Best Documentary Feature Jury
Kemal Akhtar
Born in London to a barrister father and a pioneering mother who worked in social and race relations, Kemal Akhtar grew up at the intersection of justice, activism, and culture. He studied History and French at the University of Sussex and deepened his passion for cinema with a degree in Cinéma et Études Audiovisuelles from La Sorbonne, Paris III.
Kemal trained as a journalist at The Guardian and went on to write for The Times, The Telegraph, Time Out, amongst others. His transition into film, occurred as he looked for a medium better suited to explore complex social issues in a bold manner.
Kemal was a student, a visiting lecturer, and finally a Governor at The London Film School between 2016-2025. His graduation film, ZOHRA on 35mm (2007)—a moving portrait of his mother—garnered multiple awards, including a UK Film Council Race in Media Award, a Women in Film “Tongues on Fire” Award, and a Kodak Brief Encounters Prize. The film was honored as the closing screening at the London Film School’s 50th Anniversary celebration at the NFT.
Kemal’s films have been selected for over 40 international film festivals, including Hot Docs, the San Francisco International Film Festival, London International Film Festival, Brief Encounters, Cannes, Busan, and Ukraine. Amongst his features are BHOPAL: A PRAYER FOR RAIN starring Martin Sheen, as associate director and producer; the powerful documentary SHADOWS OF LIBERTY, featuring Julian Assange’s final interviews before his arrest produced by the Bertha Foundation, and currently completing a landmark documentary on Nelson Mandela, featuring Mr Mandela’s last interviews – made with his grandson Kweku, set for release next year.
Kemal is in pre-production on “Whitechapel ’68“.
Sam Crane
Sam is an award-winning filmmaker, video artist and actor.
His debut film Grand Theft Hamlet won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW, The Frontier Competition Grand Prize at DMZ Docs (South Korea), Best Documentary at Sitges, two British Independent Film Awards and was longlisted for a BAFTA. It was released theatrically in the UK and USA and is currently streaming on Mubi.
As a theatre actor he is known for starring in various West End and Broadway productions including Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, Farinell and The King and 1984.
He is also a prolific screen actor with recent credits including Napoleon (Apple), The Crown (Netflix), Transatlantic (Netflix) The Trial of Christine Keeler (BBC), COBRA (Sky) and Poldark (BBC).
He is a PhD candidate at The University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies doing autoethnographic research into performance practice in real and digital spaces
Vinnie Shergill
Bio coming soon
Discovery Award for Debut Feature Jury
Natascha McElhone
Natascha McElhone is best known for starring in Peter Weir’s film, The Truman Show, action thriller Ronin, comedy drama Californication (Showtime) and ABC series Designated Survivor. She can be seen in ITV and Britbox series Hotel Portofino, Paramount + series Halo, Netflix series The Crown and feature film Solaris, directed by Steven Soderberg. She can next be seen in a new series called The Kollective and has just wrapped on filming the new Guy Ritchie series Young Sherlock alongside Colin Firth.
Tosin Cole
Bio coming soon
Best International Feature Jury
Pavel Cortes
Bio coming soon.
Sonja Klaus
Sonja Klaus is an Internationally recognized award-winning Production Designer, designing Feature Films, Television Drama, Commercials, pop promos and large-scale events. The latter took her into an exciting world of product press launches, World-wide Film premiers and many private large-scale parties and weddings. She has featured in many publications including Variety, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, Monocle and Elle Decoration.
Vineeta Mishra
Vineeta Mishra is a leading industry curator and market strategist at the forefront of South Asia’s evolving screen industries. She currently heads programming for NFDC Film Bazaar, the region’s premier co-production and project market, where she oversees the curation of the various verticals which includes Viewing Room, Co-Production Market, Screenwriters’ Lab, and industry panels. Her work has been instrumental in launching new voices and connecting South Asian cinema with global producers, sales agents, and festivals.
She also leads the programming of WAVES Bazaar, a pioneering cross-sector business market hosted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, India. Designed to foster deals and creative exchange across film, TV, animation, VFX, gaming, XR, and live entertainment, WAVES Bazaar recorded over ₹1300 crore in business discussions and 3,000+ B2B meetings in its inaugural edition.
Best Director of a UK Feature Jury
Bianca Gavin
Head of Production, Scripted
Bianca Gavin is an accomplished and experienced production executive with twenty-five years of experience in the film and TV industry. Having worked in a variety of roles across largescale and independent productions, Bianca joined Vice Studio’s Pulse Films in 2020 in the role of Head of Production, Scripted Film & Television.
