DIRECTORS UK - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate and Trainer With @ThinkBIGGER
Abigail is also an associate and trainer with @thinkBIGGER the TV training organisation, and uses her skills as a Transformational Coach and Mentor on Soho House's Creative Media Network, Edinburgh TV Festival's The Network and the Victor Adebodun Foundation programmes.
Alex Kalymnios is an established director working both in UK and US. She recently directed Three Families for BBC1 which is based on the true stories of families affected by anti-abortion laws in Northern Ireland. Before that, Alex directed and executive produced the US pilot Close Up for Freeform.
Over the last seven years, Alex has directed episodes of Titans, Impulse, The 100, Quantico, S.W.A.T., Once Upon a Time and Timeless in the US. In 2019, she directed the TV film Love You to Death starring Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden, and in 2015 she directed the film Cleveland Abduction.
Previous to that in the UK, Alex directed the three-part special that formed the final series of Scott & Bailey, as well as The White Princess starring Jodie Comer. She started her drama career directing Hollyoaks, EastEnders and Waterloo Road. She also directed BBC3's critically-acclaimed hit Becoming Human, which was nominated for a BAFTA Cymru Award in 2012.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Nations and Regions Representative
Alexander Jacob is an established director currently working in continuing and children's drama, with extensive experience across different levels of the film and TV industry since the 1990s.
Most recently, Alexander produced and directed a brand-new show for Channel 5's Milkshake called The World According to Grandpa, and his credits also include The Dumping Ground, Casualty, 4 O'Clock Club and Hollyoaks. Alexander's directing career began in 2007 with his short film, Ruby, following many years experience as an assistant director.
Alexander is based in South Manchester, and is keen to achieve equity in our industry - not just of race and gender, but also of region. He lives with his cat, dog, wife and 2 children, and spends his spare timing baking, woodworking and watching TV - which he justifies to his family as "working".
Job Titles:
- Head of Career Development and Skills
Andrea joined Directors UK in Spring 2016 and is responsible for all career development initiatives and skills development. She has a background in training and development within the UK film and TV industries, having previously managed the Creative Skillset Film Academy at the London Film School. Other previous roles include Skills Manager at Film London, Training and Events Officer at UK MEDIA desk, BFI, and training and development within the regions and nations at Pact, where she began her career. Andrea also worked in Ireland for three years as Head of Festivals at the Arts Council of Ireland and Executive Director at the Dublin Film Festival.
Andrea joined Directors UK in February 2017. She comes from a mainly creative background having spent many years in advertising, architecture, film, animal charity and retail, in similar senior finance roles. She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table, and assists in ensuring the finance department runs efficiently and effectively. A big movies fan, Andrea loves comedy, sci-fi and anything Star Trek.
A highly experienced and well-regarded leader in the field of rights management, Andy has been championing the rights of creators for over 30 years. He joined Directors UK in May 2020 after a long career at PRS for Music where he was Director of Licensing. Andy has led negotiations with all the major UK broadcasters and SVOD companies and continues to do this at Directors UK. He is proud to be representing TV and film directors and working to create a world in which their talent and creativity is recognised and properly valued.
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chair
- Vice - Chair of the Directors UK Board
Anna Thomson has directed more than 30 films, including Long Lost Family: The Unknown Soldier for ITV, Portillo's Hidden History of Britain for Channel 5, A Great British Air Disaster for Channel 4, Portrait Artist of the Year for Sky Arts, Al Murray's German Adventure for BBC, Patisserie with Michel Roux for BBC, World War 2: The Last Heroes for Channel 4, and Objects of Desire for Sky Arts.
Anna has also directed the Sundance-backed feature documentary Yoghurt Utopia, as well as short fiction and branded content. She recently stepped up to executive producing, working on Tea with Bettany Hughes for Google Arts & Culture, and two one-hour films, Treasures of Malta and Treasures of Greece for BBC Worldwide and Channel 4.
Having served as Vice-chair of the Directors UK Board, Anna has regularly contributed to and hosted our events. As a former trustee of the Directors Charitable Foundation, Anna has run directing workshops in schools. She is also a graduate of ScreenSkills' prestigious Series Producer Programme.
