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Sam Cullis has served as Director for nine years and is a passionate cinefile. In his spare time, outside of his role as director, he delivers filmmaking and editing workshops and advises on various short film projects. He is also a teacher of 20 years, currently Head of Media and Film at the Harrodian School in Barnes. Sam has had advisory roles on various other London-based festivals including London Short Film Festival, Little Wing and Unbroken FF. His expertise has been recognized beyond the UK film industry and he has had the privilege of sitting on festival juries around the world. His multifaceted engagement in the film industry, from leadership to hands-on workshops, reflects a deep commitment to the art form and a genuine love for sharing cinematic experiences with diverse audiences. Any spare time outside of his busy schedule is spent with his young family in West Norwood, and as a founder member of Cinema in the Powerstation he enjoys nothing more than a trip to catch the latest premiere hosted in their iconic venue.
Maythem is an Iraqi filmmaker and photographer living and working between the Middle East and UK. His films have been selected for major international film festivals, broadcasted, distributed in cinemas and won over 30 prestigious awards and distinctions including The Best Film Award at Sheffield DocFest UK Competition for ALI AND HIS MIRACLE SHEEP from his acclaimed anthology IRAQI TALES.
Maythem’s photographic work has been published and exhibited with award-winning projects such as AL-INTITHAR, INTERFACE and MY CAMERA IN EXILE. After the Iraqi Cultural Centre held an exhibition of his work in London, he began the development of his successfully published photo book, BEYOND MOMENTS. As well as leading workshops and masterclasses in filmmaking and photography he is currently working on several new film and photography projects including 40 YEARS OF SILENCE, AMANA and TEAR MAKER which is set against the backdrop of the Iraqi desert.
In 2021 Maythem created a successful programme on Iraqi cinema for Barnes Film Festival before becoming Head of Documentaries in 2022. As Artistic Director of London Breeze Film Festival he is now creatively leading the festival through its evolution.
With over 15 years of experience leading creative teams across projects of varying sizes, Stephanie brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm to every production. Her professional journey includes a role as a Producer and Global Head of Production, contributing significantly to film and television productions in the UK, US, Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Notably, for the past eight years, she has been the driving force behind the theatrical releases of Oscar short films. Holding a position on the Board of Directors of the Independent Film Trust, Stephanie has played a crucial role in the industry. Among her notable achievements is the production of "Bazigaga," a BAFTA-nominated and Oscar-qualified short film that explores a real-life story from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
An award winning photographer and documentary filmmaker, Alexa Bailey found the shift from portraiture to filmmaking a natural and stimulating progression. A stalwart supporter of emerging filmmakers Alexa has been a leading creative energy behind the festival’s development. She is excited to be heading up the Documentary side of London Breeze Film Festival this year. What with documentaries gaining popularity - storming the cinemas like never before - Alexa celebrates this inspiring moment in the evolution of documentary filmmaking with its ever changing visual art form and storytelling challenges. She feels privileged to be shortlisting the entries that are coming in that she proclaims are getting better and better every year!
Tamsin became involved with Barnes Film Festival in 2022 following a request for judges for the Short Film category. Her background is in Media, having worked at Channel 4, JCDecaux and currently Shutterstock where she works to empower brands to tell their stories by bridging the gap between idea and execution. At London Breeze Film Festival, she collaborates with sponsors and journalists to amplify the message that the festival showcases filmmaking talent from across the UK together with award-winning films from around the world. Tamsin’s enthusiasm for film extends beyond the screen, she believes in the transformative power of cinema to inspire, provoke thought, and create connections among people.
Tamsin has watched every film that has won the Academy Award for Best Picture! Her favourite by far is ‘The Sting’, the 1974 winner. She is thrilled to be part of London Breeze Film Festival on this exciting journey of celebration, exploration, and appreciation for the diverse world of filmmaking.
Alison is head of marketing at London Breeze, having joined the festival team in 2021. She has spent her career in marketing and communications working across a variety of different sectors, and currently leads the UK & Ireland marketing team for a global market research agency. She is passionate about film and the arts and helping us to ensure that we able to bring London Breeze and the incredible stories told by our emerging filmmakers to a much larger audience.
