UK Film Festival Roundtable

Anthony Andrews is an award winning co-founder and creative director of We Are Parable, a film exhibition company that provide audiences with opportunities to experience Black Cinema in culturally relevant, unique and memorable ways. Anthony has collaborated with film studios such as Altitude, StudioCanal and eOne as well as working closely with the BFI and the Film and TV Charity to create events and screenings that support films that feature and are made by Black creatives. Since co-founding the business in 2013, he has worked with Oscar winners Spike Lee and Steve McQueen, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and and actor Idris Elba on the release of their respective films. In 2019, alongside The British Blacklist, The New Black Film Collective and SOUL Celebrate Connect, he co-founded SOUL Fest, a film festival which was designed to celebrate Back talent in front of and behind the lens. In 2020, Anthony co-curated Who We Are, a week long online takeover of the BFI which celebrated the artistry of Black British Film over the last 50 years. In 2021, Anthony was included in the main jury for the British Independent Film Awards and the longlisting jury for the EE BAFTA Awards.

Sarah is a freelance consultant based in London, specialising in bringing culture and people closer together. Her work includes strategy and planning, research and evaluation, and facilitation and training. She has held senior positions in some of the UK’s most innovative cultural organisations including Broadway Media Centre, Tate, The Audience Agency and the Barbican, and, since 2015, she has been working as an independent consultant. Sarah works with independent cinemas, and more widely across the cultural sector, and recent projects have included large scale quantitive research into the film watching and cinema going habits of under 30s in Northern Ireland for Film Hub NI and evaluation of the BFI FAN ’New Release Strategy’. She is a regular contributor to the ICO’s programme of professional development and to the annual CICAE Art Cinema = Action + Management course, and has worked with the British Council in Georgia, Russia, Malaysia and Greece. Sarah is also an accredited coach and Action Learning Facilitator.

Ian Francis is the founding director of Flatpack Projects, a charity which produces moving image events across the West Midlands and beyond. The organisation’s most significant project is the Flatpack Festival, an eclectic week of screenings and events which takes place in Birmingham every spring and has developed a national reputation for its multidisciplinary programming and imaginative use of different venues. Alongside the festival Flatpack are responsible for an extensive programme of year-round activity, and with Broadway Cinema in Nottingham they are co-leads of Film Hub Midlands as part of the BFI Film Audience Network. A film graduate from Warwick University, Ian has twenty years experience of programming and delivering events and has written for publications including Sight & Sound and Little White Lies. He is a trustee at Multistory, and an honorary research fellow at the University of Birmingham.

Melanie Iredale has been Sheffield Doc/Fest’s Deputy Director since 2014, having been involved first as Development Consultant since 2010, and serving as Interim Director of the 2019 edition. She also co-curates Sheffield Doc/Fest’s Rhyme & Rhythm film section. Born and raised in Yorkshire, Melanie’s background is as a film and arts curator and festival producer. As former Director of Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival on the English-Scottish border, she commissioned moving image works, installations and performances for heritage sites, which have since gone on to tour to festivals and galleries world-wide. Melanie serves on the BIFA jury for the documentary award, is regularly invited to speak on inclusion and ethics in the industry, and has participated on juries including Nordisk Panorama, ZagrebDox and One World Media. She is also an Executive Producer on Rebel Dykes, a film by Harri Shanahan and Sian Williams, which will premiere in Spring 2021.

Lizzie Banks is the Producer of Oska Bright Film Festival. The festival is the biggest film festival in the world showcasing films made by, or featuring people with a learning disability, autism or Aspergers. The festival is supported by the BFI, Arts Council England and Adult Swim and is also now BAFTA accredited. Oska Bright Film Festival tours the UK and abroad in non-festival years sharing award-winning shorts and features, running workshops and hosting seminars.

Rich Warren is the Festival Director for Encounters Film Festival, the UK's leading short film, animation and VR celebration. Based in Bristol, UK, the festival prioritises the showcasing, supporting and progression of new and emerging talent in the moving image. The 26th edition of the festival took place online due to the ongoing pandemic during September 2020. Rich began working for the festival in 2008 however during this time he has also had the opportunity to continue his support of new talent with roles such as the Talent Scout for the National Film and Television School, UK and a year in Sydney working with indigenous talent.