Meet and get an insight in to the process of Talent Manager Brandon Cohen.

100% of all Donations go to Project Angel Food! https://www.angelfood.org/

**+ BIO **

BAC Talent Management is the brainchild of Brandon Cohen who’s clients have appeared in Dark Knight Rises, The Equalizer, American Horror Story and Law and Order SVU etc, launched with charity events for the United Nations, Bailey House NYC, VH-1 Save The Music. He would later co-produce Gifting Your Spectrum, supporting Autism Speaks™. Brandon had the honor to work with Diana Ross for her Lifetime Achievement Award at the AMA’S, and with the Mondrian Hotel, hosted the leading casting agents in Hollywood for a Q&A with actors in an event so successful and out of the box that it exceeded capacity. Most recently, BAC Talent served as Associate Producer for the Daytime Emmys Awards Events/Gifting Lounge and led Voss Water campaign for front line workers.

Some of Brandon’s clients include: Sam Asghari, Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty by Nature, Taryn Manning, Christine Peters, McKenzie Westmore, and Raoul Mongilardi. Brandon’s event clients include: Angelica Page, Chaka Khan, Demi Lovato, Brooke Shields, Kool & the Gang. BAC Talent has worked with Page 6, Variety, Deadline, The Wall Street Journal, ESPY’S, Betty White, Bruno Gun, Sean Penn, Tribeca Film Festival, Sasha Pieterse, Jojo, Taylor Dane, Wendie Malick and Mark Gruenwald with participating sponsors: Amazon Studios, Chaz Dean, Crystal Head, Armani, Matrix, MLB, The Beverly Hilton, Mondrian Hotel Group, Zico, Ciroc, Chandon, and others.

Always a driven achiever and multidimensional personality, Brandon also possesses a humanitarian spirit expressed in the success of the many charity events he’s produced, and his services to special needs individuals.

Since forming his talent management company, Brandon’s devoted work ethic charged BAC Talent Management into the spotlight, creating a phenomenally successful company with a strategy that includes regular talent bookings on every platform and the leading broadcasters, streamers and studios in film, television, commercials, radio, voice over, documentaries, and events, and global press coverage, from articles to red carpet appearances.

Brandon rooted his company to reflect his vibrant lifestyle, in diversity and inclusion with long established relationships in every area of media. Equally at ease with Studio chiefs and world figures, Brandon’s style is quiet, to the point, bold and sophisticated.

Meet and get an insight in to the process of Casting Director Catriona Dickie.

100% of all Donations go to Shelter!

**+ BIO **

Catriona Dickie is an Artios Award winning casting director. She is known for feature films 'Catherine Called Birdy’ (starring Bella Ramsey and Andrew Scott) and ’The Perfect Escape’ (starring Giorgia Sinicorni), along with work on ‘The Mauritanian’, ‘All The Money in The World’ and ‘Justice League’. Her recent short films include 'Marriage Unplugged’ (starring Nikki Amuka-Bird), BFI hit ’Surpri..!’, ‘Villain’, and the upcoming ‘Cliff Edge’ (starring Anamaria Marinca and Dearbhla Molloy. Her casting for television includes hit TV series 'The Responder’ for the BBC and ’Trying’ for Apple TV and ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ for HULU. In theatre she worked as an associate for The Bridge Theatre and helped cast ’The Book of Dust’, ’Straight Line Crazy’ and ’The Southbury Child’

Meet and get an insight in to the process of TV / Film Director Giles Bannier.

100% of all Donations go to St Mungo!

**+ BIO **

Award-winning director Gilles Bannier began his TV career directing documentaries for ARTE in his native France, before moving into drama. Gilles is currently directing all 6 episodes BLUE LIGHTS for BBC 1. Prior to this he directed TRIGGER POINT for Hat Trick/ITV starring Vicky McClure, which was hugely well received and was the channel's highest rated drama of past the year with 10.9 million watching it launch.

