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