London Film School Director and former journalist and Film Producer.

Cynthia is a Talent Agent at Curtis Brown representing a diverse range of screenwriters and directors across film and television, with a focus on distinctive storytelling and the long-term development of internationally recognised creative talent.

A Bristol-based film executive and regular festival-goer, he has spent almost 20 years working at the intersection of cinema, culture and global audiences.

Iria is an award-winning filmmaker and creative producer passionate about stories that create impact and the people and businesses bringing them to screen. She currently works at the BFI as the International Business Development Coordinator at the UK Global Screen Fund.

Jimmy Hay is a filmmaker and academic, who currently leads the Department of Film and Television at the University of Bristol.

Creative Director at Bristol based animation studio, A Productions. Joanna has worked in the animation industry for over 19 years, both as an animator and director.

BAFTA winning producer and founder of Bristol based Early Day Films.

Kate Devlin has been working in the television industry for over 25 years. She has worked for a very wide range of indies across production and development, and for several years now has held a number of senior roles, including Creative Director at Boom and Commissioning Editor at Channel 4.

Katie is founder of Festival Formula, one of the leading agencies specialising in festival strategy for short films, working with filmmakers and festivals worldwide.

Producer and Head of Film and TV at Riff Raff Entertainment, the production company founded by Ben Jackson and Jude Law.

Originally from Leeds, Laurence Boyce relocated to Estonia in 2010 and has more than two decades of experience in the short film world and is currently the Head of Programme (Live Action) POFF Shorts - the short film element of the A List Black Nights Film Festival - as well as being an established film journalist.

Multi-award-winning director and Head of the Aardman Academy, with a career built on nurturing animation talent across the UK and beyond.

Nida Manzoor is a writer/director best known for creating BAFTA-winning TV show "We Are Lady Parts" for Channel 4/Peacock as well as her BIFA-winning debut feature "Polite Society" for Working Title/Focus Features.

Noel is a collaborative producer working across short and long form filmmaking, education and creative, branded and corporate content. He has worked at both Watershed and BFI (where he ran the BFI Future Film Festival for 12 years) supporting the careers of hundreds of emerging young filmmakers, and as a relatively new dad is exploring parent-centric and parent friendly filmmaking projects.

Rowan Woods is a curator and film and TV executive working across the UK, Europe and North America.

Sonia is a Polish-British producer, HETV Production Coordinator and talent agent based in Bristol. Her TV credits include Sex Education (Netflix), Industry (BBC/HBO), His Dark Materials (BBC/HBO) and Wolf Hall (BBC). As a producer, her films include award-winning documentary Rave On for the Avon ('joyous' — The Guardian), horror short Hungry Joe and Tor Lewa. In 2025 she founded Powerhouse Talent Management, a Bristol-based agency for grassroots creatives.

Steven Coombe is a Director at Burnside Chartered Accountants and a board member and adviser to Bristol's creative sector including Bristol Creative Industries, Slapstick Festival and Encounters.

Executive Director

Dave is a Bristol native who returned to Encounters in December 2024 after previously producing the festival from 2016 to 2021. He holds an MA in Curating, has been involved with Bristol's legendary Cube Cinema for over 15 years, and works across the international festival landscape through his role at Eventive, the ticketing and streaming platform used by over 700 festivals worldwide.

A member of the European Film Academy, his wider work connecting filmmakers and audiences spans projects from Bristol Story Lab to the Kids Kino Project. Dave is deeply passionate about his city and its progressive outlook, and believes film festivals are the most exciting and essential part of the film industry. He loves the buzz they generate and will talk about them at length if you let him.

Head of Industry

Isabella oversees the Industry Programme at Encounters Film Festival, where she began her career a decade ago - an experience that first inspired her path in film. She has since worked at the intersection of creative programming and talent development at the BFI and Edinburgh TV Festival, including managing the TV Foundation's New Writers Collective in partnership with All3Media. Her work has a particular focus on identifying and supporting fresh new voices.

Shorts Programmer

Alice has been part of the screening and selection teams for a number of prestigious festivals, including Toronto International Film Festival and Cork International Film Festival (as well as Encounters!). She has also worked for Tribeca Film Festival since 2018, where she currently holds the title of Senior Associate Shorts Programme

Alice has a tremendous passion for championing short films, specialising in both animated and queer shorts. Outside of programming and screening for festivals, Alice has worked in animation production and post-production on a variety of projects.

Animation Programmer

Ben Mitchell is a Bristol-based animator, producer, filmmaker and writer.

Alongside his career as an animation freelancer for a variety of high-profile studios and clients, as an animation industry writer and researcher Ben is the Editor in Chief of the UK-based magazine Skwigly and has authored/co-authored several books on animation culture and practice. 

Ben has worked with a number of international events (including Encounters, ITFS Stuttgart, Animafest Zagreb, the BAAs, MAF and CAF) in a variety of capacities and taught at several universities including AUB, UWE, UAL CSM and UOG.

Programme Consultant

Mark Cosgrove is Cinema Curator at Watershed in Bristol, where he has programmed the cinema since 1994 and founded Cinema Rediscovered, the UK's leading festival of restorations and repertory cinema. He has curated touring seasons from New Portuguese Cinema to Claire Denis retrospectives, served on juries at Cannes and Berlin, and won the Europa Cinemas Entrepreneur Cinema of the Year award.