Fern has been involved with LBFF for over a year. Since moving to SW13 from overseas 13 years ago she has always volunteered in at least one local project, festival, campaign, charity or initiative. Her day job as the UK coordinator of a global children’s charity which predominately is organising fund raising events. Her background and international experience of being involved in event organising in Asia, Canada and the UK covering a wide range of sectors including the Olympics made her skill set a welcome contribution to London Breeze Film Festival. However, Fern actually considers herself the winner here to be involved during the transition from Barnes Film Festival to LBFF and the exciting objectives and journey ahead.
Bori Kiss is a writer and former journalist with over a decade of experience in creating award-winning online content. In the late '90s, she was one of the founders of Hungary’s independent online daily currently known as Telex. After moving to the UK with her family, she changed her focus to working in the emerging field of social media, creating communications strategies for London businesses and charities. She is leading the Festival’s social media and communications team.
Lorna volunteered for Barnes Film Festival at the start of 2019 and is the Data Protection Officer as well as overseeing safeguarding. With no experience whatsoever in the film industry, she trained at the Sorbonne and Birkbeck as an interpreter in French and German, and now speaks Indonesian and some Italian. She has combined a variety of roles at the Canadian High Commission with living in cities from Aberdeen to Doha as an oil industry wife and much of her film-viewing for years was on board long-haul flights! After losing her husband, Lorna started work in the charity sector for a homeless charity and it was the need for a less intense focus that led to her volunteering for a film festival.
Angeline originally became involved with the London Breeze Film Festival because of her background in PR for film and television. Her enthusiasm and work ethic combined with her business and marketing expertise has resulted in her becoming our Partnership and Brand Experience Manager and now looking after more of the business side. She also works as an actress and dancer herself and has a passion for storytelling and filmmaking.
Head of Fiction, Mariam has been part of London Breeze Film Festival since 2019. Her journey with Breeze began when her film won the best short award at the festival. It went on to screen at various BAFTA qualifying festivals and win awards. Mariam’s work deals with themes of agency, representation and identity. She wrote and directed theatre plays, staged at Southbank Centre and London Olympia that challenged gender stereotypes through reimagined South Asian folktales. As a visual artist, Mariam was selected to curate and design an installation at the London Design Biennale 2018, Somerset House. The installation showcased the work of female artisans from rural Punjab.
Miranda has been the festival’s sustainability lead for several years. Outside of the festival she is Sustainable Production Advisor on a variety of projects at Picture Zero. She is an experienced TV line producer, with a background in factual programming for major UK and international broadcasters. She founded the PMA Green Wing at the Production Managers Association and is a BAFTA Albert Trainer in sustainable production. Her passion for the planet and climate solutions was ignited by working on the Tony Robinson Channel 4 series, MAN ON EARTH, showing how previous civilisations were affected by climate change.
Mostafa, our technical director is an award winning and experienced Film and TV Professional who has worked extensively within the Film and broadcast TV production industries in the UK and internationally.
With over 30 years experience, he has worked for some of the leading media organisations in the business including BBC, ITV, SKY, Al-Jazeera, NBC, NHK and MBC ranging in positions from editor, producer to senior producer and director. Over the course of his career, he held several managerial positions including Head of Production, Head of Programs and Head of Global Operations.
His last appointment was with the SKY based award-winning charity MAMA Youth project as their lead technical director and trainer working extensively to train and introduce underrepresented youth into the screen industry. He continues to be active within the industry and currently has several films in development and holds the position of Technical Director at the Barnes Film Festival.
Also, as an ARRI certified trainer he runs workshops on film cameras, cameras rigs, lighting for both location and studio filming and audio capturing techniques. As an Adobe Creative Educator (ACE) he runs beginners, intermediate and advanced sessions on the Adobe Creative Cloud packages (Premiere, Rush, Audition, After Effects and Photoshop) as well as on AVID media Composer and DaVinci Resolve.
Sue has been a part of the animation industry for over 20 years.Along with producing some award-winning TV commercials, Sue has a keen eye for new talent and a commitment to seek out and foster young emerging animation directors.
Prior to moving to the production side of the animation Industry, Sue was a successful, award-winning commercials director with some prestigious awards under her belt including Clio, Cannes Lion and D&AD. Sue’s creative background gives her an edge when it comes to spotting talent, understanding creative briefs and matching the two together. Sue has been a part of short animation juries including D&AD, BAFTA and Edinburgh International Film Festival and has taught animation at some of the UK’s top institutions including RCA, NFTS. With her vast experience within the animation industry Sue has a huge knowledge base for all things animation.
