Our Judges

Diva is a seasoned creative in film and television, having worked for Warner Bros, Paramount, BBC, ITV and independent production companies in developing film, television and digital content. Diva was a producer on the BBC's Waterloo Road and Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, the associate producer of BFI/Film4/Screen Yorkshire feature film, Sky Peals and produced several short films including Bury The Dogs (BFI, executive produced by Shane Meadows), The Witch’s Daughter (BFI, starring Burn Gorman and Jo Hartley). LIA IRL (Roman Coppola NFT funded, starring William Flanagan), Little Pains (Kodansha, staring Leo Ashton), the doc short How Fast Can You Eat A Pickled Egg? (with support from Joe Lycett) and executive produced the short film, ‘Surprise Baby’ for Rope Ladder Fiction.

Diva was a mentee on Channel 4's Commissioner's Networking Programme, the Women In Film And TV Mentoring Programme and participated on the BBC Comedy Collective. She obtained a post graduate diploma in script development from the National Film and Television School in 2023.

Jo Schofield is Senior Talent Executive at Screen Yorkshire where she leads the organisations above the line talent development work. Her portfolio at SY includes two iterations of FLEX; the groundbreaking platform agnostic lab, Script Ed (for underrepresented script editors), and co delivering BFI’s Insight: emerging feature film producer programme. Jo also has strategic oversight of The Unit, a Channel 4 and Bradford council funded film hub for grassroot talent, in Keighley. In addition, Jo developed Its Grin Up North with BBC Comedy, spearheading comedy community building across Newcastle, Liverpool and Bradford, and recently lead on the Bradford x West of Ireland producer exchange programme for producers in Bradford and Ireland.   

She is a board member at Oldham Coliseum Theatre & has over 20 years experience in film, TV and talent development. Jo is a BAFTA nominated and EMMY winning producer & was at the helm of some of the UK's most beloved storylines as storyline writer & script editor at Emmerdale and Coronation Street, and as Senior Digital Producer for ITV. She was Commissioning Executive for Drama at RTE, running the Short Film Fund, and executive produced Storyland, the broadcaster's first online commissioning platform. During her tenure she was Executive Producer of comedy smash hit Hardy Bucks and co-developed Derry Girl’s writer Lisa McGee’s first showrunner commission RAW for the broadcaster.

From the city of Wolves, you will find that his hometown has truly been a big inspiration behind his work. His purpose lives and breathes through creativity, which includes producing, poetry and acting.

Co-owner of Wolverhampton Film Festival, which will be entering its fifth incarnation this year and in the process of so, has worked closely with the likes of BFI, Film Hub Midlands, Reel Brum and much more.

Furthermore, he has produced a variety of short films and music videos including clients such as Scott Pickup, Apache Indian, Casey Bailey as well as working with other clients in other creative ventures including Nottingham Poetry Festival, Wolverhampton Literature Festival via his poetry.

Working closely also with the award winning duo of New Lion Films and Pashmina Blue, have also produced for clients such as Chaiiwala and more.

Amongst so, his latest short film “Waiting Room” featuring Julian Glover can be found on Amazon Prime. More so recently, his first feature film “ A Teacher’s Gift” is set to be distributed in the cinemas via Pecadillo pictures with New Lion Films and London UK Films.

Hafsah works across visual art, film, installation, socially engaged practice and immersive. She is an award winning artist who has over twenty years experience working with leaders in co-creation and digital innovation and is originally from a science background with a first class honours degree and distinction at Masters in Fine Art. Her socially engaged practice, titled Separes Ensemble, continues to practice the tension between art and creativity with communities of people at the centre of cultural change.

She is the founder of Working Class Film School, a film-making project for young people across the UK and in the Global South having delivered projects, training and mentorship in Nepal, Hong Kong and more recently Pakistan and has taught with BFI Film Academy and National Film and Television School. Hafsah is currently working on a film trilogy set in her home city of Bradford and an artist film feature about cinema and mohabat (love). She lives in Manchester.

Bill Beaumont launched Distant Future Animation Studio in 2011, and for the last 14 years has created animation for entertainment, broadcast, and the corporate sector.  During his career he has also created animation for large scale projections, major national awards ceremonies, 4D rides, and augmented reality experiences.

Also a judge for the Royal Television Society Awards for the last 7 years, Bill says he is honoured to return for a second year to judge the animation category for Bradiff.

Owen Seabrook is a director, impact producer and cofounder of Tell Studio, a Leeds-based documentary company that partners with brands and charities to spotlight important causes through engaging and emotive storytelling.

He believes in the power of authentic film as a driver of positive change, proven by his film Cut Short: Fighting Against Knives in the North (2023) which won Best Short Documentary at Activists Without Borders Film Festival and is in use in over 300 schools and youth organisations across the UK as a teaching resource for knife crime intervention.

Pishdaad Modaressi Chahardehi is a Bradford-based filmmaker and producer with over 10 years’ experience creating documentaries, music videos, and cultural projects worldwide.

He creates films and events that spotlight unheard voices and spark meaningful conversations.

Fiona Georgiou Hunt is an award-winning screenwriter, novelist, director and producer whose career spans theatre and film. She has written widely, from novels and screenplays to books on the craft of writing, establishing herself as both a practitioner and an authority on storytelling.

Alongside her creative work, Fiona collaborates with arts, creative and media organisations, using her expertise in story and communications strategy to help them connect with audiences in meaningful ways.

Lorna is a Manchester-based writer who graduated from Falmouth University's screenwriting MA with a distinction in 2022, and whose writing has received a number of awards over the years. These include the ScreenSkills / Dandi Breakthrough Writer Programme in 2024 and a semifinalist in Both The Writers Lab UK & Europe and the BBC Comedy Collective in 2025. Her romantic comedy drama short, Opening Up, has also won a number of awards as well as being officially selected at range of BIFA-, BAFTA- and Oscar-qualifying festivals.

Born in North London England to Ghanaian parents, Rita attended Camberwell College of Arts, graduating with a Joint Honours BA in Visual Arts, and where she developed her first films. Her debut feature film, Bliss! premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Rita directed 2nd Unit on the final two episodes of SISTER, HBO and Sky’s Comedy Horror The Baby, while continuing to develop a slate of ambitious long form film and TV projects. She founded 225 Film Club, a dynamic and high quality short film festival created to champion female excellence in film direction and to amplify underrepresented cinematic voices. The platform has become a vital space for bold filmmaking talent and creative community building. Her short film Aurora, now streaming internationally on SVOD platforms, follows “A perimenopausal vampire on a quest to kill a habit that won’t die!” A full voting member of BAFTA, Rita is also a member of Directors UK, WGGB and Film Fatales.

​

She has served as Jury Chair for BAFTA’s 75th, 76th, and 77th British Short Film Awards, juror for BAFTA’s 2024 TV Drama: Writer award, assessor for The Uncertain Kingdom short film fund, juror for the inaugural Chopard x Breaking Through The Lens Action Grant, and jury member for the 34th Raindance Film Festival. Her multidisciplinary career also includes directing theatre and producing award-winning animation for Turner brands Cartoon Network and Boomerang across Europe.  Earlier she worked alongside prolific producer Nick de Grunwald, creator of the iconic BBC series Classic Albums, developing feature films and documentaries. A committed advocate for equity and access in the creative industries, Rita was a founding member of Turner Europe’s Diversity Council, where she spearheaded initiatives including deaf awareness training after hiring the first animator within the company’s European division who was deaf.