Festival team
Dustin Curtis Murphy
FESTIVAL FOUNDER & FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
Dustin is a multi-disciplined award-winning short and feature narrative filmmaker. He is drawn towards character driven stories with relevant social themes. Dustin’s debut micro-budget feature COYOTE (released in the UK as ‘TELEPORT’) starring Therica Wilson-Read (Netflix’s The Witcher) and & BIFA winner Ruhtxjiaïh Bèllènéa (The Last Tree) won the Grand Prize for Best Sci-Fi Feature at VORTEX - the genre sidebar of the Academy Award Qualifying Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival. It was nominated for Best Feature Film at the National Film Awards and won the Audience Award at the Romford Film Festival. For COYOTE, Dustin also won Best Director at the BIFA qualifying Unrestricted View Film Festival. It was released in North America in 2023 by Gravitas Ventures and in the UK by High Fliers.
Other career highlights include:
EVERYTHING IS OUT TO GET ME - Shot of 16mm film, this short was featured by Kodak and nominated or Best Cinematography at The British Short Film Awards. Having premiered internationally at Dances with Films, the film earned 21 festival selections including 9 BIFA qualifiers, receiving Honourable Mention for Best Editing at Unrestricted View + 13 other nominations from a variety of festivals. It’s been released online via Minute Shorts & Beyond the Short.
SAMARITAN - Winner: Best International Short at Sedona Film Festival, Winner: Grand Prize at The Weather Channel’s #EarthFilmChallenge, Semi-Finalist at Academy Award Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, plus Official Selections at other BAFTA/BIFA qualifiers.
FILTHY ANIMALS - Shortlisted for Raindance’s #OneMinuteTwist Competition.
NORA - Premiered at BFI IMAX as the centrepiece of TEDxNHS and won 19 awards, including 2 for best director.
REPOSSESSED - Best Student Short at Shriekfest, Hollywood
GILLIAN HARKER
SENIOR PROGRAMMER
Gillian is an award-winning writer and director. She has been selected by Shiny Network as one of the ‘best new directing talents worldwide’ and is a member of Directors UK. Her latest short film, Tackling, premiered at BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica in 2022. Her debut short film, ‘Cross', starring Ryan Hayes (CARNIVAL ROW, HBO) won multiple awards including Best Male Actor at BIFA qualifying Little Wing Film Festival 2019 and the Audience Award at the 20th Keswick Film Festival 2020. ‘Jinx’ and 'Day 60' were selected to screen at the 2020 and 2021 Straight 8 competition by a panel of judges including Academy Award winners Asif Kapadia and Robbie Ryan. Her 2021 film ‘Feast’ has played at multiple UK film festivals including BIFA qualifying Little Wing and Kino's: The People's Festival. Feast was nominated for Best English Short Film at The British Short Film Awards 2021.
MARK VAN HEUSDEN
PROGRAMMER
Mark is an editor and VFX editor based in London. By day he works as a VFX editor on high end TV shows and feature films like House of the Dragon, The Witcher and Doctor Who to name a few. By night he takes off the green screen suit and edits short films and music videos which have screened at Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals around the world. In the remaining spare minutes between dusk and dawn he's also writing his first feature film, because that's something he's always wanted to do and he will not rest before it's done.
Viviana Zachou
PRESELECTOR
Hello, My name is Viviana, and I am a 24-year-old film producer and distributor from Athens. I have worked on a wide range of projects as both an assistant director and producer, supported by a strong professional background in film distribution. Deeply passionate about film festivals, I remain actively involved in the film community, volunteering for various events and societies.
Festival jury
Ranw Aso-Rashid
Jury Member for the Best Low Budget Short, Best Funded Short, Best Screenplay & Best First Time Filmmaker category
Ranw Aso-Rashid (b. 1993) is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of AR Studios, an acclaimed production company developing high-end cinema and television. He has mentored nearly 140 underrepresented students across two continents, providing paid roles, hands-on experience, and career guidance. AR Studios’ work has earned BIFA qualification, festival awards and nominations, and streaming releases on Amazon Prime (ShortsTV), MYM Media, and Minute Shorts.
Currently, Ranw is leading AR Studios’ 2025–26 slate, including the documentary The Lost Photography of Iraq (executive produced by BAFTA nominee Clare Richards) and the sci-fi project Project Helios with Epic Studios, while running the AR Studios Filmmakers’ Network, a global platform connecting elite creative and technical talent.
