Festival jury
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. It was released in North America in 2023 by Gravitas Ventures and in the UK by High Fliers.
Career highlights include:
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.
Liz mcmullen
PROGRAMMER
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
DAISY MARTIN
PRESELECTOR
Daisy Martin, is a British artist. She explores various art forms, notably painting, sculpture and film. Her legal background has strengthened her commitment to women’s and human rights. She recognises the transformative potential of film and how it can amplify narratives of empowerment. Daisy has earned accreditations in production, screenwriting and cinematography which has deepened her appreciation of the cinematic arts.
Julian Alexander
PRESELECTOR
Julian Alexander is a filmmaker from Las Cruces, New Mexico. A graduate of New Mexico State University’s Creative Media Institute, Julian continued his studies at the Northern Film School in Leeds, UK where he received his MFA producing and directing numerous film projects, including the Royal Student Television Award nominated short, ‘Léo’ and Beat Blue starring Lana Young (A Jazzman’s Blues, Southpaw)
Julian has previously taught film production at universities in New Mexico and Texas. He has a passion for new media and alternative storytelling methods. Julian has written, directed, and starred in a phone-based web series titled ‘Bad JuJu’ and his most recent production Layla, At Last, funded by the Sharjah Art Foundation. When he is not leading a film set, Julian is leading a classroom as the Lecturer of Film Production at the University of East London.
Andrew Alderslade
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
London based Cinematographer Andy Alderslade works in narrative, promos and documentaries. A strong-believer in telling a story in images, he embraces both classic and modern, high-tech and low-fi methods to creatively tell a tale.
Working in all scales of production, Andy has photographed documentaries for BBC1 and Sky, independent features and larger international productions. This has included working with a variety of talent including the late veteran director Philip Saville and stars Priyanka Chopra, Eric Clapton, Lilly James, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Ruth Negga.
Andy won his first award from his first feature ‘Two Down’, a neo-noir crime thriller directed by Matthew Butler and staring Alex Hassell. Shooting digitally, he gave the production a period look using old lenses, tricks and ‘classical’ lighting. He is experienced with extensive digital SFX (while shooting ‘Contractor 014352’ with Johnny Flynn), but also more practical ‘in-camera’ effects, including traditional back-projection used on ‘Starboy’.
Shoots have taken Andy to North America, India and Europe where he has enjoyed working with local crews and productions.
Forever open-minded, Andy has shot experimental work for both installations and theatre, he recently won awards for the experimental short-film ‘Hollow-Pond’.
GILES ALDERSON
Jury Member for the Best Director category
Giles Alderson produced Three Day Millionaire (Netflix); A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life (Showtime); Repeat (winner of sci-fi London Best Film); Followers (on all streaming platforms) and All Town Aren’t We (Amazon).
Giles has also written and directed the award winning The Dare which was No 3 on the Netflix charts when released (Lionsgate); Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot; the WWII drama Wolves of War starring Ed Westwick & Rupert Graves (Signature Entertainment); the feature documentary World of Darkness and The Stranger in our Bed starring Emily Berrington and Samantha Bond (Sky & Hulu) which recently won Best Thriller at the National Film Awards.
Ranw Aso-Rashid
Jury Member for the Best Low Budget Short, Best Funded Short, Best Screenplay & Best First Time Filmmaker category
Ranw Aso-Rashid is the CEO of AR Studios and an award-winning writer, producer, and director who has made 10 films, including on his upcoming foreign language international film “Our Little Act of Rebellion”, Ranw is also the lead producer of AR Studios' debut feature film The Fix. Currently, Ranw is writing, producing, and directing two original TV series, with pre-production aimed to begin in 2025. Ranw is also producing AR Studios’ debut feature documentary A Kurdish Odyssey with OSCAR-nominated Director Hanna Polak.
A jury member of the British Independent Film Award-qualifying KINO Film Festival in London, Ranw is mentored by BAFTA-winning director Marcus Liversedge, BAFTA-winning producer Jane Frazer, and former Paramount Pictures executive producer Deborah Sheppard.
Joshua Carrington Birch
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
Joshua is a London based Cinematographer with work focused on shooting narrative, commercials, music promos and documentaries.
His debut feature as cinematographer was Coyote, also with director Dustin Curtis Murphy. His work on the 16mm proof of concept for Everything Is Out To Get Me earned him a Best Cinematography nomination at the British Short Film Awards. His work on Samaritan earned him best Cinematography at Southern Shorts Awards and an honourable mention at Denver Underground Film Festival.
He approaches his lighting in a creative and abstract manner whilst always remaining story driven and focused. He offers a fun but controlled presence on set and enjoys the team aspect of filmmaking.
