Meet the programming team for the 62nd BFI London Film Festival

Tricia Tuttle is Artistic Director for the BFI London Film Festival. She served as BFI’s Deputy Head of Festivals for five years working across LFF and the BFI Flare: LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Previously Film Programme Manager at BAFTA and Event Producer at The Script Factory, Tricia has also worked as a programmer, lecturer, writer and journalist.

Kate Taylor is the LFF’s Senior Film Programmer. Previously she has worked for the Independent Cinema Office (ICO), co-founded the London Short Film Festival, was Festival Director for Abandon Normal Devices, and co-curated Project: New Cinephilia.

Michael Blyth is a Film Programmer for the LFF, with a specific focus on the Cult strand. He is also Senior Programmer for BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival. A devoted horror fanatic, Michael has recently published his first book, on John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness.

Ana David is the LFF’s lead Documentary Programmer, as well as a shorts programmer at IndieLisboa and a member of the advisory board at Berlinale Panorama. She has previously worked at Queer Lisboa, Festival Scope and Portugal Film.

Manish Agarwal is the LFF’s Assistant Programmer, leading on submissions viewing and coordination. He also works for Overnight Film Festival and previously held roles at Birds Eye View, East End Film Festival, The Quietus and Secretly Group, among others.

Geoff Andrew has been an LFF Programme Advisor and BFI Southbank Programmer since 1999. He has written extensively on film in numerous books, for Sight & Sound, Time Out and elsewhere.

Robin Baker is the Head Curator for the BFI National Archive and a co-Advisor of the LFF’s Treasures from the Archive strand. He has worked in film for over 25 years across exhibition, distribution, marketing and archiving.

Christine Bardsley is a documentary Programme Advisor for the LFF. Christine works as a Film Programme Manager at the British Council where she leads on their international film work in documentary.

Stuart Brown is a Programme Advisor for the LFF Create strand with a specialisation in music films. He was appointed BFI Head of Programme & Acquisitions in 2015, and was previously Head of Events at BFI Southbank.

Benjamin Cook is a Programme Advisor for the LFF Experimenta strand. He is also the Founder Director of LUX, the UK agency for the support and promotion of artists working with the moving image.

Helen de Witt is a Programme Advisor for the Experimenta strand. She is a curator and lecturer in Film Studies at Birkbeck and University of the Arts London. Helen was previously Head of Cinemas at the BFI.

Maria Delgado is a Programme Advisor on Spanish and Latin American cinema for the LFF. She is an academic, critic and curator, working for the BFI and ICA among others.

Jemma Desai is a Programme Advisor for the LFF’s Journey strand. Previously Programmer at the ICO, Jemma now looks after film programmes in Sub Saharan Africa and the Middle East & North Africa at the British Council. She is the founder of the screenings series I am Dora.

William Fowler is a Programme Advisor for the LFF’s Experimenta strand. He is Curator of Artists’ Moving Image at the BFI National Archive and his latest film restoration project, This Is Now: Film and Video After Punk, is currently touring internationally through LUX.

Juliane Grieb is a Programme Advisor for the LFF’s German-language selection. She has worked in the German film industry for many years and was part of Berlinale’s competition team before joining BFI in 2013.

Peter Hames is a Programme Advisor for Eastern Europe and Russia for the LFF. Books he has written include The Cinema of Central Europe, The Czechoslovak New Wave and The Cinema of Jan Svankmajer.

Philip Ilson is the LFF’s Senior Short Film Advisor. He is also the Artistic Director of the London Short Film Festival, which he co-founded in 2004, and has previously worked as a programmer at the East End, Cork and Branchage Film Festivals as well as Curzon Soho Cinema.

Ali Jaafar is a Programme Advisor for LFF for films from the MENA region. He is Senior Manager of content at O3 Productions, responsible for international projects. Ali is also Executive Director of Mezza Terra Media, with producing credits including Hany Abu-Assad’s award-winning feature The Idol.

Justin Johnson is a Programme Advisor for the LFF’s Family strand. He is also Lead Programmer for BFI Southbank and has been on juries for BAFTA and many international festivals.

Sarah Lutton is a Programme Advisor for the LFF’s Nordic selection, specialising in films from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Sarah has been contributing to LFF in a variety roles since 1998. She is also research and editorial consultant for the British Council Film Department.

Edward Lawrenson is a Programme Advisor for LFF’s Debate strand. He is a Senior Lecturer in Filmmaking at Kingston University, former deputy editor of Sight & Sound, and his own films have played at a number of festivals including Sundance and Locarno.