ALIX AUSTIN
Jury Member for the Best Director, Best Performance in a Drama & Best Editing categories
Alix is a London-based British Director/Producer with a passion for films driven by practical effects & lethal sound design, having grown up bilingually (English/German) in Basel, Switzerland.
Her work has screened at festivals including Chicago International Film Festival, Overlook Film Festival and Brussels International Fantastic Festival.
She directed and sold her first feature film KILL YOUR LOVER, with creative partner in crime Keir Siewert.
Solo-directing projects include SUCKER (premiered on SHUDDER) and crime short TRUE VALUE.
Alix is a member of Directors UK, is a recipient of the Raimi Productions Scholarship and was mentored by Kate Herron (LAST OF US, LOKI S1) through DUK Inspire.
She is currently a part of the BIFA Springboard Genre 2025 cohort, being mentored by Ed King (HIS HOUSE).
Karen Bryson
Jury Member for the Best Funded Short and Best First Time Filmmaker categories
Her multi-award winning career spans over 25 years, across various multi-media platforms, both in front of the camera and more recently behind it. Karen was awarded an MBE in 2017 for her Services to Drama.
She is best known for playing Avril Powell, in the critically acclaimed drama Shameless. Her recent acting projects include series regular in award winning Nordic drama White Wall, Black Narcissus (BBC and FX US), independent feature film REAL (directed by Aki Omoshaybi), Elinor Stone in Zack Snyder's Justice League (HBO MAX/Warner Brothers), Teacher (Channel 5). Karen has most recently appeared as series regular Leonora Hale in The Split by Emmy Award Winner Abi Morgan (BBC/BBC AMERICA/Sundance TV). Karen stars in TV adaptation of The Rainmaker which premiered last week in NYC.
She produced 'Family Reunion', winner of 'Best of the Fest' at the Triforce Short Film Festival, and for The Block, winner of 'Best Pilot' at the Ramsgate International Film Festival.
Karen’s directorial debut is the multi award winning short film Monochromatic which screened at BIFA, BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals globally. Karen is currently developing a feature film script.
She thoroughly enjoyed watching the array of brilliant short films in this wonderful festival.
Ruth Casas
Jury Member for the Best Director, Best Editing, & Best Cinematography categories
Ruth Casas is the founder of La Ferrara Productions, a London-based independent production company. With a diverse background in the entertainment industry, Ruth’s career spans various mediums, including interactive film gaming dramas, game production, broadcasting, film, and digital production.
She studied under M.A. Conejero (OBE) at the Shakespeare Foundation in Spain, where she developed her expertise in both classical and contemporary storytelling. Ruth’s experience extends to media production, where she has contributed to numerous projects and served as a judge at several film festivals. She also participated in the 74th Biennale di Venice Mostra Cinematografica, contributing as an industry member.
Beyond her work in traditional and interactive media, Ruth is also a certified Scrum Master, bringing agile methodologies into creative and production environments. She has worked on major franchises, including Star Wars, and contributed to projects for Netflix, further solidifying her expertise in high-profile productions. Ruth is also proud to have been involved in two BAFTA-nominated games, further establishing her expertise in interactive storytelling.
Through La Ferrara Productions, Ruth is focused on exploring experimental and relevant themes and narratives through indie projects, pushing the boundaries of storytelling to reflect the evolving societal landscape.
In addition to her work in production, Ruth is actively involved in industry advocacy. She is now a finalist for the Women in Business Awards 2025 and serves as an Ambassador at Women in Games, furthering her commitment to empowering women in the creative industries.
Tomasz Frymorgen
Jury Member for the Best Micro-Budget Short and Best Funded Short Categories
Tomasz Frymorgen is Polish-British writer/director, currently studying the Directing Fiction MA at the National Film and Television School. His films have played at a range of BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying festivals and received multiple prizes. Tomasz is also a Grierson nominated documentary producer, and an experienced documentary director. He has made programmes for Apple TV, The BBC and Channel Four, amongst others.
Ella Greenwood
Jury Member for the Best Director category
Ella is an award-winning filmmaker and the Founder of Broken Flames, a Forbes 30 under 30 Production Company. Recent work includes 'Twofold,' selected for the Amazon MGM Studios Short Film Competition, 'Smudged Smile,' starring BAFTA Winner Mia Mckenna-Bruce, and 'Why Wouldn't I be?' in partnership with mental health charity HUMEN. Ella is a recipient of the Diana Award, and of a British Citizen Award for Services to Arts.
