Celebrating 10 years of BAFTA Breakthrough: 2023 global cohort announced today

• 42 ‘must-watch’ creatives working in film, games and television from UK, USA and India invited to join this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough cohort  
  
• BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship new talent initiative in partnership with Netflix, offering year-round programme of industry meetings and professional development opportunities  
  
• Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, alumni include Josh O’Connor, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Jim LeBrecht, Letitia Wright, Paapa Essiedu, Tom Holland, Lauren Ridloff, Brandon Perea, Laurie Nunn and Sarah Lampert

Link to BAFTA images: HERE 

Link to headshots and biographies: HERE 

Today, BAFTA announces the 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort, featuring 42 ‘must-watch’ creatives working in film, games and television, from across the UK, US and India. BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship talent initiative in partnership with Netflix, providing a springboard to creatives spanning craft specialisms from hair & make up, production, editing and games design, to performance, directing and cinematography.

Awarded to those in the midst of, or on the cusp of their breakthrough moment, the year-long initiative includes one-to-one meetings and career guidance, full voting membership, access to BAFTA events and screenings, as well as networking events, both in the UK and internationally.

This year’s participants have been involved with some of the most exciting creative debuts and projects over the last year. Selected by a jury comprised of leading cross-industry figures led by BAFTA sector committee chairs and members including Ade Rawcliffe, Sara Putt, Emily Stillman, Emma Morgan and Anisa Sanusi in the UK and Aadip Desai (USA) and Guneet Monga (India) the full list of this year’s BAFTA Breakthroughs is as follows:

UK BREAKTHOUGHS (20):

• Adjani Salmon, writer/performer/exec producer – Dreaming Whilst Black
• Bella Ramsey, performer – The Last of Us
• Cash Carraway, creator/writer/exec producer – Rain Dogs
• Charlotte Regan, writer/director – Scrapper
• Cynthia De La Rosa, hair & make up artist – Everyone Else Burns
• Ella Glendining, director – Is There Anybody Out There?
• Funmi Olutoye, lead producer – ’Black History Makers’ (Good Morning Britain)
• Georgia Oakley, writer/director – Blue Jean
• Holly Reddaway, voice and performance director – Baldur’s Gate 3
• Joel Beardshaw, lead designer - Desta: The Memories Between
• Kat Morgan, hair & makeup designer – Blue Jean
• Kathryn Ferguson, writer/director – Nothing Compares
• Kitt (Fiona) Byrne, 2D artist/game designer - Gibbon: Beyond the Trees
• Michael Anderson, producer - Desta: The Memories Between
• Pete Jackson, writer/creator – Somewhere Boy
• Raine Allen-Miller, director – Rye Lane
• Rosy McEwen, performer – Blue Jean
• Samantha Béart, performer - The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow
• Talisha ‘Tee Cee’ Johnson, writer/director/presenter – Too Autistic for Black
• Vivian Oparah, performer – Rye Lane

US BREAKTHROUGHS (12):

• Amanda Kim, documentary director - Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV
• Aminah Nieves, performer - 1923
• Apoorva Charan, producer - Joyland
• Cheyenne Pualani Morrin, senior games writer - STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor
• Edward Buckles Jr., documentary director - Katrina Babies
• Gary Gunn, composer - A Thousand and One
• Jingyi Shao, writer & director - Chang Can Dunk
• Maria Altamirano, producer - All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
• Santiago Gonzalez, cinematographer - Shortcomings
• Shelly Yo, writer & director - Smoking Tigers
• Sing J. Lee, writer & director - The Accidental Getaway Driver
• Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, writer & director - Mutt

INDIA BREAKTHROUGHS (10):

• Abhay Koranne, writer - Rocket Boys
• Abhinav Tyagi, editor - An Insignificant Man
• Don Chacko Palathara, director/writer - Joyful Mystery
• Kislay, writer – Soni
• Lipika Singh Darai, director/writer - Some Stories Around Witches
• Miriam Chandy Menacherry, producer - From the Shadows and The Leopard’s Tribe
• Pooja Rajkumar Rathod, cinematographer - Secrets of the Elephants
• Sanal George, sound editor/mixer/designer - Gangubai Kathiawadi
• Satya Rai Nagpaul, cinematographer – Ghoomketu
• Shardul Bhardwaj, performer - Eeb Allay Ooo!

BAFTA’s CEO Jane Millichip, said: “BAFTA Breakthrough is a gold standard programme. And the fact that we are celebrating our ten-year anniversary is testament to the dedication of our incredible alumni, industry supporters, juries, and industry advisers. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed over the years, and particularly to our partner Netflix. This year’s cohort is really impressive, having already achieved credits in high-end TV drama, debut films, documentaries, hair and make up design; and game design. BAFTA Breakthrough is designed to harness that early success and develop the skills for life-long, rewarding careers. Congratulations to this year’s BAFTA Breakthroughs.”

