AQUILA ISMAIL
SUDHA BHUCHAR
Sudha Bhuchar is an award-winning actor, playwright and founder of Bhuchar Boulevard. Her theatre acting credits include Gurpreet Bhatti’s KHANDAN (Royal Court and Birmingham Rep), Tanika Gupta’s LIONS AND TIGERS (Globe theatre) and THE VILLAGE by April de Angelis (Theatre Royal Stratford East). Television credits include CORONATION STREET, three series of Ruth Jones’ STELLA (Sky TV), NOUGHTS AND CROSSES (BBC) and the television adaptation of FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. Film credits include Rob Marshall’s MARY POPPINS RETURNS for Disney, Ben Wheatley’s HAPPY NEW YEAR COLIN BURSTEAD, Bassam Tariq’s critically acclaimed MOGUL MOWGLI, starring Riz Ahmed, Aleem Khan’s upcoming AFTER LOVE and Khayam Khan’s A GAME OF TWO HALVES.
Bhuchar won the UK Asian Film Festival’s Tongues on Fire “Flame” Award in 2018; was a Best Actress finalist for BBC Radio 4’s Audio Drama Awards in 2019 for MY SON THE DOCTOR, which she co-wrote, with Saleyha Ahsan; and won Eastern Eye’s Arts Culture & Theatre Award (ACTA) for her Outstanding Contribution to the Creative Industry in 2019.
As Co-Founder of Tamasha with Kristine Landon-Smith, their landmark work includes A FINE BALANCE (adapted from Rohinton Mistry’s novel), STRICTLY DANDIA and the award-winning musical FOURTEEN SONGS TWO WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. Bhuchar’s acclaimed works as a playwright include CHILD OF THE DIVIDE (Winner of the Best Stage Production Asian Media Award in 2018) and MY NAME IS…, which she also adapted for Radio 4, where it was “Pick of the Week” (A program which broadcasts a selection of highlights from the past week on BBC Radio).
She is currently appearing in her one-woman monologue EVENING CONVERSATIONS (recently featured at the Women of the World Festival at Southbank) and is under commission to Radio 3 and Revolution Arts/Wellcome Collection for TOUCHSTONE TALES, an exploration on the theme of Touch with communities in Bury Park.
PERWEEN RAHMAN
INDU SHARMA
An alumni of the National School of Drama in New Delhi, Indu Sharma graduated from the drama school in 2001. She started as a Hindi theatre and television actor before she quit acting and moved on to casting for Bollywood films and web series.
Project highlights include Hansal Mehta’s web series SCAM 1992 and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film SHIKARA with a special mention in his book Unscripted.
She returned to acting for Deepa Mehta’s dystopian Netflix sci-fi drama series LEILA.
ANWAR RASHID
DANISH HUSAIN
Danish Husain is an actor, poet, storyteller and a theatre director. He lives in Mumbai, India, and runs a theatre company called The Hoshruba Repertory. He was instrumental in reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling Dastangoi, which he later transformed into a multilingual storytelling project QISSEBAAZI. He has recently been applauded for his roles in the Netflix series TAJ MAHAL 1989 and an independent film MEE RAQSAM on the Zee5 movie screening platform.
DIRECTOR
ORLANDO VON EINSIEDEL
Orlando von Einsiedel is an Academy Award-winning director and founder of film production company Grain Media. His work includes:Academy Award-winning short documentary THE WHITE HELMETS, which follows the lives of a group of heroic Syrian civilian rescue workers; Academy Award-nominated feature documentary VIRUNGA, charting the story of a group of courageous park rangers risking their lives to build a better future in the Democratic Republic of Congo; BIFA winning feature documentary EVELYN, a deeply personal story and road trip odyssey about the loss of his brother to suicide and his family’s route to recovery; and Academy Award-winning LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL), which he executive produced and which grew out of his earlier award-winning short film, SKATEISTAN; TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL. Von Einsiedel is drawn to telling inspiring stories of humble heroism from around the world, often combining intimate personal narratives with macro level politics and powerful visual aesthetics.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Aquila Ismail
WRITER
CHARLOTTE WOLF
Charlotte is a writer working in film and television. In 2017, she was selected for the BBC’s New Talent Hotlist and in 2018 she was nominated for the Breakthrough Talent award at the BAFTA Television Craft Awards for her first TV commission, the 90-minute film INSPECTOR GEORGE GENTLY for Company Pictures and the BBC. She has also written episodes of WHITE STORK for Eleven, MEDICI for Big Light Productions/Netflix and THE LAST KINGDOM for Carnival/Netflix and has several original television and film projects in development, including an upcoming series THE RISING for Sky.
