‘Inbetweeners’ Star Simon Bird, Lionsgate, Bankside Execs To Highlight Emerging UK Talent With National Youth Film Academy

Tom Grater

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EXCLUSIVE: The National Youth Film Academy (NYFA) has named its advisory board for 2020 ahead of the Emerging Brits Industry Showcase, which highlights rising UK talent.

Joining are actor and filmmaker Simon Bird, known for his starring role in hit TV series The Inbetweeners and for directing his first feature Days Of Bagnold Summer this year, Stephen Kelliher, co-founder of sales outfit Bankside Films, and Matt Smith, head of distribution at Lionsgate UK, among others.

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Every three years the NYFA selects its Emerging Brits; talents from the next generation of British actors and filmmakers, aged between 16-25, supporting them with funding to create a short film which is put in front of industry. This year’s showcase takes place on February 5.

The board will oversee the participants as they complete a year-long program of career development.

This year’s board are: Simon Bird (Actor); Stephen Kelliher (Director & Co-Founder – Bankside Films); Matt Smith (Head of Distribution – Lionsgate Films); Biannca Searle (Senior Sales Manager – Odeon Cinema); Elliot Grove (Founder – RainDance Film Festival); Grace Minns, Actor (National Youth Film Academy Student Board Rep); John Brennan (CEO – ProCam); Joseph Archer (Filmmaker – National Youth Film Academy Student Board Rep); Nathan Hannawin (Tutor – National Youth Film Academy); Rob Earnshaw, Founder (National Youth Film Academy); Sue Jones (Casting Director & East 15 Drama School Industry Liaison Consultant); Susi Figgis (Casting Director); Bill Petrie (Agent – BWH Agency); Zoë Rocha, Producer (RubyRock Pictures); Dean Smith, Actor (National Youth Film Academy Alumni).

The 2020 Emerging Brits showcase will highlight three shorts:

Solvi: Directed by Joseph Archer, produced by Harry Allmark and written by Jack Price. Vikings appear on the coast, reopening old wounds and shattering the harmony of the coexisting Christian and Pagan settlers. Will the villagers overcome their differences to save their home?

Rottweiler: Directed by John Powell, produced by Thomas Nejad and written by Jordan Gifford. When Sophia’s boyfriend is released from prison with a violent debt over his head, she is forced to make a choice between love and freedom.

Kindred: Directed by Ali Kurr, produced by Lissi Simpson-Watt and written by Amelia Simpson. Upon returning home from a night shift, Alfie discovers his cousins have had a rave at their deceased grandmother’s house.

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