BAFTA unveils its 2022 UK and US Breakthroughs

Today, BAFTA has revealed the 33 creatives from across the UK and US selected for BAFTA Breakthrough 2022. BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship talent initiative that provides a springboard to creatives in film, games and TV. Over a year, Breakthrough participants receive unique professional development support from BAFTA – from coaching and mentoring to networking opportunities with BAFTA’s global membership of key industry figures.  

The annual cohort is selected by international creative leaders and over 200 people have passed through the programme to-date, including screenwriters, actors, games designers, producers, costume designers, casting directors, DoPs, editors and production designers. Many go on to achieve national and international industry acclaim, and Breakthrough alumni include Florence Pugh, Tom Holland, Letitia Wright, Daisy May Cooper, Charlie Covell, Aisha Bywaters, Kayleigh Llewellyn, Jim LeBrecht, Ember Lab (Games), Aadip Desai, PC Williams and Jessie Buckley.  

The full list of this year’s BAFTA Breakthroughs is as follows:

UK Breakthroughs (20)

Alex Thomas | Director - Yorkshire Cop: Police, Racism and Me (TV)
Alyx Jones | Dialogue Editor - Elden Ring (Games)
Ambika Mod | Performer – This is Going to Hurt (TV)
Chloë Fairweather | Director – Dying to Divorce (Film)
Diana Olifirova | Cinematographer - Heartstopper (TV)
Emily Brown | Lead Designer - Alba: a Wildlife Adventure (Games)
Jack Rooke | Writer/Executive Producer – Big Boys (TV)
Jamal Green | Composer - TOEM (Games)
Joanna Boateng | Producer - Uprising (TV)
Leon Harrop | Performer – Ralph & Katie (TV)
Marley Morrison | Writer/Director  - Sweetheart (Film)
Morag Taylor | Principal Technical Artist – Total War: Warhammer 3 (Games)
Nell Barlow | Performer - Sweetheart (Film)
Nicôle Lecky | Writer/Executive Producer/Actor - MOOD (TV)
Paul Sng | Director - Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (Film)
Rose Ayling-Ellis | Performer - Eastenders (TV)
Runyararo Mapfumo | Director – Sex Education (TV)
Sophie Cunningham | Director – Look Away (TV)
Theo Williams | Director – Terms & Conditions: Deeper than Drill (TV)
Zachary Soares & Luciana Nascimento | Co-Founders, Creative Director & Artistic Director – Moonglow Bay (Games)

US Breakthroughs (12)

Alex Pritz | Director - The Territory (Film, Documentary)
Amrit Kaur | Performer - The Sex Lives of College Girls (TV)
Brandon Perea | Performer - NOPE (Film)
Charlotte Hornsby | Cinematographer - MASTER (Film)
Clare Knight | Director - Back to the Outback (Film)
Daphne Qin Wu | Cinematographer - The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (Film)
Ellie Foumbi | Director/Writer - Our Father, the Devil (Film)
Megan Fox | Founder/Games Programmer - SkateBIRD (Games)
Melissa Adeyemo | Producer - Eyimofe (Film)
Rebeca Huntt | Director - Beba (Film, Documentary)
Robert Ouyang Rusli | Composer – Test Pattern (Film)
So Yun Um | Director - Liquor Store Dreams (Film, Documentary)

BAFTA’s Chief Executive Jane Millichip, said: “Congratulations to this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough participants in both the UK and US. It’s fantastic to see such breadth and depth of talent represented across film, games and television. It is a core tenet of BAFTA to provide, not only starter programmes, but also the networks and mentoring to accelerate the careers of those who are already on their creative journey, and the skill and commitment already demonstrated by this year’s cohort is hugely impressive. We’re incredibly proud of the immense contribution Breakthrough participants bring to the screen industries and what they go on to achieve. This is core to BAFTA’s purpose and of course, none of this is possible without our industry partners, and we are hugely grateful to Netflix for their continued support of BAFTA Breakthrough.”

Matthew Wiseman, Executive Director and Head of BAFTA North America, said: “Breakthrough puts the spotlight on extraordinary people doing extraordinary things in the fields of film, games and TV, at the threshold of ’breakthrough’ moments or career trajectories. I am very proud of the US cohort in particular, who are movers and shakers at heart, eager to build on their successes, and BAFTA will nurture them over the coming year. This is a real highlight in BAFTA’s calendar as the UK and US teams collaborate to offer a wonderful experience both for the new cohort announced today and alumni of the Breakthrough program.”

