2014 BAFTA Breakthrough Brits, in partnership with Burberry Jonathan Asser - Writer Jonathan Asser, 50, grew up in Tadmarton, Oxfordshire and now lives in Camden, north London. His first ever script became 2013’s powerful and visceral prison drama Starred Up. For the film, Asser was named Best British Newcomer award at the 2013 BFI London Film Festival and was nominated in Best Screenplay category at the British Independent Film Awards. The film drew on Asser’s own experience of working as a psychotherapist within the prison system, where he developed a new therapeutic way to help violent criminals called Shame/Violence Intervention. Asser said: “I feel proud to have been named as a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. It feels like an honour and it’s also humbling to be associated with such a talented group of much younger people. It means a lot to me and to my future.” Mike Brett & Steve Jamison - Producer/Directors Mike Brett, 33, grew up in Haywards Heath, Sussex and now lives in Tufnell Park, north London. Steve Jamison, 33, grew up in Saddleworth, Greater Manchester and now lives in Hackney, east London. Brett and Jamison have taken a circuitous route into filmmaking, with past careers between them including teaching, journalism, advertising agency scriptwriting, and as an artist. In 2008 they set up their production company, Archer’s Mark. Their debut documentary feature, Next Goal Wins, about the American Samoan soccer team, reportedly the worst football team in the world, was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. As well as directing their own films, both factual and fictional, Brett and Jamison are also keen to support other new filmmakers with the production and release of their features. The duo were executive producers on The War Book, featuring a heavy-weight cast including Sophie Okonedo, Antony Sher and Kerry Fox, which screened at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. Brett said: “I suppose the word ‘breakthrough’ sums up the intense excitement of being selected by BAFTA for this scheme, because it reminds us that we’ve only just started to gain recognition in the industry, and now have an unparalleled opportunity over the next twelve months to really establish our creative voice, and determine the shape of our long-term careers. Cinema is such a collaborative art, so having the BAFTA seal approval in this way will hopefully help us as we continue to connect with other filmmakers we admire, and develop those deep and long-lasting creative relationships that ultimately help everyone create their best possible work.” Jamison said: “The BAFTA acronym is something every young British filmmaker is inspired by and aspires to, so to be recognised by the Academy in this way and named as a Breakthrough Brit for 2014 is a huge honour. Our debut feature Next Goal Wins was an extremely educational experience and we’re already looking forward to applying the lessons we learned on our next project as directors. So to have BAFTA’s support as we continue our development is a big boost and I’m sure it will have a significant impact on films we make in the future.” Charu Desodt - Games producer Charu Desodt, 38, is from west London; she grew up in Hammersmith and now lives in Acton. Having initially pursued a career in finance, Desodt retrained as an engineer for the games industry. She was the first female engineer hired by Sony’s London Studio, where she was instrumental in creating the technology behind the hugely successful SingStar franchise, before 1 becoming a producer on Wonderbook: Book of Spells, developed in conjunction with JK Rowling, which was nominated for a BAFTA in Game Innovation in 2013. Now a Senior Producer at Microsoft’s Lift London studio, Desodt helps create character-centric tablet and mobile games, adding to a credit list already totalling almost 80 games, including recent puzzler Secrets and Treasure: The Lost Cities. Desodt said: “Being selected as a Breakthrough Brit feels incredible. It is peer recognition for both the games I’ve made and in my potential. The thought that this is from BAFTA, an organisation that I admire greatly, spurs me on to be more ambitious in what I want to achieve … Britain excels in film, TV and games and I’m looking forward to connecting with and learning from visionaries to share ideas about the future of interactive entertainment. As games gain relevance and recognition, I want to collaborate across industries to explore their potential … Being named a Breakthrough Brit has made me reassess what I might be able to achieve and how I could help the industry evolve.” Destiny Ekaragha - Director Destiny Ekaragha, 32, was born and still lives in south-east London. Ekaragha worked as a PA, a runner, in a cinema and as a sales person before her first taste