CLARE COONEY
Jury Member for the Best Director category
Clare Cooney is a filmmaker and SAG actor. Her feature directorial debut DEPARTING SENIORS made its domestic premiere on Opening Night of the Chicago International Film Festival and screened with BFI Flare, FrightFest UK, Screamfest LA, Nightmares Film Festival, and at the inaugural Fantastic Pavilion at Cannes. After a limited theatrical run and digital release on Apple TV, the film made the Top 10 on iTunes on both the Horror and Independent charts and received positive reviews from NPR and Dread Central. Her award-winning short films RUNNER, PICK UP, and AFTER (A LOVE STORY) have played at major U.S. festivals, including Academy-Qualifying festivals such as Cleveland International, LA Shorts International, Indy Shorts International, and Atlanta Film Festival, where Cooney received a “Filmmaker to Watch” nod. RUNNER and PICK UP, both written and directed by Cooney, went viral on the prestigious short film channel Omeleto, where she is also a senior programmer. Her most recent short film, THE RIVER, is making its premiere at the Academy-Qualifying Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival this fall. Cooney originally hails from Detroit, has trained extensively in Chicago, and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Ireland.
NATHAN CROOKER
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
Crooker is a fresh yet commanding face in the world of horror, entering with a BANG with his short, PLAYBACK that went viral in just one day. The film was also accepted into over eighty film festivals worldwide and won several Best Film awards. Later, he would only accumulate more acclaim for his second short film, MIDNIGHT DELIVERY, and his latest film, #NOFILTER starring Kelly Lamor Wilson and Misha Osherovich from Blumhouses's FREAKY. #NOFILTER has won 34 awards to date, including Best Horror Short at the Screamfest Film Festival, Grimmfest, and Abertoir Film Festival, Best Screenplay at South Africa Horror Fest, and Best Cinematography at Nightmares Film Festival. Crooker is also an accomplished producer in the horror space. In 2021, he created, produced, and sold the horror anthology ISOLATION, helming some of the genre's most innovative directors. He also produced the horror feature UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT, starring Michael Welch from TWILIGHT. He first gained recognition in the film industry as a Director of Photography on various documentaries including the critically acclaimed HOLY WARS directed by Smuggler Films’ Stephen Marshall. Filmed in the heart of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, HOLY WARS allowed Nathan to marry his passion for film, impactful human stories and adventure-driven travel. He recently sold his TV show to Warner Brothers and is currently in production on his debut feature PLAY WITH ME. Crooker lives between NYC and LA and is currently in development on several original features.
Tomasz Frymorgen
Jury Member for the Best No Budget Short, Best Director, and Best Screenplay category
Tomasz Frymorgen is a writer and director working across drama and comedy. His most recent short, Thank You So Much, played at a range of festivals, including The Kino London Short Film Festival where it won Best Comedy and Best Performance in a Comedy (Graham Dickson). Tomasz was a participant in Screen Yorkshire's Flex Programme 2021-2022, where he developed a drama series with co-writer Mo Ahmed. He is currently prepping for his next short, which is due to shoot in Poland in late 2023.
Nacho Guzman
Jury Member for the Best Cinematography category
jonathan hearn
Jury Member for the Best Performance in a Comedy and Best Cinematography categories
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.
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.
Omar Khan
Jury Member for the Best Screenplay category
Omar Khan is an actor, writer and TV presenter. Having started as a TV presenter for Sony TV Asia, he moved to Mumbai and appeared in five Bollywood films, including the smash hit Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
More recently, Omar has had a supporting role in the Sky TV show The Lazarus Project, the Netflix film Atlas and was in the cast of the Olivier Award winning West End show, Life of Pi.
As a writer, he currently writes for the Channel 4 drama, Hollyoaks and for the CBBC shows The Dumping Ground and Odd Squad. He has also written two short films, The Plunge and Voices, with significant festival success.
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.
neil linpow
Jury Member for the Best Performance in a Drama and Best Screenplay categories
Neil Linpow is a multi award winning actor and filmmaker of Irish and Chinese origin.
His work has screened at a number of high profile International film festivals, and seen recognition and awards from bodies that include Cannes YDA, BIFA, 1.4 Awards, British Arrows, Kinsale Sharks and BAFTA.
He is best known for writing and starring in the critically acclaimed thriller ‘Little Bone Lodge’ in 2023, alongside Joely Richardson and Sadie Soverall.
Upcoming credits include ‘Wasteman’ for Lionsgate, alongside David Jonsson and Tom Blythe, as well as the lead role in the US TV series “Resurrection Bay” directed by Philip Noyce.
Neil has a passion for character driven thrillers that subvert audience expectations and create tightly constructed narratives filled with tension and menacing action.
LUNAH
Jury Member for the Best Production Design category
LUNAH is an award winning independent agency offering production design and art direction for film, TV and commercial clients. Founders and close friends Lucie and Hannah are a design duo who transform ordinary spaces into visually engaging stages for storytelling. LUNAH is made up of spirited women who want to spearhead change within the industry, and work hard to support and champion womxn and our LGBTQIA+ community.
LUNAH specialise in design that draws from nature, surrealism and interiors from the past, working to any brief for our clients and creating imaginative, bold and innovative spaces. They work closely with clients in order to push creative boundaries and create a unique and bold space .
