Daniel Battsek, Chair

Daniel Battsek has headed Film4 as Director since 2016, and has greenlit films including The Favourite, Saint Maud, Cold War, Peterloo, and The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Prior to this, Battsek served as President of New York based Cohen Media Group, a role he held for three years, overseeing the acquisition and release of arthouse/crossover releases including back-to-back Oscar® nominees Timbuktu and Mustang, as well as CMG’s development and production slate.

Prior to that he spent 2½ years at National Geographic Films, where as President he acquired projects for development and production including the Oscar® nominated documentary Restrepo, as well as National Geographic branded large screen and Imax 3D projects.

Battsek relocated from the UK to New York in 2005, where he served for five years as President, Filmed Entertainment at Miramax Films. Projects he greenlit and/or acquired there included Oscar® winners The Queen, No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood.

From 1991 to 2005, Battsek held the position of EVP and Managing Director, UK Distribution and European Production & Acquisitions at Buena Vista International, UK, where he oversaw all aspects of UK distribution for 18-25 releases per annum from Walt Disney Studios and their partners including Pixar and Miramax Films. At BVI, Battsek also set up a Comedy Production Label in 2001 which financed and produced three films, including Calendar Girls and Kinky Boots.

Prior to that, Battsek spent six years as Managing Director of Palace Pictures, where he was responsible for the acquisition and distribution of quality independent titles from around the world for release in the UK, and he also spent three years as a Sales & Marketing Executive for Hoyts Entertainment in Australia.

Geraldine Atlee

Geraldine Atlee is a qualified solicitor and currently heads up the Legal and Business Affairs team at BBC Films, where she oversees the business aspects of the strategy, development, production financing, sales and distribution of film projects. Previously, Geraldine spent 7 years at Channel 4, as Head of Legal & Business Affairs for Film4, Drama and Comedy. Over the course of her 25 year career in the film Industry, she has held similar roles at PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Universal Pictures International, and the UK Film Council, and has been involved in the financial structuring and legal deals for a huge catalogue of films ranging from Twelve Years a Slave to Horrible Histories.

Judith Chan

Judith Chan started her career as a financial consultant and became involved with the media sector as an investment banker in Los Angeles. She now has over 20 years of media financing experience, and is currently an Executive Director of Coutts & Co. Leading the film and television department, Chan oversees the development of new business opportunities in the media and entertainment sectors, specialising in structuring film and television lending transactions. An active ambassador for the bank, Judith represents at major national and international markets and festivals, and participating in expert industry panel. She is also a Trustee of Medicinema, The Artichoke Trust and the NFTS Foundation.

Eve Gabereau

Eve Gabereau is an award-winning film distributor and producer and the founder of Modern Films, focusing primarily on independent distribution. Founded in 2017, Modern Films now represent the rights to over 60 titles in their own library and over 100 with third-party partners, including narrative features, documentaries, essay films, TV series, event screenings, campaign consultancies and shorts programmes. Previously, Eve co-founded and ran the leading indie distribution company Soda Pictures for 15 years - representing over 350 acclaimed films and a strategic leader in their M&A with media group Thunderbird Entertainment. Eve has a background in journalism, cultural affairs and the tech sector, having by-lines in The Guardian, The Independent, Time Out and Sight & Sound; she has worked for various government agencies in Canada, US, Japan, China, France & Italy and headed up the channel division of a Silicon Valley start-up supported in part by Bill Gates. Eve has a BA in Political Science from McGill University, an MA in Communications and East Asian Studies, is an Inside Pictures alumni, a member of the British Screen Forum, Film Distributors Association and Europa Distribution and on the Board of ACE Producers. Eve is featured in the 2021 book The British Film Industry in 25 Careers: The Mavericks, Visionaries & Outsiders Who Shaped British Cinema (Bloomsbury Press).

John Graydon

John Graydon has been a leading industry advisor at Saffery Champness since 2012, providing specialist advice on film and television financing opportunities in the UK and Internationally. Boasting a tremendous portfolio of clients including Universal Studios, Disney, Lucas Film, 20th Century Fox, and Working Title, John has advised on titles such as Star Wars, Downton Abbey, Mr Selfridge, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The King’s Speech. In 2006 John was awarded the UK Production Guild External Merit Award for outstanding contribution to the British film industry, through his efforts in advising the UK government on the creation of the Film Tax Relief and introduction of the TV Tax Relief. John is also Deputy Chair of BFC Advisory Group and will become Chair of the Film London Finance and Audit Committee.