Bianca spearheads the production side of the studio’s Scripted slate, advising on all aspects from the early stages of development through to delivering exceptional world-class premium content. She is currently at the production helm of the critically acclaimed third season of Gangs of London, the adrenaline-charged series Atomic, and forthcoming satirical thriller Bad Apples starring Saoirse Ronan.
Before joining Pulse Films, Bianca was Senior Production Executive for EU Scripted Originals at Amazon Studios, covering projects such as The Power. Prior to joining Amazon, she was Production Manager for Sky Originals, looking after original dramas and comedies, including Britannia and Save Me, and set up Sky Breakthrough, a work placement initiative for disabled new talent. Continuing her commitment to improve inclusive recruitment practices she compiles and shares the Open Source directory, aiming to improve career progression opportunities. Bianca is Chair of the Board of the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB).
Neil Norman
Bio coming soon
Ng Choon Ping
Bio coming soon
Best Debut Director Jury
Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Photo by Joanna Dudderidge
Antonia is a highly acclaimed actress and filmmaker, with a wealth of Awards and Nominations under her belt, established as having ‘a flair for experiment and depth’. She gained international attention with a breakout lead role in Rebecca Daly’s The Other Side of Sleep , which premiered at Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes. She was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow and received the prestigious Berlinale Shooting Stars award. Antonia has forged a distinctive path in independent film, earning acclaim for bold performances in 3096 Days and her BAFTA-winning lead role in Kelly + Victor. In Cordelia (2022), she played identical twins opposite Johnny Flynn and Michael Gambon, co-writing the psychological thriller with director Adrian Shergold. Her directorial debut, It Is In Us All, starring Cosmo Jarvis, Claes Bang and herself, won the SXSW Jury Award for Extraordinary Cinematic Vision and received widespread praise. Her second feature, Diamond Shitter, begins filming in September, an Irish-Swiss-UK co-production starring Raffey Cassidy, Eva Green, Ben Whishaw, and Alessandro Nivola.
Joshua Trigg
Joshua Trigg is a visionary filmmaker whose debut feature, Satu – Year of the Rabbit, has garnered international acclaim.
The film has achieved remarkable success, including a nomination for the BIFA Raindance Maverick Award, qualification for the BAFTA Cymru Breakthrough director, and nominations for Best Directorial Debut at both BIFA and Raindance. It was also nominated for the UNESCO Gandhi Peace Prize at the prestigious India International Film Festival, and won the Naomi Kawase Golden Shika Award (Grand Prix) at the Nara International Film Festival. There, Trigg was awarded funding for his follow-up feature, Tall as Wild Grass, set in Nara, Japan, and produced by two-time Cannes winner Naomi Kawase.
Trigg’s emotionally resonant storytelling and cinematic vision mark him as a rising talent in contemporary cinema.
Theo Barklem-Biggs
Theo stars as Reg Seekings in the BBC/Kudos series SAS: ROGUE HEROES. He plays Sweeney in DEALER’S CHOICE at the Donmar this spring.
Theo’s recent credits include the feature film CHERRY alongside Tom Holland, directed by the Russo Brothers, and the World War II feature THE FORGOTTEN BATTLE. His other film credits include FARMING, directed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, THE FESTIVAL, directed by Iain Morris for Film4, and indie thriller THE POWER alongside Rose Williams. Theo’s comedy credits include SLICED (UKTV), THE FIRST TEAM (BBC) and THE INBETWEENERS, amongst others.
Best Best Performance Debut Feature Jury
Emily Beecham
Best Actress winner at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for LITTLE JOE, Emily recently finished shooting SUPERGIRL for Warner Bros. and will next appear in BBC’s KING AND CONQUEROR. Other credits include WILLIAM TELL, THE COVENANT, SLINGSHOT, and NORTH STAR.
Her breakout performance in DAPHNE earned a Best Actress win at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and nominations at the British Independent Film Awards, the London Critics Circle Film Awards and the Evening Standard British Film Awards.
Emily’s previous work also includes CRUELLA, SULPHUR AND WHITE, OUTSIDE THE WIRE, HAIL CAESAR!, 1899 (Netflix), THE PURSUIT OF LOVE (BBC One/Amazon), and AMC’s INTO THE BADLANDS.
Bio coming soon
Jo Hartley
Jo’s film credits include starring in Swede Caroline, Bank of Dave, award winning Sweetheart, in which she was BIFA nominated for Best Supporting Actress, This is England, David Brent: Life on the Road, Eddie the Eagle, Prevenge, and Dead Man’s Shoes.
