Niharika Singh

Niharika Singh is an accomplished theater and film personality. She is visiting expert faculty for acting with the National School of Drama (NSD) and has been head of acting faculty with Barry John Acting Studio. She has acted in and mentored a number of internationally acclaimed and award-winning films. She has her own film production house and has produced and directed a number of documentary films. As a psychologist, she brings a unique and valuable perspective to the performing arts. She is the founder member of the Society for Culture & Environment which organizes The Bhopal Literature and Art Festival every year in Bhopal.

Patricia Hetherington

Patricia is a narrative short-form content producer based in London. She has produced over 30 short films. She has worked on multiple short projects (narrative and commercial) in most departments and continues to freelance as a Production Manager and Assistant Director. She runs Action On The Side, a collaborative filmmaking project in London. She is the Festival Coordinator for the Ealing Film Festival. She has worked in the screen industries at VICE media and BAFTA albert.

Surendra S. Verma

Surendra S. Verma has an extensive and illustrious career spanning over 40 years in the Indian film industry, marked by collaborations with some of Bollywood’s most renowned directors and actors. He has independently directed several advertising films for brands such as Bajaj Industries, Nalini Saree, and Adrika Tea. His regional work includes successful Marathi films like “Majhya Navryachi Bayko,” which garnered multiple awards, and “Bhavisya Chi Aisi Taisi.” “Hume Toh Loot Liya” is his latest Hindi film starring Rajpal Yadav, Manoj Joshi, Upasana Singh, and others.

He has worked as an Associate Director with the esteemed J.P. Dutta on acclaimed films such as “Umrao Jaan,” “L.O.C. Kargil,” “Refugee,” “Border,” “Kshatriya,” “Batwara,” “Yateem,” “Hathyar,” and “Ghulami.” He also collaborated as an Associate Director with N. Chandra on “Wajood” and “Shikari.” Throughout his career, he has worked with Bollywood icons including Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai, Shabana Azmi, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Sunil Shetty, Rani Mukherjee, Jackie Shroff, Kareena Kapoor, Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Nana Patekar, Govinda, Tabu, and many others. Known for his creativity, technical prowess, and strong public relations skills, Surendra values hard work, honesty, and the acceptance of new ideas.

Dr. Sonu Shiva

She is a Professor of English at Dungar College, Bikaner, India, with over 25 years of experience in teaching and research. A noted film critic, she has traveled across Europe and Southeast Asia to deliver lectures. Her research publications in international journals explore cinematic works such as Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah, Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan, and film adaptations by Deepa Mehta (Earth, Water, Fire) and Vishal Bhardwaj (Haider, Maqbool, Omkara). Under her guidance, eleven scholars have successfully completed their PhDs. Her research interests include diasporic and world literature, film studies, and gender studies.

MADHUMITA BARIK

A film actress and theater artiste from the National School of Drama (NSD) Repertory and Sri Ram Center for Performing Arts (SRC) Repertory. She obtained an MA in Theatre from the Department of Indian Theatre Panjab University, Chandigarh, and a Five Years Graduation course in Classical Music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. She has worked in several films, serials, and web series like Kaun Kitna Paani Mein, I Didn’t Do It, Udta Punjab, Dongri ka Raja, The Tashkent Files, Shamshera, Manaska, Ao Chalo Gaon Mein, A Girl in the City, Bombay Begums, Serious Men, etc. for the past several years.

Keyuri Shah

Keyuri Shah is a renowned actress in Indian theater and commercial films, based in Mumbai. She began her career in theater and has since appeared in six Hindi commercial films and nearly 30 Gujarati, Rajasthani, and Marathi films, with many more currently in post-production. Her performances in a number of short films have earned her several awards. In addition to acting, Keyuri has worked as a model and has appeared in commercial advertisements for various brands and print media. Thanks to her sweet and versatile voice, she has hosted several radio shows on Fever 104 FM and has lent her voice to over 100 movies including animated films.

Sunita Rajvanshi

A Mathematician with a degree from IIT, Roorkee, India and a Mixed Media Artist. With a passion for art, she attained a diploma in Fine Arts from Raja Mansingh Tomar Music & Arts University, India and has participated in various art exhibitions across India, Middle East and Europe for charity purposes. She loves to watch all types of films and is a passionate critique. She also believes that movies shape our lives.

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube : @SunRajArts

Artur Dneprovskii

Artur Dneprovskii is a passionate Creative Producer and Scriptwriter in children’s entertainment, and CEO of “Big Papa” Production Company. He is the creative genius behind several viral children’s content, such as ‘Kote Kitty’, ‘Blue Tractor’, and ‘Kukutiki’, which collectively amassed 50 million daily and 1.5 billion monthly views on YouTube. These cartoons hold the top position in CIS countries and are rapidly gaining popularity in India, the United States, and Europe.

