A galaxy of 42 emerging creative talents from across the U.S., U.K. and India have been unveiled as the 2023 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort.
The selected talents have worked on some of the most lauded projects over the last several months including “The Last of Us,” “1923,” “Blue Jean,” “Rye Lane,” “Rocket Boys” and “Joyland.”
Breakthrough is BAFTA’s flagship new talent initiative in partnership with Netflix, drawn from creatives working in film, games and television. 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 U.K. and internationally.
This year’s cohort comprises creatives spanning craft specialisms from hair and make up, production, editing and games design, to performance, directing and cinematography and is from diverse ethnic backgrounds and abilities. They have been selected by a jury composed 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 U.K. and Aadip Desai (U.S.) and Guneet Monga (India).
U.K. BREAKTHROUGHS:
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 and makeup 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 and 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”
U.S. BREAKTHROUGHS:
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:
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,” “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 CEO Jane Millichip said: “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.”
Desai added: “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.”
Monga 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 10 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.”
Anne Mensah, VP, content, Netflix U.K. said: “This is our fifth year supporting BAFTA Breakthrough and we are so proud to support a program 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.”
