Doctor Rebekah Louisa Smith is the CEO and Founder of the Film Festival Doctor, which has nurtured filmmakers for the past decade, providing film festival submissions advice and strategy, securing screenings at renowned festivals and helping filmmakers to win over 800 international awards.

Kate is the first port of call for the majority of communication for Festival Formula, as well as being a company representative on the ground at festivals and industry events. She is also their Festival Strategy Officer, where she provides support and feedback as clients head on to the circuit. Kate has background and experience in film production.

Roxy McKenna is one of two BFI NETWORK Talent Executives working across the North of England to fund and develop early career writers, directors and producers. Based in Newcastle, Roxy joined Film Hub North after working across talent and audience development at Northern Film and Media over the last 12 years.

Amy O’Hara is a BFI NETWORK Talent Executive with experience in film marketing, distribution and production for over 5 years, mostly recently with STX Entertainment. Based at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, Amy is looking to discover, develop and fund new and emerging writers, directors and producers in the North of England.

Olivia is the Senior Film Office Coordinator at Screen Yorkshire.  She supports and advises film and TV productions of all sizes on locations, crewing & studios across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.  Her previous experience includes work as a production production manager working on commercials and independent feature films.

Frankie is Submissions Coordinator for Festival Formula, the leading film festival strategy consultancy and submission service in the UK. They focus on helping emerging filmmakers navigate the circuit. Frankie brings fresh ideas regarding social media reach as well as design content, delivering masterclasses whilst working on strategy and submissions.

Grace graduated from the University of York in 2018 with a degree in Theatre: Writing, Directing & Performance, interning with BBC Children’s and Elstree Studios. Grace has experience as a runner for CBeebies and Sky. She rejoined Elstree Studios full-time in late 2018, overseeing PR, Marketing, Events and Community Liaisons for the busy site.

Backstage is the largest international casting platform, actor publication and hub. With 10 years of casting experience, Hannah has worked across most corners of the business; in background casting for major studio films, for reality and documentary projects, and now as a Casting Director for major film and commercial projects.

Isabelle works at HOME, Manchester’s multi arts venue. She programmes and produces events and schemes that aim to showcase and develop creative talents and forge connection between practitioners in all creative sectors. She manages Filmed Up, HOME’s regular regional short film night and was the co-director of Exposures UK student Film Festival.

T A P E was founded in 2016 as a response to the lack of representation on screen, championing the forgotten could-be cult films of the festival circuit and women of colour both behind and in front of the camera. It is now launching the streaming platform Good Wickedry, expanding into written content, inclusion and diversity consultation, and short films.

Monica has worked in many fields of film exhibition from event and project management to programming curation, research and development. She works for Cinema Nation on projects that aim to bring social and cultural change. She has specialised in archive material exhibition and coordinates the Liverpool Branch of annual festival Scalarama.

Victoria Emslie is an Actress known for The Theory of Everything (2014), Downtown Abbey (2015) and 12 Monkeys (2018). She is the Founder of Primetime; a vetted platform for women working above and below the line behind the camera, helping the industry to hire gender-balanced teams, with a growing network of women all over the world.

Tom is the Founder of Polymath PR and has worked in public relations since 2009. Polymath have delivered campaigns for Academy Award nominated actors and Grammy & Ivor Novella Award winning artists. Tom has taken part in discussions for AMPAS, BAFTA Crews, BFI NETWORK, NAMM and BBC Introducing.

Richard is a Location Manager who has worked on This is England, The Virtues and Four Lions. He has a wealth of experience in helping to deliver productions outside of the studio environment. He is also the Production Liaison for Screen Yorkshire, championing the film, TV, games and digital industries.

Paul is Head of Film for Creative England. He has backed projects through iFeatures, Lottery funds and Sky. He is an Executive Producer, ranging from Steve McQueen’s Small Axe for the BBC and shortFLIX for Sky, to Netflix Originals and films including White Riot, Make Up, Perfect 10, Old Boys, Adult Life Skills & Irene’s Ghost.

Martina Fiorellino is the Sales Executive for Premium Films. The company represents internationally acclaimed and award winning short films, like the Academy Award-nominee DeKalb Elementary, The Christmas Gift, 2019 BAFTA-nominated The Field and The Night Train, which was selected to screen at Venice International Film Festival.

MarBelle is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of independent film curation and interview site Directors Notes. Directors Notes is an online exhibition platform, featuring outstanding short film and unique filmmaker interviews. Since 2006, Directors Notes has scoured the globe for the very best that independent cinema has to offer.

Jude leads on the delivery of BFI NETWORK Wales talent initiatives. She is committed to supporting and championing filmmakers at the start of their careers, through development, production, training and exhibition. Prior to joining Ffilm Cymru Wales, Jude managed the running of Creative England’s iFeatures development lab.

Jordan is International Sales and Distribution for over 5 years, beginning at Universal Pictures International. He has worked on films by the likes of Doug Liman, Kevin Macdonald and Asif Kapadia. At Independent, he sells the international rights for film titles, and seeks out new projects for the company to represent.

Jo is the Hub Manager for the North of England for the Film & TV Charity. The organisation is dedicated to supporting film industry practitioners to ensure that they can be successful in their work, at every stage of their careers and beyond. They do this essential work through a range of support services and talent development programmes.

Jonny Tull has collaborated on the releases of several independent films since starting his business in 2017, including  current releases The Run and Home. Jonny also works with cinemas and arts venues to develop their businesses and audiences. He has recently worked with Warwick Arts Centre and Rich Mix, London. Jonny is also an Advisor for the BFI.

Gwenfair works as Development Executive at Ffilm Cymru Wales. She works across both the larger Development slate and the BFI Network activity. She guides filmmakers through their journey from shorts to features, focusing both on the creative merits of a project, and the longevity and sustainability of their careers in cinema.

Francesca is based at the British Film Institute (BFI) in London and is currently responsible for promoting and facilitating access to Creative Europe’s MEDIA sub-programme within the UK. Prior to this role, she spent two years co-ordinating a range of industry programming initiatives at the Toronto International Film Festival and as an advisor at Film London.

Colin Pons has worked as a producer/mentor in the UK film and TV industry for over 35 years, often working with first time directors and producers. Colin has produced and executive produced a wide slate of independent shorts, features and documentaries, and was one of the founders of Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

Andrew is a Lecturer in Film, Exhibition and Curation at the University of Edinburgh and a research fellow at the University of Leeds. He has over 10 years’ experience working in exhibition. He has programmed screenings and events for Leeds International Film Festival, the Hyde Park Picture House and the Harvard Film Archive.