Aleem Khan and Lorna Martin among those Honoured as The CTBF Announce John Brabourne Award Recipients For 2016

12 individuals selected across film and television

JBAs to be awarded twice-yearly as of January 2017

• A record 250 applications were received for the annual programme that supports individuals in Film & TV who are driven and talented, but who may have faced personal or professional hurdles in developing their career.

• Each recipient will receive a grant of up to £5,000 to support the next steps of their careers, alongside professional support and talent development from The CTBF.

• In recognition of the programme’s continued success and the ongoing need for support amongst the industry’s emerging talent, The CTBF will from today offer the JBAs twice per year, with the first additional round to close for submissions on 31 January 2017.

The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), the UK charity for people working behind the scenes in cinema, film and television, has today announced the twelve recipients of the 2016 John Brabourne Awards (JBAs).

A record 250 applications were received for the annual programme that supports individuals in Film & TV who are driven and talented, but who may have faced personal or professional hurdles in developing their career. Each recipient will receive a grant of up to £5,000 to support the next steps of their careers, alongside professional support and talent development from The CTBF.

In recognition of the programme’s continued success and the ongoing need for support amongst the industry’s emerging talent, The CTBF will from today offer the JBAs twice per year, with the first additional round to close for submissions on 31 January 2017. The programme is open to anyone working behind the scenes in film, cinema or television, and in recent years it has supported activities such as offering writers time-to-write, supporting producers to develop their slates, financial assistance for postgraduate students, and supporting costs associated with studio space for craft professionals. Those interested in applying can do so from today.

Visit the JBA Website for more information.

Pete Jordi Wood, a writer and one of this year’s awardees said “As a carer from a low income household, and having a disability myself, receiving a JBA is a genuinely life changing opportunity for me to be able to focus on my writing for a period of time and develop new work for the screen. I am incredibly grateful to The CTBF and to the late, great John Brabourne and his family for their support.”

D’Arcy Myers, Chief Executive of The CTBF commented “The JBAs are our flagship talent development programme, allowing us to reach the next wave of talented individuals and help our cherished film and television industries flourish in return. This year has been no exception, with a record number of applications received and a standard of candidate widely praised as remarkable by our experienced selection committee. To begin offering the JBAs twice each year is not only the obvious thing to do in the face of such talent and need, but it is also a pleasure to increase the number of driven individuals whose journeys we can play a small but crucial part in developing.”

Recent alumni of the JBAs include Gareth Tunley, whose debut feature The Ghoul was selected for this year’s BFI London Film Festival and received a BIFA nomination; Rachel Tunnard, whose debut feature Adult Life Skills won the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival and received six BIFA nominations; Toby Fell-Holden, whose short film Balcony is currently available on BBC iPlayer and has won numerous awards including a Crystal Bear at Berlinale; and writer-director Kat Wood, who this year shot her debut short starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and whose feature debut as writer-director was recently green-lit for production.

A full list of this year’s awardees can be found below:

Aleem Khan is an award-winning writer-director of mixed English/Pakistani heritage, living and working in London. His latest short film, Three Brothers, was nominated for a BAFTA, and in 2015 Aleem was named one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow. Aleem is currently in development with Creative England on his debut feature film, which is being produced by The Bureau Film Company and he has recently been selected to participate on this year’s Guiding Lights, the UK film industry’s leading mentoring scheme. His JBA provides support towards developing his slate.

Eleanor Herzog is a writer living in Norwich. After studying Literature at Sussex, Eleanor moved to South Korea and then Hong Kong, where she started her writing career with Siren Films. After returning to England, Eleanor continued to work in television and film, most recently as a Development Editor in Keshet UK’s drama department. After completing an MA in Scriptwriting at The University of East Anglia, Eleanor is now developing a magical realism feature with director Brian Williams and is producing her first short film, Come Home. She was recently selected to participate in the BFI Creative England Talent Module. Eleanor’s JBA supports living costs while she writes.

Julia Berg is a producer based in London. Julia’s career in film began when she worked for leading New York-based producer Anthony Bregman’s Likely Story, on features including Synechdoche, New York and Please Give. Returning to London, Julia worked as the Development Executive for award-winning producer James Wilson (Under The Skin, 20,000 Days on Earth) on his slate of projects for auteur filmmakers, and most recently she worked in development for Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray’s Maven Pictures. Julia is now capitalising on her relationships with key producing partners and talent, to establish her own slate of projects for film and TV.

Katherine Hearst is a freelance animation director and graphic artist based in London. She began her career as an art director and art department assistant on independent and large-scale productions, including assisting the production designer Dennis Gassner on Into the Woods. Seeking more opportunities to express her creativity and use her skills as an illustrator, Katherine enrolled to study at the Royal College of Art in London. She has since developed her craft as an animator, and is now working on her third short animated film, supporting by a JBA.