Before this, he worked on the first series of TIN STAR for Sky Atlantic/Kudos, including the finale, which starred Tim Roth and was nominated for a Broadcast Award for Best Drama Series. He was asked back as Lead Director on the second series of the show. Gilles was also Lead Director on Danny Brocklehurst’s latest crime drama, IN THE DARK, for BBC 1, and directed on two series of THE TUNNEL for Kudos/Sky Atlantic/Canal+

Other notable credits include Lead Director on Series 2 of the acclaimed French crime drama, SPIRAL (ENGRENAGES), for Canal+ and the critically acclaimed LES BEAUX MECS (TONY'S REVENGE), an eight-part gangster story which received 11 European awards and nominations, including the Prix Italia. His most recent French Television credit is the six-part drama, PARIS, for ARTE, and his first feature film, ARRÊTEZ- MOI LÀ, was released in January 2016 to excellent reviews.

BLUE LIGHTS Reviews

The Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson - 5*

The Telegraph, Anita Singh - 5*

The Times, Carol Midgley - 4*

iNews, Ed Power - 4*

"[a] tantalizing police drama - well crafted, fantastically tense, thrilling stuff - You’ll be instantly hooked.” Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“A rare gem among TV’s never-ending barrage of police procedurals, this had characters you’ll actually care about and a sense of realism.” Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“One of the best dramas I’ve seen in a very long time.” Mariella Frostrup, Times Radio

“This gritty police procedural has something new, promise…the BBC One show manages to break new ground with its set of whippersnapper officers taking on Belfast.” Rebecca Cook, Digital Spy

TRIGGER POINT Reviews

Daily Mail, Christopher Steven - 5*

The Metro, Harry Fletcher - 5*

The Telegraph, Anita Singh, 4*

iNews, Rachel Sigee - 4*

“That ending came as a seismic shock. Anyone gripped by the first hour of Trigger Point (ITV) couldn't help leaping out of their skin at the climax.” Christopher Steven, Daily Mail

“the opening episode of the highly-anticipated new series is a masterclass in tension, and marks one of the most memorable new ITV dramas in years and years.”

“Trigger Point is packed with palpable tension, visceral direction, and more twists in its first 60 minutes than many shows manage in an entire series.” Harry Fletcher, The Metro

“There was barely a moment to breathe in this exciting opener – and the stakes couldn’t have been higher.” Rachel Sigee, iNews

Meet and get an insight in to the process of TV / Film Director Hannah Quinn.

100% of all Donations go to https://www.pcrf.net

**+ BIO **

Hannah is an Irish film & TV director, currently in post on a 4 part drama set in Morocco and Dublin for RTÉ.

She won the 2022 IFTA drama director award for her episodes of Vikings:Valhalla and was nominated for two other IFTA’s.

Hannah previously directed The Gone (RTÉ), Vikings:Valhalla Seasons 1&3 (Netflix), North Sea Connection (RTÉ), Disenchanted-2nd Unit (Disney), Fate – The Winx Saga (Netflix), The Stranger (Netflix), Blood (VMTV), Eastenders (BBC1), Red Rock (VMTV) and award winning short films Smithy & Dickie and My Bonnie.

Before directing, Hannah worked as an Assistant Director for 20 years and she is also a pilot.

“There was barely a moment to breathe in this exciting opener – and the stakes couldn’t have been higher.” Rachel Sigee, iNews

Meet and get an insight in to the process of TV / Film Director Edward Hall

100% of all Donations go to Dementia UK!

**+ BIO **

Acclaimed theater, television, and film director Edward Hall returns to Chicago Shakespeare to take on the role of Artistic Director, Carl and Marilynn Thoma Chair. The appointment marks a homecoming for Hall, who has maintained close ties with the company since he directed the Rose Rage trilogy of Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3 at Chicago Shakespeare in 2003, garnering significant critical acclaim and the Jeff Award for Best Direction. This epic theatrical event went on to play the Duke on 42nd Street, marking Chicago Shakespeare’s off-Broadway and NYC debut. In February 2024, he is set to direct this season’s Richard III starring 2023 Tony Award-nominee Katy Sullivan in the Courtyard Theater.

