MEET THE TEAM

Melanie Iredale

Director

Melanie (she/her) is a film curator, audience development strategist and cine-activist. Before joining the team in 2021, Melanie spent seven years as Deputy Director at Sheffield DocFest. She is a regular onstage interview host, speaker, and project mentor, with EP credits including ‘Rebel Dykes.’ Melanie is a full BAFTA member and has sat on a number of international festival juries including the Teddy Awards at Berlinale.

Flo Cartwright

Head of Campaigns

Flo (she/her) is a film marketing and events specialist with a decade of experience across the screen industries, higher education and non-profits. She has led marketing and fundraising initiatives at SOAS University of London, One World Media, and most recently at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), where she developed audiences for British independent cinema.

Ami Bhansali

Communications & Administration Coordinator

Ami (they/them) is a film, marketing and communications professional from Mumbai. They supported brand growth and engagement as the Communications Coordinator at Sheffield DocFest and led initiatives to make the creative industry more inclusive and accessible at Young Creators UK.

Tom Symmons

Data & Research Manager

Tom (he/him) has been with the charity since 2017 leading on research, data, statistical analysis and evaluation. After a music career in his twenties, Tom completed a PhD in Film History (‘The New Hollywood Historical Film 1967-78’) before going on to teach at the University of London.

Victoria Moore

Finance Officer

Victoria (she/her) has been working in the arts and culture sectors for the last 15 years, managing the finances for a variety of charities and non-profits within the visual arts, dance, theatre, digital and festivals. She has a BA in Art History, and an MA in the Visual Culture of Ancient Antiquity.

Oli Gots

Programme & Events Producer

Oli (she/her) is an experienced projects producer and curator with in-depth knowledge of film festivals, site-specific arts programming, and hybrid events. She has previously worked with the London Korean Film Festival, Austrian Cultural Forum, Human Rights Watch Film Festival & Sheffield Doc/Fest, and two Europa Cinema venues among others.

IMPACT PRODUCERS

We work with Impact Producers across the UK to de-centralise the curation and delivery of Reclaim The Frame, in recognition of our belief that impactful connections and outreach is best achieved through local relationships and lived experiences in the cities we work in.

Daljinder Johal

Midlands

Daljinder (she/her) is a producer, curator, marketer and writer in film, theatre and audio. She's passionate about making joyful and thought-provoking work often platforming underrepresented communities.

Eilidh Akilade

Scotland

Eilidh Akilade (she/her) is an arts worker and writer from and based in Glasgow. In recent years, she has worked with Glasgow Film Festival as a submissions viewer and she has chaired and appeared at events for organisations such as Africa in Motion, Take One Action, and We Are Parable. She is also currently Intersections Editor at The Skinny and her work can be found in publications such as MAP Magazine, Fringe of Colour Responses, and gal-dem, amongst others.

Emmanuella Morsi

South West

Emmanuella (she/they) is an award-winning multi-disciplinary creative, production manager and researcher. Nigerian-born and Bristol-raised, their former roles include Non-Exec Director of Rising Arts Agency, Film Production & Partnerships Manager of Enviral, and Bristol City Council’s Culture Board member. They predominantly use research and various mediums to amplify impact and innovate inclusive storytelling around climate, with grassroots and large-scale creative activations across Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, North and Latin America.

Olivia Thomas

Yorkshire

Olivia (she/her) is a proud Yorkshire trans woman, Olivia is an organiser and lead programmer of Leeds Queer Film Festival. She also programmes for Leeds International Film Festival and Bradford Queer Film Festival. Her film interests include British queer films and documentaries about protest and activism. Beyond programming she has a background as a production manager and coordinator, and as an advocate for trans people within and beyond the screen industries.

Rui Jin

South East

Rui (she/her) is committed to boosting access & participation of the historically excluded in all parts of the film industry chain. Rui works with the BFI FAN's New Release team as the freelance marketer in the South East and is also founder of Brighton Community Cinematheque.

