JURY

BRENDA BLETHYN – First Time Director of a Feature Film

BRENDA BLETHYN is an English known for her portrayals of working-class women with eccentric qualities. She is the recipient of several accolades, including one Golden Globe, one BAFTA, one Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and two Academy Award nominations.

Blethyn pursued an administrative career before enrolling in the Guildford School of Acting in her late 20s. She subsequently joined the Royal National Theatre and gained attention for her performances in Troilus and Cressida (1976), Mysteries (1979), Steaming (1981), and Benefactors (1984), receiving an Olivier nomination for the latter.

In 1980, Blethyn made her television debut in Mike Leigh‘s Grown-Ups. She later won leading roles on the short-run sitcoms Chance in a Million (1984–86) and The Labours of Erica (1989–90). She made her big-screen debut with a small role in Nicolas Roeg‘s 1990 film adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s The Witches. She experienced a major career breakthrough with her leading role in Mike Leigh‘s 1996 drama Secrets & Lies, for which she received multiple awards, including Best Actress at Cannes, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award nomination. She earned her second Academy Award nomination two years later, for her performance in Little Voice (1998).

Blethyn has since appeared in a range of big-budget and independent features, including Girls’ Night, Music from Another Room, Night Train (all 1998), Saving Grace (2000), Lovely and Amazing (2001), Pumpkin, Sonny, Plots with a View (all 2002), Beyond the Sea, A Way of Life (both 2004), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Clubland, and Atonement (both 2007). In addition, she has continued to appear frequently on television, in productions such as Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) and War and Peace (2007). Since 2011, she has played the title role of DCI Vera Stanhope in the British crime drama series Vera and more recently Kate in ITV sitcom Kate & Koji

Brenda is also Ramsgate International Film Festival’s Patron.

ALEXANDRA DORSICA –  Narrative Features (Dominic Grant Anchor Award)

A Frenchie on paper but a nomad at heart, Alex has worked for over 17 years in events and film programming starting from indie short film nights to high-end VIP creative events and brand activations. Her scope of work is a kaleidoscope of experiences in the film industry, the festival circuit, the film exhibition sector, art commissioning and awards shows; building on a solid pan-European network of cultural professionals and creatives, her curiosity and mission to build bridges has shaped an eclectic career and approach in events and film programming with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, Afro-Caribbean cinemas, international documentary and fiction films. Having programmed festivals such as women empowering and DEI champion like Images of Black Women Festival, curated Afrofuturist strands like Berlin’s afrocentric festival ISUSU and curated sub-Saharan African strand for Ramsgate International Film and TV Festival, her mission to bring films to audiences has no limits.  Berlin-based she works across various spheres to support, lift and connect members of the global majority and beyond in order to realise projects through an Afro-diasporic curatorial lens.

DAVID NICHOLAS WILKINSON –  Documentary Features

David Nicholas Wilkinson  Directed, produced, co-wrote, and presented THE FIRST FILM, POSTCARDS FROM THE 48%, and was an executive producer of HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD. His three-hour Holocaust documentary GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER(S) was voted by the Guardian the No17 Best Film in 2021 in the UK. By default, it was the highest-placed documentary on the list.  His latest film is in THE MARBLES.

He has also produced almost 50 documentaries and dramas. Wilkinson has also distributed 120 films in the UK and Ireland in the cinema, on video/DVD, on television, and online. Since 1998, apart from Alex Gibney’s ZERO DAYS and Lasse Hallström’s HILMA, these have been purposely only British and Irish films.

He started his career as an actor in 1970, and for the next ten years, he acted in over 40 theatre, television and film productions. In 1982, he became, by accident, the first true independent producer to work with the BBC with a film of Virginia Woolf’s TO THE LIGHTHOUSE, which starred Sir Kenneth Branagh and was nominated for a BAFTA award.