Lorna Martin is a writer based in Edinburgh. Previously an award-winning journalist and Scotland Editor of The Observer, in 2008 Lorna wrote a critically acclaimed comic memoir, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which was optioned by Ruby Films and subsequently Working Title. In recent years, whilst also raising two young daughters, she has written several TV scripts, including a comedy pilot with Sharon Horgan. Recently Lorna made the shortlist of 12 in BAFTA’s Rocliffe New Writing Comedy Award and reached the final 40 (out of over 3000 entries) in BBC Writersroom’s Drama Script call. Her JBA provides assistance towards childcare and script editing costs while she develops new projects.

Lorraine Newman graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Art History before beginning her career working on various short films and independent productions in a number of roles, including as a producer and production coordinator. She then assisted the drama development team at ITV Studios before joining David Higham Associates as an assistant literary agent for film, TV and theatre. During this time she also studied Producing for Film at the Met Film School led by course tutor Stephen Follows. She currently works within the BFI Film Fund and is completing a diploma in Script Development at the National Film & Television School. Her JBA provides support towards tuition fees.

Mike Day is a cinematographer, director and producer from Scotland. Originally trained as a lawyer, Mike made the transition into film in 2009 when he headed off into the Scottish Outer Hebrides on a boat with a camera and met the Guga Hunters of Ness. The resulting documentary was commissioned by the BBC and screened internationally. Mike then went on to be one of EDN’s 12 for the Future, and one of 10 to watch in The Filmmaker Magazine. Supported by Sundance Institute, San Francisco Film Society, Creative Europe, Creative Scotland, Wellcome Trust, and the Danish Film Institute Mike then made the feature documentary, The Islands and the Whales in the Faroe Islands, released in 2016 the film has gone on to win awards and a BAFTA Scotland nomination and is due for UK release in 2017. This award will support Mike to work on his narrative writing, and his next feature documentary.

Pete Jordi Wood is a writer based in Cornwall who graduated from Falmouth University and holds a B.A. in Digital Animation. He has written for BBC One and Channel 4, as well as for BBC Radio. His credits include Eastenders and I Don’t Care – his 30-minute original drama starring Iwan Rheon and Paloma Faith in a semi-autobiographical tale about a young adult carer who receives a rare day off and goes in search of his lost youth. His JBA provides support towards developing a slate of new projects, including a contemporary musical drama about care leavers, Tin Town, to be Executive Produced by Emma Burge and Tom Bidwell, with music from West End composer Michael Bruce.

Sean McGarrity is in his second year studying Sound Design at the National Film and Television School. Originally from Belfast, Sean first worked as a freelance sound designer and production sound engineer on advertisements, promotional videos and audio visual shows. He then moved into working as a boom operator on short films and television, leading to the role of Sound Trainee for season six of Game of Thrones. His time on Game of Thrones galvanised his decision to pursue post-production sound, leading him to apply to NFTS and pursue a career as a Sound Designer. His award will help with tuition costs and living expenses during his final year.

Sedi Ghadiri is a London-based German-Iranian filmmaker currently studying for an MA in Filmmaking at the London Film School. After graduating with an MA in Politics and Middle Eastern Studies from Bonn University in Germany in 2008, she moved to London to pursue a career as an independent filmmaker. Her early works are a series of unconventional narrative films, exploring the notion of diaspora and displacement, which were exhibited among other places at the V&A and at Sheffield Doc Fest. Alongside her commitment to independent film projects, Sedi worked as a freelance Editor for BBC World Service before joining the London Film School. She is currently working on her graduation film and her award will support living costs during her final year.

Shan Ogilvie Christopher is a producer and writer based in London. Shan studied Film & TV Production at University of Westminster before moving into branded content and television production. He has created content for clients such as Vodafone, Citibank and O2, and shot factual television shows such as the BAFTA nominated Paul O’Grady: For The Love of Dogs, The Wishing Tree, and Ian Brady: 50 Years Behind Bars. He produced the short film Stutterer, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, the UK Film Critics Circle Award and the Irish Film & Television Award. He is particularly interested in themes of social mobility, masculinity and mental health issues, and is currently writing a feature script and developing a series of connected shorts, and his JBA provides support towards developing his slate.

Stella Heath Keir shot and edited her first short (On the Road) during her final year at the Edinburgh College of Art, where she graduated with a First Class BA (Hons) Degree in Photography. Post graduation, she continued to collaborate with filmmakers, experimental artists and musicians, gaining an archive researcher credit on From Scotland With Love, and producing and co-editing the critically acclaimed six-part web-series Translantics for ARTE Creative. Stella will begin her MA in Editing at the National Film and Television School in January 2017, the fees for which will be supported by her JBA.

About The CTBF
The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (The CTBF) is the TV and Film charity supporting people working behind the scenes in the UK film, cinema and commercial television industries. They provide care, advice and financial assistance to industry employees (active and retired) and their families who suffer adversity. This may be due to bereavement, illness, redundancy, relationship break down and other hardships.