Jeff Jacobs

Jeff Jacobs joined the GLA in 2007 as a Senior Adviser to the Mayor of London. He then became Director of Transition after the May 2008 Election. He was subsequently appointed by the Mayor and London Assembly to be Chief Officer and has accumulated extensive experience in that role and as Executive Director and Greater London Returning Officer. Jeff was previously a Director General in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and led the Government Olympic Executive which helped win the London 2012 Olympic bid and progressed the delivery preparations. Jeff has also provided an outstanding and long-serving contribution to the Civil Service including as Principal Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, from the May 1997 General Election and as Director of Town and Country Planning.

Saurabh Kakkar

Saurabh Kakkar is a senior broadcast television executive, having been an Executive Producer at Big Talk since September 2014. In that time and his previous roles as Head of Development at BBC Comedy Productions and Creative Director of Comedy at ITV Studios, Saurabh has developed and produced an extensive and impressive portfolio including Defending The Guilty, Timewasters and The Goes Wrong Show. Saurabh has been on the board of Creative Access for six years, and Chair for the past two, overseeing the placement of over 1600 BAME candidates in the creative industries and working with hundreds of media partners.

Li MA

Li MA is a Principal at Tencent, a media and technology conglomerate, and helps cover international partnerships in the video game industry. Li also advises Ukie (the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment), the London Games Festival, BAFTA, and the National Video Games Museum.

He supports and produces indie films, especially those with a BAME angle. His is Co-Producer of Automat, released on Sky. He is also the Executive Producer of The Rubber Keyed Wonder – 40 Years Of The ZX Spectrum.

He has an extensive network in China and Asia and was an advisor to the TV series My Future, produced by China’s second-largest television channel, Hunan Broadcasting.

Bennett McGhee

BAFTA-nominated producer Bennett McGhee is Co-CEO and Co-founder of film and TV production company HOME TEAM, which launched in September 2020 with BAFTA-winning film & TV producer Dominic Buchanan (End of the F*%king World, Gimme The Loot).

Bennett produced MOGUL MOWGLI, co-written and directed by Bassam Tariq and starring Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated actor Riz Ahmed, with whom Tariq co-wrote the script. Bennett produced alongside Thomas Benski (Pulse Films), Riz Ahmed (Left Hand Films) and Michael Peay (Reframe). MOGUL launched internationally at the Berlin Film Festival 2020 winning the international Critics Award (FIPRESCI). The film was released in the UK by BFI Distribution in October 2020 and in the US by Strand Releasing, 2021. MOGUL picked up 7 BIFA nominations, winning Best Debut Screenplay and Best Music and was BAFTA-nominated for Outstanding British Film.

He is also an Executive Producer on writer/director Dionne Edwards (We Love Moses) directorial debut PRETTY RED DRESS, produced by Georgia Goggin / Teng Films. BBC, Film BFI, Sundance Institute and Great Point Media financed. The film had its world premiere at LFF 2020 to critical acclaim and resulted in the film being picked up for UK distribution by BFI Distribution.

Other credits include director Ed Lilly’s debut film, rap-battle drama VS., which launched at LLF 2018 and Altitude released theatrically in the UK. Netflix subsequently picked up all English-speaking rights; Ron Scalpello’s feature documentary BOBBY, about the sporting and cultural icon, Bobby
Moore. Entertainment One released the film theatrically in the UK.

Prior to Home Team, Bennett set-up Silvertown Films in 2015, and was a British Film Institute 2016 Vision Award awardee.

Prior to Silvertown, Bennett was an executive at Wildgaze Films where he worked on a number of film and TV projects including the multi Oscar- (including Best Picture) and BAFTA-nominated, AN EDUCATION starring Carey Mulligan in her breakout role; A LONG WAY DOWN based on Nick Hornby’s international best-seller starring Pierce Brosnan and Toni Collette; Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut QUARTET, from a script by Oscar-winner Ronald Harwood and Starring Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly and Tom Courtenay; and as Associate Producer, on multi Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning BROOKLYN starring Saoirse Ronan.

Oliver Meek

Oliver Meek is the Executive Director of the Rio cinema in Dalston and the Phoenix in East Finchley. After training as an actor at the Drama Centre, he began working as an usher at Screen on the Hill cinema, moving on to roles at Riverside Studios and within the newly expanding Everyman chain. In 2009 he became co-Director of Totleigh Barton, Arvon’s creative writing centre in Devon, where he worked with thousands of established and emerging writers. He joined the Rio in 2015 where he managed a successful fundraising campaign to build a second screen and fully renovate the exterior. Since then, the Rio has gone on to win two Screen Awards, including Best UK Cinema. Oliver lectures on fundraising for cinemas and has spoken at events for Europa Cinemas at Sofia Film Festival, CICAE at Venice Film Festival and Crowdfund London at City Hall. He has acted as an advisor for the Science Museum, VICE, BAFTA, the Lexi, the Castle and the Kiln Cinema. He is the chief consultant and co-creator of London’s newest independent, Act One cinema, which opened in the old library building in Acton last year.

