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