Job Titles:
- Shooting Producer Director
Ashley Golder is an accomplished Shooting Producer Director known for his run-and-gun style and hands-on approach in crafting captivating OB Doc, factual Entertainment, and specialist factual programmes. He has led programmes to broadcast such as large-scale prime time formats, hard hitting blue light documentaries, serene property showcases and globe-trotting travel series to which credits include The Repair Shop, Women on the Force, The Shocking Truth about… and The Bachelor. This diverse experience comes through in his approach to new shows and working with new talent, both on and off the screen.
Demonstrating his commitment to emerging talent, he dedicated two years to collaborate with the International Broadcast Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, spearheading the Rising Stars conference, equipping aspiring talents from around the world with the necessary tools to excel in their careers.
In 2023, Ashley has further continued his industry outreach by founding and hosting the TV Makers podcast. This platform features in-depth interviews with prominent industry figures, offering valuable guidance, shedding light on the roles within the TV world, and becoming a go-to resource for those seeking to uncover their own path to success in the industry.
Job Titles:
- Writer / Director of Film, TV
Avril Evans is a multi-award-winning writer/director of film, TV and commercials who gravitates towards audacious, global stories with an unflinching point of view and a dose of Afro Noir.
Recently selected for Edinburgh TV Festival's Ones to Watch, Avril carries her love of complex stories and unconventional characters into her work and has written and directed short films commissioned by The Arts Council/Barbican and EastEnders: E20.
Her other work has screened at London, and Berlinale International Film Festivals, including the Film London-supported Playground and Famous Last Words, funded by ZDF/Arte.
An active champion of diversity, Avril worked for change with the BAFTA steering group for inclusion and is a Rare with Google Fellow.
Avril is now developing High-End TV shows with various Indies, her debut feature film and an African Sci-Fi short.
Bhavesh is good with computers. When we lose our IP address he gives us his. Working in IT for over 15 years, for various industries, Bhavesh decided to make the big move to London in 2011 from his hometown of Leicester. Bhavesh's last employment was for an international producer and distributor of music films and programming for cinema, television and physical media. Artists such as Queen, The Rolling Stones, and Eminem to name a few. Bhavesh's ability to take risks and think outside the box brings a refreshing mind from traditional views of development and strategy.
Job Titles:
- Associate Member Representative
Carolyn Saunders is Canadian but had a nomadic upbringing, traipsing around air force bases all over the world, where her father flew Starfighters. Her grandad was Romany Gypsy, displaced in a British-Canadian child migration scheme that tore him away from his family and culture. Issues around identity and home have therefore shaped her upbringing and informed her storytelling.
As a single mother, Carolyn postponed directing for several years so she could work from home, writing documentaries for TV as a former journalist. Her greatest hits include Amazon's feminist-skewed Ted Bundy series, Falling for a Killer.
Once her children were grown, Carolyn shot a microbudget horror in the UK and stayed here. Her next feature has recently been a part of Meryl Streep's The Writers Lab scheme. She shot a proof-of-concept for this project as part of the Directors UK Challenge ALEXA competition in 2020.
Carolyn is now pursuing high-end drama directing and is being mentored by fellow Directors UK member Kate Cheeseman.
Carolyn is stupidly in love with storytelling, her boys, troublemaking, and her black lab, Waggo.
Job Titles:
- Head of PR and Corporate Communications
Charlie looks after our PR and external communications. She is the first port of call for all press requests. You can reach Charlie in the Press Office on 020 7845 9707 or press@directors.uk.com. Charlie uses she/her pronouns.
Chris joined Directors UK in March 2017 having previously worked in PR, journalism and publishing. He manages the digital output of Directors UK, including social media, website content, newsletters and podcasts. He has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Chris uses he/him pronouns.
Dan joined Directors UK in 2023, shortly after completing his MA in Film Programming and Curating, because he's passionate about supporting all the talented artists that make the films and TV that we love. He's always been obsessed with film and an avid cinema-goer, but he also loves the theatre, live music, football and tennis, and sitting down with a good book.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
For over 30 years Deborah has worked in the copyright and collective management industries. Originally a solicitor and partner in the Intellectual Property department of law firm, Taylor Joynson Garrett (now Taylor Wessing), she specialised in copyright and entertainment law. She acted for several collecting societies in the music, visual arts, publishing and audio-visual industries, including, as it was then, the DPRS.
