"We urge the industry to take note."
BAFTA announced its 2024 Breakthrough cohort, featuring 43 creatives working in film, games and television, from across the UK, US and India.
BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship talent initiative supported by Netflix, providing a platform to creatives spanning craft specialisms from costume design, production, casting, editing and games design, to performance, directing, composing and cinematography.
The 2024 UK cohort was selected by five specialist sub-committees comprising industry figures from the world of film, television, craft and tech, unscripted and games with BAFTA and Netflix representatives.
In the US, a jury of leading cross-industry figures including producer Kerstin Emhoff and actor John David Washington selected this year’s cohort.
The Breakthrough India jury was chaired by film producer and Breakthrough India ambassador Guneet Monga Kapoor and also featured leading cross-industry figures including Vice President of Content, Netflix India, Monika Shergill and filmmaker Sushmit Ghosh.
BAFTA Breakthrough is celebrating its 11th year and among its alumni are Ambika Mod, Bella Ramsey and Letitia Wright who have gone on to build very successful careers.
It is a year-long initiative that includes one-to-one meetings and career guidance, full voting membership, access to BAFTA events and screenings, as well as networking events, both in the UK and internationally.
BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip said: “BAFTA Breakthrough, now in its 11th year, spotlights a host of emerging and talented ‘must-watch’ creative practitioners working across film, games and television.
“This year we have an amazing roster of casting directors, producers, writers, performers, lead artists, cinematographers, lead developers, and more.
“We urge the industry to take note. A huge thank you to Netflix, whose support makes BAFTA Breakthrough possible.”
When it comes to British South Asians in the 2024 cohort, there are three.
Mawaan Rizwan
Mawaan Rizwan is an actor and comedian who began his career as a YouTuber.
He created and starred in the BBC Three comedy Juice and won a BAFTA TV award for his performance.
The series is based on Mawaan’s 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show of the same name.
His mother and brother also appeared in Juice as the family of Mawaan Rizwan’s character, Jamma.
Poulomi Basu
Born in Kolkata, Poulomi Basu is an artist, documentary photographer and activist, much of whose work addresses the normalisation of violence against marginalised women.
She is a co-founder and director of Just Another Photo Festival, which seeks to democratise access to visual media.
Poulomi is also a visiting lecturer at the University of the Arts London’s Visible Justice and Collaborative Unit.
Shahnaz Dulaimy
Shahnaz Dulaimy is a film and television editor who is known for her work on The Gallows Pole and Name Me Lawand.
But her most renowned work is in Top Boy as an editor.
The Full List of BAFTA Breakthroughs 2024
UK
- Alice Russell, Director – If the Streets Were on Fire
- Beth Park, Lead Performance Director – Black Myth: Wukong
- Clair Titley, Director – The Contestant
- Cobbie Yates, Costume Designer – Layla
- Daf James, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer/Musical Director – Lost Boys & Fairies
- Fred Hoffman, Art Director – Paper Trail
- Georgina Hurcombe, Creator/Producer/Director – Pop Paper City
- Harry Gilbert, Casting Director – G’wed
- Jennifer English, Performer – Baldur’s Gate 3
- Kyla Harris*, Lead Performer/Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Associate Producer – We Might Regret This
- Lauren Sequeira, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer – Domino Day
- Lee Getty*, Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Associate Producer – We Might Regret This
- Loran Dunn, Producer – Hoard
- Luna Carmoon, Writer/Director – Hoard
- Luned Tonderai, Series Director – Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star
- Mawaan Rizwan, Performer/Writer/Creator/Executive Producer – Juice
- Otto Baxter, Writer/Director/Performer – The Puppet Asylum
- Poulomi Basu, Creator/Director/Writer/Art Director – MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero
- Rochelle Newman, Producer – White Nanny Black Child
- Shahnaz Dulaimy, Editor – Top Boy
- Sophie Knowles, Lead Artist – Viewfinder
US
- Angela Walker Patton*, Director – Daughters
- Elaine Gómez, Creative Director – Blink Land
- Erica Tremblay, Writer/Director – Fancy Dance
- Hanna Park, Editor – Bottoms
- Jih-E Peng, Cinematographer – Girls Will Be Girls
- Joy Ngiaw, Composer – WondLa
- Juliana Hoffpauir, Costume Designer – Hit Man
- Karrie Shirou Shao, Game Writer/Lead Designer – Pacific Drive
- Nafisa Kaptownwala, Casting Director – Dìdi
- Natalie Rae*, Director – Daughters
- Nava Mau, Performer – Baby Reindeer
- Nicole He, Creative Director – The Crush House
- Sean Wang, Writer/Director – Dìdi
India
- Abhinav Chokhavatia, Game Producer – Down and Out
- Christo Tomy, Director – Curry and Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case
- Deepa Bhatia, Writer/Director/Producer – First Act
- Dhiman Karmakar, Sound Designer/Production Sound Mixer – Amar Singh Chamkila
- Jaydeep Sarkar, Showrunner/Series Director/Executive Producer – Rainbow Rishta
- Monisha Thyagarajan, Series Producer – The Hunt for Veerappan
- Neeraj Kumar, Producer/Lead Developer – Artifice: War Tactics
- Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, Writer/Director/Performer – Aachar & Co.
- Varun Grover, Writer/Director – All India Rank
Courtney LaBarge Bell, Executive Director of BAFTA North America, said:
“Each year the BAFTA Breakthrough USA cohort represents some of the most exciting and brilliant voices working across film, TV and games and this year is no exception.
“We at BAFTA believe in the work of these distinctive and immensely talented creators and we are honoured to be their champions for the next year and beyond.
“We’re grateful to play a small part in supporting them in what will surely be long, illustrious careers.”
Anne Mensah, Vice President, UK Content at Netflix said:
“We are so proud to support the exceptional group of creatives who make up BAFTA Breakthrough.”
“Breakthrough is brilliant at unearthing fresh voices, spotlighting talent and providing the support needed to help creatives reach their full potential.”
Guneet Monga Kapoor, Film Producer and Ambassador for BAFTA Breakthrough in India, said:
“A massive congratulations to this year’s nine India Breakthroughs, who demonstrate once again that there is no shortage of creative talent in India.
“It was extremely difficult to narrow down the pool of talented candidates.
“I can’t wait to see how this year’s cohort harnesses BAFTA Breakthrough’s opportunities to hone their craft!”
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