08 February 2019
Newsdesk
The BFI Future Film Festival is delighted to welcome the following special guests to this year’s film festival:
THE HOT SPOT
These sessions offer emerging young filmmakers a chance to get up close and personal with top industry talent.
Stars and creators of hit BBC comedy People Just Do Nothing, Allan 'Seapa' Mustafa and Steve Stamp (AKA Steves) join DJ and BBC Presenter Nihal on stage to discuss how they created one of the most popular British TV comedies of recent times.
Saturday 23 February, 13.30
Maisie Williams
Star of Game of Thrones, The Falling and X-Men: New Mutants, Maisie Williams, will be on stage for an in-depth chat about her work and career to date. Maisie has recently launched a production company: Daisy Chain Productions, producing their first short film Stealing Silver, and launched Daisie, a social platform for talent discovery and collaboration. A chance to hear from one of the UK’s most in demand young actresses.
WALTERS, ASHLEY
Sunday 24 February, 13.30
Ashley Walters
Actor and Musician Ashley Walters join the Festival for a no-holds barred ‘Ask Me Anything’ Q&A. The star of Top Boy and Bullet Proof will give the audience a full hour on stage to ask him anything. A brilliant chance to find out about Ashley’s career, get tips and advice on acting and filmmaking, and get to know the man himself. Delivered in Partnership with Soul.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Each day of the Festival starts with a Keynote speech with some of the most dynamic and emerging creatives in the business.
Thursday 21 February, 10.30am
Prano Bailey-Bond
The 12th BFI Future Film Festival will open with a Keynote address by director and Screen International Star of Tomorrow 2018, Prano Bailey-Bond, who is set to deliver a brilliant, funny and insightful talk to set up the audience for the day ahead. Her short film Nasty screened at over 100 festivals, collecting awards globally, was BIFA long-listed and noted one of the top horror shorts of 2016.
Friday 22 February, 10.30am
Georgia Parris
Friday’s Keynote will be from filmmaker Georgia Parris. Her debut feature film Mari will screen as part of the Festival in the afternoon and Georgia and her team will speak about the importance of cinematography at the Festival’s Technicolor Event. The Keynote from this incredible emerging talent is sure to inspire and energise audiences for day two of the Festival. Mari, commissioned through the Film London, BFI and BBC Films' Microwave scheme, had its worldwide premiere at the 62nd BFI London Film Festival.
Saturday 23 February, 10.30am
Shaina West
Saturday’s Keynote is Shaina West, aka ‘The Samurider’ – a certified personal trainer, self-taught martial artist and aspiring stunt actor. Born and bred in London, 23 year old Shaina dedicated herself to learning martial arts following a horrific motorbike accident. Taking inspiration from the strength and poise of characters from Anime’s like Afro Samurai and Boondocks, Shaina taught herself martial arts using YouTube tutorials. She posted a few videos of herself mimicking ‘the Greats’ which got an immediately positive and supportive response. The rest is history.
Sunday 24 February, 10.30am
Sharon Walia
The final Keynote of the Festival is delivered by filmmaker, refugee worker and journalist, Sharon Walia. Sharon recently wrote, directed and edited her first feature documentary The Movement which follows the everyday heroes saving refugees on land, at sea and from air.
Allan Mustafa Bio
Allan is an actor and writer and part of the award-winning team for People Just Do Nothing, in which he plays the lead role of MC Grindah. The show had great success at the Royal Television Society Awards 2017 and the BAFTA TV Awards 2017, winning in the Scripted Comedy category at both and at the Writer's Guild Awards, receiving a nomination for Best TV Situation Comedy. His unique and socially observant comedy style sets the tone and underpins the cultural accuracy of the show. He also leads in the live show Kurupt FM which has toured festivals across Europe and played at KOKO and Brixton Academy. In 2017, Allan starred in short film Bossman (selected for the Thunderdance and Colchester Film Festivals). He was named as one of Broadcast Magazine's "Hotshots" in 2014.
Steve Stamp Bio
People Just Do Nothing started out as a YouTube series, and has since gone on to gain a cult audience and critical acclaim. The series had great success at the Royal Television Society Awards, 2017, winning in the Scripted Comedy category. It also received BAFTA nominations for Best Scripted Comedy in 2016 and has now gone on to win the crown and receive the BAFTA TV Award for Best Scripted Comedy 2017. The show has also released a single featuring Ed Sheeran called ‘What Do I Know’ to raise money for Red Nose Day and Comic Relief, complete with a hilarious video which gained over 10 Million views in under a month. Steve is also the lead character in the live show of Kurupt FM which has toured festivals across Europe including Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds, Bestival, Hideout, Ibiza Rocks to name a few. The Kurupt FM headline shows sold out both Koko and Brixton Academy last year making the boys the first act to do so in recent years. A keen social observer, Steve's passions lie in story-telling and making people laugh. His diverse skills are apparent in the award winning animated film Drawing Inspiration, and his directorial debut for Craze & Hoax - Wait For Me, which was nominated for best budget dance video at the UK Music Video Awards. The attention to detail Steve applies to all aspects of his work helps to create rich, authentic worlds and characters who are at once original and recognisable to audiences.