In 1998 she left private practice and took up the position of Head of Legal at the record companies' UK collecting society PPL/VPL and then moved to the Performing Right Society in 2003. In her position as General Counsel at PRS until April 2020, Deborah was part of the Executive Leadership Team and had responsibility for the provision of legal services to the company for the policy and public affairs functions. In that regard has been heavily involved in many significant regulatory and legislative developments affecting copyright and the creative industries in Europe and the UK.
Job Titles:
- Distribution Assistant
- Member of the Distribution Team
Georgina has been a member of the distribution team since May 2023. She graduated from Birmingham University with a degree in English Literature and Film Studies and is happy to be continuing her interest in film through her employment at Directors UK. When she isn't watching films, she enjoys walking, travelling and being outside as much as possible.
Harri joined Directors UK in October 2023 with a background in administration. He graduated from Swansea University with a BA (Hons) in Media Studies and an MA in Creative Writing. He spends most of his time watching, thinking about, and getting into arguments about horror movies.
Job Titles:
- Digital Communications Manager
Hetty has been working within Marketing and Communications for over ten years, with her experience ranging from travel to the creative arts and Higher Education. She is excited to be joining the Directors UK team whilst covering the Digital Communications Manager role! Hetty uses she/her pronouns.
Ifan joined Directors UK in February 2022. He graduated with a degree in History from Queen Mary, University of London. An avid film buff, he loves expanding his film knowledge and is always open to a good recommendation. He also enjoys reading, enduring the great pain that supporting Cardiff City inevitably brings, listening to music and running.
James Hawes is returning to the Directors UK Board, which he first joined as part of the group that oversaw the original UK rights agreement.
From a background in theatre and an early TV career in documentaries at the BBC, James began a freelance career directing dramas like The Bill and Holby City, alongside historical and investigative documentaries, including Inside Story. He has specialised in directing fact-based dramas and, more recently, ‘near future fiction', with two feature length episodes for Black Mirror.
James now works internationally, directing for Netflix, HBO Max, Channel 4, BBC, Discovery Networks, Showtime and Apple TV+, for whom he is currently launching a series starring Gary Oldman, Jonathan Pryce and Kristin Scott-Thomas.
Like most directors, James turned his passion into a career, so if he has a hobby, it's that time between contracts, worrying about what the next job will be. He and his family are based in London, with strong links to Cornwall where he grew up.
Jessica Hobbs has been working as a drama director for 30 years. Her work has taken her from New Zealand, where she grew up, to Australia, the US and now Europe. She moved with her family to London in 2014 and she has loved getting to know the vast talent that exists in the UK film and TV community.
Jessica's background is in television drama and her credits include The Crown, The Split, Apple Tree Yard, River, Broadchurch and The Slap. She has experience as an executive producer and as a commissioning editor for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and she served on the board of the Australian Directors' Guild. In 2021, Jessica was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Finance Director
Jo joined Directors UK in April 2023, bringing with her a wealth of experience from the worlds of both media and education, having held senior roles in media organisations, including UKTV, NBC Universal, Channel 4 and The Telegraph. Her experience spans Finance, HR, IT and Governance, all of which is put to good use in her role at Directors UK. Jo holds a BA in Psychology and is a qualified member of the Chartered Insitute of Management Accountants. In her spare time Jo loves watching films, binge-watching box sets and spending time out and about with friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Distribution Reporting Manager
Jonathan joined Directors UK as a Distribution Assistant in February 2015. When not monitoring television and tracing directors he loves going to the cinema, playing football and burying his head in a good book. Prior to joining, Jonathan previously worked for film and television in various production roles.
Currently based in Glasgow, Karen Kelly is an RTS award-winning freelance director. She began her career at the BBC after graduating from the Royal College of Art Film School. Her production background includes directing and series producing over 50 hours of network television across factual, long form obs docs series, specialist factual films and high-end drama docs as well as feature documentaries. She is currently showrunning a new series for Netflix with Nutopia.
Kate joined Directors UK in October 2012 as a Distribution Assistant, becoming Membership Officer in March 2016 and Membership Manager in July 2019. She's responsible for registering all new Directors UK members, and overseeing the administrative side of the membership scheme. She read English Literature at the University of East Anglia, with a master's in Medieval and Early Modern Textual Cultures.
