‘Heartstopper’ DP Diana Olifirova, ‘Nope’ Star Brandon Perea Among BAFTA Breakthrough Cohort 2022

K.J. Yossman
·3 min read
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BAFTA has unveiled the 33 creatives across two continents who have been selected for the organization’s talent initiative BAFTA Breakthrough 2022.

Selected from the worlds of film, games and TV by an experienced jury, participants are set to receive professional development support including coaching, mentoring and networking opportunities with BAFTA’s vast range of members from the creative industries.

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The 2022 UK jury was chaired by Ade Rawcliffe (group director of diversity and inclusion at ITV), and included Fiona Lamptey (director of features at Netflix), performer Marianne Jean-Baptiste, BBC Comedy commissioning editor Emma Lawson, casting director Lauren Evans, and Breakthrough alumnae Ruth Madeley and Charu Desodt. The U.S. jury was chaired by actor Nyasha Hatendi, and included the actors Jodi Balfour and Bianca Lawson, cinematographer Ava Berkofsky, TV executive producer and showrunner Ari Katcher, director, writer and producer Stephanie Laing and Netflix Studio exec Racheline Benveniste.

The Breakthroughs include creatives from every part of their industries including screenwriters, actors, games designers, producers, costume designers, casting directors, DoPs, editors and production designers.

The program’s alumni includes Florence Pugh, Tom Holland and Letitia Wright, among others.

“Congratulations to this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough participants in both the U.K. and U.S,” said BAFTA chief executive Jane Millichip. “It’s fantastic to see such breadth and depth of talent represented across film, games and television. It is a core tenet of BAFTA to provide, not only starter programmes, but also the networks and mentoring to accelerate the careers of those who are already on their creative journey, and the skill and commitment already demonstrated by this year’s cohort is hugely impressive. We’re incredibly proud of the immense contribution Breakthrough participants bring to the screen industries and what they go on to achieve. This is core to BAFTA’s purpose and of course, none of this is possible without our industry partners, and we are hugely grateful to Netflix for their continued support of BAFTA Breakthrough.”

Check out the full list of BAFTA Breakthroughs 2022 below:

U.K. Breakthroughs

Alex Thomas, Director – “Yorkshire Cop: Police, Racism and Me” (TV)

Alyx Jones, Dialogue Editor – “Elden Ring” (Games)

Ambika Mod, Performer – “This is Going to Hurt” (TV)

Chloë Fairweather, Director – “Dying to Divorce” (Film)

Diana Olifirova, Cinematographer – “Heartstopper” (TV)

Emily Brown, Lead Designer – “Alba: a Wildlife Adventure” (Games)

Jack Rooke, Writer/Executive Producer – “Big Boys” (TV)

Jamal Green, Composer – “TOEM” (Games)

Joanna Boateng, Producer – “Uprising” (TV)

Leon Harrop, Performer – “Ralph & Katie” (TV)

Marley Morrison, Writer/Director – “Sweetheart” (Film)

Morag Taylor, Principal Technical Artist – “Total War: Warhammer 3” (Games)

Nell Barlow, Performer – “Sweetheart” (Film)

Nicôle Lecky, Writer/Executive Producer/Actor – “MOOD” (TV)

Paul Sng, Director – “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché” (Film)

Rose Ayling-Ellis, Performer – “Eastenders” (TV)

Runyararo Mapfumo, Director – “Sex Education” (TV)

Sophie Cunningham, Director – “Look Away” (TV)

Theo Williams, Director – “Terms & Conditions: Deeper than Drill” (TV)

Zachary Soares & Luciana Nascimento, Co-Founders, Creative Director & Artistic Director at Moonglow Bay (Games)

U.S. Breakthroughs

Alex Pritz, Director – “The Territory” (Film, Documentary)

Amrit Kaur, Performer – “The Sex Lives of College Girls” (TV)

Brandon Perea, Performer – “NOPE” (Film)

Charlotte Hornsby, Cinematographer – “MASTER” (Film)

Clare Knight, Director – “Back to the Outback ” (Film)

Daphne Qin Wu, Cinematographer – “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” (Film)

Ellie Foumbi, Director/Writer – “Our Father, the Devil” (Film)

Megan Fox, Founder/Games Programmer – “SkateBIRD” (Games)

Melissa Adeyemo, Producer – “Eyimofe” (Film)

Rebeca Huntt, Director – “Beba” (Film, Documentary)

Robert Ouyang Rusli, Composer – “Test Pattern” (Film)

So Yun Um, Director – “Liquor Store Dreams” (Film, Documentary)

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