Ben Aston is a London born filmmaker, raised in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Australia and Bath. His first project as a Director was a puppet show at the age of 11 that lasted so long as to require an intermission. It had dinosaurs. Following a Philosophy BA at Kings College he went to the London Film School, where his mid-course exercise, Dinner and a Movie, was officially selected for Palm Springs 2013, the LSFF 2013 and the Edinburgh Film Festival 2013 - which named him a ‘British director of tomorrow’. His graduation film He Took His Skin Off For Me has won multiple awards and has been viewed nearly 2 million times online after premiering at the BFI Film Festival. His micro short Russian Roulette won the jury prize for the Sundance London short film competition, going on be selected for the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. He is currently in development on the feature John Moves In as well as other silly things.
Hayley is a Senior Media and Entertainment Lawyer, based in the London office of leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. Hayley specialises in commercial, regulatory and transactional work relating to the media and telecoms sectors globally.
Hayley has experience working overseas having been seconded to Herbert Smith Freehills’ Singapore office, works closely with a range of domestic and international clients and has also spent time on secondments at Sky and FilmFlex Movies. Hayley is co-author of the PLC practice note “Overview of Broadcast Content Regulation”.
Hayley is quoted, in Legal 500 2014, as “[a] key member of the [telecoms, media and technology] team” and in Legal 500 2013 as “exceptionally responsive” and her “advice is always on the money”.
When Paulette was fifteen growing up in Crewe, she decided to become a film director and throughout her career she’s grasped every opportunity to learn more about the industry.
Paulette is an award winning writer, director and producer of short films Shantell Town and the B3 Media/Arts Council funded Enter The Preacher. In 2008 Paulette created seven clips each from the biographies of Equiano and Mary Prince for Talawa Theatre Company and the V&A Theatre Collections. Paulette recently produced the Arri Short Film Challenge at Sheffield Doc/Fest winner, Knit Me Some Happiness.
After graduating from Brunel University with a BA Hons degree in American Studies and Film/TV studies, Paulette has worked for several advertising production companies, including Sonny London, Blink Productions and Rattling Stick. Five years as a freelancer, Paulette worked on Preen fashion shows, as prosthetics assistant on a feature film for Stan Winston Productions, numerous music videos and acted as artist liaison on live events such as Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute.
Paulette attended the Berlinale Talent Campus in 2008 and Cannes Short Film Corner in 2009.
The Cake Maker is Paulette’s first feature film, which will be the first film in a franchise.
Douglas Cox is a freelance Producer and Co-Owner of Shadowhouse Films, working on shorts, features and commercials. His latest short film, Absence, is currently touring film festivals around the UK and he has another two short films due for completion in November. Clients include Partizan, White Lodge, Matador Films, BFI, Somesuch & Co. and CMI Scotland amongst others. He is also the Co-Founder and Producer of inHouse Festival, now in it’s third year, a community based event celebrating film, music, fashion and art.
Lucy Drake is currently Head of Production at Big Light Productions (Frank Spotnitz’s London based production company which specialises in high-concept transatlantic co-productions). Whilst also working as a freelance consultant, trainer and coach in the film and tv industry.
Lucy took a degree in Performing Arts, specialising in Arts Administration, and followed this by qualifying as a Chartered Accountant.
This combination of arts and accounting defined her future path as a Drama Production Accountant, where she worked on a broad range of productions; credits including EastEnders, Holby City and Silent Witness. She progressed to Senior Production Accountant at the BBC, mentoring and training Production Accounts teams across all production genres.
Her passion and experience in the industry led her to be a founding committee member of the industry wide Production Accounting Forum and co-authored their Best Practice Guide to Production Accounting. She also develops and runs training programmes for various organisations including NFTS, The Production Guild, BBC and Universities.
As a freelancer she provides production accounting support for film and tv; currently working on The 9th Life of Louis Drax, a Canadian and UK co-production film for Miramax staring Jamie Doran and Aaron Paul.
Loran Dunn is a creative and ideas driven Producer who has enjoyed screenings at prestigious festivals such as Edinburgh International Film Festival and Encounters Film Festival as well as Royal Television Society Award nominations. An Art School graduate, she has a creative ambition for unusual and provoking films, grounded in a background of production work on BBC and SKY dramas, and cinematic feature film releases. Her first feature Mud was selected for development by the BFI, Creative England and BBC Film as part of the iFeatures3 slate. Loran’s independent production company is Delaval Film, she has a strong belief in the creative role of the Producer and is working with brave and inspiring new British talent who want to bring poignant artistic films to the big screen. She also manages an Award Winning Film Collective WULF showcasing emerging talent in Manchester, London and Berlin, and is an Associate Lecturer in Short Film Production for the BA (hons) Filmmaking course at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Coming off the back of a short period as an artist, Alex has gained a number of broadcast credits across film and TV and has directed a number of short films, music videos and adverts including the VFX heavy short The Boy with a Heart of Steel and adverts for Microsoft Windows Phone eBay. His short Gin & Tonic was screened at BAFTA as part of the Movie Mogul Short Film Competition. Tear Me Apart marks Alex’s feature film directing debut.
Katie McCullough is Founder of Festival Formula, a consultancy company focusing on filmmakers covering film festival strategy, crowdfunding, and social media presence. We create personalised festival strategies taking into account length, production values, genre, stories in front and behind the camera, and budget limitations for submission fees. She’s hosted workshops and seminars for a broad range of audiences over the past ten years. Selected appearances include: Encounters Film Festival, Shooting People, LOCO - London Comedy Film Festival, YouTube Pro-Panel Series, Falmouth University, East End Film Festival, Independent Cinema Office, Cork Film Festival, Glasgow Short Film Festival, FilmFest Dresden, MetFilm School, and several training events at the BFI Southbank.
For the past five years Nicola Lees has run the highly successful WFTV Mentoring Scheme, which has helped 100 mid-women progress their careers in the industry. She also runs the Sara Putt Associates Trainee Scheme, which helps new entrants working behind the camera to develop the soft skills and business knowledge needed to be a successful freelancer in high end TV drama and feature films and mentors new talent from disadvantaged backgrounds. Prior to helping people develop their careers, Nicola spent ten years working at the BBC, specialising in developing science and history programmes. Nicola is the author of Greenlit: Developing Factual/Reality TV Ideas From Concept to Pitch and Give Me the Money and I’ll Shoot! Finance Your Factual TV/Film Project. She is also the founder of tvmole.com, a website dedicated to helping TV professionals successfully originate, develop and pitch their own ideas
Fascinated by film, Kelie dived headfirst into the industry by taking up the position of Digital Content Editor at the UK’s leading independent filmmakers’ network, Shooting People. She’s the voice of SP’s social media, the point of call for membership queries and manages the general upkeep of the community. With a background in journalism, Kelie has worked across online, film, TV, print and radio platforms; winning the East Midland’s Soroptimist Award for her documentary on women in gangs in 2014. Film is not Kelie’s only vice, she also produces and franchises catering units at music festivals and private events; juggling a part-time business and a full-time job for 4 months of the year, which is no easy feat.
Nicola worked for many years in Film, TV and Theatre in Australia, came to London for the weekend and stayed for 18 years. She was a resident character on Home And Away, worked for the BBC, Radio 4, ABC, Channel 7, SBS, Southern Star, Sydney Theatre Company, Praxis Theatre (Ireland), La mama (Melbourne), The Stables (Sydney). She has made 9 short films, written three features and is currently raising finance to make her first feature.
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