The CTBF Welcomes New Year with Announcement of 2015/16 John Brabourne Award Recipients

The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), the charity for those working behind the scenes in the UK cinema, film, and commercial television industries, has today announced the recipients of the annual John Brabourne Awards (JBAs). 10 people have been supported by the prestigious talent development programme, each receiving grants of between £1,000 and £5,000. The JBAs provide a stepping stone for individuals who are talented and driven but have faced challenges in developing their career.

The 2015/16 awardees include: Toby Fell-Holden, award-winning director of short film BALCONY; Kate Moore (pictured), development executive at indie Powerhouse FLY FILM; and exciting new cinematographer from The London Film School, Nathalie Pitters. The awardees were finalised by an experienced industry committee faced with the task of whittling the list down from the record 300 entrants who applied for consideration.

Barry Jenkins, President of the CTBF said: “We are thrilled to announce the latest awardees; a talented group already hard at work taking the next big strides in their careers following the receipt of their grants. Past recipients have gone on to create award-winning film and television, and we’re certain that the class of 2015/16 possess the potential to do the very same, as these awards – and their recipients - continue to honour the legacy of a man dedicated to championing and supporting the brightest new talent.”

Previous recipients include: Rachel Tunnard, Writer/Director of the hugely anticipated feature film HOW TO LIVE YOURS; Krishnendu Majumdar, Series Director of the popular AN IDIOT ABROAD; Adam Biskupski, Editor of THE GOOB, which premiered at Venice Film Festival in 2014; and Gaia Meucci, programmer of the Bristol based film festival, ENCOUNTERS.

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

Kate Moore
Kate is a Manchester-born development executive working at Fly Film in scripted and documentary feature film/television. Kate works closely with writers and directors searching for new projects, new talent and supports the development of Fly’s slate. Prior to joining Fly, she worked at Lonelyleap Film as a producer. Kate produced independent documentary R. ENSTONE which was in competition at Leeds International Film Festival 2014, LSFF 2015 and Full Frame 2015. She is currently completing a diploma in Script Development at the National Film & Television School and her JBA provides support towards tuition fees.

Toby Fell-Holden
Toby is a writer-director who graduated from Columbia Film School in New York and holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University. His recent short BALCONY was the winner of the London Calling Plus award, and his graduation short LITTLE SHADOW was nominated for an Artios by the Casting Society of America. He has been awarded fellowships from the Moving Picture Institute and Academy of Motion Picture Arts Sciences. He is currently developing feature scripts with director Ramin Bahrani and producer Afolabi Kuti, and his JBA provides support towards developing his slate.

Kim Tserkezie
Kim recently set up TV/Film production company, SCATTERED PICTURES, which aims to create drama and comedy based in North East England. She has over 20 years broadcast media experience, presenting BBC’s DISABILITY TODAY and FROM THE EDGE for many years.  Kim is perhaps best known for her work on BAFTA award winning children’s show, BALAMORY (CBeebies) in which she appeared as ‘Penny Pocket’ in four series and on stage in two extensive UK theatre and arena tours. Kim is currently in development with Lime Pictures on a prime time drama series based on her original idea. Her JBA provides assistance with travel and subsistence costs.

Dr Helen Bolter BVSc MRCVS
Helen is a Veterinary Surgeon who went to study contemporary theatre at RADA.  She worked as the Production Vet on Amit Gupta's RESISTANCE in 2010 and then went on to produce and direct her first short. She has independently produced and directed four short films all of which have been selected for festivals.  Recently she was selected for Creative England's New Talent Module and she is currently writing a short and a feature-length comedy script.  She intends to direct both projects, with the short being a showcase for the feature.  Her award supports living costs whilst she develops her scripts.

Fawzia Mahmood
Having read Economics at Brown University and worked in finance in New York for four years, Fawzia decided to leave the industry to make her way in the world of film. She has since completed a master’s degree at Cambridge University, where she wrote a thesis on the finance of India’s contemporary film industry. Fawzia is currently completing the MA in Producing at the National Film and Television School as a Toledo Scholar. Her independent collaborations include short film BOYS, a new period war drama and assistant producing A MOVING IMAGE, an upcoming feature film set in present-day Brixton by writer/director Shola Amoo. Her JBA provides assistance towards tuition fees.

Jens Rosenlund Petersen
Jens is a free lance sound editor with a background in theatre and installation art. Originally from Denmark, Jens was educated at the NFTS in Beaconsfield. Selected credits include '71' (Dir Yann Demange), DETOUR (Dir: Chris Smith), SNOW IN PARADISE (Dir: Andrew Hulme), ENGLISH MAGIC (Dir: Jeremy Deller), PLAYTIME (Dir: Isaac Julien) Short films include: EKKI MUKK (Dir: Nick Abrahams), THE BACK OF BEYOND (Dir: Michael Lennox), JONAH (Dir: Kibwe Tavares), SKYBORN (Dir: Jamie Stone) & ORBIT EVER AFTER (Dir: Jamie Stone). His JBA provides assistance for him to upgrade his offline studio facility. 

