Ella Kemp (Letterboxd, London Editor) 

Ella Kemp is a critic, editor and photographer based in London. She is the London Editor for Letterboxd and Head of Editorial for Girls on Tops, and regularly writes about film for Empire, Variety, Little White Lies, Vogue Australia and more. Her favourite film is Moulin Rouge! and her favourite word is verklempt, because it’s what she often is. 

https://ellakemp.co.uk/ 

Ryan Finnigan (Showroom Cinema Programme Manager) 

Ryan Finnigan is programme manager at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield. He has a keen interest in archive film and is currently a PhD Candidate at Sheffield Hallam University researching film preservation and the ethics of digital film restoration. Prior to working in film programming, Ryan worked professionally in marketing including social media and digital content creation, and currently works freelance with brands on campaigns and online promotion. 

Tessa Williams (Film Writer, Collector and Festival Programmer) 

Tessa is a film writer, film collector and film festival programmer. She has a degree in Film Studies and an MA in Scriptwriting from Aberystwyth University. She is currently Lead Programmer for Forbidden Worlds Film Festival in Bristol, which has taken place at the former Bristol IMAX since 2022. She also occasionally writes film reviews, with publications in Cinema Chords and Critical Popcorn.  

Chaired by: 

Steph Read (Watershed) 

Steph works on the cinema programme at Watershed and Cinema Rediscovered, and curated the Down & Dirty: American D.I.Y. Restored strand at this year’s festival. They recently completed an MA in Curating, with an academic focus on spaces of film exhibition. 

Break, 10 mins

Melissa Gueneau (Co-director of Mayhem Film Festival) 

Melissa is one of the co-directors of Mayhem Film Festival – a Nottingham-based horror, sci-fi and cult film festival. Melissa has been working in the industry for over a decade with roles in marketing and programming at Warwick Arts Centre, Broadway Nottingham, Sundance Film Festival and Glimmer Films. As a programmer, her key interests lie in horror, film noir, and stories exploring identity, as well as the cinema of Agnès Varda and Guy Maddin.  

Nia Edwards-Behi (Co-director of Abertoir, Wales’ International Horror Festival) 

Nia is Co-director of Abertoir, Wales’ International Horror Festival, which takes place in Aberystwyth every year. Nia has a doctorate in Film Studies, and by day she’s Audiovisual Cataloguer at the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive. 

Soo Cole (Founder of Fighting Spirit Film Festival) 

Soo Cole has been doing martial arts since she was 10 years old since watching The Karate Kid at the cinema. She co-founded and directs Fighting Spirit Film Festival which aims to promote , inspire, connect, recognize and support martial arts and action in film. Soo has also worked with stunt teams for Now You See Me 2 (uncredited), Doctor Strange and its sequel (uncredited) and Curfew (2019) as Thaddea Graham’s stunt double. 

Mark Cosgrove (Watershed Cinema Curator & Cinema Rediscovered Founder) 

Mark has worked in and been a champion of independent cinema exhibition for over 30 years. He has curated seasons and touring programmes ranging from 1971: The Year Hollywood Went Independent to retrospectives of French filmmaker Claire Denis. He is Cinema Curator at Watershed in Bristol one of the UK’s leading independent cinemas and founded Cinema Rediscovered in 2016. He has been on juries at Cannes, Venice and Berlin Film festivals and in 2010 received the ’Entrepreneur of the Year’ from Europa Cinemas. 

Twitter / Instagram  / Podcast 

Isra Al Kassi (Co-Founder, T A P E Collective) 

Isra (she/her) has a background in events management and community spaces and cinemas. She is the co-founder of  T A P E Collective and has curated for London Short Film Festival, BFI Southbank and Aesthetica Short Film Festival. Isra has more recently worked with BIFA, Inclusive Cinema, Independent Film Trust and London Film Festival, Habibi Collective and Shasha with a focus on audience development and outreach.  

Aduke King (Executive for Acquisition and Development, Other Parties) 

Other Parties are an independent entertainment company based in the UK that distributes and produces films. They describe themselves as “an acid arthouse organisation” with “carefully selected titles that meet the company’s ethos to bring vibrancy to UK film, and to challenge longstanding industry conventions.” Their first feature for theatrical release was Elegance Bratton’s documentary Pier Kids in 2021. They went on to release Laura Saman’s Small Body in 2022 and are re-issuing the restoration of Bette Gordon’s 1983 Variety on 11 Aug 2023 after its UK Premiere at Cinema Rediscovered.