Laura joined the Directors UK team in spring 2016 as the Head of Member Services and is responsible for member benefits, events and career development. With a master's degree in film studies, many years as a film and events programmer at the British Film Institute, and having worked in publicity at several independent film distributors, Laura is looking forward to learning more about television. Laura's a big fan of science fiction film, TV and literature, and has published and broadcast on the subject.
Job Titles:
- Successor Member Representative
Michael has been working in the Digital field for more than 20 years, holding positions everywhere from Copywriting and Illustration through to IT Support, Project Management and Software/Web App Production, before finding his groove as a Digital Product Manager for the last 5 years or so. He is a total gadget geek, with a love for all things techie. He has 2 adorable daughters named Mulan and Jasmine (11 and 7 years old respectively). His favourite past times in no specific order are music, martial Arts, PC gaming, and annoying his kids by dad dancing in front of their friends.
Job Titles:
- Head of Insight and Strategic Partnerships
Tash joined the Directors UK Campaign team in November 2017, after completing her master's degree in Feature Screenwriting. With nearly twenty years in marketing, communications and PR to her credit, writing is her sustaining passion. As well as being creative ‘on the page', she's been known to crochet, make pickle, direct community theatre productions and sing.
Job Titles:
- Public Affairs and Policy Manager
Niall has worked across policy, public affairs and research for EGIC, Independent Film Trust, Pact, the House of Lords and the European Parliament. He previously worked in film, television, radio and interactive. When working for the BBC he was a senior member of the BBC History online team, which won an Interactive BAFTA for Outstanding Factual Content, and he has worked for BBC Films, ITV, STV, Channel Four, Paramount Pictures, Grosvenor Films as well as a number of independent production companies. He has also produced two theatrically-released feature films.
Nick joined Directors UK in June 2018, and holds a background working in film distribution. He has a BA in Media Studies gained at the University of Surrey. Outside of his interests in film and TV, Nick enjoys listening to music, playing tennis and visiting art exhibitions.
Job Titles:
- Database and IT Support Officer
Nicole joined Directors UK in October 2016 as a Database and IT Support Officer. She provides day to day support to maintain the database and IT systems. She had previously worked within the charity fundraising sector after graduating with a BSc in Computer Systems Technology from the University of Westminster. Outside of work she enjoys going to the cinema, working out in the gym and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Nikki has worked at Directors UK for 19 years and is responsible for all aspects of the collection and distribution of members' payments from foreign collecting societies. Prior to joining, she worked in publicity and marketing for various film companies including Warner Bros. and Artificial Eye.
Job Titles:
- Head of Industry Relations
Joining Directors UK from Bectu, Paul has spent ten years working as a trade union official in the film and TV industry, helping to negotiate landmark industry working agreements. He has extensive experience advising on freelance employment matters including tax, personal negotiations and dealing with workplace conflict. Paul started his career in publishing before working as an advisor on audiovisual policy to an MEP. He has also helped to establish a successful software development business specialising in membership services and representation.
Richard joined Directors UK in April 2016 as a Distributions Assistant, having moved to London from North East England where he grew up and studied at Newcastle and Durham University, gaining an MA in Philosophy focusing on Modern Aesthetics. He enjoys getting to as many gigs as he can, writing about and reviewing music, as well as spending as much time as possible cycling in and around London and snowboarding a little further afield.
Job Titles:
- Office and Administration Manager
Ryan graduated from from Sheffield Hallam University with a BA Honours Degree in Media in 2013. In his free time, he likes to produce music, play golf and tennis, and support his hometown football club, Sheffield Wednesday.
Sara joined Directors UK in October 2023 after graduating with a MA in Creative Industries and Arts Organisation from Queen Mary, University of London. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, going to the theatre, and taking up new hobbies - right now mainly doing word searches and playing the guitar.
Job Titles:
- Career Development and Skills Manager
Sean joined Directors UK in February 2017 as a Distributions Assistant and has been working in Member Services since September 2018. Sean graduated in 2015 with a BA (Hons) in History and has experience in both finance and television production. Sean is a big football fan, loves music and enjoys watching a range of different films and TV shows in his spare time. Sean uses he/him pronouns.