of success with the short film Tight Jeans, which was voted best short at the London Film Festival by The Observer in 2008. Her debut feature film Gone Too Far!, which is out this October, is only the fourth British film directed by a black woman to be released in cinemas. The film is adapted from Bola Agbaje’s stage play and focuses on the nature of identity and ethnicity in modern multicultural London. In 2013, Ekaragha was nominated for Best British Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival, and won the Emerging Talent award at the Screen Nation Awards. Gone Too Far! picked up further awards at the London Comedy Film Festival and Screen Nation Awards in 2014. Ekaragha currently has a number of features in development, including a second with funding from the BFI. Ekaragha said: “Being named a Breakthrough Brit feels amazing, I’m truly honoured to be a part of. I think that this will give me that extra push in the film industry because of the influential people that it will hopefully put me in touch with. It’s all very exciting!” Daniel Gray - Games producer Daniel Gray, 29, grew up in Glossop, Derbyshire and now lives in Haringey, north London. Gray began his career in games at Lionhead Studios, working on the acclaimed Fable II and Fable III, before becoming a a producer at Hello Games, where he helped bring the racing platformer Joe Danger to the market. He is currently Executive Producer at digital product studio Ustwo, where he produced the innovative Apple Design Award-winning mobile game Monument Valley. On being named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, Gray said: “In all honesty it's the best thing that's ever happened to me, I'm used to all the attention being on the game itself so this is all a little bit surreal at the moment. It sounds a little cheesy, but my aim's been to redefine the way people look at interactive entertainment and the kind of doors that will open with the support of BAFTA will hopefully make this lofty dream a reality.” Tandis Jenhudson - Composer Tandis Jenhudson, 34, grew up in Clapham, south London and now lives in Finchley, north London. 2 Jenhudson entered the industry through a non-traditional route; born in London to an Iranian bank clerk and a carpenter from Thailand, he showed an interest in music at a young age, studying piano throughout his childhood, but ultimately opted to study medicine at University College London. Jenhudson composed his first soundtrack for a short film in the same year that he graduated to become a hospital doctor in 2004. Still working part-time as a doctor, Jenhudson has created soundtracks for 19 short films to date, including one which was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru award in 2005, and received his first television broadcast credit for the BBC’s documentary Martin Luther King and the March on Washington, which received a BAFTA nomination at this year’s Television Awards. Jenhudson said: “I’m overwhelmed and honoured to have been selected from a pool of such talented individuals. It’s incredibly encouraging to know that BAFTA believes in my work. I will draw inspiration and confidence from this recognition.” Ashley Kendall - Presenter Ashley Kendall, 19, grew up in Thirsk, North Yorkshire and Derby, Derbyshire and now lives in Catford, south-east London. Presenter Kendall started performing while attending the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby. After presenting a British Sign Language (BSL) programme when he was 16, Kendall landed a job at Remark!, the UK’s largest Deaf run media production company. He was soon appearing on the Community Channel’s Punk Chef and Let’s Go Wild, CBBC’s My Life: Signing Off, the BBC’s See Hear and fronting CBeebies’ ground-breaking Magic Hands, which uses a mix of sign language, spoken word, music and animation to bring poems to life. It is the first time that poetry has ever been translated into BSL and Kendall has been at the heart of the work. Kendall said of his BAFTA Breakthrough Brit honour: “I am absolutely over the moon!! To be officially recognised by the mainstream industry is a huge privilege. It means I can show disabled people everywhere that they too can achieve their professional dreams, like becoming a presenter … I’d like to break down the barriers and encourage employers to employ disabled people.” Katie Leung - Actress Katie Leung, 27, grew up in Motherwell, Lanarkshire and now lives in Glasgow. She made her film debut in 2005 in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Harry Potter’s first love interest Cho Chang, and reprised the role in the subsequent films in the series. Since then she has taken on parts in television and theatre, including ITV’s Poirot, the BBC’s Father Brown and Wild Swans in Boston and at the Young Vic theatre in London.