Bryony Forde (Altitude Distribution)

After graduating from the University of Sheffield Bryony stayed in the city working for the organisation now known as Cinema For All. She then made the move to London and distribution, talking to cinemas on behalf of independent distributors Icon (It Follows, The Nice Guys), STX (Wind River, I Feel Pretty) and since 2019 she has been Theatrical Sales Director at Altitude working on titles including Horrible Histories, David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, Rocks and Minari.

Hannah Strong (Little White Lies)

Hannah Strong is the Digital Editor of Little White Lies magazine and a culture journalist with a decade's experience. She has written for publications including Vulture, The Guardian, GQ and Monocle, and has published books on Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson. Her third book, on the Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, will be released in late 2026.

Jaq Chell (Cinema for All)

Jaq Chell has been with Cinema For All for over 12 years, having previously worked at the Showroom Cinema and Sensoria Film and Music Festival. She is responsible for the overall programme of Cinema For All, including special events, including the Community Cinema Conference and Film Society of the Year Awards. She regularly speaks at nation-wide events on the importance of community-led film, and is passionate about bringing inclusive cinema experiences to all corners of the UK.

Joy Hunter (BIFA)

Joy Hunter is the Marketing Co-ordinator at BIFA, where she leads on the development of BIFA’s social and marketing strategy, including the awards, year-round activity supporting independent titles, and industry-facing comms. Previously to BIFA, she has worked in film marketing and TV development. She also makes video essays.

Manon Euler (Film Hub North)

Manon Euler has served as the Head of Film Hub North since 2023, developing opportunities for the Northern Exhibition sector, BFI NETWORK in the North and BFI Academy Plus.

Melanie Iredale (Reclaim The Frame)

Melanie Iredale (she/her) is a film exhibitor, audience development strategist and cine-activist. In 2021, she took up post as Director of Reclaim The Frame, the charity behind the UK’s campaign for gender equity in cinema, known formerly as Birds’ Eye View Film Festival. Now in its 20th year, through film campaigns, training programmes and data-based advocacy, the organisation seeks to build community for filmmakers of all marginalised genders and their work, with a mission to promote equity in all film spaces.

Prior to this, Melanie was Deputy Director at Sheffield DocFest 2014-2021, one of the world’s leading documentary festivals and marketplaces, and served as Director of Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival 2009-2014, renowned for its award-winning commissions.

Melanie is invited to speak regularly on EDI in the sector, has served on dozens of juries globally, including the Teddy Awards at Berlinale, and is a BAFTA member.

Mikaela Smith (Independent Cinema Office)

Mikaela Smith joined the Independent Cinema Office as a Film Programmer in 2022. Previously, she took the role of Programme Manager at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield in 2020, guiding the cinema through recovery and rebuilding audiences. Mikaela was at the Showroom for five years, taking on various roles in Programming and Audience Development. She originally joined the organisation through the ICO’s FEDS scheme in 2017. She has been working across film programming, audience development and in cultural events since graduating from university in 2014.

Mita Suri (Sheffield DocFest)

With a background in community cinema exhibition, Mita Suri started working at DocFest as a volunteer, then supported the DocCircuit tour as a Distribution Trainee, moving on to be the Film Programme Coordinator and now the Film Programme Producer, supervising the delivery of the Film Programme for the festival. She is primarily responsible for the external contacts including filmmakers, national film institutes and distributors, managing the submissions processing and coordinating Doc/Fest's year-round activity outside of the festival. Mita's previous work experience has been in health services' management, youth leadership initiatives and as support teaching staff in schools within the UK and abroad. Mita is a programmer for the Northern Focus film strand.

Olivia Thomas (Leeds Queer Film Festival / Reclaim The Frame)

Olivia is an organiser and lead programmer of Leeds Queer Film Festival. She also programmes for Leeds International Film Festival and Bradford Queer Film Festival.

Regys Badi (Minute Shorts)

Regys Badi is the Co-Founder and Head of Film at Minute Shorts, a platform dedicated to showcasing short films with a focus on intentional viewing experiences. His expertise spans film curation, research, programming, marketing strategy, and event coordination. Throughout his career, he has worked with esteemed companies such as Disney, ourscreen, Discovery, Great Point Media, and Blast Films, specialising in film distribution, marketing, operations, and production.

Remi Hinds (Showcase Cinemas)

Remi Hinds is currently a manager of on Screen Content for the UK at Showcase Cinemas – a commercial cinema circuit that has 16 sites across the UK. She has worked various roles throughout the film industry since 2015 starting from Box Office attendant at her local independent cinema Phoenix Leicester. From here she has done theatrical sales placements at Thunderbird Releasing, Disney and Altitude as well as working in the operations team at the BBFC. She has now switched over to exhibition in the last 4 years as a film programmer.