Anne Mensah, Vice President of UK Content at Netflix, said: “We couldn’t be more proud to be supporting BAFTA Breakthrough again and this exceptional group of creatives. From the very beginning, celebrating and breaking out the next generation of talent has been hugely important to Netflix. We’ve seen how Breakthrough brings much needed support and attention to creatives early in their careers, and how it unearths fresh voices who have all gone on to become huge forces across our industry.”

Jodi Balfour, actor and BAFTA Breakthrough juror, added: “I was thrilled to be part of the BAFTA Breakthrough jury alongside so many other talented industry heavyweights. Talent within the USA entrants was abundant, so we found it difficult to narrow it down to our final list, but we’re extremely proud of who we chose this year. I know first-hand that during times of creative transition, we all need support. As someone who has worked in Film and TV for years, I know how crucial support is to our success. Whatever your contribution to our industries might be - whether it is working on a new personal project, being platformed by an organisation like BAFTA or working with someone you aspire to be like - it all counts!”

The 2022 UK jury was chaired by Ade Rawcliffe (Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV), and was comprised of cross-industry names including Fiona Lamptey (Director of Features, Netflix), performer Marianne Jean-Baptiste, BBC Comedy commissioning editor Emma Lawson, Casting Director Lauren Evans, and Breakthrough alumnae Ruth Madeley and Charu Desodt. Meanwhile in the US, the jury was chaired by actor Nyasha Hatendi, and included the likes of actors Jodi Balfour and Bianca Lawson, cinematographer Ava Berkofsky, TV executive producer and showrunner Ari Katcher, director, writer and producer Stephanie Laing and Netflix Studio Exec Racheline Benveniste.

Breakthrough is a global initiative encompassing the USA and India – and has been running for almost a decade, which is a testament to its continued success and massive impact. 

From facilitating key meetings with BAFTA’s global membership and key industry figures, to coaching and career development, BAFTA Breakthrough is unique and hugely successful. Since its launch in 2013, BAFTA Breakthrough has championed over 200 talented newcomers, including performers  Tom Holland, Letitia Wright, Jessie Buckley, Bukky Bakray, Paapa Essiedu, Florence Pugh, Lydia West, George Robinson, Josh O’Connor, Lauren Ridloff and Amir El-Masry, games creatives Daniel Gray, Chella Ramanan, Segun Akinola, Gemma Langford, Rex Crowle, Joanna Haslam, Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou and Charu Desodt, and writers and directors Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht, Charlie Covell, Rose Glass, Stella Corradi, David Proud, Destiny Ekaragha, Georgie Banks-Davies, Prano Bailey Bond and Aleem Khan amongst many others. Many go on to develop their own games, TV shows or features and achieve national and international industry acclaim, including BAFTA nominations.

As an incubator for the industry’s future change-makers, BAFTA Breakthrough nurtures and celebrates peer-to-peer network building. One upcoming project, the Netflix series Kaos was created and written by Charlie Covell (alumni) and directed by Georgi Banks-Davies (alumni) and Runyararo Mapfumo (2022/23 cohort).

Supporters of the initiative in recent years include world-class talent: actors Olivia Colman, Tilda Swinton, Zawe Ashton, Will Poulter, Suranne Jones, actor-producer Brad Pitt, directors Tom Harper, Nia DaCosta, Barry Jenkins and Asif Kapadia, game designers and developers Brenda Romero, Hideo Kojima, Tim Schafer, actor-writers Sharon Horgan, Amy Schumer, writer-director Amma Asante and journalist Louis Theroux. 

As the main supporting partner for the fourth year on BAFTA Breakthrough, Netflix continues to provide integral support in the global expansion. Through Breakthrough, BAFTA and Netflix share a joint vision to celebrate and provide opportunities for emerging talent across the world, bringing together international communities across global networks, in order to develop and support stories and voices from different cultures.

BAFTA Breakthrough is part of BAFTA’s year-round initiative to nurture the next generation of creative talent. Its long-established and celebrated programmes, such as BAFTA Elevate, Young Games Designers, and the Yugo BAFTA Student Awards, help thousands of people build their careers in film, games, and television. From children and students to rising stars and new practitioners, levelling the playing field for all is at the heart of BAFTA’s mission.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

• Click here for more information about the Netflix-supported BAFTA Breakthrough initiative.

Photography

• The UK cohort was photographed by Sophia Spring and the US cohort by Jessica Chou, images are available here.

BAFTA – the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).

About Netflix:

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