BFI NETWORK@LFF 2024 cohort

The annual flagship professional development programme, which runs as part of the BFI London Film Festival (LFF) in partnership with American Express, takes place on 10-14 October. Designed to support and inspire original and new voices, BFI NETWORK@LFF 2024 is focused on filmmakers with distinctive voices who are poised to make a significant impact in the film industry, and for the first time the programme includes a focused documentary strand.

Fifteen of the boldest and brightest early career filmmakers were selected based on the quality of their short form work to date and the debut feature projects they are currently developing. Their body of work sets them out as distinctive storytellers with fresh perspectives that have the potential to make an impact. In response to the increasing number of documentary-hybrid filmmakers, BFI NETWORK has partnered with Doc Society for this year’s event. This collaboration has supported outreach to applicants, overseeing shortlisting and helping shape the programme. The cohort is a great example of the exciting range of filmmaking styles and approaches within the emerging UK screen industry.  

With support from the BFI and National Lottery, BFI NETWORK@LFF will support the next step in their careers with a four-day event featuring masterclasses, screenings and networking with industry professionals. With a view to inspire the cohort, the programme also offers an opportunity to foster new industry connections and utilise the knowledge and experience gained from the programme to further develop their feature projects.  
 

Adam Knopf | Producer | Wales

Since 2019, Adam has produced The One (Netflix), War of the Worlds series 2 & 3 (Canal+/Fox) The Lazarus Project (Sky) all for Urban Myth Films, The Pact series 2 (BBC/Lionsgate) for Little Door Productions and last year produced Lost Boys and Fairies (BBC) for Duck Soup Films. As an executive producer at Riot Time Pictures, he aims to develop and produce distinctive Welsh and Zimbabwean stories with international appeal. 

Akaash Meeda | Writer-director | North

Akaash has directed a variety of work across television, theatre and film. His second unit directing work on High-End TV tiles including A Discovery of Witches, Catherine The Great and Behind Her Eyes, became his launchpad into the world of TV directing. Since then, he has directed on a range of shows, from sci-fi thriller The Lazarus Project to comedies Man Like Mobeen and G’Wed. Recently he won a BAFTA for BBC iPlayer short Mobility. 

Akwasi Poku | Writer-director | London

Akwasi Poku is a writer and director from south London, known for directing short films and commercials for brands like FIFA, Apple and Netflix. Formerly a creative at W+K London and Media Arts Lab, Akwasi blends his deep advertising experience with storytelling to capture contemporary, culturally resonant narratives. His debut short film, Lock Off, was released in 70 Odeon Cinemas by We Are Parable and selected for international festivals including Aesthetica and Pan African Film Festival. He was also a Second Unit Director on The Kitchen (Netflix, Film 4) and Black Ops (BBC Studios), and a Director’s Mentee on Series 6 of Black Mirror. His latest short, The Therapist, premiered at Curzon Hoxton with WePresent and Minute Shorts, exploring young black men’s mental health and the restorative powers of their barbers. 

Amelia Sears | Writer-director | South East

Amelia Sears is an award-winning writer-director with a focus on female experience and feminist subject matter. She has worked as a theatre director for over 15 years all around the world, and as an associate/staff director at The National Theatre, The Donmar and The Royal Court. She is also associate director of SEARED productions. In 2021 Amelia wrote and directed Three her first award-winning short film. The following year she made Ceres starring Juliet Stevenson which has also won multiple awards. A feature of the same story is now in development with Candle and Bell Productions. 

Callum Harrison | Producer | Northern Ireland

Callum Harrison is a Producer who has worked across production and development. He has produced six short films which have been screened on platforms such as BBC and Channel 4. Callum has to date mainly focused on the queer and genre spaces. His film Homebird won Best Debut Irish Short at Galway Film Fleadh and the Norman Huston award at Capital Irish Film Festival in Washington. He has a number of projects in development and is currently working towards his first feature Our House, a drama-thriller focusing on a dysfunctional family fighting over their inheritance at their mother’s wake. 

Cassiah Joski-Jethi | Writer-director | Midlands

Cassiah Joski-Jethi is an award-winning mixed British and Indian writer-director based in the Midlands represented by Independent Talent, with her recent award-winning shorts funded by BBC Studios and BFI NETWORK. She is currently developing her debut feature films, including one in development with the BFI. Cassiah is a member of BAFTA Connects and was recently a trainee director on Apple TV’s ‘Hijack’. She also runs a film podcast called ‘One of Us Is A Filmmaker’ and runs independent workshops on filmmaking and screenwriting. 

Charlie Dennis | Writer-director | London

Charlie Dennis is a writer-director hailing from the West Midlands. His work is influenced from real life, and whilst striving to represent unheard voices on screen, he prefers to reimagine reality within genre. His dystopian Deaf-led BBC short film Silent World was subsequently picked up as a TV series which deals with accessibility in a hostile new world. Balancing the board between directing narrative and commercial, he’s been nominated for awards internationally at qualifying festivals for BAFTA, BIFA and Academy Awards, and had the opportunity to direct second unit on a Sky TV series. 

