FEATURE NARRATIVES
JIMMY AKINGBOLA
Jimmy Akingbola leads the cast alongside Brenda Blethyn in Kate & Koji (2020), a six-part comedy series from ITV. He was also seen in Most Dangerous Game (2020) for Quibi in which he featured alongside Liam Hemsworth and Christopher Waltz.
Next, Jimmy will take a key role in Ted Lasso (2020) for Apple TV+, a new comedy series starring Jason Sudekis and will reprise his role of Valentine in the third series of In the Long Run (2018) which was created by and starred Idris Elba. His previous television includes BAFTA Award-Winning Comedy Rev. (2010). (BBC2) which also starred Olivia Colman and Tom Hollander, Arrow (2012) (CW) in which he played the arch-villain Baron Reiter, Cheat (2019) (ITV).
Additionally he has set up Triforce Creative Network, which has multiple initiatives such as TriForce Short Film Festival, WriterSlam UK, and MonologueSlam UK that help to provide opportunities to discover diverse talent including actors, writers, directors and producers. Some of these initiatives have been supported by Spotlight, Equity, Channel 4. C21
KENNY DOUGHTY
Doughty was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Doughty plays DS Aiden Healy opposite Brenda Blethyn in ITV’s Vera.[1]
Doughty is also an accomplished theatre actor and completed a UK tour of Simon Beaufoy’s stage play The Full Monty in 2013. The play, in which Doughty played Gaz,[2] was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2014.
JEROME BLAKE
After 20 years as a musician, Jerome made the transition to acting via modelling, TV commercials and the Actor’s Institute.
A speculative audition for Kennedy’s Children brought him to the attention of Emmy award winner, Charles Serio. After several years and numerous productions with The Serio Ensemble, he met and formed a continuing working relationship with director Craig McCall including award-winning projects for EMI Records and General Motors.
He broke into feature films with First Knight, appearing as a member of the royal guard to Sean Connery’s King Arthur. Next came The Fifth Element which heralded the start of a long involvement with creature-effects work which would later include all three of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (The Phantom Menace, Attack Of the Clones and Revenge Of The Sith) and the feature film version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
His most recent theatre work was appearing as Chief Bromden opposite Christian Slater’s R.P. McMurphy.
His latest project is the interactive movie console game The Bunker.
LUBA BALAGOVA
Luba Balagova, a Russian born Award-Winning Poet (Ten published books in Russia, US, Europe and the Middle East), Screenwriter, film producer who founded both the Sochi International Film Festival and Awards IRIDA, (SIFFA) in 2016 in Russia and the Sochi Film Awards, (SIFFA UK) in 2017 in the UK (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Сочинский_международный_кинофестиваль_и_кинопремии).
Education:
Graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Lomonosov Moscow State University with a degree in Literary Edition and Journalism.
Received in 1994 the degree of “candidate of sciences” (PhD) at the Moscow National Institute of Educational problems in RF.
In the same year in parallel studied film critics with professor Kirill Razlogov at the Institute of Culturology.
Received in 2010 the PhD degree on Circassian Emigrant literature from the A.M. Gorki Institute of World Literature (IMLI).
Affiliations:
Member of the Writers’ Union of Russia since 2003,
Member of the Circassian International Academy of Sciences of Russia (AMAN) since 2000;
Winner of the International Young Writers Awards in Nalchik, KBR in 1998;
Winner of the screenplay Award of “Litodrama” for the novel in Verse “The Empress” in Moscow, Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in 2012;
Diploma for Global Support of Culture for year 2013, London, UK (Svetova Unie Kultury World Union of Culture).
Winner of the “Producer of the Year” Award at Monaco Angel Film Awards – Monaco Film Festival, 2010
Winner of the “Best Drama” & “Best Independent Spirit” screenplay Awards at The International Festival – Angel Film Awards –Monaco Film Festival, 2015
These awards have been featured in the British MovieScope Magazine (2015).
Received a National Poet Lermontov Medal, at her native Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia, 2014
The President of the Republic of Adygea awarded Luba Balagova the title of Honored Art Representative of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Adygea for her contribution to culture in 2016.