Nacho Guzman
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
Nacho is an industry first camera assistant. He also operates Haze Films. Haze Camera Boutique has a wide range of high-end camera equipment available along with the services of highly trained camera crew. They provide on-set services for digital as well as film, with cameras such as the Alexa 35, Alexa Mini LF, Red Komodo and Aaton XTR (S16mm).
Madil Hardis
Jury Member for the Best Original Score category
Madil Hardis is a London-based audio-visual artist whose practice fluidly spans composition, film, and performance. Her music is a hypnotic blend of acoustic and electronic elements as well as original sample manipulation, and has been described as otherworldly, evocative and haunting. She is known for her 3-octave vocal range which she uses to create ethereal voices and experimental vocal textures.
Madil has scored award-winning films screened at festivals such as Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, The British Short Film Awards, and New York Shorts International Film Festival. In 2024, she was awarded Best Soundtrack at Beeston Film Festival for her work on "By Any Other Name" (Daniel Deville, Slick Films). As a recording artist, she has accumulated over 200 music credits and 3.8 million streams across music streaming platforms, encompassing her solo work and collaborations, including multiple guest vocals for Ashbury Heights. Madil is also a multi-award-winning experimental filmmaker. In 2025, her music short "Disintegrate" was selected for the Brussels Independent Film Festival in 2025 and has received the Tarkovski Grant.
jonathan hearn
Jury Member for the Best Performance in a Comedy category
Jonathan Hearn is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, comedy promoter, coder for the film industry and amateur filmmaker based in London, UK. He is the regular host of Kino London Short Film Open Mic Night, as well as running and hosting the live stand-up nights Jester Jesters and Retold Gold - new material and old material respectively. He's the host and creator of the podcast/vodcast The Next Best Picture, a lighthearted rundown of every Oscars Best Picture winner in chronological order. He has performed regularly at The Edinburgh Fringe since 2010. In a technical capacity he has worked on a wide range of feature films and television series, including Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs, The Witcher and Zone of Interest. He obviously wrote this.
Matthew Hopper
Jury Member for the Best Low Budget Short category
Matt is an award-winning creative and director based in London, specialising in high-impact commercial and branded content. He has collaborated with global brands including Formula One, Qatar Airways, Booking.com, and The National Lottery, directing internationally recognised talent such as David Beckham, Neymar, and Lionel Messi.
His commercial projects have earned recognition from industry leaders like Creativepool, the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards, and The Drum.
His narrative short films, ‘Rumble’, ‘Stones’, and ‘Elephant’, have all played at BAFTA and BIFA qualifying festivals worldwide, gaining critical acclaim. Additionally, his spec scripts ‘Two Wolves’ and ‘Underdog’ have received awards from competitions such as Shore Scripts and Screencraft.
Katrin LARISSA Kaspar
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama/Comedy categories
Katrin was born and raised in Germany. She studied theatre arts and acting in the US and in London. Her latest credits include the upcoming mini-series Outrageous (2025) and Paddington in Peru (2024). She is about to make her third short film as a producer and can’t wait to see yours.
Rolfe Kent
Jury Member for the Best Original Score category
Rolfe Kent is a British/American composer who has scored over 50 films including 'Stan and Ollie', 'Mean Girls', 'About Schmidt', 'Up in the Air', and was Golden Globe nominated for 'Sideways' and Emmy nominated for 'Dexter'. He composes his own music, and plays (badly) on many of his scores.
Vince Knight
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
Vince Knight has worked internationally as a Director of Photography on productions spanning from feature films and commercials to fashion films and music videos. His latest film, nano-budget slasher Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey hit #1 at the US box office, with a worldwide theatrical release at over 5000 cinemas. With a number of awards from leading cinematography societies including the Guild of Television Camera Professionals and the Golden Eye International Festival of Cameramen, Vince's work has screened at over 30 film festivals worldwide including SCI-FI-LONDON, FrightFest, BFI London Film Festival and Raindance. His career has seen him work on projects alongside names such as Daisy Ridley (Star Wars), Kevin Smith (Clerks), Lewis Hamilton (F1 World Champion), Dean Cain (Superman), Vinnie Jones (Snatch), Luke Goss (Blade II), Winnie Harlow (Supermodel, ANTM), Stan Lee (Marvel), Danny Trejo (Machete), Gina Carano (Haywire, The Mandalorian), Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now), Steve Guttenberg (Police Academy), Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man). With a background in car commercials and motorsports, Vince is the Managing Director of the International Motor Film Awards, the leading awarding body for the automotive film and television industry with a jury of Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA winning professionals. Vince is also a member of the jury for the Royal Navy Photographic Awards for the Ministry of Defence.