Audrey is an innovative and Experienced Film & TV Professional, Industry Trainer, Educator, Consultant. Adept in creative, practical, technical and sustainable techniques for deliverable results, she is an advocate for change through storytelling which is enquiring, enabling and engaging. She is an established film and TV freelance location crew working up to Producer & Director with credits on multi award winning episodic, single drama and factual productions. Audrey is a designer and delivery of high quality, accredited training courses across the production chain, including BBC apprenticeships.
First and foremost, Madeleine is a film buff. Films have always been portals through which she has escaped into other worlds or gained understanding about this one. After twenty years as a drama teacher in West London secondary schools, she was delighted to find herself falling into and for a new career in the magical world of film festivals five years ago. Since then, she has been immersed in supporting emerging filmmakers, promoting new films and curating eclectic film programmes for different purposes. It is stimulating work and Madeleine looks forward to continuing her film adventure with the London Breeze Film Festival as it explores new avenues, and ventures out across the metropolis in its mission to find and promote new film talent from around the globe.
Paula has been working in the film industry for thirty years as an editor, film researcher, lecturer and more recently a curator after completing an MA in Film Programming and Curation at Birkbeck. She has curated for Barnes Film Festival, Korean Film Nights, and Exploding Cinema. Specialising in mixed programming of Uk and International short dramas, documentary and animation, her passion for showcasing emerging talent and providing platforms for voices not normally heard is demonstrated through her commitment to LBFF and Exploding Cinema. She feels short film is a unique format that can crystalise human experience in profound ways. She aims to create thought provoking programmes that inspire and inform as well as entertain and generate empathy.
Gary has practical experience across a wide range of marketing disciplines including digital, experiential, brand training and immersion, advertising (TV, press and online), media, brand leadership and development, sponsorship, market research, internal communications and PR. A senior marketing and sales professional with extensive experience in managing a portfolio of brands within the luxury brand sector. Specialist in drinks distribution and brand building. He has a repertoire of sales, general management, innovation and brand development supported with strong financial acumen. A confident communicator and senior executive who delivers successful brand propositions and activation programs that builds brands effectively.
Billy Kennedy has been involved with the London Breeze Film Festival for the past few years as both a Youth Film shortlister as well as DJing at the relaunch of the festival at Battersea Power Station. Alongside his work for the festival, Billy runs his own music company in Leeds, hosting dance events across the country. He is also an actor himself, having played major roles in BBC and SKY productions in addition to performing at the National and Globe theatre. Whilst his primary association to the film world has been in front of screen, Billy aims to eventually take the lead in directing his own productions, having already made one short film, he aims to build on this in the future with further productions that will eventually lead to a career behind the camera.
Yulia is a content creator and aspiring film producer. Currently working at London Breeze as a content creator, she has also been involved in editing and organizing events for the London Breeze Festival. She is currently pursuing her studies at the London Film Academy, learning and practicing her skills and knowledge in the world of filmmaking. With a passion for movies, she spends her free time rewatching her favorite series, 'The Walking Dead,' and dreams of one day taking part in the exciting filmmaking process. Since September 19, 2023, London Breeze has been her work placement, where she continues to grow and explore her creative talents. In addition to her professional pursuits, she enjoys quality time with her friends and family, making memories that inspire her creative endeavors.
Coco is an emerging filmmaker based in London. Currently she is completing her final year at London Film Academy where she will attain a degree in filmmaking. In her spare time she freelances and volunteers within the industry. Coco takes pride in being part of a new generation of talent championing equality and inclusivity both on and off set.
Jenny has studied film for years and holds a Master's in film practices with a focus on film festival planning. She has worked for several film festivals in varying capacities but we are very lucky to have had her expertise at London Breeze for over 3 years, working in various roles including photography, videography and event management. Jenny is enjoying producing and curating in her spare time and has recently set up her own video production company ‘Make Look Good Productions’ with another highly talented festival team member Gabe Sommers.
Charlotte Westgate is an experienced communications professional with extensive experience in the media industry working for leading brands including CNBC, NBCUniversal and Virgin Radio. Most recently she has been working with startups and entrepreneurs helping to create and deliver go-to-market strategies. Her passion is making connections that matter in order to build networks which deliver real business benefits to all parties.
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