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
Anna Gallon
Operations Coordinator
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Megan Hobson
Media Sales & Partnerships Manager
Eleanor Sutherland
Creative Producer
Fruzsina Vida
Projects Administrator
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Emma Jacob
Content Creator
Phoebe Cawley
Marketing Coordinator
Programming Team
Tom Knights
Games Programmer
John Rose-Adams
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Des Gayle
Games Programmer
Jack Denham
Games Programmer
Shaneila Saeed
Games Programmer
Rachel Pronger
Documentary Features Programmer
Ana-Despina Tudor
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Tosin Alapafuja
Drama Shorts Programmer
Angel Cohn Castle
Dance Programmer
Natalie Gee
Drama Shorts Programmer
Heather McIntosh
Documentary Shorts Programmer
Mikey Murray
Thriller Programmer
Matthew Spokes
Games Programmer
Martha Cattell
Music Video Programmer
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Forms of Circulation
Artists' Film & Experimental Programmers
Rob Speranza
Drama Shorts Programmer
Abi Mitchell
Drama Shorts Programmer
Alice Butterfield
Narrative Features Programmer
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Jury
Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror
Tom Knights
Game Juror / Senior Narrative Designer at Ubisoft Reflections
Paul Cheung
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Daisy Francis
Thriller Juror
Meera Kumar
Podcast Juror
Anna Price
Documentary Features Juror
Nick Brown
Thriller Juror / Neal Street Productions
Simon Nelson
Drama Juror / BBC
Alex Zepherin
Animation Juror / Don Dada Studio
Aubrey Clarke
Family Friendly Juror / BBC Children
Bec Evans
Comedy Juror
Patrick Craig
Comedy Juror / Blink Productions
Tom Bedford
Games Juror / à la mode games
Jack Wentworth-Weedon
Games Juror / National Science and Media Museum
Tiago Faria
Thriller Juror / BlueBolt
Julie La’Bassiere
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Alia Sheikh
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror / BBC
Ben Smithard
Narrative Features Juror / Cinematographer
Glenn Holberton
Animation Juror / Loose Moose Productions
Mick Audsley
Drama Juror / Editor
Steve Melia
Documentary Features Juror / Video Production Manager Audible
Lola Oliyide
Narrative Features Juror / Head of Development Neal Street Productions
Roy Jox-Fredstie
Documentary Juror / Producer & Filmmaker
Paul Sng
Documentary Features Juror / Director
Jessica Alfert
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / ITV
Christine Morrow
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Talent Executive
Adipat Virdi
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Susi Wilkinson
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Will Becher
Animation Juror / Aardman
Advisory Board
Jess Loveland
Head of New Writing / BBC
Nyree Jillings
BFI
Julian Foddy
VFX Supervisor / Industrial Light & Magic / Drama Juror
Sadie Clayton
Artist & Designer
Daryll Smalley
City of York Council
Max Park
Development and Production Executive / Film4
Steve Jelley
Hammerhead VR
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Richard Knight
Screen Yorkshire
Martin Roker
Black Dog Films