JEN LIM
Jury Member for the Best Director, Best Performance in a Drama, and Best Screenplay categories
Jen began filmmaking at the Beijing Film Academy before returning to the UK to graduate with a degree in Film & TV from the University of Bristol.
She crews on Film, TV and commercial sets all the while writing and directing character driven stories. Her shorts include "Apocalypse Anytime Now" which was funded by the Roundhouse and Ex-Animo Foundation, and most recently "Discord", winner of the Other Brother Studios film fund, which is now screening at festivals in the UK and abroad.
neil linpow
Jury Member for the Best Performance in a Drama and Best Screenplay categories
Neil Linpow is a multi award winning Irish writer and actor.
In 2025 he was selected to be a part of the BIFA springboard cohort, designed to support emerging talent with their next feature projects.
His short films have seen him recognised with awards and nominations including Cannes YDA, 1.4 Awards, Young Arrows and Official selections at several IFTA, BAFTA and Oscar qualifying festivals.
His debut feature script, ‘Little Bone Lodge,’ premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival, before screening at Toronto, FantasticFest and Seattle International film festival. It was released internationally in 2023 to a fantastic critical reception. It holds an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and was listed in The Guardian’s top 10 British films of the year. It was also the number 1 most watched film on HBO Max between June and July and in the top 10 best-performing films on Amazon Prime in May and June.
He is currently developing his second feature ‘Meat, Blake Forder’ with the support of Screen Ireland, and his sci-fi feature screenplay ‘Hela 212’ enters pre-production with the iconic Phillip Noyce attached to direct. Casting is underway.
Neil has a passion for character-driven thrillers that subvert audience expectations and create tightly constructed narratives filled with tension and menacing action.
He is a member of the Writers Guild of Ireland and the Screen Directors Guild. He is represented by Independent Talent for acting and literary works.
Liz mcmullen
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama/Comedy categories
Liz is a Canadian actress, voice over artist, writer and producer. She moved to the UK to train at LAMDA and has been in London ever since. Her work includes an international tour of her one woman show Stupid Cupid, Shakespear sperfoamces in Cambriage and Stratford, writing and starring in the short film Teeth which priemered at the Raindance film festival. Film highlights include the western Never Grow Old starring John Cusack and Emile Hirsch and the recent interactive movie The Complex. Her voice over work includes Playboy Fragrances, Hello Fresh, Love Honey, and has voiced commercials for BBC and E4. She has produced theatre, short films and is currently co-hosting the radio show Screen to Screen on Soho radio- interviewing film industry professionals and reviewing films. | www.lizmcmullen.com
Paul O'Flanagan
Jury Member for the Best Editing category
Paul O'Flanagan is an award-winning director and one of the founding fathers of Boulder Media, having joined as it's first animator in 2000. In the years since, Paul has acted as animation director and director for many high-profile shows such as 'Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends', 'The Amazing World of Gumball', 'Danger Mouse' and My Little Pony for broadcasters such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, BBC and Disney. Paul has recently directed 20 episodes of 'Transformers:Botbots' which will debut on Netflix this year. Paul has made several short films throughout the years. His most recent, 'Memento Mori' is currently gathering prizes and dozens of festival appearances around the globe, and was recently long-listed for the Oscar's 'best animated short'. Last year, Paul was promoted to Creative Director of Boulder Media.
Angela Peters
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama/Comedy categories
Angela is a London based actress and voiceover artist who has appeared in award-winning feature films and short films screened at numerous international festivals, and in cinemas throughout the UK and Europe, as well as Netflix, Amazon and iTunes. Founder of the long-standing UK Actors Tweetup and TweetFest Film Festival, she has been interviewing casting directors, agents, award-winning directors, actors and producers for over a decade, and is an expert writer for Backstage. Angela has watched thousands of short films over the years and loves everything filmmaker related. Her passion is to help and inspire actors and filmmakers to do more of what they love.
Ana Pio
Jury Member for the Best Director category
Ana Pio is a film director who was mentored by Rose Glass through the Directors UK Inspire programme, and has been a BAFTA Crew/ Connect member since 2019.
In recent years, Ana directed short films ‘PMS’ (nominee for best comedy at the 2022 BAFTA Qualifying London Short Film Festival), ‘Do As I Say’ (winner of Best Performance for Angela Yeoh and nominated for Best Director and Best Low Budget Short at BIFA qualifying film festivals) and ‘7 to 10’ (award nominated for Best Performance, Best Editing and winner of Best Director at several international film festivals, including BIFA qualifying) in preparation for the filming of her debut feature film 'Mother Nature'.