Sim has worked at Directors UK for around 14 years, serving as Director of Distribution for the last three. In this role he is responsible for overseeing the work of the Distributions, IT and Membership teams and ensuring that payments are distributed accurately, efficiently and transparently. He has a BA in Modern History and enjoys playing hard rock songs on the guitar to unwind.
Stephanie joined Directors UK in 2022 having previously worked in film and publishing. She has a BA (Hons) degree in Sociology and Media Studies and helps oversee the membership scheme administration, registering new Directors UK members and assisting with member events. In her spare time, she surrounds herself with media, watching television shows and films, playing games and editing. Stephanie uses she/her pronouns.
Thomas joined Directors UK in February 2022 with a background in music licensing and account management. Tom has a BA in songwriting and spends much of his free time writing, producing, and performing folk, blues, and jazz.
Tinge Krishnan is an award-winning film and TV writer-director, who started her career out as a doctor with posts in Cardiology, Orthopaedics and in the ER, but quickly segued into filmmaking with her first Bafta-winning short film, Shadowscan.
Tinge has gone on to make critically acclaimed feature films, including the Netflix musical Been So Long starring Michaela Coel, and has directed episodes for series including The Exorcist for Fox, The Feed for Amazon, Bafta nominated The Windrush Chronicles for BBC, Industry for HBO, The Mosquito Coast for Apple TV, and most recently Temple for Sky One. She is currently filming 2 episodes for Apple TV's upcoming series WeCrashed.
In addition to her film work, Tinge currently serves on the board of Childline Thailand and was a trustee of Safe Child Thailand (UK) until Q4 2020
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
Tom Toumazis MBE has a portfolio of directorships focused in technology, media and the arts.
He's a founder investor and Chair of four start-ups from a variety of industries from data analytics, to online art retail, from mobile games to the biggest Expo in the UK for the Hemp, CBD and Medicinal Cannabis. He's also Non-Executive Director of the Performing Rights Society for Music.
Tom has held senior roles in the film and entertainment world at ITV, The Walt Disney Company, Eurosport, Endemol Shine and Yahoo! He's run small and large businesses, from start-ups to businesses employing over 7,500 people.
Job Titles:
- Member Engagement and Events Manager
Toyin joined Directors UK in November 2020 and is responsible for delivering engaging events and ensuring members are across the wide range of benefits on offer. Prior to joining the team, Toyin was a freelance Events Producer for clients including; BAFTA, BFI and BBC. She also garnered on-set experience on feature films including; Mission Impossible: Fallout and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In her spare time Toyin enjoys baking and in her mind believes herself to be better than Paul Hollywood - this is definitely not the case!
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications and Public Affairs
Victoria is responsible for Directors UK's public affairs and lobbying activity, ensuring that the voice of the directing community is represented to government and industry. She also oversees the work of the communications team in championing the craft of directing, raising the profile of Directors UK's campaigning activity, and promoting the varied work of our distribution, campaigns and member services teams. Victoria first joined Directors UK in August 2008 as Head of Communications and Public Affairs, having previously worked in factual programme-making both at the BBC and freelance, and prior to that worked in Regional and Public Affairs at Carlton Television (ITV) and marketing.
Job Titles:
- Founding Member of Staff at the Newly Established Transistor Films
- Member of the Directors UK Pay
Zoe Hines is a BAFTA, Grierson and RTS Award-winning Self-Shooting Producer-Director, with experience filming in over 20 countries worldwide. Her work includes Muslims Like Us (BBC2), The Island (C4), Hunted (C4), Race Across the World (BBC2) and The Heist (Sky).
Since 2019, Zoe has been working as a Series Producer on the Netflix documentary series I Am a Killer, interviewing inmates on death row. And, more recently, presenting the podcast Letters from a Killer.
Zoe has been a member of the Directors UK Pay and Working Conditions Committee since 2017, and participated in the Directors UK Future Rights campaign.
Zoe also volunteers as one of the administrators of Viva La PD, a grassroots collective of over 1,200 Producer/Directors. Since the pandemic, she has assisted with industry surveys and represented the Viva la PD community in meetings with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, a Q&A with Tracy Brabin MP and at the presentation of a freelancers' petition to the Treasury.
Zoe is also a founding member of staff at the newly established Transistor Films