Hamish Moseley

Hamish Moseley is Director of Distribution at Netflix, responsible for the theatrical distribution of their selected output throughout EMEA. Hamish previously spent 8 years at Altitude Film Distribution, which he launched and managed from 2013, swiftly established them as one of the most highly regarded independents in Europe. Under Hamish’s leadership, Altitude’s operations and output were guided by strong commercial and social principles and were notable for a host of critically acclaimed and commercial hits such as; Academy Award Best Picture winner, Moonlight, plus Rocks, Minari,Diego Maradona, A Prayer Before Dawn, David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet, The Florida Project, The Rider,Lady Macbeth, I Am Not Your Negro,My Scientology Movie, and Amy - the most successful British documentary release of all time.

Prior to Altitude Film Distribution, Hamish spent 10 years at UK distributor Momentum Pictures, joining in a junior sales role in 2003 and progressing to Senior Vice President of Theatrical Sales, releasing titles such as The Woman in Black, The Fighter and The King's Speech – the most successful independent British film of all time. Hamish also spent 6 years in cinema exhibition, working at Cineworld as a Projectionist/Senior Technician and Film Buyer.

Nicola Pearcey

Nicola Pearcey is President for UK and also overseas Strategy and Operations across EMEA. Nicola is responsible for the company’s strategy and its people across film, TV and all areas of business alongside CEO Zygi Kamasa. Nicola views the development, acquisition and distribution of content throughout the business being as vital as the people on board, both internally and externally. Nicola began her career at Johnson and Johnson, famed for its “people first” credo. She started her media career working in marketing on the James Bond franchise at MGM pictures, then enjoying predominantly sales led roles at Walt Disney (franchises including Pixar, Disney and Miramax) before moving to Lionsgate in 2006.

Dan Penfold

Dan Penfold has spent the last 15 years providing legal and strategic advice to companies in the media, technology and entertainment sectors. Having worked at Warner Bros. for the last decade in a number of roles, he currently leads the WB Games legal function for the EMEA territories. Dan has extensive experience in advising on all aspects of content production, distribution and marketing, from regulatory/policy considerations to complex software and IP licensing. Previously, Dan trained at Olswang (now CMS Law) and undertook secondments to Film4, Microsoft and Skype.

Lila Rawlings

Lila Rawlings is Head of Creative: Film and Television for Award-winning director Alfonson Cuarón’s London-based company Esperanto Filmoj. Previously, she was an Executive Producer at at Left Bank Pictures. Her work there included Sitting in Limbo, concerning the Windrush Scandal, Electric Dreams: a 10 part anthology series and Oasis a pilot. She has also worked as a freelance Script Consultant, advising and consulting for a number of financiers including British Film Institute, Scottish Screen, iFeatures and Film London as well as a variety of established producers and production companies. Previously Development Executive at Film4, Head of Development for Drama and Film at Century Films, and Head of Development at Dakota Films, Lila has worked on titles such as Steve McQueen’s Shame, Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, Dan Kokotajlo’s Apostasy, and Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant as well as producing for companies such as Amazon and Channel 4.

Frances Trought

Frances Trought has sixteen years of Higher Education experience and is the former Deputy Vice Principal (Student Talent Development) at Pearson College London and the Founder of Everything D & I Ltd, a platform providing a central hub for all Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Trought’s focus and passion lies within building bridges between industry and education to secure opportunities for students ranging from networking to paid employment. To this end Frances works with industry to develop live briefs for students to hone their skills. Frances is the author of 'Brilliant Employability Skills' (2017) and is currently working on a book focusing on Digital Skills.

Nicole Yip

Nicole Yip is a curator and writer with over 15 years’ experience working at the intersection of the visual arts and artists’ moving image sectors. She is currently Chief Curator of Exhibitions and Live Programmes at Nottingham Contemporary, one of the largest contemporary art centres in the UK. From 2016­ to 2019 she was Director of LUX Scotland, a national agency for the support and promotion of artists’ moving image practices in Scotland, and previously worked at LUX, London; Firstsite, Colchester; and ICA, London. She has been a contributor to frieze magazine, and served as a jury member for numerous international film festivals and arts awards, including chair of the annual Margaret Tait Award (2016–19).