Meet the Team .
Meet the industry professionals behind the 2024 festival. Our inspiring team has years of experience in programming, commissioning, publishing, production, curation and direction.
Aesthetica Team
Eleanor Sutherland
Creative Producer
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Emma Jacob
Content Creator
Phoebe Cawley
Marketing Coordinator
Onnika Blake
Education Coordinator
Fruzsina Vida
Projects Administrator
Megan Hobson
Media Sales & Partnerships Manager
Anna Gallon
Operations Coordinator
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Programming Team
Rob Speranza
Drama Shorts Programmer
Tosin Alapafuja
Drama Shorts Programmer
Heather McIntosh
Documentary Shorts Programmer
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Matt Coward-Gibbs
Games Programmer
Martha Cattell
Music Video Programmer
Forms of Circulation
Artists' Film & Experimental Programmers
Rachel Pronger
Documentary Features Programmer
Holly Newson
Podcasting Programmer
Dan Norman
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Alice Butterfield
Narrative Features Programmer
Abi Mitchell
Drama Shorts Programmer
Mikey Murray
Thriller Programmer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Des Gayle
Games Programmer
Natalie Gee
Drama Shorts Programmer
Jack Denham
Games Programmer
Ana-Despina Tudor
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
John Rose-Adams
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Matthew Spokes
Games Programmer
Angel Cohn Castle
Dance Programmer
Jury
Remy Downey
Family Friendly Juror / ITV
Anna Price
Documentary Features Juror
Dom Johnson
Podcasts Juror
Patrick Craig
Comedy Juror / Blink Productions
Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Wellcome Collection
Susi Wilkinson
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Johnathan Brigden
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Julie La’Bassiere
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Tom Bedford
Games Juror / à la mode games
Tom Knights
Games Juror
Tiago Faria
Thriller Juror / BlueBolt
Lola Oliyide
Narrative Features Juror / Head of Development Neal Street Productions
Glenn Holberton
Animation Juror / Mackinnon and Saunders
Nick Brown
Thriller Juror / Neal Street Productions
Simon Nelson
Drama Juror / BBC
Bec Evans
Comedy Juror
Emily Whalley
Podcasts Juror / Chalk & Blade
Steve Melia
Documentary Features Juror / Video Production Manager Audible
Roy Jox-Fredstie
Documentary Juror / Producer & Filmmaker
Katherine Bidwell
Games Juror / State of Play Games
Mick Audsley
Drama Juror / Editor
Ben Smithard
Narrative Features Juror / Cinematographer
Adipat Virdi
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Lindsay Crouse
Documentary Juror / New York Times Op-Docs
Meera Kumar
Podcast Juror
Alex Zepherin
Animation Juror / Don Dada Studio
Paul Cheung
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Danyele Seignoret
Drama Juror / Channel 4
Will Becher
Animation Juror / Aardman
Aubrey Clarke
Family Friendly Juror / BBC Children
Alia Sheikh
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror / Freelance Immersive Experiences Consultant
Maike Fiene
Family Friendly Juror / Framestore
Advisory Board
Sadie Clayton
Artist & Designer
Jess Loveland
Head of New Writing / BBC
Nyree Jillings
BFI
Steve Jelley
Hammerhead VR
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Dionne Farrell
Development Executive / BBC Films
Richard Knight
Screen Yorkshire
Max Park
Development and Production Executive / Film4
Daryll Smalley
City of York Council
Julian Foddy
VFX Supervisor / Industrial Light & Magic / Drama Juror