Son of British theater legend and Royal Shakespeare Company founder Sir Peter Hall, Edward Hall has built his love of Shakespeare around original interpretations of the Bard’s plays, making this a central focus of his own career. In 1997, he founded the ensemble-based Propeller Theatre Company, performing Shakespeare’s plays in London’s West End and on tour to Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the United States, and beyond. He has directed Julius Caesar, Henry V, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona for the Royal Shakespeare Company; and his production of The Taming of the Shrew was included alongside Barbara Gaines’ Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 as part of the RSC’s Complete Works Festival in 2006/07. The New York Times Magazine raved of his career, “what Edward Hall seems to do is work at the cellular level, cracking the DNA code of the text and replicating it onstage.”

Hall led London’s Hampstead Theatre for nearly a decade as Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive, where he was known for ground-breaking work, including the Olivier Award-winning Sunny Afternoon, Chariots of Fire, The Judas Kiss, and Ecstasy—all of which transferred to the West End. In 2019, he staged the UK premiere of the Pulitzer prize-winning Cost of Living, starring Adrian Lester and Katy Sullivan. Following his appointment to Hampstead Theatre in 2010, Hall took the company from the brink of bankruptcy through a dramatic transformation into one of the nation’s most successful theaters for new work development—producing over 100 world premieres. While at Hampstead, he championed wider accessibility in the theater industry: he launched the Downstairs incubator space for early career playwrights, rolled out discount ticket programs, young writers’ programs, and as far back as 2013 began innovating with “freestreaming” on global digital platforms.

His extensive film and television credits include 2019’s Blithe Spirit starring Dame Judi Dench, Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, and Leslie Mann, as well as Gentleman Jack, Restless starring Hayley Atwell and Charlotte Rampling, Partners in Crime, The Durrells, and the season finale for series 4 of the resoundingly successful Downton Abbey. Upcoming releases include the Sky TV holiday film Joy To The World, starring Timothy Spall as Father Christmas.

Meet and get an insight in to the process of TV / Film Director Gil Junger!

100% of all Donations go to St. Jude Children's Research Centre!

**+ BIO **

“Director, Writer, Producer, Gil Junger is a prolific powerhouse of creativity, perhaps best known for his feature debut, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, which catapulted the careers of Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Heath Ledger.

His movie credits include BLACK KNIGHT, starring Martin Lawrence. IF ONLY starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tom Wilkinson and most recently THINK LIKE A DOG starring Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox.

As well as his work in features, Gil has directed over 250 episodes of TV and 4 television movies. He received Emmy and DGA award nominations for his work on the transformative “coming out” episode of Ellen, starring Ellen DeGeneres.

Drawing on his vast entertainment experience, Gil formed the Breakthru Company to revolutionize the industry’s approach to nurturing new talent. His method helps actors learn to disregard their self-limiting beliefs and trust their authentic voice to create a totally unique and authentic audition.

To learn more about his e-course head to thebreakthru website.

Meet and get an insight in to the process of TV / Film Director Charles Sturridge.

100% of all Donations go to Medecins Sans Frontieres. https://www.msf.org

**+ BIO **

Television: World In Action (Granada 1978) Coronation Street (1977) Brideshead Revisited (1981, Granada), Soft Targets (1983, BBC), The Storyteller (1988, C4), A Foreign Field (1993, BBC), Gulliver’s Travels (1996, C4/NBC), Longitude (2000, C4), Ohio Impromptu (2001, BBC), Shackleton (2002, C4), No 1 Ladies Detective Agency (2009 BBC/HBO), The Road To Coronation Street (2010, BBC 4), Dates (2013), Da Vinci’s Demons (2015, Starz), Churchill’s Secret (2016, ITV) Career of Evil (BBC 2018) Marcella (ITV 2018) MotherFatherSon (BBC2 2019) Sanditon (ITV 2019-2022) Cobra Rebellion (Sky 2023)

Films: Runners (1982), Aria (1987), A Handful of Dust (1988), Where Angel Fear To Tread (1991), Fairytale A True Story (1997), Lassie (2005), The Scapegoat (2012)

Get an insight in to the process of Film Director & Founder of @UpshotReels Sebastian Thiel!