Artur creates, produces, and leads engaging kids’ shows that have profoundly impacted the lives of millions globally.

Irfan Jami

An award winning independent filmmaker from India, is known for his outstanding contributions to the world of cinema. His latest narrative short film, “LEMME TELL U,” was screened at various international film festivals across the USA, UK, Australia, and Canada. With a career spanning two decades, he has showcased his multifaceted talents as a director, screenwriter, lyricist, and editor with over 200 projects to his credit spanning various genres, including TV commercials, short films, telefilms, tele-series, video spots, corporate films, documentaries, and docudramas. He has also served as a visiting director for Ramoji Group’s Eenadu TV channel, and as the head of the audio-visual divisions for both Virgo TV and Mountain River Films, based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Stacey Carr

Stacey Carr is currently the Head of Inclusion and Skills at Covent Garden-based theatre, the Donmar Warehouse. She is also an independent consultant coaching creatives, production companies, Talent and brands through the creative process of preparing their TV/Media projects for the partnership and pitch phase, as well as supporting career navigation.  An EMMY-nominated Unscripted TV Executive who has always worked toward a more inclusive and representative creative landscape, she developed content for various companies including Nickelodeon, Endemol Shine North America, and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network prior to moving from Los Angeles to London in 2021.

Sumandeep Kapour

Sumi is a talented filmmaker and graduate from the University of Westminster, where she earned her BA in Television (Hons). She blogs about her personal experiences with muscular dystrophy and queerness. Sumi contributed to the Ealing 48 team as a Production Assistant and now brings her expertise to the AOTS 48 HR competition as a member of the judging panel.

Jim Fitzmaurice

Jim Fitzmaurice is a retired university professor of English from Flagstaff, Arizona and currently an honorary research fellow at the University of Sheffield. Since he has retired, he has written screenplays on a wide variety of topics including an imagined comic encounter between Barack Obama (as an undergraduate poet in LA) and Charles Bukowski. Other comedies and dramedies focus on Margaret Cavendish (duchess of Newcastle) at Bolsover Castle in the 17th century and Raymond Carver in married student housing at the University of Iowa in the 1960s. Jim was in charge of local arrangements for the Sheffield Global Cinema Festival, November 2023.

A.D Cooper

A. D. Cooper is an award-winning writer and director who’s created a long slate of short films. These have included drama, comedy, horror, documentaries, music videos, poetry and corporates,  garnering many awards at international and UK film festivals. She’s also presented and directed her own plays on London stages, and heard her historical radio dramas produced as podcasts by Towton Audio. She’s published joke books, short stories, multiple articles on filmmaking, and has been an award-winning rugby journalist. She regularly runs workshops on writing short scripts on the M.A. Scriptwriting at the London College of Communication.

Khyati Rajvanshi

An alumna of Oxford Brookes, Oxford and Westminster, London, UK, Khyati Rajvanshi is Journalist, columnist, and producer with a deep passion for films and art.

Pooja Singh

Pooja Singh is an Indian journalist who has been active in the field of journalism for 24 years. She started her career in 2001 with Zee News’ program ‘India’s Most Wanted’. After starting her anchoring career with DD News, Pooja Singh has been associated with many media organizations, including DD National, Janmat Channel, MH One News, Aaj Tak, Sudarshan News and India News. Along with serving as an RJ on All India Radio, Pooja Singh has also lent her voice to the BBC, History Channel, National Geographic Channels. She has also acted in the film ‘Khalish’ and has anchored docudrama ‘The Kingmaker of The Mughal Empire’. These days her podcast ‘The Pooja Singh Podcast’ aka ‘PSP’ is in discussion in which she talks to celebrities from different fields.

Harish Maharishi

“Harish Maharshi is a prominent artist who played a lead role in the Rajasthani film ‘Chimpudo’ and won the title of Mr. Talented in the 2023 Mr. Rajasthan competition. He is also a national-level dance performer and a theater artist. Harish Maharshi runs the ‘Deepa Music Factory’ YouTube channel. His Bollywood debut is happening in ‘Crazy for Dance 2’.”

Avnish Rajvanshi

“An Oil/Gas Producer by Profession and A Filmmaker by Passion”

From the oil production fields of Middle East and Europe, Avnish Rajvanshi ventured into the field of filmmaking with his first film ‘The Kingmaker of the Mughal Empire’ which won international awards and accolades. With three more film production projects in the pipeline, he is also organising film festivals in The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia and India. As the Festival Director of this event, his vision is to encourage, identify and showcase talent from the crowd and to support production value over budget.

Additional Background: With a distinguished career behind with majors like Shell International, he holds a Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology IIT(ISM), India, with management certification from Queensland University of Technology, Australia; Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands; Cranfield School of Management, United Kingdom; University of Texas at Austin, United States and Shell Project Academy, The Netherlands.

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