Vice President. With expertise in Distribution and Co-Production, she has had key roles at PBS, handled US acquisitions and sales for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and worked for The Washington Post Company in program development. She started her career in London as a journalist.
Nell Gwyn
The time is right for a new appraisal of the incredible Nell Gwyn. This is being developed as a mini-series and we anticipate strong casting.
Who was she? Nell Gwyn was the most famous mistress of King Charles II of England — and one of the most captivating women of the Restoration. Before she ever reached the royal court, she dazzled London as the leading actress and comedienne at the Drury Lane Theatre, where her audience-pleasing performances made her a sensation. She charmed people from every walk of life with her wit, warmth, and irrepressible charm — and soon, she caught the eye of the King himself.
Unlike other royal mistresses, Nell was no aristocrat. She was a commoner who grew up in the boarding houses and brothels of Covent Garden, illiterate but gifted with an extraordinary memory for learning lines. She built her career not on breeding or connections, but on her intelligence, audacity, and razor-sharp humor. After becoming Charles II’s mistress in the late 1660s, she remained by his side until his death in 1685. She was clever, quick, thoughtful, kind — and fun. A woman of her age, yes, but also a woman for ours: independent, ambitious, and determined not to let anything hold her back.
Her life is more than a rags-to-riches fairytale or a Cinderella romance. It is a story of grit, nerve, survival, and ultimately, triumph — and at its heart, a love story against all odds.
Her rise unfolded against the thrilling backdrop of the Restoration, when Charles II reclaimed the throne in 1660 and a new era burst into life. Science, art, architecture, and fashion flourished under his patronage, and with the reopening of the theatres, women could earn their own living onstage or with the pen for the first time in English history. It was an age of transformation — and Nell Gwyn was one of its brightest sparks.
Her story was extraordinary then.
It is extraordinary now.
Smouldering Charcoal
This project is developed as a feature film. It will be directed by South African Director, Phumi Morare, who was nominated at the 2022 Academy Awards, winner of the NAACP Image Award and Winner of the Student Academy Award. The film will be co-produced with South African company OurVolution led by acclaimed producer Thandi Davids. This film will be shot in South Africa and Malawi.
Published in 1992 as part of Heinemann’s African Writers Series, Smouldering Charcoal is Tiyambe Zeleza’s unforgettable portrait of life under a corrupt dictatorship in post-independence (from Great Britain) Malawi. It was recently re-issued in paperback. Gillian Rose of White Egret Films optioned the rights having come across the book while in Malawi visiting secondary schools where the novel is widely read.
The story is set during the Presidency of Dr. Hastings Banda, who was educated in the UK and US (Uni of Edinburgh and Uni of Chicago) and ruled Malawi from 1964 to 1994. The story follows two families from starkly different worlds whose lives collide during a Strike at a local bakery. On one side: a U.S.-educated journalist and his university-student girlfriend, idealists who believe in a freer future. On the other: a working-class family from a rural village, struggling to survive and seeing first-hand the tightening grip of authoritarian power.
Their intersection forces each to question who they are, what they stand for, and how much they’re willing to risk. Despite moments of heartbreak, this is ultimately a story of resilience, dignity, and the quiet courage that can change a nation.
Smouldering Charcoal will be Directed by Phumi Morare, whose credits include When The Sun Sets. . Her recent short film Why the Cattle Wait won at the 2025 Joburg Film Festival.
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