David’s last film, THE MARBLES has screened at many festivals whilst he is currently working on ONE IN TWO a documentary about Bowel cancer. You can help him raise funding to complete this very important work by making a donation at https://www.gofundme.com/f/one-in-two-documentary-feature-film-about-bowel-cancer

EMLYN PRICE –  Documentary Features

Emlyn Price has worked with David Nicholas Wilkinson for many years as a writer. As well as co-writing POSTCARDS FROM THE 48% , GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER(S) and THE MARBLES, he has co-written numerous books including RONALD HARWOOD’S ADAPTATIONS and CHARLES DICKENSONS’S ENGLAND. Amongst his plays for the theatre is AN EVENING WITH DYLAN THOMAS for Cymni Theatr Cymru (the Welsh National Theatre).

Trained at RADA, he has also worked as an actor, including two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and ROCK FOLLIES , SQUADRON, ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN and SURGICAL SPIRIT on television.

Of the two disciplines – acting and writing, the second wins hands down for providing the most satisfaction. It is also an occupation one is never able to retire from as, happily, new ideas never stop occurring.

HARRISON HICKMAN – Experimental Features

Harrison Hickman was born in Oxfordshire in 1992. He is the author of the novels Behind the Window, Set in Stone, A Life Called Scarlet, and The Unconvinced, as well as the short story collections Lifecycle and I Remember. His work has also appeared in numerous literary anthologies. Alongside his writing, he runs the Creative Interviews blog, where he speaks with writers, artists, and musicians about their work and creative process. His latest book, the short story collection Collecting Nutmegs, is due for publication later this year.

MANDY KEAN – World Narrative Shorts

Mandy Kean co-founded Mustard Studio with Kate Gerova in 2020. Together, they’ve partnered with cinemas, distributors, producers, festivals and film organisations to reimagine operations and elevate experiences with sustainability at their core. Formerly International Director of Cinema for Soho House & Co. and its Electric Cinema brand, Mandy brings deep expertise in hospitality, brand and programming. In 2023, she completed Oxford’s Leading Sustainable Organisations Programme, aligning her passion for people, nature and culture with Mustard’s mission to make cinema a force for good.

RICHARD COLTON – UK Narrative Shorts

Richard Colton has worked in the British film and television industry for over 30 years, beginning his career as an editor in mainstream television series and feature films before moving into directing in 2016.
Since then, he has written and directed five feature films: Dangerous Game, Dead Ringer, The Seven, Override, and most recently Dream Hacker.
In 2018, Dead Ringer won Best Independent film at the National Film Awards.
All of Richard’s films are available on Amazon Prime, with Dream Hacker released in the UK on 24 February 2026 on Sky, Apple TV, Google Play and Amazon.

ANMO WANG – Documentary Shorts

Anmo Wang is a dedicated seeker of honest stories. With a background in literature and film, and two master’s degrees in Arts & Creatives Management and in Governance of Migration & Diversity, she brings both intellectual rigour and deep emotional sensitivity to her work. She invites audiences to fine‑tune their sensors and explore the interconnectedness between self and other, between individuals and society, and between humanity and nature—allowing one’s own narrative to grow like vines.

 BENOIT BERTHE SIWARD – Animation Shorts

Benoit Berthe Siward is a film strategist and founder of The Animation Showcase, a strategy and consulting boutique dedicated to awards season campaigns in the motion picture industry. Specializing in animated shorts and features, he has led campaigns that have generated more than 40 Academy Award nominations over the past years including the awards strategies behind the Oscar-winning films The Windshield Wiper (2022), War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko (2024), and In the Shadow of the Cypress (2025) and Oscar-nominated Features Flee, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, Memoir Of A Snail, Arco, and Little Amélie. Benoit also created the first free, industry-only streaming platform designed to give film professionals worldwide access to the most notable animated shorts and feature films of the season.

ALIAKSANDRA MARKAVA – Experimental Shorts

 FESTIVAL JURY – Local Shorts and Music Videos