In the role of a film director, Luba Balagova’s first short film, I RAN AWAY, based on her Award-winning script received the Sylvia Anderson Awards for Best Short Film at Pinewood studios, UK (2019).
In the role of film producer Luba Balagova shot three feature films: Cherkess, 2010 (10 International Awards), Lost in the Mountains, 2012 ( 3 International Awards), Love on Facebook (2012) (3 International Awards).
FIRST TIME FEATURE DIRECTOR
BRENDA BLETHYN
Brenda Anne Blethyn is an English known for her portrayals of working-class women with eccentric qualities. She is the recipient of several accolades, including one Golden Globe, one BAFTA, one Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and two Academy Award nominations.
Blethyn pursued an administrative career before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting in her late 20s. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and gained attention for her performances in Troilus and Cressida (1976), Mysteries (1979), Steaming (1981), and Benefactors (1984), receiving an Olivier nomination for the latter.
In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh‘s Grown-Ups. She later won leading roles on the short-run sitcoms Chance in a Million (1984–86) and The Labours of Erica (1989–90). She made her big-screen debut with a small role in Nicolas Roeg‘s 1990 film adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s The Witches. She experienced a major career breakthrough with her leading role in Mike Leigh‘s 1996 drama Secrets & Lies, for which she received multiple awards, including Best Actress at Cannes, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award nomination. She earned her second Academy Award nomination two years later, for her performance in Little Voice (1998).
Blethyn has since appeared in a range of big-budget and independent features, including Girls’ Night, Music from Another Room, Night Train (all 1998), Saving Grace (2000), Lovely and Amazing (2001), Pumpkin, Sonny, Plots with a View (all 2002), Beyond the Sea, A Way of Life (both 2004), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Clubland, and Atonement (both 2007). In addition, she has continued to appear frequently on television, in productions such as Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) and War and Peace (2007). Since 2011, she has played the title role of DCI Vera Stanhope in the British crime drama series Vera and more recently Kate in ITV sitcom Kate & Koji
Brenda is also Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival’s Patron
FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES
NICK BROOMFIELD
Nick Broomfield studied Law at Cardiff, and Political Science at Essex University. He then went on to study Film at the National Film School, under Professor Colin Young.
Nick first got interested aged 15 when discovering his love for photography on a foreign exchange visit in France. “A great way to strike up conversations, and a great excuse to ask questions about the World around you”. He made his first film WHO CARES about Slum Clearance in Liverpool, while at University, by borrowing a wind up Bolex camera, and shooting it on short ends.
Professor Colin Young at the NFS had a great influence on his work encouraging participant observation, as well as introducing him to the lovely and most talented Joan Churchill. Together Joan and Nick made several films, JUVENILE LIAISON, TATTOOED TEARS, SOLDIER GIRLS, LILY TOMLIN and more recently AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER. They also have a son together.
Nick was originally influenced by the observational style of Fred Wiseman,and Robert Leacock and Pennebaker, before moving on largely by accident to the more idiosyncratic style for which he is better known. While making DRIVING ME CRAZY in 1988, a film hopelessly out of control, Nick decided to place himself and the producer of the film in the story, as a way of making sense of the event.
This experiment led to a sense of greater freedom, from the confines of observational cinema, and led to a more investigative and experimental type of filmmaking. ie THE LEADER THE DRIVER, AILEEN WURNOS, KURT AND COURTNEY, BIGGIE AND TUPAC.
Nick Broomfield is the recipient of the following awards amongst others:
Sundance first prize, British Academy Award, Prix Italia, Dupont Peabody Award, Grierson Award, Hague Peace Prize, Amnesty International Doen award
SHORT NARRATIVES
LISA SCOTT GORDON
After travelling from her native Minnesota via bob-sled, Lisa Scott Gordon was awarded her Master’s degree in film at UCLA, earning the Sloan Fellowship in Screenwriting during her last year of attendance. Since then she has worked in many aspects of the film industry including distribution, production, sales and marketing.
