Gino Van Hecke (Head of Jury) - Belgium

Gino Van Hecke is a well-known figure in the cult film world. You either know him as the guy behind the sales booth, you'll find at every self-respecting film fair, or as the man behind the distribution company Zeno Pictures. This famous label has been releasing genre titles in the Benelux for decades. Mainly specialized in the local horror scene with movies as Rabid Grannies, The Afterman and Forgotten Scares. But also very proud on releases as Rubber, John Dies at the End, La Meute and The ABC’s of Death part 1&2... For many years he programs the ‘Bloody Belgium-Day’ at the B.U.T.- film festival in Breda. He is also a long-time jury member of the Beeston Film Festival and recently was appointed as ‘Head of the Jury’. This year he became also a jury member on the Filem’On Youth Film festival. And was recently invited to Barcelona to the B-Retina Festival to promote The Thingy, the Belgian answer to Basket Case.

Frank Harriman - UK

Frank Harriman is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator. Currently dividing his time between developing his own creative projects and inspiring a new generation of young filmmakers to take their first steps into the industry, he uses the opportunity of judging at Beeston to recharge his own artistic batteries. As he says, “Watching the incredible talents on show can be such an inspirational experience, it’s easy to forget I’ve got a job to do.”

Adam Anwi - UK

Writer & Director Adam Awni is a London based Director who has a background in music promos and corporate videos. His recent short film “Bunny” is currently on the festival circuit having garnered 3 International awards and 8 nominations.

Tommy Draper - UK

Derbyshire born Tommy Draper is a writer of both short and feature films. Tommy has won many awards for his short films and was BAFTA long-listed for Stop/Eject. His zombie feature film debut, Wasteland, has been released on DVD in America, Germany and Japan. Currently he has 4 short films in post-production, most notably the fantasy short Songbird. He is writing several more shorts and features, with the aim of them going into production next year.

Francesca Levi - UK

Francesca Ruth Levi is a filmmaker that specialises in live cinema and site specific pieces. Her short films have been screened all over the world and she has had the pleasure to work on a number of exciting projects including Live Cinema's project 'The Unfilmables' creating live music cinema with composer Mica Levi and alongside Caberet Voltaire, Wrangler and filmmaker Tasha Tung. Francesca also runs a film festival called Everyday Arias ( www.everydayarias.com ) which is dedicated to short films that utilise opera within everyday life, the festival also embraces submissions from world theatre traditions such as Kathakali, Kabuki, Chinese opera etc. Francesca is super excited to be seeing some of the wonderful films selected for the festival

Thomas Grascouer - France

Thomas Grascœur is a French award-winning director and actor. As an actor, he often appears on French Television (Flic tout simplement, by Yves Rénier, with Mathilde Seigner and Philippe Torreton, Alice Nevers, Clem, Nos Chers Voisins, Plus belle la vie...). He's also acting on stage in Paris both in classical and modern plays. As a director, his two last films have been selected in more than 60 festivals and won more than 20 awards, including the Audience Award at the Beeston Film Festival. His first one, A Parisian Bourgeois takes a break, a modern adaptation from a short story by the French writer Guy de Maupassant, is regularly broadcasted on OCS (Orange Cinema Series, the French channel of HBO).

Melissa Skirboll - USA

Melissa Skirboll is an award-winning writer, director, and producer whose character-driven films have screened internationally and earned multiple Best Director and Best Screenplay honors. A true multi-hyphenate, she has helmed over a dozen narrative projects, guiding performances recognized across major festivals while building a reputation for emotionally sharp, dialogue-driven storytelling. Her feature and pilot scripts have also garnered competition wins and finalist placements nationwide, underscoring her commitment to craft both behind the camera and on the page.

Billie Vee - Greece

Billie is a London based actress and screenwriter of Greek origin. Having worked extensively in Greek and Cypriot television and theatre, she moved to London, where she has performed in theatre, including Pleasance Theatre London, Southwark Playhouse, Old Red Lion, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, New Diorama Theatre as well as in independent films, commercials and recently in webseries and a TV pilot. She is also a screenwriter, with five short films under her belt so far. Her last award-winning short film ‘Testing Greta' has been officially selected for festivals across the UK, US and Europe, including the BAFTA qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival and British Urban Film Festival. Billie is in preparation of a feature film which she's written and will also be acting in.

Marina Anna Eich - Germany

Born in 1976 in Germany, Marina Anna Eich worked in the film industry for over 25 years as producer, actress and distributor. She was a jury member in more than 15 international Film Festivals such as Sitges, Fantasporto, Brussels, Molins de Rei, Ourense, Oman, Sweden, Germany, India. With MARILU PICTURES she now created her own distribution company distributing independent movies in Spain. Besides Marina Anna Eich is also a part of the Film Festival organization team for CURTAS Festival do Imaxinario, Vilagarcia de Arousa, one of the oldest and biggest fantasy film festivals in Spain.

Anna Wallace - UK

Anna joined the jury for the Beeston Film Festival in 2018 as Head of Writing for the University of Nottingham's Film Making Society, where she helped to foster the university's burgeoning film and writing talents. Anna is now a freelance Script Editor primarily working in television. With production credits on shows such as 'His Dark Materials' and 'The Winter King', she was selected for Eleven Film's competitive Duly Noted scheme in 2023, and trained in the script departments of 'Doctor Who' and 'Industry'. She is currently script editing an upcoming thriller for Apple TV+, alongside script reading for BBC Film, and of course watching all of the brilliant Beeston Film Festival submissions.