PRODUCER
Abhijeet Chhabra
Abhijeet Chhabra is an independent producer working in the Indian film and advertising industry. He brings his experience of over a decade, with numerous Indian and International crews, to the table with his sharp production sensibilities, technical know-how and work ethics. A handy on set man, he loves small crews, independent films and locations that are challenging. He is a propagator of the power of responsible cinema, that can be used to not only entertain but also enlighten and educate. If he’s not working, he is possibly riding his motorcycle or looking for adventures in obscure corners of the world.
PRODUCER
ANDREA CORNWELL
Andrea Cornwell is an award-winning film producer. Her most recent film SAINT MAUD, directed by Rose Glass (Film4, BFI) was released by A24 and Studiocanal, and was one of the most critically acclaimed British films of the year, winning multiple awards including Best British Film at the London Film Critics Circle, and Best Debut Director at the BIFAs. She is currently producing THE ESSEX SERPENT for Apple TV+, directed by Clio Barnard and starring Claire Danes.
Other recent work includes APOSTASY, directed by Daniel Kokotajlo (BFI, BBC Films) which also received its world premiere in Toronto, and was nominated for a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut, six BIFAs, and won Best British Film at the Screen Awards. In documentary, she produced the feature SEAHORSE directed by Jeanie Finlay (Tribeca Film Festival 2019, UK release in September 2019) and the multi-award-winning BRUCE LEE AND THE OUTLAW, directed by Joost Vandebrug (winner of eleven international awards). Andrea’s previous producing credits include SUITE FRANÇAISE starring Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas and Margot Robbie; LAST DAYS ON MARS starring Liev Schreiber and Olivia Williams (world premiere at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes), the award-winning THE SCOUTING BOOK FOR BOYS, and comedy drama MICRO MEN for the BBC.
Producer
Harri Grace
Harri Grace is a Senior Producer and Executive Producer at two-time Oscar, Emmy and Peabody-winning Grain Media. He is twice Emmy-nominated, Grierson-nominated, and the winner of two Foreign Press Association Awards, a SIMA Award, a One World Media Award, and three New York Festivals Gold Awards.
He has worked extensively with Orlando von Einsiedel, including on LOST AND FOUND and INTO THE FIRE, part of a series of shorts made in collaboration with the Nobel Peace Prize and both premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. LOST AND FOUND was an official selection at San Francisco Doc Stories, DOC NYC and others. It won the Audience Award at AFI Fest and was nominated for two Emmys (including Outstanding Short Documentary 2020). INTO THE FIRE was nominated for Best Short Documentary at the Critics Choice Awards 2020.
PRODUCER
Khalid Waseem
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
FRANKLIN DOW
EDITOR
MASAHIRO HIRAKUBO
COMPOSER
PATRICK JONSSON
London-based composer Patrick Jonsson composed the score for the 2017 Academy Award-winning ‘The White Helmets’, earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Music. He recently worked again with director Orlando von Einsiedel composing the score for ‘Evelyn’, winner of the British Independent Film Award 2018 for Best Documentary, for which Patrick’s score was picked out as one of ‘The Best Scores of 2018’ by Film School Rejects. Patrick and Orlando previously collaborated in 2014 for Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated feature documentary ‘Virunga’, executive produced by Leonardo Di Caprio.
He has twice collaborated with director Alexandria Bombach – first on ‘Frame by Frame’ (co-directed by Mo Scarpelli) and again with ‘On Her Shoulders’, following Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad. For both films, Patrick was nominated for ‘Best Documentary Score’ at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
More recently, Patrick co-composed music for the BBC2/Netflix series ‘Black Earth Rising’ with Martin Phipps, an 8-part series starring Michaela Coel and John Goodman, and wrote additional music with Rupert Gregson-Williams for TNT’s hit series ’The Alienist’ starring Daniel Bruhl and Dakota Fanning.
As a solo artist, Patrick released his debut album ‘Suddenly We Looked Like Giants’ in 2018, which was picked out as one of the best albums of 2018 by Headphone Commute, alongside Olafur Arnalds, Johann Johansson and Max Richter.
