EXCLUSIVE: Watch the trailer for Cass Virdee's stunt-riding short, ‘Motorbird’

22 July 2026 | By Natalia Albin

Motorbird follows Bree, the daughter of a former beauty queen, whose future is mapped out for her until she discovers a love for stunt riding. She sets her sights on the Tunnel of Fire, a stunt notorious for crashes and near-fatal failures, testing her family's expectations and her community's ideals along the way.

Written and directed by NFTS graduate Cass Virdee, the short is inspired by Teresa Vincent, the originator of the UK's first all-female motorbike stunt group in the 1970s. "I fell upon Teresa's story years ago, and what stayed with me was not only the boundaries she broke in following her passion for stunt riding, but that she did so out of pure love for it, nothing else," Virdee says. "I was so inspired by her pursuit and realisation of a dream which set her against the grain that I had to make a film about it."

Virdee adds that Motorbird was created to be "an empowering statement, giving its audience insight into a character who really fights for what she wants."

Motorbird stars Safia Oakley-Green (100 Nights of Hero, Anemone), alongside Fiona Button (The Split, Industry, The Forsytes), Morgan Watkins (Kingsman, Napoleon), Lily Hardy (Reawakening, Scene 26) and Oliver Bennett (Becoming Elizabeth, Ted Lasso).

Watch the exclusive trailer below.