Dr Sharon Coleclough - UK

Dr. Sharon Coleclough completed her PhD in Cinematic Performance at the University of Salford in 2014. A Senior Lecturer in Film Production and Sound Design at Staffordshire University, her work combines the theory and practice of moving image production, and the ways in which meaning is created through the technical application of craft. Recent publications consider the relationship sound and the city focussing upon Berlin, with another article exploring the relationship of BAME actors to lighting and camera, with an inspiring lecture series commission from Learning on Screen on the same subject. Sharon works internationally on the collaborative digital project, “The Laptop Tour” which considers the ways performance can be realised through the use of technology. Sharon has worked in both the UK and USA on varied moving image projects and continues to maintain those links whilst also working in education.

Tom Nettleship - UK

Tom Nettleship co-founded music and post-production sound company Two Twenty Two whose work has been featured in the New York Times, the United Nations General Assembly, performed live at the Royal Albert Hall, and has won a Royal Television Society East award for short documentary ‘Nial Adams’. Feature film scores in recent years include award-winning US drama ‘Ask For Jane’ starring Sarah Steele (The Good Wife) and Alison Wright (The Americans), Rohingya documentary ‘Shanti Khana’, which was narrated by Ashley Judd, British comedy heist film ‘The Pay Day’ starring Simon Callow, which had a US theatrical release in November 2022, and Home By 8.30 (nominated for Best Score at Beeston Film Festival). Tom is a strong advocate for equality, diversity in storytelling and setting about making change within the film industry. He’s a supportive member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers and is very passionate about UK independent cinema.

Neda Khanifar - Iran

Neda Khanifar is an Iranian and award-winning filmmaker. Her First Film Hard Shadow participated in more than 30 festivals including Beeston Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival. After that she made 2 other short films and continued exploring the great world of cinema! Now as a new member of Beeston Film Festival’s Jury, she has the chance to watch creative films from great artists around world.

Cat White - UK

Cat is an award-winning actor, author, filmmaker, activist and founder/CEO of Kusini Productions. She has been honoured as a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, long-listed for AllBright’s ‘Innovative Trailblazer Award’, heralded as one of 'Five Activists Who Should Be On Your Radar ’by the Trouble Club (previous speakers including Gloria Steneim and Margaret Atwood), is a BAFTA connect member and We Are Parable/Channel 4 Momentum alumni. She is a proud ambassador for PAPYRUS, the UK's national charity for young suicide prevention, mentor on The Page One Project and East-Midlander born and bred!

Ashraf Shishir - Bangladesh

Md Ashraful Alam, known as Ashraf Shishir, is a renowned filmmaker, scriptwriter, and human rights advocate. He has served as a jury member at over 35 international film festivals, including the 52nd International Emmy® Awards. Shishir's debut feature film, 'The Innocenc' (Amra Ekta Cinema Banabo), holds the world record for the longest fiction feature film (21+ hours), showcasing his innovative storytelling. Beyond filmmaking, Shishir is a dedicated human rights advocate, creating impactful multimedia content on social issues. IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6959128/

Mikias Mulugeta - Ethiopia

Writer, Director, and African Creative networks coordinator for the Focus on Ability Short film Festival. Mikias also manages a diverse range of content, including managing over 200 short films on disability. His ultimate goal is transforming Africa into a vibrant hub of international festivals and cultural exchange, fostering greater appreciation and understanding worldwide.

Stuart Wright - UK

Stuart Wright is a screenwriter and the long standing host of the Britflicks Podcast. He has a number of exciting genre projects in development with Pinball Films and a couple of book adaptions for television in development with Free At Last TV. He is known for his work on horror feature THE LAIR (2020) and script consultancy on SQUEAL (aka SAMUEL'S TRAVELS, 2021). He has written and produced four short films. The fourth, FALLEN, was acquired by SHORTS TV and is a chapter on the British anthology PSYCHOMANTEUM (2018).

Zhengwu Gu - China

Zhengwu Gu is an award-winning Chinese Animation Director, Digital Artist, and Writer currently based in the United States. His co-directed and produced animated short film Dandelion has been officially selected by over 40 international film festivals and has received more than 10 awards, including the B'Oscar for Best Animation at the Beeston Film Festival. Zhengwu is also the co-founder of Gnosphere Studio, a creative hub for conceptual animation, story-driven CG films, and immersive digital art. He is currently developing The Hybrids: Cat in Eyes, a sci-fi project exploring themes of race, philosophy, and the future. He brings a fresh perspective shaped by his work in animation, visual storytelling, and cinematography—along with his life between China and the U.S.—offering creative insight into all kinds of films.

Francesca Hall - UK

I am an actor, filmmaker and assistant director based between London and the East Midlands. My specialism lies in the enhancement of realism within performance. My preferred genre to work in is social realism with comedy or gritty comedy drama. I am very passionate about telling honest, human, British stories!

Xia Fan - China

Xia Fan is a London-based writer-director originally from Chongqing, China. She holds an MA in Film Studies from the University of Stirling and an MA in Filmmaking from the London Film School. Having lived and worked in China, France and now the UK, she has an international perspective, and her work often explores the boundary between memory and imagination, the subtle human emotions in fleeting moments, and the unseemly connections that challenge and reshape our sense of identity. Her work has screened at festivals across the UK and Europe, and she continues to develop narrative and documentary projects as an independent filmmaker

Amber Doig-Thorne - UK

Amber Doig-Thorne is a Yorkshire-born, multi award-winning actress, producer and director who has built an extensive career across independent film. She has played lead roles in 25 feature films alongside numerous critically acclaimed short films, and has become one of the leading names in British independent horror. She has also starred in BBC Three’s Laugh Lessons, been commissioned by BBC Comedy as a performer and writer, and has built a social media audience of over 3 million followers. Amber was also recently named a nominee for the 2026 Forty Under 40 UK Awards for her contributions to the film industry as an actress and producer.