Selection Committee
Victoria is an Actress with a Masters in French and Arabic from the University of St. Andrews and MA Acting from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known for her work in Downton Abbey, The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl, 12 Monkeys, The Frankenstein Chronicles and Grace. In 2019 at Cannes Film Festival, she launched her global business to help the Entertainment Industry find and hire more inclusively, called Primetime. With community in 75+ countries, members include multi-BAFTA, Emmy and Academy Award Winners and Nominees.
They have since moved into funding and have just wrapped on a film starring Jodie Whittaker centring a disabled story and filmmaker, with 4 other projects in the pipeline. As a multiply neurodivergent, Victoria sits of BAFTA's Disability Advisory Group and as an activist she came up through Time's Up UK and ERA 50:50. Her work as a multi-disciplinary Artist has led her to speak on panels, roundtables, masterclasses and host events around the world, including at Cannes Film Festival, Aesthetica, multiple podcasts, interviews in publications such as Variety, Deadline, BBC Culture and many more. Her work integrating AI has been featured in galleries around the world, and this had led to her being a panelist at flagship web3 and AI events such as Digital Arts Week.
Areas of interest include: DEIA: Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Accessibility. Storytelling as a tool to change narratives and shape society. Neurodiversity as an asset in building new worlds. Art as a medium to reveal our true selves. AI as a tool rather than the end of creativity, Building Intentional Community and Protopian Futures.
Victoria Emslie
Rebecca is a film producer and programmer, with freelanc work across film exhibition, distribution and production. She also co-founded and co-runs ScreenCraft Works, a not-for-profit which supports under-represented production and post-production talent worldwide with cross-border mentoring, talks and networking.
Rebecca is also a trustee of Refugees at Home (which connects people with a spare room with refugees and people seeking asylum who are in need of somewhere to stay) and of Reclaim the Frame (the UK's leading charity for gender equity in the film industry), and a director of not-for-profit Theatre Inspiring Change.
Rebecca del Tufo
Kathi Carey
Kathi Carey is an award-winning Writer/Director of films and web series. Her shorts have been selected at Academy-qualifying festivals including LA Shorts, USA Dallas and Rhode Island IFF. Her film Worth qualified for Academy consideration. Her films and web series have also screened all over the U.S. and around the world from Italy, Portugal, Cancun, China, S. Korea, Toronto and dozens of other countries. Though her films have won, cumulatively, over 50 awards and honors, it is not award recognition that drives her. Kathi strives to connect her audiences with the personal, sometimes solitary journey of her protagonists. Her projects focus on interpersonal relationships and deep character introspection. Because her characters face moral and ethical dilemmas, audiences want to
discuss the film’s various themes and turning points, and ponder things they may not normally consider in their day-to-day life. A “signature” of Kathi’s work can be summed up in this quote from Emmy-award winning ABC journalist from Salt Lake City, Utah, George B. Severson after he viewed her film Reflections of a Life: “Reflections of a Life touched me deeply. The film provided an intimate perspective to what my mother must have been going through when she fought and fortunately won her battle with breast cancer. The
scene where Taylor looks at her new body for maybe the first time since her surgery really hit close to home. I've always wondered what my mother's reaction was and now I feel I have a vehicle, Reflections of a Life, from which we may be able to comfortably discuss her experiences. I can't wait to share this film with my mother.”
Away from the camera, Kathi gives back by mentoring and advocating for more inclusion through her work with the Alliance of Women Directors, the StreetsARTSafe Program (mentoring HS students to create safe driving PSAs) and the Women Excel Project.
Ksenia Bugrimova
Ksenia Bugrimova is an award-winning Ukrainian director, producer, and showrunner with a prominent career in international television and film. As a founder of Talented U, a UK-based association for screen industry professionals from refugee backgrounds, and co-founder of the Women and the World International Film Festival (IFFWW) in London, Ksenia champions innovative storytelling and cross-cultural exchange. Her role as SEO and creative director for a production studio Wow Oscar Studio enabled her to lead adaptations of international hits like The Bachelor, Biggest Loser, Bachelorette, Ukraine’s Got Talent, and more, alongside locally celebrated series such as Kyiv Day and Night.
Notable Awards and Honors:
• Teletriumf Awards for Best Show (2012) and Best TV Director (2013) for The Bachelor
• Little Venice Film Festival (London) Ambassador Award
• Teffie Award for Best Show with The Biggest Loser
• Cross Media Storytelling Effie Award – Golden Award
• Startup of the Year at the X-Ray Marketing Awards (2011) for The Bachelor
• Best Film for Uncut at the Monaco Film Festival
• Kyiv International Film Festival “Molodist” nominee for The Seed
Ksenia has also served as a jury member at the Banff International Television Festival (Canada) and holds active memberships in the Ukrainian Television Academy, Ukrainian Film Academy, Women in Film and TV (UK), and BECTU in the UK. Her collaborations with major studios like Warner Brothers, Red Arrow, and Sony Entertainment highlight her impact and versatility in global media.