In anticipation of today's reveal of the 2023 Film London Lodestars, we're looking back at some previous Lodestars who have continued to make great strides in their careers, reaching new heights both creatively and professionally. Read on below to find out what previous Film London Lodestars have been up to...

Starting off with the Artist Filmmaker category, Larry Achiampong, who was a Lodestar in 2022, released his debut film Wayfinder last year. In May 2023, Achiampong opened his first major solo exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead. The Wayfinder exhibition debuts the BAFTA-nominated film of the same name alongside photography, sculpture and immersive video game installations.

Artist filmmaker Jasmina Cibic (Lodestar 2021) went on to win the Film London Jarman Award 2021, with her The Gift gaining international recognition after premiering at BFI London Film Festival 2021.

Calvin Demba was named as a Film London Lodestar last year (2022), and has since starred in Amazon Prime's The Rig about a group of Scottish workers on a remote oil rig that is gripped by supernatural forces. Demba's career is set to go from strength to strength as he's been cast in To The Girl I Once Knew from writer-director Ludovica Musumeci, as well as Supacell, an exciting new superhero series set in South London created by Rapman.

We're also delighted that Lodestar 2021 Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut How to Have Sex featured at the Festival de Cannes 2023, winning the top prize in the Un Certain Regard selection! The film follows a group of teens on a party-fuelled holiday to Crete where the flashy neon lights of the island's nightclubs suddenly turn dark after a chilling turn of events. This exciting debut feature is definitely one to look out for in cinemas over the next year.

Also Lodestars in 2021, Director Dionne Edwards and Producer Georgia Goggin’s debut feature Pretty Red Dress releases in UK cinemas this week (June 16) after premiering at BFI London Film Festival 2022. Pretty Red Dress features an acting debut from singer Alexandra Burke and introduces star performances from Natey Jones and Temilola Olatunbosun in a film that weaves music through an uplifting drama that handles themes of Black masculinity and family structures. We welcomed Dionne Edwards and Georgia Goggin at Film London's Creative Partnerships Day 2023, where Film London's Head of Talent Development and Production Jordan McGarry interviewed the star pair on their journey to Pretty Red Dress. Click here to read our overview of Creative Partnerships Day 2023 to find out more about the funding and production ofPretty Red Dressand go see the film in cinemas this week!

Marley Morrison and Michelle Antoniades (Lodestars 2020) also found great success through their debut feature Sweetheart, which won the Audience Award at the 2021 Glasgow International Film Festival, with Michelle winning Breakthrough Producer at the 2021 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) and Lodestar 2020 Nell Barlow winning Breakthrough Performance for her role.

Lodestar 2019 Koby Adom has gone on to direct episodes of BBC’s Noughts and Crosses and Netflix’s Top Boy. Koby’s production company DBK Studios has recently partnered with Sky Studios on a short film series titled Unearthed Narratives.

Another inspiring Lodestar from 2019 is Rubika Shah who won the Grierson Award at the BFI London Film Festival 2019 for her documentary White Riot, also receiving a Special Mention at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival (Crystal Bear nominated). Rubika was also named as a BAFTA Breakthrough in 2020 and is currently working on her second feature for BBC Film, A Saudi Tale.

Lodestar 2020 We Are Parable featured in Time Out Future Makers:50 Amazing People Changing Our World in 2021, whilst co-founder Anthony Andrews won the Arts and Media Senior Leader Award at the Black British Business Awards 2020. In March 2023, We Are Parable announced expansion plans to move into UK and international distribution.

Finally, onto the Games category, technology platform and content studio Flavourworks (Lodestars 2020) released interactive heist game Cuttlefish across iOS and Android earlier this year in partnership with Verizon, adding to their list of previous titles such as Erica and Hush.

App/Game developer and 2022 Lodestar Taiwo Omisore’s ‘1 Chance’ reached the top of the IOS App Store’s ‘’What We’re Playing’’ selection earlier this month after reaching 100,00 players. ‘1 Chance’, a collection of 14 cognitive test mini games, follows Omisore’s succesful App Store Game releases such as ‘The Number’ and ‘SpaceBots’.