Anne Mensah, Vice President, Content, Netflix UK said: “This is our fifth year supporting BAFTA Breakthrough and we are so proud to support a programme that offers such transformative support, networks and opportunities. Breakthrough alumni are the next generation of creative visionaries from right across the entertainment spectrum. Its impact is unrivalled with talent such as Josh O’Connor, Florence Pugh, Laurie Nunn and Charlie Covell making waves across the industry as well as on Netflix.”

Aadip Desai, TV Writer and Chair of the BAFTA Breakthrough US jury said: “It was an honour and a privilege to chair the 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough USA jury as a proud alum of the inaugural 2020 Breakthrough USA cohort. Being selected as a Breakthrough is akin to finding Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket but for your film, TV, and games career. Our outstanding, diverse jury brought thoughtful expertise to the review of these exceptional candidates, making deliberations an absolute joy, save for the occasional fistfight.

Congratulations, 2023 Breakthroughs! You impressed and inspired us with your creative brilliance and resilience. You should be proud to have earned this recognition and validation. I’m thrilled for you to avail yourself of the robust resources BAFTA offers to support your careers, including the opportunity to connect and build relationships with your talented cohort, alums, and potential mentors among the industry’s most distinguished and generous creatives. Welcome to the BAFTA family! We can’t wait to see what you do next.”

Guneet Monga, Film Producer and Ambassador for BAFTA Breakthrough in India, said: “There is no shortage of creative talent in India as demonstrated by the previous two iterations of BAFTA Breakthrough.  We had a tough time choosing ten deserving candidates from an enormous pool of fresh candidates. It will be exciting to see how they harness BAFTA Breakthrough’s opportunities to hone their craft on a global stage"

BAFTA Breakthrough is celebrating its ten-year anniversary this year. As an incubator for the industry’s future change-makers, BAFTA Breakthrough nurtures and celebrates peer-to-peer network building among a host of 121 meetings including with Danny Boyle, Paul Greengrass, Barry Jenkins, Martin McDonagh, Abi Morgan, Lesley Manville and Brad Pitt, among many others

Over 200 people have passed through the programme to-date, including screenwriters, actors, games designers, producers, costume designers, directors, DoPs, editors and production designers. Many go on to develop their own games, TV shows or features and achieve national and international industry acclaim, including BAFTA nominations.

Supporters of the initiative in recent years include world-class talent: actors Emma Thompson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Olivia Colman, Tilda Swinton, Zawe Ashton, Will Poulter, 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-writer Sharon Horgan, screenwriter Jesse Armstrong, writer-director Amma Asante and journalist Louis Theroux. 

As the principal partner for the fifth year on BAFTA Breakthrough, Netflix continues to provide integral support towards its 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, to develop and support stories and voices from different cultures.

Photography credits

UK – should be credited as ©BAFTA/Vivek Vadoliya, 2023

Photographer - Vivek Vadoliya, Set Designer - Gemma Tickle, Stylist - Itunu Oke, First Assistant - Ryan Rivers, Second Assistant - Ella Pavlides, Make-Up Artists - Paulo Messa & Lauren Freeman, courtesy of Lancôme, Hair Stylists - Miffy Goknil, Marcos Duran Alvis & Kirsten Finnigan, courtesy of Hari’s Hair, Set Builder - Barry Cox, Set Assistant - Johanna Currie, Styling Assistant - Zoe Glanville, for BAFTA Photography, Claire Rees, Photography Director & Jordan Anderson, Photography Producer with production support from Effie Price & Hermione Russell at East Photographic

India – should be credited as ©BAFTA/Vikas Gotra, 2023

Photographer – Vikas Gotra, Photography Assistant - Tushar Tara, Stylist - Aditya Singh, Hair & MUA – Alezzandra Dsouza, Videographer – Aalish Nathani, for BAFTA Photography, Claire Rees, Photography Director & Jordan Anderson, Photography Producer

US – should be credited as ©Monica Schipper/Getty Images for BAFTA

Photographer – Monica Schipper

All images are available here.

Notes to editors:

BAFTA Breakthrough is part of BAFTA’s year-round initiatives 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.

IMAGE CAPTION:

From left to right: Cheyenne Morrin, Edward Buckles Jr., Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, Maria Altamirano, Santiago Gonzalez, Aminah Nieves, Gary Gunn, Jingyi Shao and Apoorva Charan is photographed by Monica Schipper for the BAFTA Breakthrough US 2023-24 initiative which showcases and supports the next generation of creatives in film, games and television in the UK, the US and India. Photography took place on Sunday 22 October 2023 at the Fairmont Century Plaza, Century City, Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for BAFTA)

About BAFTA

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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