Film London’s Equal Access Network (EAN) is proud to announce the selected participants for the 2023 Breaking the Glass Ceiling programme, which launched this month in association with Bectu and with support from the Mayor of London.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling - led by programme co-founder and Executive Coach Jill Tandy and Rebecca Baker, Head of Film London’s Equal Access Network, with involvement from leading industry experts - will benefit twelve ethnically diverse outstanding mid-level professionals this year, who are committed to developing an inclusive leadership style.

Breaking The Glass Ceiling will not only help accelerate the career of the participants, but also provide them with the skills to support and develop others starting out in the industry, helping to retain crucial talent from entry and mid-level to senior and management roles. As well as being matched with their own leading industry mentor, each participant will also be paired with a new entrant mentee from Film London’s Equal Access Network.

The twelve selected participants for Breaking the Glass Ceiling are:

• Nathan Adabadze (Senior Investment Manager, Media Finance Capital)

• Maja Bodenstein (Screenwriter)

• Vicki Brown (Acquisitions, Sales and Distribution; Co-Founder of MilkTea Films)

• Jaya Campbell (Director of Development & Production, Searchlight Pictures)

• Helen Gladders (Producer, Gingerbread Pictures)

• Tejinder Jouhal (Director of Marketing & Distribution, HanWay Films)

• Gannesh Rajah (Producer)

• Tolu Stedford (Chief Executive Officer at Story Compound)

• Jenny Takahashi Stark (Screenwriter)

• Isaac Tomiczek (Writer/Director)

• Camilla Wren (Producer, Frolic Films)

• Georgie Yukiko Donovan (Producer/Director)

Khurrum M. Sultan, Director and previous Breaking the Glass Ceiling participant, said: “Navigating this industry can often be hard and lonely. During Breaking the Glass Ceiling I found likeminded people who shared similar experiences and for the first time I opened up. I have made lifelong friends, and been given much needed confidence. Anything is accomplishable and am excited about what the future holds.”

Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission, said: “I’m thrilled to announce this year’s Film London Breaking the Glass Ceiling cohort, who have been selected from such a high calibre of talent. Previous participants have gone on to win awards from BIFA, BAFTA and BFI, and secure new positions including Head of Development roles. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for this year’s participants. The cyclical nature of Breaking the Glass Ceiling both creates and sustains a long-term, positive effect on the industry, investing in the potential of future senior leaders of a dynamic and diverse creative workforce.”

The programme is supported by Working Title, Lee & Thompson, BBC Film and ITV and will comprise of group coaching, training, mentoring and networking from top industry speakers from across Film and TV, including:

Eva Yates Director of BBC Film, Farhana Bhula, Head of Creative, Film4, Tushar Jindal, Head of Content at Prime Video UK/IE at Amazon, Sara Putt, MD Sara Putt Associates/Chair of BAFTA, David Kosse, Kosse Company Global Film Producer, Former VP of International Film at Netflix,Jon Wardle Director Of The National Film and Television School, John McVay Chief Executive of PACT, Amanda Nevill CBE Advisor to Olsberg SPI, Former CEO of the BFI, Krishnendu Majumdar CBE Former Chair of BAFTA MD of Me+You Productions, Teresa Moneo, Director of Global Film, Netflix, Sarah Asante, Commissioning Editor, Scripted UKTV, Lia Devlin, Managing Director of Distribution, Altitude Film Distribution, Ben Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, British Film Institute

Speakers also include: Tim Bevan, co-chairman of Working Title Films, Nahrein Kemp, Creative Diversity Partner at ITV,Ade Rawcliffe, Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV, Annika Allen Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at All3Media, Saurabh Kakkar, Head of Comedy Development at Big Talk Productions, Waqas Ali, Head of HR, HRBP, EMEA, Productions at Netflix UK, Ian George, Managing Director at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Rico Johnson-Sinclair, Inclusion Consultant, Writer and Film Programmer with a focus in QTBIPOC Stories, Frances Trought, Founder of Everything D&I and more.

Jill Tandy, Programme Co-Founder and Executive Coach, said: "I particularly love the vibe at our Breaking the Glass Ceiling Leadership sessions. There is always a huge warm energy in the room, a great deal of curiosity and an openness to produce a different and inclusive way of doing things. Our participants will certainly go far and lead change.”