Meet the Team .
Meet the industry professionals behind this year’s festival. Our inspiring team has years of experience in programming, commissioning, publishing, production, curation and direction.
Aesthetica Team
Fruzsina Vida
Editorial Assistant
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising, Fashion & Music Video Programmer
Megan Hobson
Media Sales & Partnerships Manager
Katherine Smira
Delegate & Filmmaker Accreditations; Group Bookings Manager
Megan Price
Festival Assistant
Diana Bestwish Tetteh
Junior Content Creator
Eleanor Sutherland
Creative Producer
Helen Osbond
Operations Manager
Chloe Elliott
Content Creator
Matt Glasby
Designer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation Programmer
Programming Team
Des Gayle
Games Programmer
Ana-Despina Tudor
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Rob Speranza
Drama Shorts Programmer
Kit Monkman
Artists’ Film Programmer
Heather McIntosh
Documentary Shorts Programmer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation Programmer
Rico Johnson-Sinclair
Music Video Programmer
Tosin Alapafuja
Drama Shorts Programmer
Natalie Gee
Drama Shorts Programmer
Adam Castle
Dance Programmer
Alice Butterfield
Narrative Features Programmer
Charles Cecil
Games Programmer
Bettina Bodi
Games Programmer
Sarah Wong
Experimental Programmer
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Rachel Pronger
Documentary Features Programmer
Tom Knights
Games Programmer
Abi Mitchell
Drama Shorts Programmer
Shaneila Saeed
Games Programmer
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising, Fashion & Music Video Programmer
Mikey Murray
Thriller Programmer
Matthew Spokes
Games Programmer
Jack Denham
Games Programmer
Jury
Matthew Herbert
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Musician and Producer
Caroline Norris
Comedy Juror / Executive Producer
Sadie Clayton
Designer / Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Nainita Desai
Comedy Juror / Award-Winning Composer
Marielle Reuser
Games Juror / 3D Environment Lecturer
Amy O’Hara
Comedy Juror / Development & Production Executive Film 4
Jessi Gutch
Doc Features Juror / Writer, Producer & Director
Don Boyd
Narrative Features Juror / Director & Producer
Larry Achiampong
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Artist
Sarah Perks
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Curator, Producer & Writer
Lola Oliyide
Narrative Features Juror / Head of Development Neal Street Productions
Caroline Roberts-Cherry
Family Friendly Juror / Managing Director of Saffron Cherry Productions
Bobby Thandi
Games Juror / Founder & CEO of XR Games
Mark Jenkin
Thriller Juror / Writer, Director, Producer
Mick Audsley
Narrative Features Juror / Editor
Richard Nockles
VR & 360 Juror / Surround Vision
Anthony Andrews
Co-Founder and Creative Director / We Are Parable / Documentary Features Juror
Patrick Moran
VR & 360 Juror / Co-Head of Barbican International Enterprises
Will Becher
Animation Juror / Animator & Director at Aardman Animations
Steve Melia
Documentary Juror / Video Production Manager Audible
Holly Newson
Thriller Juror / Executive Producer and Presenter at Audible
Richard Melman
Doc Features Juror / Executive Producer & Managing Director at Spring Films
Kathryn Ferguson
Doc Features Juror / Writer & Director
Philip Hunt
Animation Juror / Creative Director & Partner of Studio AKA
Evgenia Golubeva
Animation Juror / Writer, Director and Character Designer
Tom Jordan
Family Friendly Juror / Head of Studio at Karrot
Julian Foddy
VFX Supervisor / Industrial Light & Magic / Drama Juror
Kai-Lu Hsiung
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror / Ridley Scott Associates Films
Simon Nelson
Comedy Juror / BBC
Sonja Klaus
Drama Juror / Film and Television Designer
Michel Haddi
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror / Photographer
Matthew Horsfall
Games Juror / Curator of Game Technologies at Science Museum Group
Vicky Mather
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror / UAL London College of Fashion
Nina Willment
VR & 360 Juror / Research Associate
Tom Knights
Thriller Juror / Senior Narrative Designer at Ubisoft Reflections
Myles McLeod
Family Friendly Juror / BAFTA Award Winning Writer
Lindsay Poulton
Documentary Juror / Head of Documentaries The Guardian
Advisory Board
Daryll Smalley
City of York Council
Max Park
Development and Production Executive / Film4
Dionne Farrell
Development Executive / BBC Films
Steve Jelley
Hammerhead VR
Richard Knight
Screen Yorkshire
Sadie Clayton
Designer / Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Julian Foddy
VFX Supervisor / Industrial Light & Magic / Drama Juror
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Nyree Jillings
BFI