Payam Hosseinian
Born in Tehran, Payam started his career by performing in many radio drama productions including WAR AND PEACE, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, THE SHINING, THE TRIAL and THE GREAT GATSBY.  In 2006, he moved to the UK and after completing a Masters in theatre and performance, he started directing the dubbing for many BBC series for the World Service. He is currently completing a Masters in Sound Design at The National Film and TV School and is particularly attracted to working on films in the British social realist tradition. His JBA provides assistance towards his tuition fees. 

Nathalie Pitters
Nathalie has been a freelance photographer for the last ten years and her photography has taken her all around the world. Her photo of a local Yao woman in China won the Artificial Eye’s Salgadogram Award 2015, and was exhibited at the Curzon Bloomsbury. She made the transition into cinematography when she won the skillset bursary to the London Film School in Spring 2014. She is now in her second and final year of the MA Filmmaking course, where she is specialising in cinematography. Her aesthetic is influenced by Christopher Doyle, Natasha Braier and Vittorio Storaro. Her JBA goes towards her living costs and fees whilst she completes her graduation films. 

Kat Wood
Kat grew up in Yarm, a quiet town in the North East of England, and has a background in broadcast journalism. Her first produced film, MR BOJAGI, won the Best Short Film Award at the London Independent Film Festival and is distributed by Shorts International.  In 2012, Kat was a finalist for the Bluecat Cordelia Award and Final Draft Big Break competition with a script written with her writing partner. Together, they have had two scripts optioned, completed three writing assignments and their first produced feature, ARTHUR & MERLIN, has just been released in the UK, with a release in the US, France and Germany still to come.  Kat was voted on to The Tracking Board’s ‘young and hungry’ list 2014, which lists the top 100 emerging writers in Hollywood and is voted for by industry professionals. She is represented by Zero Gravity Management.

Kate Turner
Kate spent four years at independent film company Finite Films working in all aspects of film production and development before moving into full time production at Channel 5. After producing several shorts and pilots both independently and for Finite, Kate set up her own production company, The Road Productions, in 2014.  Having recently executive produced her first feature film, NEIGHBOURHOOD FOOD DRIVE, shot over the summer in Chicago, she is now currently raising finance for an ambitious short film adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s THE OVERCOAT with director Patrick Myles, whilst growing her development slate. 

About the CTBF
The Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF) is the leading UK charity for people working behind the scenes in the film, cinema and commercial television industries. The CTBF exists to support creatives, production professionals, marketers and administration staff from script to screen, who are experiencing extreme hardship due to ill health, redundancy or other unfortunate circumstances. The CTBF does this through the following schemes:

Financial Assistance – The CTBF offers grants or loans in order to help those finding it difficult to make ends meet, or struggling on a low income.

Practical Assistance – The CTBF assists in the necessary replacement of domestic appliances that are outdated or unsafe, as well as in making adaptations to a home in order to allow families to go on living there.
Back to Work – The CTBF ‘Back to Work’ package helps those that are out of work and finding it difficult to obtain more work. After assessment, the CTBF offers an “immediate needs” payment and grant to help with bills for six months.

In addition to one-off grants and regular payments to those in need, the Fund runs a number of wider-welfare initiatives. These include the John Brabourne Awards, providing financial assistance to individuals working behind the scenes in the Film and TV industries that have faced difficulties in progressing their career due to unfortunate circumstances in either their personal or professional lives, the Glebelands Care Home, providing residential care and full nursing; and the CTBF National Care Plan, enabling those who have worked in the film or commercial television industries for at least two years, and their parents, to receive a discount in any Anchor care home across England. In addition, the CTBF offers independent living in the Broccoli Cloister, a development of twenty seven flats.

The CTBF, is registered in England, Wales and Scotland (No. 1099660) 

Further information is available at The CTBF and on Twitter @theCTBF.

About John Brabourne
John Brabourne was one of Britain's most prolific producers with an illustrious career spanning four decades and twenty-seven films. He produced some of the greats of British cinema, including A PASSAGE TO INDIA, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and ROMEO AND JULIET. His films secured five Oscars® and twenty one nominations. John Brabourne was also Chairman of Thames Television and a Director of Euston Films and Thorn EMI.

Throughout his career he consistently championed the need to support new talent entering into the film and television industries, a cause he furthered in his time as a Trustee of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund.