Staff and Governors at the London Film School

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Staff

Adam Sharman - Editing Instructor/Technician: Biography
Alan Bernstein - Deputy Director/Head of Studies/Term 1 Tutor: Biography
Amelia McPherson - Development Assistant
Andrew Speller -GBCT - Senior Camera Lecturer: Biography
Annette Streete - Admissions Manager
Dr. Barry Salt - Film History Lecturer / Term 4 / 5 Tutor: Biography
Ben Gibson - Director: Biography
Brian Dunnigan - Head of Screenwriting: Biography
Carlo Muzi - Camera Department Assistant: Biography
Carolyn Atherton - Workshops Administrator: Biography
Chrissy Bright - Librarian: Biography
Diana Charnley - Head of Production Design: Biography
Harriet Cox - Head of Camera: Biography
Howard Thompson - Head of Sound Department: Biography
Jaime Estrada-Torres - Head of Editing: Biography
Jane Hewitt - Programming Officer
John Sibley - MA Screenwriting Admin Assistant
Karen Warnock - Sound Assistant: Biography
Kate Hughes - Head of Marketing and Development: Biography
Les Blair - Term 2 and 3 course tutor: Biography
Lesley Edge - PA Director /School Secretary / Staff Governor
Lynn Broadhouse - Book Keeper
Margaret Glover - 6th Term Tutor and Senior Lecturer- Screenwriting: Biography
Mark Rance - Librarian: Biography
Moshe Nitzani - IT Manager
Rebecca Thompson - Head of Development
Roger Chinn - Front Office Manager
Ronaldo Fagarazzi - Stage Lighting: Biography
Saskia van Roomen - LFS Workshops Manager: Biography
Stefania Marangoni - Senior Editing Lecturer: Biography
Suzy Gillett - Head of Projects: Biography
Terry Hopkins - Deputy Head of Camera: Biography
Shirley Streete-Bharath - Director of Operations: Biography
Umpha Koroma - Projectionist: Biography
Wojciech Wrzesniewski - Sound Lecturer: Biography

You can view all staff biographies here

Governors

Mike Leigh OBE - Chairman

Mike Leigh's credits as writer/director include Bleak Moments; Meantime; High Hopes; Life is Sweet; Naked; Secrets and Lies; Career Girls; Topsy-Turvy; All or Nothing and Vera Drake, garnering numerous Oscar and BAFTA nominations and awards, a Cannes Palme D'or, a Venice Golden Lion amongst many other accolades. He has also written and directed over twenty stage plays, including Abigail's Party, and the most recent Two Thousand Years, which has been enjoying a successful run at the National Theatre in London. Mike Leigh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, at Camberwell and Central Art Schools, and at the London Film School.

Sir Michael Wakeford OBE - Vice Chairman

Sir Michael Wakeford started his career as a barrister and was for 27 years the Clerk of the Mercers Livery Company. For the past 8 years he has been the Trustee of the Portman Estate & director of Portman Settled Estates Ltd. He has been a Governor of LFS since 1985 and is currently Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. He is also a governor of several schools, both independent & state, including Chairman of the Walsall City Academy.

Peter Armstrong

Peter is an established media lawyer with over 25 years' experience in the film and television industry. He is a partner in leading City law firm, Reed Smith Richards Butler LLP and previously at Theodore Goddard and Mishcon de Reya. Peter acts for Hollywood studios such as Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures and for other leading independent UK , US and European film and television producers and industry organisations. Recent films on which he has been the main production lawyer include "Children of Men" and the Bourne Ultimatum". He is legal adviser to Film London and a Governor of the London Film School. He has served as a director of the British Film Commission and as chair of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee of the International Bar Association. Peter regularly speaks at film and copyright conferences in many countries.

Don Boyd

Don Boyd graduated from the London Film School in 1970 and began his directorial career working for the BBC on Tomorrow's World', followed by award-winning commercials work. As a director Don Boyd has combined his work in the cinema (Twenty One; My Kingdom; Lucia; Intimate Reflections) with a significant body of award-winning television documentaries, including the Ruby Wax Show and the recent "Andrew And Jeremy Get Married". As a producer he has collaborated with many renowned directors including Derek Jarman, Alan Clarke, John Schlesinger, Lindsey Anderson, Nic Roeg, Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Altman. Producing credits include Aria; The Last of England; Scum and The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. Don Boyd is a visiting Professor in Film at Exeter University, a Council Member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain and contributes regularly to The Guardian and The Observer.

Dan Chambers

Dan Chambers has been Channel Five's Director of Programming since 2003, having joined the Channel in 2001 as Controller of Factual. At Channel Five his commissions have included Britain's Finest.; World War I In Colour; Battlefield Detectives; Dream Holiday Home; Britain's Worst Driver; Fifth Gear and the RTS Award winning Revealed history strand. He came from Channel 4 where he was Science Editor, commissioning series such as Secrets of The Dead; Scrapheap Challenge; Extinct and The Private Lives of the Pharaohs. He also had joint responsibility for the first UK run of Big Brother. Dan began his career in television in 1991 as a researcher on current affairs programmes, including Panorama and Dispatches.

Graham Easton

Graham Easton is Chief Executive of Film Finances Inc., the world leader in completion guarantee services, offering completion bonds to film, television, digital and interactive productions. Film Finances Inc has offices in United States, Canada, Denmark, Italy, France, India and Australia.

Lesley Edge - Staff Governor

Lesley Edge graduated with an MA in Political Science from University of Dundee. Her first job was as a trainee journalist with D C Thomsons & Co and her secretarial experience includes working as a Personal Secretary for the Concert Administrator of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and four years with the Royal Brompton Hospital. She has been a secretary with the London Film School since 1998. Other assorted jobs have included working at the British Open Golf Championships, St Andrews and she was also a Quality Controller in a frozen pea factory. She was elected as Staff Governor in summer of 2005.

John Howkins

John Howkins is a leading figure in creativity, media and intellectual policy. He is Director of Equator Group plc and Equator Films Ltd, a Partner of ITR & Co, Director of the Adelphi Charter and was the originator of the London 'Own It' IP advisory centre. He is also Chair of The Creativity Group which advises on the management of creativity and intellectual property, Chairman of the Creative Business School, Chief Advisor to the Shanghai Creative Industries Centre and International Vice President of the Shanghai School of Creative Studies. Other positions held include Deputy Chairman of the British Screen Advisory Council (BSAC), former Chairman of the London Film School and CREATEC, and Vice Chairman of the Association of Independent Producers. He was associated with Time Warner and HBO from 1982 to1996 with responsibilities for TV and broadcast businesses in Europe. His books include 'CODE and 'The Creative Economy' and he is Visiting Professor of Lincoln University UK, and Shanghai Theatre Academy, China. John has also been appointed to the board of Screen East, the screen agency for the East of England.

Ruth Lesirge

Ruth Lesirge is an independent consultant working with not-for-profit organisations - charities, social enterprises and public sector bodies. She has held CEO positions in voluntary sector organisations, including the Mental Health Foundation and Retail Trust, as well as being mentor to Chief Executives of several major national charities. Additional positions held include chair and trustee of a number of not-for-profit organisations; Trustee of the Centre for Policy on Ageing; Vice Chair of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and Chair of its Professional Development Committee. Currently she is also Associate Director of NFTE UK, an educational charity, enabling disaffected young people to run their own businesses and is a lecturer at the CASS Business School.

Margaret Matheson

Margaret Matheson is a film producer and has been running her independent production company, Bard Entertainments, since 1993. Prior to Bard Entertainments she was Chief Executive of Island World and a founding director of Zenith Productions Ltd. Margaret Matheson's producing credits include Revengers Tragedy; American Cousins; Nina's Heavenly Delights; Space Island One; Cardiac Arrest Juice; Wide Eyed and Legless; The Hit; Sid and Nancy and Wish You Were Here, amongst many others.

John Rendall

John Rendall worked in documentary filmmaking from 1957 to 1965. He has travelled widely as Director/Cameraman and was Head of Features Marketing at Panavision London. Since 1965 he worked in equipment rental and technical support in all formats from '65 to the present.

Lisa Marie Russo

American-born Lisa Marie Russo produced and directed documentaries in the US, where she won an Emmy for her film Peace. Her work has been widely shown at international festivals and screened on US TV, BBC, Channel 4, the Discovery Channel and many others. Her most recent credits include Shiny Shiny; Bright New Hole in My Heart and Brothers of the Head, as well as numerous shorts including the BAFTA nominated The Tale of the Rat that Wrote.

Amanda Walsh

Amanda is currently Chief Executive of advertising agency Lowe London, recognised as the 8th most creative advertising agency in the World. Previous roles include Chief Executive of the WPP network, Red Cell, partner in agency Walsh Trott Chick Smith and Managing Director of WCRS.

Amanda was a member of the IPA Board 1993-2003 (Institute of Practitioners of Advertising), Chaired the IPA Training Committee (1987-1995), was President of WACL in 2002 (Women in Advertising and Communications London) and featured in AdAge's "Women to Watch" in 2005.

She is also a Non-Executive Director of the UK Film Council and a Trustee of the Brain & Spine Foundation Charity.

Bertrand Faivre

Bertrand started as Head of Acquisitions at UGC France before joining Les Productions Lazennec (La Haine, Scent of Green Papaya, and Cyclo) in 1992 until 2001. He ran the short film section at Lazennec Tout Court for 5 years. He began producing feature films in 1996. He set up independently a UK production company, THE BUREAU in 2000 & a French one, LE BUREAU in October 2001 to develop long-term relationships with some of the best European directors of their generation.

In the past 10 years, Bertrand has been producing or co-producing over 12 feature films in France, England, Ireland, Romania, Norway, Mexico, India and the US. They include "The Warrior", directed by Asif Kapadia which won, inter alia, two Bafta Awards including Best British Film, 'The devils', by Christophe Ruggia who won the Grand Prize in Cannes Junior, 'Burnt Out' by multi-award winning director Fabienne Godet and horror-cult movie 'Isolation' by Irish director Billy O'Brien. or co-producing such movies as Lynne Ramsay's Bafta-winning critically acclaimed directorial feature debut "Ratcatcher" and Christian Carion's Oscar-Golden Globe- Bafta nominated 'Joyeux Noel'. He is involved in the next projects from most of these directors.

Major partners and references include Film Four, Lions Gate, Ingenious, Celluloid Dreams, Redbus, Pathé UK, Wild Bunch, Miramax, Film Council, Canal+

John Akomfrah

John Akomfrah is an award-winning film-maker who has received numerous accolades for his feature films and documentary work including his debut Handsworth Songs (1986) which won the prestigious John Grierson Award. His credits include The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong; Martin Luther King - Days of Hope; Testament; Who Needs a Heart and Speak Like a Child. John Akomfrah has lectured internationally on black British cinema and has written extensively on film theory and aesthetics. He is also a Governor of the British Film Institute and Film London.

David Aukin

DAVID AUKIN has been director of the Hampshire Theatre, Leicester Haymarket and the National Theatre before running Film on Four during the 1990s. His credits include SECRETS AND LIES, TRAINSPOTTING and THE CRYING GAME. He has also been Head of Drama at Mentorn and formed Daybreak Pictures in 2006.

Sara Geater

SARA GEATER was Head of Production at Film Four and for drama on Channel 4 in the 1980s and 1990s. She has also worked as Head of Film and TV at Avalon, Head of Production at HAL/Miramax and Director of Business Affairs at the BBC. She is currently Chief Operating Officer at Talkback Thames.

Satwant Gill

SATWANT GILL has been Head of Film at the British Council since 2006 managing, curating and organising all of the British Council's work with UK films and filmmakers. She has also worked as programme manager at the British Council and as a programmer at the London Film Festival. She has also been on the management committee of Cinenova Distribution and is currently on the committee of the Satyajit Ray Foundation.

Lisa Bryer

LISA BRYER began her career in the film industry as an assistant director and became one of the UKs leading producers of pop promos and commercials. Her company, Cowboy Films, has been an industry leader since the mid-1980s. She is also a trustee on Action on Addiction and Westside independent school in London.

Steve Jenkins

STEVE JENKINS has been Head of Film in the BBC Acquisitions Department since 2003. He has worked in programme acquisitions and programming since 1993. Before entering the BBC he researched, produced and directed filmmaker profiles for the South Bank Show and served as Associate Editor of the Monthly Film Bulletin in the 1980s. He has contributed to Time Out, Sight and Sound and published THE IMAGE AND THE LOOK a study of the work of Fritz Lang.

Departmental Visiting Lecturers

Chris Allies - Rostrum Camera Instructors
Vasco Hexel - Film Music Consultant
Simon Louvish Screen Studies Lecturer