For TV, credits include Afterlife (Netflix) directed and starring Ricky Gervais, the BAFTA and RTS winning In my Skin (BBC3), Mandy (BBC), Passenger (ITV), The Cleaner (BBC), Sick of it (Sky), Vera, the multi award-winning This is England series created and directed by Shane Meadows, Not Safe for Work (CH4), Mimic (CH4) and Bliss (SKY).
Best UK Feature Jury
Fred Hogge
Fred Hogge is a former historian and filmmaker who has long been in the business of researching and storytelling. As a ghostwriter, he has collaborated on books ranging from the history of drinks mixers to ancient martial arts. His film work to date includes writing the screenplay for A Mermaid’s Tale and executive producing Stanley Tucci’s feature Final Portrait. He was also the founding producer of the British Independent Film Awards. In 2024, he published a social history of ice called Of Ice And Men. He lives in Thailand.
Jason Flemyng
Bio coming soon
Louisa Connolly-Burnham
Louisa Connolly-Burnham is an award-winning writer-director-actress from Birmingham and founder of Thimble Films. A bold new voice in British cinema, Louisa is known for her emotionally charged, darkly sensual, female-led storytelling and her compelling presence both behind and in front of the camera.
In 2024, she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the breakout short film Sister Wives, alongside BAFTA-winner Mia McKenna-Bruce (MUBI’s How To Have Sex). The film was long-listed for the 2025 Oscars and BAFTAs, as well as the 2024 BIFAs, and was later acquired by Film4 and Channel 4.
Sister Wives went on to win over 50 awards at more than 100 international festivals, including ‘Best Director’ at The British Short Film Awards, HollyShorts, Sunrise Film Festival, The Shark Awards, One Fluid Night, and Brighton Rocks. It also took home Best British Short, Best Actress, and the Audience Award at The Iris Prize, sponsored by Pinewood Studios.
Best UK Short Jury
Kemal Akhtar
Born in London to a barrister father and a pioneering mother who worked in social and race relations, Kemal Akhtar grew up at the intersection of justice, activism, and culture. He studied History and French at the University of Sussex and deepened his passion for cinema with a degree in Cinéma et Études Audiovisuelles from La Sorbonne, Paris III.
Kemal trained as a journalist at The Guardian and went on to write for The Times, The Telegraph, Time Out, amongst others. His transition into film, occurred as he looked for a medium better suited to explore complex social issues in a bold manner.
Kemal was a student, a visiting lecturer, and finally a Governor at The London Film School between 2016-2025. His graduation film, ZOHRA on 35mm (2007)—a moving portrait of his mother—garnered multiple awards, including a UK Film Council Race in Media Award, a Women in Film “Tongues on Fire” Award, and a Kodak Brief Encounters Prize. The film was honored as the closing screening at the London Film School’s 50th Anniversary celebration at the NFT.
Kemal’s films have been selected for over 40 international film festivals, including Hot Docs, the San Francisco International Film Festival, London International Film Festival, Brief Encounters, Cannes, Busan, and Ukraine. Amongst his features are BHOPAL: A PRAYER FOR RAIN starring Martin Sheen, as associate director and producer; the powerful documentary SHADOWS OF LIBERTY, featuring Julian Assange’s final interviews before his arrest produced by the Bertha Foundation, and currently completing a landmark documentary on Nelson Mandela, featuring Mr Mandela’s last interviews – made with his grandson Kweku, set for release next year.
Kemal is in pre-production on “Whitechapel ’68“.
Neil Norman
Bio coming soon
Sonja Klaus
Sonja Klaus is an Internationally recognized award-winning Production Designer, designing Feature Films, Television Drama, Commercials, pop promos and large-scale events. The latter took her into an exciting world of product press launches, World-wide Film premiers and many private large-scale parties and weddings. She has featured in many publications including Variety, Architectural Digest, Wallpaper, Monocle and Elle Decoration.
Best Documentary Short Jury
Sam Crane
Sam is an award-winning filmmaker, video artist and actor.
His debut film Grand Theft Hamlet won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW, The Frontier Competition Grand Prize at DMZ Docs (South Korea), Best Documentary at Sitges, two British Independent Film Awards and was longlisted for a BAFTA. It was released theatrically in the UK and USA and is currently streaming on Mubi.
As a theatre actor he is known for starring in various West End and Broadway productions including Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, Farinell and The King and 1984.