CAMPAIGN ADVISOR
Soumaya Balasubramanya
CAMPAIGN ADVISOR
Aquila Ismail
Aquila Ismail is the Chairperson of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP). The OPP is a registered Development NGO based in the Orangi Town Low Income Settlement of Karachi, which provides water and sanitation services to hundreds of thousands of citizens in poor settlements throughout Pakistan. Aquila has a background in Electrical Engineering, and worked as an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi. She is also an author, and has written extensively on gender and development issues for leading Pakistani newspapers and magazines. Aquila is the sister of Perween Rahman, an acclaimed social worker who was murdered in March 2013. Perween was the previous CEO of the OPP, and it is thought that she was murdered because of the work she did in exposing corruption in Karachi. Aquila and Perween are the subjects of the film INTO DUST.
CAMPAIGN ADVISOR
Christopher McGahey
His work has ranged from designing and managing USAID’s largest WASH project in war-torn Afghanistan to leading efforts to optimize the integration of water security and resilience concerns into sustainability planning. Dr. McGahey’s current portfolio focuses on improving service delivery, supporting municipal water supply management, and targeting improved services toward vulnerable and marginalized populations. Since 2013, he has served as Managing Director of his independent consultancy, Hillaria International, collaborating with multiple clients including the U.K. Royal Academy of Engineering, IMA World Health, Millennium Challenge Corporation/University Research Corporation, Management Sciences for Health, Tetratech, IRCWash, Aguaconsult, Plan International, Safe Water Network, The World Bank, and the World Wildlife Fund.
DIGITAL DIRECTOR
Samia Khan-Bambrah
Samia Khan-Bambrah is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and strategist who has spent over fifteen years working with artists, community leaders, and scholars to harness the power of storytelling for sustainable change. At the Emmy-award winning studio, MediaStorm, she partnered with major media companies, like the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the New Yorker, to create digital stories and films that reframe our understanding of who counts, who belongs, and who decides. She has worked with clients from across the world, from the World Bank to HBSC, to create stories that transform their business. Her work has been featured on CNN, Sundance, the WSJ. Magazine, and festivals around the world. Samia has had the pleasure of interviewing many high-profile individuals on-camera, including Ai Weiwei, Reese Witherspoon, former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Oprah Winfrey. She has lectured at universities, industry events, and conducted workshops on digital strategy, storytelling, and impact. She is a former Expert-in-Residence at the Made in New York Media Center and a member of the Board of the Upper Hudson Valley Planned Parenthood and Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhoods. Samia’s storytelling perspective is critically informed by her experiences as a Pakistani immigrant who grew up around the world.
Impact Director
Eliza Licht
Red Owl is a creative impact consulting company based in Brooklyn, NY., founded in 2020. The Red Owl team has over 20 years of collective experience in the social-issue documentary field as engagement strategists and impact producers. The Red Owl team works closely with clients to develop their goals and vision for engagement and impact to maximize the impact and visibility of their films. Red Owl creates and executes campaigns that implement overall strategy including develop partnerships, produce high-quality educational resources, as well as tracks, measures, and evaluates impact. Founding Partner Eliza Licht, spent 17 years as a television executive, building and expanding the community engagement and education department at the PBS documentary series POV. As Vice President of Content Strategy and Engagement, she set priorities and direction for the organization, along with EPs and fellow executive staff, oversaw the Community Engagement, Communication, and Programs departments, worked closely with the programming team on series selection, and spearheaded broadcast campaigns for over 250 films. Under Licht’s leadership, POV saw a 1000% increase in events, including over 800 screenings annually, and over 46,000 direct engagements with in-person audience members. Red Owl team members have served on juries for DOC NYC, Hot Springs Film Festival, and Brooklyn Film Festival, and on funding panels for the National Endowment of the Arts, Black Public Media, and the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.
Impact Campaign Advisor
Rebecca Lichtenfeld
Rebecca is an Emmy award winning Brooklyn based human rights advocate, producer and impact strategist. Guided by the belief that media and the arts play a vital role in the advancement of human rights, over the past 20 years Rebecca has created, produced, and executed ‘creative advocacy’ projects involving filmmakers, artists, heads of state and organizers from around the globe. Rebecca is currently the Executive Director of the InMaat Foundation, working to challenge and overcome systemic gender oppression by centering and uplifting the voices of those directly affected and promoting equality and human rights worldwide.The power of narrative is a theme that is woven throughout Rebecca’s work — previously with Bertha Foundation, creating and executing their Storytelling portfolio where she supported the production and outreach of several Oscar nominated and winning feature length documentaries. She is proficient in Spanish and has a working knowledge of French and Portuguese.