Sammy Holden

North West

Sammy Holden (they/them) is a filmmaker, artist and film educator from Lancashire and Liverpool. As Impact Producer, they bring experience of programming, producing and promoting screenings and symposiums across the North West. They are currently completing a PhD in Film by Practice on support for non-binary and transgender people in film.

Sarah Gregory

Wales

Sarah (she/her) is a writer, TedxSpeaker, event organiser, campaigner and script doctor. She is passionate about finding platforms for unheard voices and inclusivity within filmmaking.

Tresca Mallon

Northern Ireland

Tresca (she/her) works in film curation and production in Belfast. She is especially interested in documentary filmmaking which expands the boundaries of form and perspective and is dedicated to curating events that contribute to communities that are often excluded being a part of shaping the city’s engagement with cinema.

TRUSTEES

Mariayah Kaderbhai

Mariayah Kaderbhai is a screen-sector strategist, producer and curator, and the former Head of Programmes at BAFTA. Across more than two decades she has produced and hosted hundreds of long-form, in-depth conversations with leading filmmakers and performers including Penélope Cruz, Olivia Colman, Nicole Kidman, Meera Syal, Riz Ahmed, Ryan Coogler and Spike Lee, and authored BAFTA’s social mobility report Invisible Barriers.

Holly Tarquini

Holly Tarquini is a producer, business coach and creative facilitator with a background in documentary and film exhibition. She worked as a producer director on documentaries for over a decade, ran Bath Film Festival for twelve years and founded the F-Rating in 2014 to champion women in film. Holly now works as a business coach, consultant and producer.

Yaw Basoah

Yaw Basoah (he/him) established Dark Pictures to produce bold, distinctive, and uncompromising work that explores the dark side of human nature, working across film, television, and the visual arts, with emerging, established, and world-renowned writers, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists, predominantly from underrepresented backgrounds.

Fozia O'Dowd (Treasurer)

Fozia (she/her) is an award-winning Producer, former Production Accountant, and founder of Public Display of Affection Films, an emerging Film and TV production company with projects in development with the BFI and Sky Drama across Film and TV. Fozia is an alumna of Reclaim The Frame's Filmonomics Programme.

Carine Hejazi

Carine (she/her) is the Investment Manager at Fourth Culture Films, where she is in charge of sourcing, evaluating, and pricing projects across film and TV. A lifelong cinephile, she spent 10 years in Capital Markets before attending the NFTS for her MA and switching careers to film. Hailing from a multi-cultural background, Carine is passionate about championing diverse voices.

Valeria Bullo (Chair)

Valeria Bullo (she/her) is an accomplished Production Wellbeing and Inclusion Consultant. As former Production Executive at Pathe Productions, Valeria worked on SELMA, SUFFRAGETTE and VICEROY’S HOUSE. During her tenure at the Film and TV Charity, she created the first-of-its-kind toolkit for mentally healthy productions as part of the Whole Picture programme.

Sophie Doherty

Sophie (she/her) is a theatrical film distribution & exhibition programming specialist in the UK & Ireland, now Heading of Theatrical Film for Signature Entertainment. She co-led the Walt Disney Company’s first official Pride group supporting staff and promoting diversity & inclusion in the public space and is alumni of the inaugural Filmonomics Future Leaders in Distribution and Inside Pictures 2017.

Sam Joly

Sam Joly is Head of Strategy at Industria Studios, building new partnerships and helping to produce their original slate of film and television. She previously ran marketing and publicity at See-Saw Films, where she was responsible for defining the global marketing and publicity vision across the company and its projects, sales arm Cross City Films, and production labels.

Rebecca del Tufo

Rebecca del Tufo (she/her) is a film producer, programmer and freelancer, whose work covers exhibition, distribution and production. Rebecca co-founded and co-runs ScreenCraft Works, a not-for-profit which supports under-represented production and post-production talent worldwide with cross-border mentoring, talks and networking, and is a trustee of Refugees at Home.

Stephanie Hayward

Stephanie (she/her) is a barrister with a decade's experience practising criminal law. As an organiser, Stephanie leads the Behind the Gown campaign - an organisation founded in 2017 by a group of barristers committed to tackling harassment and abuse of power at the Bar.