Maisie Williams Bio
Maisie Williams was born on April 15, 1997. She is best known for her role as Arya Stark in HBO’s Game of Thrones, which is about to premiere its sixth season. The role has earned her two Portal awards, in 2012 for best supporting actress and best young actor in television - the youngest actor to achieve this and was followed in 2013, by the Radio 1 Teen Award for Best British Actor. In 2014 she was named as one of the UK’s international screen stars of tomorrow and also won The Entertainment Weekly’s award for best Supporting actress. At the beginning of 2015 Maisie picked up a European Shooting Star Award at the Berlin Film Festival for her role in Carol Morley’s feature The Falling. In 2016 she received the London Critic’s Circle Award for Best Young performer and The Evening Standard Rising Star Award for the same role. Her portrayal of teenager Casey, in Channel 4’s CyberBully, prompted critical acclaim and a BAFTA nomination for best single drama. Maisie has also starred in Netflix’ first UK original feature IBoy opposite Bill Milner and directed by Adam Randall. Maisie has recently wrapped Aardman’s Early Man, with Tom Hiddleston and Eddie Redymayne & Departures starring Asa Butterfield. Maisie is currently shooting Marvel’s X Men: New Mutants alongside Anya Taylor Joy, Charlie Heaton and directed by Josh Boone. Maisie has recently launched a production company: Daisy Chain Productions and has produced their first production: a short film Stealing Silver and launched Daisie, a social platform for talent discovery and collaboration. Maisie made her stage debut recently in Lauren Gunderson’s I & You at Hampstead Theatre.
Ashley Walters Bio
Ashley Walters is a British actor who is well known for his fine roles in some of the UK’s grittiest dramas. He has been a big character on both TV and film screens, and is also a talented rapper. As such Ashley is a great person to call on for any acting roles, as well as for public appearances, brand partnerships and ambassadorial roles, as he is an inspiration to many. Born in southeast London to Caribbean parents, he undertook acting classes from a young age at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and after finishing school went on to star in some stage productions. Following that he famously became a part of the ‘So Solid Crew’, a group who had plenty of chart hits and became well known in the UK. Once the band split, he recorded some successful solo material and then really took off as an actor. Aged just ten he appeared in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as Omar, and was also a part of Grange Hill aged 14. Ashley had landmark roles in and in Saul Dibb’s Bullet Boy in 2004 and as Dushane in Channel 4’s acclaimed four part drama Top Boy in October 2011. Since then he has played Chris in BBC drama Inside Men and also returned in the second series of Top Boy. He has also delivered key Shakespeare speeches for the BBC Learning Project and starred in the Arjun Rose slasher Demons Never Die. Other shows he has starred in include the likes of London’s Burning, The Bill and Walters also appeared on BBC TV in 2009’s adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island, as well as Jack Holt in Outcasts.
Prano Bailey-Bond Bio
Prano’s short films have screened and won multiple awards at festivals all over the world, including BFI London Film Festival, Slamdance, Tampere Film Festival, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, the UKMVA's, London Short Film Festival and the European Independent Film Festival. Her short film Nasty screened at over 100 festivals, collecting awards globally, was BIFA long-listed and noted one of the top horror shorts of 2016. She is an alumna of the Berlin Talent Campus and has been named by Film London as a “genre heavyweight”. Prano grew up on a diet of Twin Peaks in the depths of a strange Welsh community. Her work invokes imaginative worlds, fusing a dark vocabulary with eerie allure, revealing how beauty resides in strange places. She is currently developing her debut feature CENSOR supported by the BFI, Ffilm Cymru Wales and Creative England, and produced by Silver Salt Films and is represented for Film and Television as a writer/director by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates.
Georgia Parris Bio
Georgia Parris is a writer / director based in London. Mari, her debut feature film, commissioned through the Film London, BFI and BBC Films' Microwave scheme had its worldwide premiere at the 62nd BFI London Film Festival. Georgia has made a series of award winning short films, her debut short Brighter Borough, a fashion film using contemporary dance, premiered at London Fashion Week in 2012. It went on to screen at the New York Dance on Camera Film Festival, London Short Film Festival (nominated for Best Music Short), Underwire Film Festival (nominated for Best Composer) and also won Shooting People’s Film of the Month.
A Moment to Move, her first short drama premiered at Underwire Film Festival where it won the XX Award for Best Female Protagonist. It also screened at the London Short Film Festival, East End Film Festival and the Women Over 50 Film Festival, winning awards in the Audience Choice and Best Drama categories. Georgia was interviewed by the BBC on the set of her latest short Abandon, discussing gender inequality within the film industry. Abandon has screened at festivals around the world and has been nominated for Best Director and Best Sound Design at the 2017 Underwire Film Festival. Georgia is currently in development for her second feature film.
Shaina West Bio
Shaina West, aka ‘The Samurider’ is a certified personal trainer, self-taught martial artist and aspiring stunt actor. Born and bred in London, 23 year old Shaina dedicated herself to learning martial arts following a horrific motorbike accident. Taking inspiration from the strength and poise of characters from Anime’s like Afro Samurai and Boondocks, Shaina taught herself martial arts using YouTube tutorials. She posted a few videos of herself mimicking ‘the Greats’ which got an immediately positive and supportive response. The rest is history.
Through hard work and dedication, she is now a real-life version of the Japanese characters she so admires. And through her own painful experiences and total dedication to her dreams and passions she has become a strong warrior, and is dedicated to breaking down everyone’s perception of themselves and their potential. “I want to inspire people to break free from their restricted, inhibited lives and do what they love. No excuses, no fear.” Shaina is currently working on a new tutorial-based series of YouTube videos to help others find their inner warrior!
Sharon Walia Bio
Sharon Walia is a filmmaker, refugee worker and journalist. She recently wrote, directed and edited her first feature documentary The Movement which follows the everyday heroes saving refugees on land, at sea and from air. The film received a theatrical release via National Amusements and is currently touring independents. Sharon is very passionate about covering social justice topics and showing emerging filmmakers how to fund and distribute their projects independently. Sharon also received a Royal Television Society nomination in the Diversity category for her refugee reports over a one year period.
