Selection Committee
Cora Engelbrecht
Cora Engelbrecht is an Emmy- and Oscar-nominated American filmmaker and writer. She has worked on projects across six continents for HBO, The New York Times, Jigsaw, and VICE. Her documentary Day of Rage, produced with The New York Times, explored the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol and was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2022. Her films investigate topics such as domestic extremism, the global arms trade, and state power. Cora spent seven years as an international reporter for The New York Times and has been based in London since 2021.
Delaram Shemirani
Delaram Shemirani is a film editor whose work has screened at Cannes, Venice, Hot Docs, and BFI London. She gained international recognition for A Move, which won Best Short Documentary at Visions du Réel, was BIFA-nominated, and acquired by The New York Times Op-Docs. In 2023, she led a panel at Sheffield DocFest and was selected for Berlinale Talents Editing Studio 2025. Her credits include Can I Hug You?, The Doll, La Loi de Téhéran, and Leila’s Brothers. Delaram is also an archivist focused on preserving family stories, home videos, and world history.
Sara Ramsden
Having started in BBC News and Current Affairs department, Sara Ramsden then spent 15 years working as a Commissioning editor for Channel 4 working on a wide range of intelligent popular factual, from The Secret Life of 5 year olds, to The Cruel Cut, a BAFTA nominated campaigning film about FGM. Most recently she was the creative director at Love Productions where she ran the Great British Sewing Bee and made Prue and Danny's Death Road Trip about assisted dying.
Abisoye Adelusi
Abisoye is a journalist and multimedia producer with 7 years in news and documentary. Her work has been featured by The Economist, Audible, and ITN. Abisoye also served as a part of the selection committee for a development fund OKRE. She brings a strong editorial voice and cross-platform experience to projects that explore politics, identity, and social change, like her popular podcast "Where Truth Is Valued".
Adam Bara-Laskowski
Adam works as a Business Affairs Manager at MUBI and is co-founder of film_k collective, a London-based comunity supporting independent art cinema. With a deep commitment to film as a cultural force, he helps create platforms for bold, underrepresented works and alternative exhibition models. Adam is a BIFA member.
Hope Bhargava
After working as a Young Producer for the Almeida Theatre, Hope co-founded film_k collective with Adam Bara-Laskowski in 2024. The initiative promotes post-screening audience engagement and discussion through lesser-known works of art cinema. Currently, film_k are organising a Ukrainian New Wave Season at the UCL One Pool Street Cinema. Hope is also interested in the intersection of art and activism, having previously worked with THE SHIFT — a housing rights organisation — while organising an educational screening of the film PUSH by Fredrik Gertten.
Producer with 15 years in film production and development, currently exploring storytelling formats that foster reflection, dialogue, and deeper engagement with how we see ourselves, one another, and the world.
Natalie Louise
Talia Woodin is a documentary photographer and impact producer with a background in social and climate justice organising, focusing on themes of community, land justice and decolonial practices.
Talia Woodin
Maya Salgado
With a background in actor training at the Marbella Film School, Maya maintains her craft through various projects, including a recent performative exploration of liminal spaces for the London Festival of Architecture. Her interests expand to film and theatre production, with roles as assistant director and producer on several short films. She is currently co-producing the film_k collective’s Ukrainian New Season at UCL One Pool St Cinema. Driven by a passion for inclusivity, Maya is also producing GendFilm — a project supporting individuals of genders historically excluded from film and theatre spaces.
With 10+ years in the film and TV industry, Tetiana has managed major productions across Eastern Europe. Known for her sharp logistics and leadership skills, she specialises in budgeting, scheduling, crew management, and international coordination—bringing precision and care to both fiction and documentary projects.
Tetiana Bruzgina
Simin Zeng
Simin Zeng is a filmmaker and currently researching in MRes Art: Moving Image at Central Saint Martins. Her current research explores cinema as a cultural and political medium, focusing on subjectivity, visual labour, and feminist production practices. With experience across directing, cinematography, and lighting on both independent and major studio productions—including work with Warner Bros., Apple TV, and Sony Pictures. Simin also leads workshops supporting women entering film’s technical fields, linking her practical expertise with a broader commitment to equity and critical inquiry.
Nia Tzvetanova is a moving image researcher and gallery assistant, currently focused on artist film programming. She has curated screenings and Q&As for emerging filmmakers in collaboration with MUBI, Girls in Film, and Bridget Productions. As an event producer with Film Files Club, she champions experimental and artist-driven cinema through curated events. Her practice is shaped by her own filmmaking experience, with her short film recognised at the Women Without Borders Film Festival. Navigating between gallery and cinema contexts, Nia brings a cross-disciplinary perspective to curating moving image work.
Nia Tzetanova
Rhea Mathews
Rhea Mathews is a filmmaker and researcher from India, currently pursuing an MRes in Moving Image at Central Saint Martins. With over four years of experience on large-scale professional sets, she has worked across directing, research, design, and editing. Her practice explores intersectional narratives and unconventional storytelling, often working multilingually and collaboratively. Rooted in both critical inquiry and creative production, Rhea’s work reflects a cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary sensibility