Charlotte Hailstone | Producer | Scotland

Charlotte Hailstone is a Scottish producer, who set up Hailstone Films to produce films for cinema, with a focus on working closely with author/directors and international co-operation. She is a long-time collaborator of Victor Kossakovsky’s, working on the Oscar shortlisted films Aquarela, Gunda and most recently as co-producer of Architecton, which premiered in competition at Berlinale 2024. She produced Born in Damascus by Laura Wadha, which won the Crystal Bear at Berlinale 2022 and is featured on the Guardian Documentaries, and A Border Between Us by Riad Arfin. Charlotte is one of Ji.hlava IDFF’s Emerging Producers 2022. 

Elizabeth Rufai | Producer | London

Elizabeth is a BAFTA-winning producer and co-founder of Carbon Pictures, focused on distinct cross-cultural narratives for film and TV. With a range of experience spanning film distribution, commercials, and shorts, Elizabeth is also a graduate of the National Film and Television School’s renowned Producing MA. Her NFTS graduate film Jellyfish and Lobster, (BAFTA British Short Film winner) is currently in development as Afifi’s debut feature backed by BBC Film. Influenced by her British-Nigerian heritage and upbringing in the dynamic cities of London and Lagos, she is drawn to bold and distinctive interpretations of cultural identity, hidden pasts and speculative futures. 

Hollie Bryan | Producer | North

Hollie’s debut feature as producer, The Ceremony had its world premiere in competition at Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 2024. Before that she was Associate Producer on Ken Loach’s The Old Oak with Rebecca O’Brien at Sixteen Films. Hollie was producer on short documentary Hanging On funded by BFI Doc Society which premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest and Toronto International Film Festival in 2021, going on to win multiple awards. She has since produced several short films, including Predators which premiered at BFI London Film Festival in 2023 and was nominated for a Critics Circle Award this year. 

Julia Alcamo | Director | South East

Julia is a multi-disciplinary documentary director who has directed and shot short films for Channel 4, Al Jazeera, National Geographic and supported by the Doc Society. Her films have been nominated and screened at international film festivals, including Doc NYC, Mardi Gras Film Festival Australia and Lake Tahoe International Film Festival. Telling the story of queer legends and homophobia in old age, Ted & Noel won the Iris Audience Award 2023 and has been shortlisted for the Griersons 2024. Her background is working as a series producer for Sky History and BBC World. 

Liam White | Writer-director | North

Liam White is a writer-director from Manchester. His previous short Punch-Drunk was BAFTA longlisted in 2022. A feature version is in development with Escape Plan (Saint Maud, Love Lies Bleeding). His most recent short Housewarming is currently on the festival circuit and just won Best UK Short at Raindance. Liam didn’t go to film school and has paid the bills for the last 12 years as a science teacher, often for young offenders and children with social, emotional and mental health needs, who get violent when in distress. 

Noemie Nakai | Writer-director | London

Noemie is a Japanese and French writer-director, whose short films were shown in numerous festivals, including Sundance, Hot Docs, Short Shorts Asia to name a few, and were acquired by The New York Times and Film Movement for distribution. She has been selected for the Sundance / NHK lab, the Berlinale-ran Talents Tokyo, Filmonomics, Torino’s Next TV Series lab, and has been a BAFTA Connect member for the third year in a row. Her feature in development received the main award at Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market and placed in the top 50 at the Nicholl’s. 

Onyeka Igwe | Director | London

Onyeka Igwe is an artist, filmmaker and writer. Her shorts have screened at festivals including New York, London, Rotterdam, Open City Docs, Media City, Berwick and Third Horizon. She has had recent shows at MoMA PS1, Bonington Gallery, High Line and Mercer Union. In 2024, she is representing Nigeria in the group exhibition at the 60th Venice Biennale. Onyeka was awarded the New Cinema Award at Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival 2019, 2020 Arts Foundation Fellowship in Experimental Short Film, 2021 Foundwork Artist Prize and was nominated for the Jarman Award and Max Mara Artist Prize for Women. 

Sam Dawe | Writer-director | South West

Sam Dawe is an award-winning filmmaker based in Bristol, who’s currently developing a diverse slate of feature and TV scripts. His films have played at many festivals including the BFI London Film Festival, Aesthetica, Encounters, Leeds Film Festival. His 2020 horror short film Hungry Joe was nominated for a London Critics’ Circle Award and competed for the Méliès D’or at 2021’s Sitges Film Festival. It was also selected to screen on the prestigious ‘Short of the Week’ platform and the feature version was later selected for early development by the BFI. Last year, he wrote and directed the BFI-funded psychological thriller, Distressing Images.