Michael May
Jury Member for the Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing categories
Michael May is a filmmaker and performer who began his career as an actor in theater and film while he was a teenager. His foray behind the camera began with producing the cult feature, KILLING ZELDA SPARKS, featuring Vincent Kartheiser and Colm Feore. Since then Michael has produced and directed commercials, documentaries, and feature films, and co-created the multimedia company Fun Size Horror with which Michael has produced hundreds of digital shorts and multiple anthology features. In 2019 he created and hosted the documentary series "Auto/Biography" and its spinoff "Auto/Biography: Cold Cases" for Discovery Networks and Motor Trend TV. Most recently, Michael wrapped production on his new feature UMBRA, a psychological thriller due for release in 2025.
Craig McDonald-Kelly
Jury Member for the Best No Budget Short, Best Micro Budget Short, Best Low Budget Short, Best Funded Short, Best Performance in a Comedy, Best Screenplay & Best First Time Filmmaker categories
JURY for the Best Micro Budget Short, Best Low Budget Short, Best Sponsored Short, Best Performance in a Drama, Best Performance in a Comedy, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score, & Best First Time Filmmaker categories
Craig is a Scottish born, New York trained actor currently living in London. He can regularly be seen on TV, Film & commercials throughout the UK & US. Craig is currently working Voice Over, doing the English dub for an upcoming high profile J-RPG As a writer/producer: 7 written and produced shorts and a mini series set for 2023 release. Craig is Head of films at streaming platform Klipist and Co-founder of prodiction company Deadline Films UK.
JAMES NEWMAN
Jury Member for the Best No Budget Short, Best Micro Budget Short, Best Low Budget Short, Best Funded Short and Best Performance in a Comedy categories
James Newman, is a Writer and Director hailing from Reading, Berkshire. With a passion for filmmaking that started at the tender age of 10, James has honed his craft over the years, developing a keen eye for storytelling and visual aesthetics. He began his professional journey as a runner in the bustling streets of Soho, where he cut his teeth on productions like Killing Eve, Mission Impossible, and Truth Seekers. It wasn't long before James earned his first writing credit on the hit micro short , The Chop. Since then, he's continued to make waves in the industry, collaborating with his brother to co-direct standout productions like Viskar I Vinden and Do Not Touch.
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.
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
is a freelance casting directorand casting associate working in London. She recently won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for African Queens: Njinga. Her previous credits include: Ted Lasso, Wednesday, The School for Good and Evil and The Outlaws.
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 10 years. She shot many a short film (several of which have won many awards), and a wide range of music promos and commercial content.
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.
Borislava Stratieva
Jury Member for the Best Performance Drama/Comedy categories
Borislava Stratieva is a Bulgarian actress based in London. After graduating from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts she performed in multiple theatre shows in the National theatre in Bulgaria. Her talent was noticed by the film director Stephan Komandarev and she soon joined the cast of his feature film "Directors", which was nominated at Cannes Film Festival. After moving to London, Borislava has been a part of some incredible film and TV projects. She performed opposite Idris Elba in the Netflix feature film "Luther: The Fallen Sun". She's the support lead in "Coyote" (UK title "Teleport") and most recently she was part of the cast for season 4 of the seccessful Apple TV comedy "Trying".
Top Tarasin
Jury Member for the Best First Time Filmmaker category
Top is a filmmaker from Bangkok, Thailand. Since 2017, he has worked as a 1st assistant director on independent feature and short films in the UK. His work includes the interactive sci-fi “The Complex”, directed by Paul Raschid (2019),
Amazon Prime trilogy “Trust” (2020), BFI/Film4 feature “Boxing Day” (2021), a feature adaptation of “Hamlet”starring Sir Ian McKellen for Bill Kenwright Films Ltd., and award-winning coming-of-age drama “Kindling”(2021), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Most recently, he was 1st AD on BBC Films/BFI feature “In Camera” directed by Naqqash Khalid and produced by Mary Burke (“Saint Maud”).
Top is also a film director and has directed numerous short films, including the award-winning “Your Reality” – a drama depicting gaslighting from the perspective of the victim – which currently has over 4 million views on YouTube. Top is also a writer, editor, storyboard artist, and musician. Top graduated with a BA in Fine Arts majoring in Film from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2003. In 2006, Top began working at production company Phoscine in his home city of Bangkok,Thailand, directing over 100 commercials there. He is currently based in London.
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.
Gonzalo Varela
Jury Member for the Best Original Score category
is a Uruguayan composer and sound designer with prolific work for video games, films and theatre. He has received awards from Uruguay's Ministry of Education and Culture, Fulbright, the Uruguayan Choral Association, the Kino London Short Film Festival and Columbia College Chicago among others, and compositions of his have been played in concerts, festivals and workshops in nine countries.
Varela holds a Master of Fine Arts degree, profile: Music Composition for the Screen, from Columbia College Chicago (United States) and two Bachelor’s degrees from the Universidad de la República (University of the Republic) (Uruguay): one in Music, profile: Composition, and another one in Musical Performance, profile: Guitar.
He is currently an Academic Assistant of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the Universidad de la República, an instructor at the Universidad de la República and the Universidad Tecnológica (Uruguay), and an instructor of courses in Music Composition for Films and Music Composition and Audio Implementation for Video Games that he teaches independently. Besides, he has held teaching positions at two other universities: Columbia College Chicago and Universidad Católica del Uruguay, and has worked as an assistant to multiple composers.