Julie Pearce is a co-Programmer of the Treasures from the Archive strand. She is currently Head of Distribution & Programme Operations at the BFI. Previously, Julie was Head of Programme Planning for BFI Southbank, Programmer at the BFI IMAX and a book and CD buyer for Virgin.

Tim Robey is a Programme Advisor for the LFF. He has written on film, and occasionally books, for the Daily Telegraph since 2000, and turns up on Radio 4’s Front Row, the Film Programme and Monocle FM Radio.

Jonathan Romney is a Programme Advisor for French cinema for the LFF. He writes for Film Comment, Sight & Sound, The Observer and others, and teaches at the NFTS.

Cary Rajinder Sawhney is a Programme Adviser for the LFF’s South Asian selection. He is also Executive & Programming Director of the London Indian Film Festival, a filmmaker and former Head of Diversity at the BFI.

Elhum Shakerifar is an LFF Programme Advisor for Iran and the MENA region. She is a BAFTA nominated producer (A Syrian Love Story; Even When I Fall) and recipient of the Women in Film and TV Factual Award 2017.

Keith Shiri is an LFF Programme Advisor for African cinema. He is an international film curator and a Visiting Research Fellow for the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM) University of Westminster.

Leigh Singer is a Programmer Advisor for the LFF’s Laugh strand. He is a freelance film journalist, programmer and video essayist for Sight & Sound, the BFI, Little White Lies, Fandor and other outlets.

Damon Wise is a Programmer Advisor for the LFF’s Thrill strand. A freelance film writer since 1987, his features, interviews and reviews have been published widely in various UK and US publications.

Adrian Wootton OBE is a Programme Advisor for the LFF’s Italian selection. He is the CEO of Film London and also programme advisor for the Venice Film Festival; Noir in Festival, Milan; and Curator of Cinema Made in Italy.

Amaya Bañuelos Marco is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF and also reviews shorts for the London Short Film Festival. She previously organised community screenings in Edinburgh and programmed shorts for local festivals.

Jason Barker is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF and is on the programming team for FilmBath Festival. Previously, he was a programmer for BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Jason is also a filmmaker and occasional actor.

Sophie Brown is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF. She is a programme advisor for Sheffield Doc/Fest, views documentaries for Sundance Film Festival and writes for Sight & Sound.

Elizabeth Frey is an Open Submissions Viewer for the LFF’s Experimenta strand and oversees the Artists’ Film section in the BFI Shop. She has also previously worked as the LFF’s Experimenta Project Coordinator.

Isabel Moir is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF. She is also a Film Programmer for both the ICO and Overnight Film Festival.

Lynn Nwokorie is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF. She is Doc Society Film Officer, overseeing funding of documentary film. She previously worked in programming and events for the BFI, Sheffield Doc/Fest and ICO among others.

Paul Ridd is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF. He is Acquisitions and Distribution Executive at Picturehouse Entertainment.

Derica Shields is an Open Submissions viewer for the LFF. She is a writer, researcher and programmer. She is the co-founder of The Future Weird, a now-defunct screening and discussion series and is currently writing a book and working on an oral history project.

Rowan Woods is an Open Submissions Viewer for the LFF. She also programmes for the East End Film Festival and Misc. Films and previously worked as a Development Executive at BBC Films.

Nellie Alston is a Programme Advisor for LFF’s Shorts Programme selection. She has previously worked for London Short Film Festival, East End, Film Africa and Chronic Youth festivals among others. She also co-runs TAPE film collective.

Aga Baranowska is a Programme Advisor for LFF’s Shorts Programme selection. She is Events Programmer at BFI Southbank, and looks after the film programme and distribution projects at the ICA. Aga is also a pre-selector for Sheffield Doc/Fest and Underwire Film Festival.

Aduke King is a Programme Advisor for LFF’s Shorts Programme selection. She has previously worked for the festival in 2017 as well as East End Film Festival, Underwire and London Short Film Festival.

Seán McGovern is a Programme Advisor for LFF’s Shorts Programme selection. He is a Programmer with Fringe! Queer Film and Arts Fest and the Cinema Museum, and previously worked on BFI Flare: LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Elaine Wong is a Programme Advisor for LFF’s Shorts Programme selection. She also previews for Sheffield Doc/Fest and Underwire. She has previously worked on London Short Film Festival, Raindance and Chinese Visual Festival.

Qila Gill is an Experimenta Associate for the LFF. Prior to this she curated experimental film events at Genesis Cinema.

Tendai John Mutambu is an Experimenta Associate for the LFF. He previously worked as assistant curator for the Govett Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre in New Zealand.