Meet the Team .
Meet the industry professionals behind the 2024 festival. Our inspiring team has years of experience in programming, commissioning, publishing, production, curation and direction.
Aesthetica Team
Phoebe Cawley
Marketing Coordinator
Fruzsina Vida
Projects Administrator
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Anna Gallon
Operations Coordinator
Megan Hobson
Media Sales & Partnerships Manager
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Emma Jacob
Content Creator
Eleanor Sutherland
Creative Producer
Programming Team
Shaneila Saeed
Games Programmer
Angel Cohn Castle
Dance Programmer
Abi Mitchell
Drama Shorts Programmer
Matthew Spokes
Games Programmer
Rob Speranza
Drama Shorts Programmer
John Rose-Adams
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Forms of Circulation
Artists' Film & Experimental Programmers
Des Gayle
Games Programmer
Dale Donley
Festival Director / Animation, Drama & Family Friendly Programmer
Jack Denham
Games Programmer
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Rachel Pronger
Documentary Features Programmer
Mikey Murray
Thriller Programmer
Tom Knights
Games Programmer
Cherie Federico
Festival Director / Advertising & Fashion Programmer
Heather McIntosh
Documentary Shorts Programmer
Alice Butterfield
Narrative Features Programmer
Tosin Alapafuja
Drama Shorts Programmer
Natalie Gee
Drama Shorts Programmer
Martha Cattell
Music Video Programmer
Ana-Despina Tudor
VR & Immersive Experiences Programmer
Jury
Tiago Faria
Thriller Juror / BlueBolt
Meera Kumar
Podcast Juror
Susi Wilkinson
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Mick Audsley
Drama Juror / Editor
Anna Price
Documentary Features Juror
Paul Cheung
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Lola Oliyide
Narrative Features Juror / Head of Development Neal Street Productions
Isabelle Croissant
Narrative Features Juror / Artist Development Programme Manager
Christine Morrow
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror / Talent Executive
Paul Sng
Documentary Features Juror / Director
Simon Nelson
Drama Juror / BBC
Caroline Cooper Charles
Narrative Features Juror / Screen Yorkshire
Adipat Virdi
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror
Steve Melia
Documentary Features Juror / Video Production Manager Audible
Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf
Artists' Film, Experimental & Dance Juror
Will Becher
Animation Juror / Aardman
Nick Brown
Thriller Juror / Neal Street Productions
Bex Cassie
Fashion Juror / London College of Fashion
Bec Evans
Comedy Juror
Sarah von Fersen
Family Friendly Juror / Jellyfish Pictures
Jack Wentworth-Weedon
Games Juror / National Science and Media Museum
Ben Smithard
Narrative Features Juror / Cinematographer
Noirin Carmody
Games Juror / Founder & Executive Producer
Alex Zepherin
Animation Juror / Don Dada Studio
Myles McLeod
Family Friendly Juror / BAFTA Award Winning Writer
Alice Bloomfield
Animation Juror / Ridley Scott Associates Films
Glenn Holberton
Animation Juror / Loose Moose Productions
Alia Sheikh
VR & Immersive Experiences Juror / BBC
Nancy Ryan
Comedy Juror / Ridley Scott Creative Group
Daisy Francis
Thriller Juror
Patrick Craig
Comedy Juror / Blink Productions
Julie La’Bassiere
Advertising, Music Video & Fashion Juror
Annabel Grundy
Documentary Features Juror / Sheffield Doc/Fest
Roy Jox-Fredstie
Documentary Juror / Producer & Filmmaker
Aubrey Clarke
Family Friendly Juror / BBC Children
Tom Knights
Game Juror / Senior Narrative Designer at Ubisoft Reflections
Advisory Board
Sadie Clayton
Artist & Designer
MarBelle
Comedy Programmer / Directors Notes
Julian Foddy
VFX Supervisor / Industrial Light & Magic / Drama Juror
Martin Roker
Black Dog Films
Jess Loveland
Head of New Writing / BBC
Steve Jelley
Hammerhead VR
Daryll Smalley
City of York Council
Dionne Farrell
Development Executive / BBC Films
Max Park
Development and Production Executive / Film4
Richard Knight
Screen Yorkshire