100% of all Donations go to filmtvcharity.org.uk/

+ BIO

Sebastian Thiel is a writer, director, and producer. Born in Zambia and raised in North West London, Sebastian is one of the UK’s hottest rising stars behind the camera, having directed dramas for BBC, ITV, Amazon Prime and Netflix. Inspired by living in London, Sebastian started his own production company, Upshot Entertainment, at the age of 17 with an ambition to create the content that he wanted to see: content that was vastly underrepresented - fronted and made by black talent. Sebastian made his TV debut in 2014 on London Live with his documentary Trap Town and has since built an online following amassing over 13 million views for his self-produced work on his YouTube channel. Created, written and directed by Sebastian, his first drama Just A Couple, about a couple in a distinctly modern relationship, started life as a YouTube series before being picked up by Big Talk Productions for BBC Three.

Sebastian went on to direct the International Emmy-nominated BBC Three comedy Dreaming Whilst Black, and the recent hit ITVX and Amazon Prime drama Riches. Most recently, Sebastian directed Supacell, a new forthcoming superhero drama set in London for Netflix. Sebastian continues to produce content through Upshot Entertainment, a subset of which produces professional and dynamic showreels, under Upshot Reels, for some of Britain’s greatest talent including Letitia Wright (Black Panther, Small Axe). He is also the founder of Dope Black Art, which is dedicated to championing black culture through visual art. Sebastian has featured on TEDx Talks, was listed in the Evening Standard’s Top 25 Under 25 most influential Londoners and was included on the BBC’s 2017 Hotlist for New Talent – unveiled by Idris Elba and Tony Hall. Most recently, Sebastian was recognised by Broadcast magazine on their 2022 ‘Hot Shots’ list, which recognises rising talent in the television industry. Sebastian is currently writing a film and a number of TV shows. Sebastian is represented by Cathy King at 42 , and is signed to WME agency in LA.

WORK

Supacell - Netflix - 2024 - Director of Ep 3,4,5 Riches - Amazon & ITV - 2022 - Lead Director EP 1, 2 Dreaming Whilst Black - BBC Three - 2021 - Director EP 1 Just a couple - BBC Three - 2017 - Director / Writer Ep 1-6

www.sebastian-thiel.com

Get an insight in to the process of Casting Director Manuel Puro!

100% of all Donations go to Wateraid.

+ BIO

Manuel has over 20 years casting experience working across feature films, television, games, promos, commercials and shorts.

Projects include MOON and MUTE directed by Duncan Jones, SHAUN THE SHEEP: FARMAGEDDON for Aardman Animations and PLANET OF THE APES: THE LAST FRONTIER, the first in-house video game from Andy Serkis’ The Imaginarium.

Manuel has hosted mentoring sessions with organizations such as the National Film and Television School, iFeatures and the Directors Guild of Great Britain, and has held casting workshops globally.

In 2017 Manuel created The Acting Habit, an innovative online platform where actors from all over the world can share their work, receive and give feedback, experiment creatively and learn new technical skills.

Get an insight in to the process of Director Fergus O'Brien

100% of all Donations go to The Louis Dundas Centre for Palliative Care at Great Ormond Street Hospital

+ BIO

Fergus had a 20-year background in documentary as a producer/director and executive producer at BBC Studios before making the move to drama. In the documentary genre he was twice nominated for a BAFTA and won a Royal Television Society (RTS) award for his series STEPHEN FRY:OUT THERE (BBC).

He began directing drama in 2017 with his film AGAINST THE LAW which he developed from the book of the same name and then collaborated with writer Brian Fillis to bring to screen. The 70-minute film blends drama with moments of documentary testimony from gay men who spoke personally on the themes of persecution addressed in the drama. The film was nominated for two BAFTA awards for Best Single Drama and Best Cinematography.

Fergus’s second film, MOTHER’S DAY, was based on his extensive research and interviews with the real-life characters at the heart of the drama. The single drama was nominated for an RTS Best Drama award and won the BANFF Best TV Movie Award.

Recognising that the next obvious step in his career would be to direct a primetime TV drama, Fergus landed Lead Director on season 3 of THE A WORD (BBC/Keshet/Sundance) written by Peter Bowker. His work on this attracted the attention of writer and showrunner, Sally Wainwright, who invited Fergus to direct the concluding 3 episodes of GENTLEMAN JACK (S2) (BBC/HBO). So impressed with Fergus’s storytelling, Wainwright then invited him to direct the final ever episodes of her hit show HAPPY VALLEY (S3) (BBC/AMC). His episodes were the most watched of all UK drama in 2023. To date, the show has won the National TV Award (NTA) for Best Drama Series, several RTS awards including Best Series, and the Rose D’or for Best Performance of the Year by Sarah Lancashire.