He is also a prolific screen actor with recent credits including Napoleon (Apple), The Crown (Netflix), Transatlantic (Netflix) The Trial of Christine Keeler (BBC), COBRA (Sky) and Poldark (BBC).
He is a PhD candidate at The University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies doing autoethnographic research into performance practice in real and digital spaces
Vinnie Shergill
Bio coming soon
Waad al-Kateab
Photo Credit – Sharbel Kanoun
Waad al-Kateab is a Syrian activist and award-winning filmmaker whose debut film, For Sama, won the Prix L’Œil d’or, a BAFTA, and earned an Academy Award nomination. As a refugee herself, Waad dedicated her storytelling to tell intimate and personal refugees’ experiences.
Her second film, We Dare to Dream, follows the journey of the Olympic Refugee Team. Her latest, Death Without Mercy, portrays the aftermath of the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes.
Waad leads the Action For Sama campaign, continuing her fight for justice and awareness.
Best Narrative Short Jury
Bianca Gavin
Head of Production, Scripted
Bianca Gavin is an accomplished and experienced production executive with twenty-five years of experience in the film and TV industry. Having worked in a variety of roles across largescale and independent productions, Bianca joined Vice Studio’s Pulse Films in 2020 in the role of Head of Production, Scripted Film & Television.
Bianca spearheads the production side of the studio’s Scripted slate, advising on all aspects from the early stages of development through to delivering exceptional world-class premium content. She is currently at the production helm of the critically acclaimed third season of Gangs of London, the adrenaline-charged series Atomic, and forthcoming satirical thriller Bad Apples starring Saoirse Ronan.
Before joining Pulse Films, Bianca was Senior Production Executive for EU Scripted Originals at Amazon Studios, covering projects such as The Power. Prior to joining Amazon, she was Production Manager for Sky Originals, looking after original dramas and comedies, including Britannia and Save Me, and set up Sky Breakthrough, a work placement initiative for disabled new talent. Continuing her commitment to improve inclusive recruitment practices she compiles and shares the Open Source directory, aiming to improve career progression opportunities. Bianca is Chair of the Board of the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB).
Iain Glenn
Bio coming soon
Pavel Cortes
Bio coming soon.
Best Animated Short Jury
Iwan Rheon
Bio coming soon
Joshua Trigg
Joshua Trigg is a visionary filmmaker whose debut feature, Satu – Year of the Rabbit, has garnered international acclaim.
The film has achieved remarkable success, including a nomination for the BIFA Raindance Maverick Award, qualification for the BAFTA Cymru Breakthrough director, and nominations for Best Directorial Debut at both BIFA and Raindance. It was also nominated for the UNESCO Gandhi Peace Prize at the prestigious India International Film Festival, and won the Naomi Kawase Golden Shika Award (Grand Prix) at the Nara International Film Festival. There, Trigg was awarded funding for his follow-up feature, Tall as Wild Grass, set in Nara, Japan, and produced by two-time Cannes winner Naomi Kawase.
Trigg’s emotionally resonant storytelling and cinematic vision mark him as a rising talent in contemporary cinema.
Vineeta Mishra
Vineeta Mishra is a leading industry curator and market strategist at the forefront of South Asia’s evolving screen industries. She currently heads programming for NFDC Film Bazaar, the region’s premier co-production and project market, where she oversees the curation of the various verticals which includes Viewing Room, Co-Production Market, Screenwriters’ Lab, and industry panels. Her work has been instrumental in launching new voices and connecting South Asian cinema with global producers, sales agents, and festivals.
She also leads the programming of WAVES Bazaar, a pioneering cross-sector business market hosted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, India. Designed to foster deals and creative exchange across film, TV, animation, VFX, gaming, XR, and live entertainment, WAVES Bazaar recorded over ₹1300 crore in business discussions and 3,000+ B2B meetings in its inaugural edition.
Script Competition Jury
Cristo Fernandez
Actor, Producer, and Writer, best known for Ted Lasso
Harvey John
Founder of Developing Room Films & The Developing Room; winner of Shore Scripts 2024 Spring Short Film Fund
India Rose Meade
Drama Commissioning Coordinator at the BBC
Jenna Hawkins
Award-winning screenwriter and producer; 2021 Raindance Screenwriting Award winner and BIFA longlisted
Natalie Coffen
Creative Executive at Push It Productions; recently featured in Forbes 30 Under 30
Yemi Oyefuwa
BAFTA-nominated TV and Film Writer known for Dreaming Whilst Black and Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once