His connection to Encounters stretches back decades, and his knowledge of international cinema and Bristol's film landscape runs deep.

Programming Consultant

Laura is a Welsh Director, Writer, Stop-Motion Animator and Puppet Maker based in Bristol. With a decade of experience in stop motion she has animated on many of the most acclaimed Films & TV series both in the UK and internationally including Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Shaun the Sheep, Robin Robin, Isle of Dogs, Kiri & Lou, Very Small Creatures, Chuck Steel , Early Man, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget and many shorts and commercials

She studied BA Animation at UWE Bristol and trained with NFTS and Aardman Academy. She also crafts stop motion puppets, helps to curate several animation festivals and shares her insights through talks & workshops. Always seeking a new adventure, Laura is passionate about telling authentic human stories and pushing the boundaries of her craft. Her debut short film Brain Space was longlisted for a BAFTA and is screening at festivals worldwide.

PR/Comms

Anna Lewis is a creative, strategic and results‑driven communications professional with almost two decadesʼ experience in publicity and a long‑standing career across the film and entertainment industries. She has delivered high‑impact campaigns across film, television, tech, advertising and cultural sectors, shaping narratives that resonate in both industry and consumer media.

Before founding her consultancy, Anna led the publicity team at Aardman Studios, overseeing global corporate and brand communications across the studioʼs entire ecosystem - from theatrical releases and series launches to game releases, brand collaborations and licensing. Her leadership strengthened Aardmanʼs international profile and deepened its relationships across the creative industries.

Social & Audience Engagement Producer

Misa is a South African creative producer and filmmaker based in London, working across social, content and creative production. Their work is rooted in a close attention to people, communities and the cultural moments that bring them together.
They have worked on campaigns for feature films including Köln 75 and Six Inches of Soil. 

Alongside their professional practice, they are developing their own work as a writer and director,exploring women, faith, desire and the psychological tensions beneath ordinary life.

Indonesian film programmer, researcher, and writer exploring screen culture.

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Cult film lover.

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Usually wherever people gather to watch films, rarely making other plans.

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Editor/ VFX Editor. Credits include Under the Skin & Rocketman.

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Assitant Professor, Writer, Film Critic, P.h.D Research scholar.

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Bristol-based film lover and festival enthusiast.

Senior editor and digital content specialist.

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BIFA and EMMY-nominated filmmaker telling stories that drive change.

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Bethan is a Welsh Producer working in commercials, documentary, and shorts.

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Director, animator and game artist in Bristol, who loves storytelling.

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Bristol-based cinematographer/photographer - with a love for folk horror!

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Freelance Designer and Film Programmer.

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Chen is a writer/director based in Edinburgh, she loves being a selector!

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Black Italian filmmaker and programmer.

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Constantinos is a programmer and artist based between Athens and London.

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Irish Development Producer and Script Editor.

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A Screenwriter, Film Curator, and Helpless Cinephile based in Mumbai.

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Founder & Director of Horror in Seconds festival and media platform.

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Award Winning Stop-motion Filmmaker.

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Edward Smyth is a Filmmaker (The Golden Squacco Heron) & Film Programmer.

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Ella is an early-career scriptwriter and film critic.

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Emma Dubery is an actress, writer & producer, working in the UK & US.

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Curator/film critic specialising in Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav cinema.

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Film lover; short films prove vision beats scale.

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Grace Edwards is a comedy writer, programmer, and script reader.

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An independent producer, distributor and festival programmer.

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Filmmaker with debut NZ feature, SMOKY, on the festival circuit.

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James is an emerging film festival programmer and executive producer.

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Bristol-based Filmmaker/Camera Crew.

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Bristol-born film enthusiast, with a background in the charitable sector.

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Award-winning animator and lecturer at the Bristol Academy of Media.

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Horror-focused writer and filmmaker, co-founder of Kaveman Productions.

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PRIFF UK Submissions Coordinator Lead. Curation of unique indie films.

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I'm a Bristol based film and TV professional, working in the art department.

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A film programmer who enjoys helping create more inclusive spaces in film.

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Film Studies graduate and animation enthusiast.

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Telling authentic stories on screen as a powerful tool to change the world.

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A trusted voice in the festival world, with a refreshingly direct approach.

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Cinema lover who dreams of becoming a Film Festival Programmer.

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Director, screenwriter, and film selector for international festivals.

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Colombian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and curator.

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South African writer/director in London, exploring women, faith & desire.

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Lebanese film director, producer, editor, programmer, and researcher.

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Writer, Director, BAFTA Cymru-Nominated Producer.

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Nick is a film industry analyst with a passion for screen storytelling.

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Oli’s an award winning actor & screenwriter with a love of all things film.

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TV Director & AP from Cardiff, with a passion for producing music videos.

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Editor ❤️ 🎬 IMDb

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2D freelance animator based in Bristol.

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Film Festival Selector, TV Producer-Director and Live Events Curator.

Freelance film programmer based in the midlands.

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Stop motion animator and filmmaker.

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Film programmer & researcher in short film, Asian cinema & emerging media.

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A long-time doodler and short-film watcher.

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Film Curator, Distributor & Cultural Events Manager.

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