She divides her time between commissioned writing and production, with several projects either in filming or in development, and other work already on screen. She has produced with the International Emerging Film Talent Association, maintaining her keen interest in emerging filmmakers and documentary film.
She is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Music and Media at the University of Surrey, teaching the art of visual storytelling in the university’s BSc(Hons) course in Film and Video Production.
JOHN WARBURTON
John Warburton has been professionally involved with the broadcasting and recording industries since 1982. After graduating as a Tonmeister from the University of Surrey he produced and presented for BBC radio around England, developing classical music and arts programmes along with producing many outside broadcasts. He later was on the production team for many network television programmes including the BBC series of music performances, “21st Century Bach”. More recent television projects include a complete restoration of Ken Russell’s classic film “Elgar — Portrait of a Composer” as well as filming and radio production for the British Council’s “World Voice” project.
Since October 2017, John Warburton has been a freelance newscaster for commercial radio, on air every weekday on the More Radio network throughout Sussex on FM and DAB.
Additionally, he is on the staff of the University of Surrey as an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Music and Media, giving weekly timetabled classes in film and video production.
As a record producer, he co-produced the Gramophone award winning Complete Keyboard Works of William Byrd for Hyperion Records, produced the first recording of Edward Elgar’s piano music on the composer’s own instrument, and has produced countless classical music programmes for the BBC. He is a published composer and classical pianist, and his music was featured by Het Metropole Orkest in their campaign that was awarded the Golden Lion in Cannes in 2013, a Webby Award and ten other prizes.
MARK VALLLEY
He is an actor and producer, known for Boston Legal (2004), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013) and Human Target (2010).
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
PETER FERRIS
In 2019 Peter was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for “World Peace Relations Through Education and the Arts” at the AFI World Peace Initiative held at the Cannes Film Festival and Presented with an Award for “World Peace Relations through Education and the Arts” at the Sochi Film Festival in Russia
SHORT ANIMATIONS
DEE ANDERSON
Dee Anderson is the daughter of legendary Gerry and Sylvia Anderson – creators of Thunderbirds.
Dee was trained in Performing Arts and went on to take part
in film, theatre and television productions as an actress and singer. She has just performed at the legendary Pheasantry in London’s Kings Road, with her band featuring the fabulous jazz pianist Isaac Asumadu.
Dee is also an established writer and publisher and launched Glotime.tv which has attracted huge coverage in all areas of media including the BBC, Metro and The Times.
Dee is also on the Board of Directors of the Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival.
MUSIC VIDEOS
BRUNO TILLEY
In 1980, after graduating from St Martins School of Art, BrunoTilley was recruited by Island Records as an in-house designer. He quickly rose through the ranks ending up as creative director with a seat on Island’s board of directors.
Working closely with Chris Blackwell, Bruno set up the first record company in-house art / video department called Island Art. Bruno directed his creative team, creating award winning campaigns for top artists like U2, Bob Marley, Steve Winwood, the B52’s, Robert Palmer, Grace Jones, Kid Creole, Mica Paris, Eric B & Rakim and many many more.
His directorial debut was the video for Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier”.
During his ten years at Island Bruno got to work a diverse range of artists, designers, photographers, film makers hair, make up, set designers, clothes designers, basically some of the best in the business.
In 1990, Bruno left Island to set up Mainline Productions with producer Tracey Josephs (Film4) where he continued his work for Blackwell’s Manga films as creative director. During this time also directed a stream of commercials, videos, EPK’s for Telstar Records, Go Discs, Universal TV, Island, Virgin, EMI and WEA records.
Bruno also became consultant Creative Director ICA Films and Universal’s Hi-Life Records, creating brand identities and responsible for all their visual output.
Slave Productions – a CGI animation company hired Bruno as art director for 26 episodes of children’s series Spheriks commissioned by FIFA for the World cup 2002. During this period amongst a diversity of clients Bruno has produced films and graphics for Paramount Comedy Channel, Universal’s Pictures, Touchwood Films, Whitfield Street Studios, PWL, Sony/BMG Records and many more.
With a passion for film, Bruno has co-written several screenplays, three of which are based on his original story ideas.