Find out more about their films here.

Chaired by Joan Parsons (Interim Head of Culture and Arts for Queen’s University Belfast) 

Joan Parsons is an experienced cinema professional with over 20 years of work in the cinema sector, across all operational roles and in more recent years working in senior leadership positions. Currently Interim Head of Culture and Arts for Queen’s University Belfast, Joan leads Cinema and Gallery teams for the University while developing wider cultural projects and plans. Joan has successfully delivered financial and cultural excellence and has been involved in organising and delivering significant UK-wide partnership projects. Joan is well known in the cinema sector, attends multiple festivals annually and is often asked to speak to audiences at events and students studying film at various levels. 

Candy Vincent-Smith (Senior Catalogue Project Manager at Studiocanal UK) 

Candy has been Senior Catalogue Project Manager at Studiocanal UK for over a decade, managing restorations, reissues and events from their vast library of classic film and producing content for bonus features and social channels, including the Vintage Classics label which boasts over 100 titles. 2023 highlights have included restorations of three Muriel Box titles, and The Wicker Man at 50. 

Phil Roberts (Marketing Manager – Distribution, BFI) 

Phil has been a member of the BFI marketing team since 2011, mainly working on Distribution campaigns across theatrical, physical and digital. Highlights include campaigns for BAFTA-winners Bait (2019) and  After Love (2021), along with numerous BFI restorations such as Get Carter (2022). Before joining the BFI, Phil worked in DVD marketing for the retailer HMV. Phil has a MA in Film Studies from the University of Westminster.    

Rod Rhule (Film Booker – Distribution, BFI) 

Rod has been a member of the BFI Distribution team since 2015, working on both its theatrical releases and non-theatrical back catalogue. Prior to joining the BFI, Rod worked as film programmer for a number of cinemas; including Rich Mix London and Forum Cinema Northampton.  

Aduke King (Executive for Acquisition and Development, Other Parties) 

Other Parties are an independent entertainment company based in the UK that distributes and produces films. They describe themselves as “an acid arthouse organisation” with “carefully selected titles that meet the company’s ethos to bring vibrancy to UK film, and to challenge longstanding industry conventions.” Their first feature for theatrical release was Elegance Bratton’s documentary Pier Kids in 2021. They went on to release Laura Saman’s Small Body in 2022 and are re-issuing the restoration of Bette Gordon’s 1983 Variety on 11 Aug 2023 after its UK Premiere at Cinema Rediscovered.

Find out more about their films here.

Yaël Halbron (Director International Sales & Distribution, Kino Lorber) 

Yaël Halbron  is a French national, she began her career in the Acquisitions department of the US independent film distributor Kino Lorber. She then went on to create a department dedicated to the international distribution of the company’s restorations, which she currently oversees.  

Teresa Mignolli (MUBI) 

Teresa is a Distribution Coordinator, Global at streamer and film distributor MUBI, which she joined in 2022. For the past six months she has also been working on MUBI GO, focusing on the expansion of the scheme in the UK/IE and abroad. She has previously worked at several film festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Visions du Réel (Switzerland) and Festival dei Popoli (Italy). She is also Co-artistic Director at Umbria Film Festival, Montone. 

Mosa Mpetha (Hyde Park Picture House) 

Mosa Mpetha is a curious and passionate film curator who works for Hyde Park Picture House and is particularly interested in Black and African cinema and improving access to these films for the diaspora community and ultimately making positive sector changes. Opened in 1914, the Hyde Park Picture House is a nationally connected, locally focused, community cinema; providing audiences with an inclusive space to explore and discover. www.hpph.co.uk 

Jack Chase (Marketing Manager, Park Circus) 

Jack Chase has been at Park Circus for 4 years, working across various roles in the Marketing team since 2019. As Marketing Manager, Jack leads on re-release marketing campaigns for some of the greatest films ever made, most recently RAGING BULL, LOCAL HERO, and THELMA & LOUISE, alongside showcasing the wider Park Circus theatrical and home entertainment catalogue which features titles from many of the major Hollywood and British studios. 

Twitter / Instagram 

Kate Coventry (Senior Sales Executive, Park Circus) 

Kate Coventry has been at Park Circus for 3 years as part of the Sales team, working across a number of international territories. As Senior Sales Executive, she leads on sales across the UK and Ireland, working on re-release campaigns for restorations and re-issues as well as booking the wider studio library. 

Twitter / Instagram 

Session Chair – Neil Ramjee