Fergus has just completed work as Lead Director on THE TOURIST (S2) for BBC1 in the UK, Stan in Australia and Netflix for the US market.

Get an insight in to the process of Casting Director Laura Donnelly!

100% of all Donations go to Balkan Underdogs.

+ BIO

Laura is a UK and Southern European based Casting Director 20 years’ experience, working across all media. She worked mainly in film and television before moving into theatre. She was the resident associate and then Casting Director at National Theatre of Scotland from 2012 - 2022, as well as casting many independent theatre and film projects in the UK and internationally. She is currently based between Dubrovnik, Croatia and the UK. Laura is represented by Jess Alford at United Agents.

Full CV can be found here: https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/laura-donnelly-cdg https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm1623968

THEATRE CREDITS INCLUDE: James IV: Queen of The Fight (Raw Material/Capital Theatres); Medea (NTS/EIF); Exodus (NTS); Enough of Him (NTS/Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Orphans (NTS); The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Double M Arts/ Royal Lyceum/Edinburgh Festival 2022 and United States tour 2023); Paddington’s Marmalade Messiness (Histrionic Productions); Solaris (Malthouse Theatre/ Lyric Hammersmith/ Royal Lyceum); Terrestrial Salvation (National Theatre of Scotland (NTS)/Royal Court); Rhinoceros & Mrs Puntila (DOT Theatre/ Royal Lyceum); Twelfth Night (Bristol Old Vic/Royal Lyceum); Cockpit (Royal Lyceum); Hayfever (Citizens Theatre/Royal Lyceum); Them! (NTS); The Cheviot (NTS/ Dundee Rep); Cyrano De Bergerac (NTS/Citizens Theatre/Lyceum); Midsummer (NTS/EIF); My Left Right Foot (NTS/ BOP); A Winter’s Tale (Royal Lyceum); This Restless House (Citizens Theatre/NTS/EIF); How To Act (NTS); The 306 Trilogy: Dawn, Day, Dusk (NTS/Perth Theatre); Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour (NTS/Live/ Sonia Friedman/UK/ National Theatre/Duke Of Yorks); The James Plays (NTS/National Theatre/EIF, UK/International); The Strange Undoing Of Prudencia Hart (New York,UK/US); Let The Right One In (UK/US/Abbey Theatre); Anything That Gives Off Light (NTS/The TEAM/EIF). The Driver’s Seat (NTS)

RECENT FILM & TV CREDITS INCLUDE: Tetris (Marv Studios/ AI Film/Sigma/Unigram); Adam (NTS/Hopscotch Films/BBC Arts); Murder Island (Channel 4/ STV Studios); Jekyll & Hyde (NTS/Selkie/Sky Arts); Scenes for Survival (BBC Scotland/ NTS) elly-cdg-icda

Q&A Format Get an insight in to the process of Director Matthew Moore

+ BIO

Matthew made his debut as writer/director with the short films Julian and The Amber Amulet, which won back to back Crystal Bears at The 62nd and 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Most recently Matthew directed 6 episodes across seasons 2 and 3 of Tony McNamara's Emmy winning comedy series The Great for Hulu and MRC Entertainment, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. In addition to directing, Matthew was also a part of the writers room for season 2 Other SVOD and network directing credits include Colin from Accounts for CBS Studios, BBC2 and Binge, Diary of an Uber Driver, a half hour limited comedy series for ABC which Matthew set up and directed all 6 episodes, Bump for Stan and Offspring for Network 10. Awards include the AACTA Award for Best short fiction film, The AWGIE Award for for best short screenplay, selection at Les Cesars Golden Night of The Best Short Films of the Year in Paris and the Oscar Qualifying Grand Prix from the Heartland Film Festival. Matthew has also beennominated three times for Best Direction of a TV Comedy at the Australian Director Guild Awards for Diary of an Uber Driver and The Great and Colin from Accounts respectively.