In 2024, Ana and producer Andrea Land were selected to pitch 'Mother Nature' at Aesthetica Short Film Festival and in 2025 to pitch it at the co-production JETS Initiative during the 75th Berlinale.
Ana will be participating in the prestigious Reykjavík International Film Festival Talent Lab in September 2025.
HANNAH RAWSON
Jury Member for the Best Production Design Category
Hannah Rawson is a production designer who loves building worlds that feel as real as they are cinematic. She works across commercials, short films, and feature films, collaborating closely with directors to bring stories to life through colour, texture, and detail. This year alone, she’s designed seven short films—three selected for BAFTA-qualifying festivals—and her latest feature has travelled to audiences around the world, with screenings at Fantasia in Montreal, Locarno in Switzerland, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Deauville in France, and L’Étrange Festival in Paris. As a festival judge, Hannah brings both a sharp eye for design and a deep appreciation for the craft of visual storytelling.
Hayley Reeve
Jury Member for the Best Low Budget Short, Best Director, Best screenplay, & Best Performance in a Comedy categories
Hayley is a writer, director, and founder of Harp On Productions, known for films about unapologetic women refusing to bend to expectations. Longlisted at the 1.4 Awards as a multi-hyphenate talent, Hayley’s work spans writing, directing, producing, and acting.
Her acclaimed short THIS IS ZOE won major honours at Raindance for 'Best Open Short Film'. With further recognition from BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying festivals, also winning the 'Powerful Voice Award' and 'Audience Award'. Most recently, she completed EVOL, backed by Kino Short Film Festival and Genera Films, starring Amelia Jayne Clarkson (Red Rose, Netflix) which is making waves across the festival circuit, including several BIFA-qualifying festivals. She also created the poetic series MIND BODY SOUL starring Karolina Conchet (The Little Mermaid, Disney).
Harp On’s slate features DIARY OF A GHOST starring Mia Rodgers (Sex Lives of College Girls, HBO), THE LINE, with Firewood Pictures, and upcoming projects including DRIVEN, an F1 film about her grandfather’s accident, nominated as Best Short Screenplay at BIFA-qualifying Unrestricted (UVFF) and recognised by Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). And METHOD, selected for the 2024 Women in Film & TV Australia and Cinefest Writer’s Retreat for further development.
Thom Robson
Jury Member for the Best Original Score category
Thom Robson is an award-winning composer for film, television, and games. Originally born in Shrewsbury, he now lives and works in London.
Recent works include WALKING WITH GHOSTS, an experiential exhibition funded by the IWM, PREDATORS (Soundology for Sky), EVERYTHING IS OUT TO GET ME (Kino Films), and THE WALL - CLIMB FOR GOLD, written with Nainita Desai, which Mark Kermode listed as one of his top scores of 2022.
Notably, he contributed music to the second series of STRANGER THINGS (Netflix), wrote additional music for the BAFTA-winning documentary THE MISSING CHILDREN (Soundology/True Vision), and the true crime documentary series SOPHIE: A MURDER IN WEST CORK. (Netflix).
Upcoming works include DWARF STORY (Embankment/ITV), LOBO, directed by Sean Connolly, Sam Baron's OFFICE ROYALE, A LETTER TO BLACK MEN directed by Kiosa Sukami, and an as-yet-untitled deep-sea exploration documentary series.
He has written music for many well-known brands such as LAND ROVER, SEAT, TOM FORD, CHIVAS REGAL & LAURA BIAGOTTI.
He works from his studio in Bermondsey, surrounded by vintage synthesizers and keyboards, which he uses to create unique and distinctive sounds.
Olissa Rogers
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama/Comedy categories
Olissa Rogers is an Emmy Award-winning freelance Casting Director. She began her career in Germany in 2008, focusing on TV series until 2016. After moving to the UK, she worked as a casting assistant to Jeremy Zimmermann and later Kharmel Cochrane. In 2019, she became an associate to Theo Park on major TV projects like Ted Lasso, followed by roles with Amy Hubbard and Fiona Weir. Since April 2022, Olissa has led her own casting projects, including Royal Mob, African Queens, and My Friend Misty.
Barbara van Schaik
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
Barbara is a Dutch cinematographer, based in London and with an unusual background that began with acting in theatre. She then continued on to study cinematography first at the Met Film School and afterwards at the prestigious National Film and Television School, both based in the UK. Barbara has currently been working in the UK film industry for over 13 years. She shot many a short film (several of which have won many awards), and a wide range of music promos and commercial content.
