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
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Anna Gallon
Education Coordinator
Phoebe Cawley
Marketing Coordinator
Eleanor Sutherland
Creative Producer
Fruzsina Vida
Projects Administrator
Helen Osbond
Operations Manager
Megan Hobson
Media Sales & Partnerships Manager
Emma Jacob
Content Creator
Programming Team
Alice Butterfield
Narrative Features Programmer
Mikey Murray
Thriller Programmer
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Tom Knights
Games Programmer
Ana-Despina Tudor
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Shaneila Saeed
Games Programmer
Kit Monkman
Artists’ Film Programmer
Tosin Alapafuja
Drama Shorts Programmer
Abi Mitchell
Drama Shorts Programmer
Matthew Spokes
Games Programmer
Rob Speranza
Drama Shorts Programmer
Jack Denham
Games Programmer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Des Gayle
Games Programmer
John Rose-Adams
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Heather McIntosh
Documentary Shorts Programmer
Rico Johnson-Sinclair
Music Video Programmer
Rachel Pronger
Documentary Features Programmer
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Natalie Gee
Drama Shorts Programmer
Sarah Wong
Experimental Programmer
Adam Castle
Dance Programmer
Jury
Caroline Cooper Charles
Narrative Features Juror / Screen Yorkshire
Steve Melia
Documentary Juror / Video Production Manager Audible
Simon Nelson
Comedy Juror / BBC
Alex Zepherin
Animation Juror / Don Dada Studio
Julie La’Bassiere
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Lucy Ward
Animation Juror / Jellyfish Pictures
Dr Gabrielle Barkess-Kerr
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Academic, Anthropologist and Curator
Alexandra Garcia
Documentary Juror
Lola Oliyide
Drama Juror / Head of Development Neal Street Productions
Christine Morrow
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Talent Executive
Aubrey Clarke
Family Friendly Juror / BBC Children
Victoria Emslie
Thriller Juror / Actress
Yevgeniya Filchenkova
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror / Dimension
Susi Wilkinson
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Nancy Ryan
Comedy Juror / Ridley Scott Creative Group
Isabelle Croissant
Narrative Features Juror / Artist Development Programme Manager
Nick Brown
Thriller Juror / Neal Street Productions
Annabel Grundy
Documentary Features Juror / Sheffield Doc/Fest
Noirin Carmody
Games Juror / Founder & Executive Producer
Alice Bloomfield
Animation Juror / Ridley Scott Associates Films
Forms of Circulation
Artists' Film / Experimental / Dance Juror
Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Peckham Platform
Myles McLeod
Family Friendly Juror / BAFTA Award Winning Writer
Jack Wentworth-Weedon
Games Juror / National Science and Media Museum
Daniel Jewel
Documentary Features Juror
Sarah von Fersen
Family Friendly Juror / Jellyfish Pictures
Bex Cassie
Fashion Juror / London College of Fashion
Tom Knights
Game Juror / Senior Narrative Designer at Ubisoft Reflections
Ben Smithard
Narrative Features Juror / Cinematographer
Yasmin Afifi
Comedy Juror / Director
Kai-Lu Hsiung
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror / Ridley Scott Associates Films
Michelle Blok
Animation Juror / Visualisation Supervisor
Mick Audsley
Drama Juror / Editor
Paul Sng
Documentary Features Juror / Director
Daisy Francis
Thriller Juror
Dr Gabrielle Barkess-Kerr
Artists' Film / Experiemental / Dance Juror
Advisory Board
Julian Foddy
VFX Supervisor / Industrial Light & Magic / Drama Juror
Daryll Smalley
City of York Council
Dionne Farrell
Development Executive / BBC Films
Max Park
Development and Production Executive / Film4
Sadie Clayton
Artist & Designer
Richard Knight
Screen Yorkshire
Martin Roker
Black Dog Films
Nyree Jillings
BFI
Jess Loveland
Head of New Writing / BBC
Steve Jelley
Hammerhead VR