Toa Fraser is a playwright and film director whos Grandmother comes from Southend in Essex. It was Fraser's Grandmother who brought him a clapper board and books about film direction when he was young which sparked his ambition to become a director. Fraser's debut film No.2 was followed by Dean Spanley, starring Peter O'Toole, which filmed 90% on location in the East of England and benefitted from Screen East's production fund.