The short A Cup of Coffee with Marilyn by Alessandra Gonnella has been developed into a Television series with Paramount.
Another project to mention is Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell my Daughter about Men; a multi-director feature film (narrative) created by Lorien Haynes. Barbara shot a large part of this interesting project that is created in support of survivors of sexual abuse: "23 short films, 21 female directors, 1 movie feature to support survivors of sexual abuse."
Matt Sheppard
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama/Comedy categories
is a freelance casting director and casting associate based in London. His previous credits include: The Creator (Jina Jay CDG CSA), Boiling Point (Carolyn McLeod CDG CSA) & Academy Award shortlisted The One Note Man.
KEIR SIEWERT
Jury Member for the Best No Budget Short, Best Micro-Budget Short, Best Funded Short, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best First Time Filmmaker categories
Keir is a Scottish / American Filmmaker and Photographer.
He studied film at the University of Winchester, graduating with a degree in Film Studies & Film and Cinema Tech. After graduating, he spent several years in the Scottish music scene, where he made over 100 music videos.
After moving to London, he directed and edited the horror short RETCH, which went to over 50 festivals and was distributed by Alter and Bloody Disgusting. His next short PORTRAIT received funding through the Genera Film Fund and won Best Film at the Kino Film Festival
He directed a segment for the Pandemic Anthology Horror film INSOLATION, which had its world premiere at Fright Fest and was released in 2022.
His debut feature KILL YOUR LOVER premiered as the opening night film at Booklyn Horror and went on to play at Glasgow Film Festival, The Overlook Film Festival and was released through Dark Sky Films.
Recently he was included in the BIFA Springboard Genre 2025 Cohort and is being mentored by Ed King (HIS HOUSE).
Keir often works with his wife Alix and the two have a global approach to their work, sharing a love of South Korean cinema and the French Extreme."
Borislava Stratieva
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama category
Borislava Stratieva is a London-based Bulgarian actress. She's just finished filming a new comedy series for Disney+. Some of her recent screen work includes Luther: The Fallen Sun (Netflix), the latest season of Trying (Apple TV), and a supporting lead role in Coyote (Amazon Prime).
Sai Karan Talwar
Jury Member for the Best No Budget Short, Best Micro Budget Short, Best Screenplay & Best First Time Filmmaker categories
Sai Karan Talwar is an award-winning writer and director. Sai is currently a BAFTA Connect Member, a 2025 alumnus of the BBC Writers room - Writers’ Access Group, and a 2023 Alumni of the Disability Belongs Entertainment Lab. Sai has over forty accolades as a writer in some of the most esteemed screenwriting competitions. His Debut GHANIMAH is a BAFTA & BIFA Qualified Short Film that has been selected at just over 60 film festivals, with over a dozen wins and nominations; the film is about Islamic enrolment into the British Military. His second short film WHAT MEN DO FOR LOVE is a 15-minute single-take film about the masculine ego at breaking point; the film is currently BIFA Qualified and has been selected by BAFTA and OSCAR accredited festivals, and more recently set to be OSCAR Longlisted for 2026. His upcoming short film ‘I AM THE PRIZE’ stars Russell Tovey, it is based on the spec script he wrote with the BBC during the BBC Writers Room Programme and is set to play festivals in 2026.
Mackenzie Taylor
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
is a colourist/assistant based in London. He started in the industry as a runner and has had the pleasure to work with some of the most creative people in post production whilst climbing to become a colourist.
Working on a mixture of feature films, shorts, tv shows and commercials, his eye has developed to appreciate all forms of cinematography and how it better suits the story of a project.
Harrison Wall
Jury Member for the Best Editing category
Harrison is an award-nominated, UK-based Editor with over 13 years experience in television drama.
He recently completed Slow Horses Season 6 for Apple TV+ and is currently working on Vanished for Amazon Prime.
Harrison previously edited Season 4 of Slow Horses, which has so far received multiple award-nominations, including Emmy, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.
Since 2018, Harrison has worked primarily as an Editor on shows such as: Gangs of London (Sky Atlantic), Champion (BBC/Netflix) & Reunion (BBC One).
Harrison also served as an Associate Editor on Masters of the Air for Apple TV+.
Prior to 2018, Harrison worked as an Assistant Editor on multiple high-end dramas including: HBO’s Big Little Lies, FX’s Trust & Channel 4’s Humans.