Today, November 21, the BAFTAs announced the 2024 BAFTA Breakthrough cohort! That means 43 up-and-coming creatives working in film, games, and television from across the UK, US and India were hand-picked to join the talent initiative, which the streaming platform Netflix supports.
The year-long program provides these up-and-comers various tools and opportunities to help stabilize their careers within the entertainment industry. Some of these perks include one-on-one meetings, career guidance, full-voting membership, access to BAFTA events and networking events within the UK and internationally. This year, several AAPI talents were chosen from the US cohort: Hanna Park (Editor), Sean Wang (Director), Nafisa Kaptownwala (Casting Director), Jih-E Peng (Cinematographer), Jing “Joy” Yi Ngiaw (Composer), Karrie Shirou Shao (Game Writer/Designer) and Nicole He (Creative Director.) Three of the awardees sat down with Character Media to speak about how they felt about becoming a part of the cohort.
CHARACTER MEDIA: How does it feel to be chosen for this year’s BAFTA US Breakthrough Cohort?
Hanna Park: It just feels joyous to be a part of…to be a part of the photoshoot and seeing so many diverse faces around me. It was really refreshing. Honestly, this past year, there’s been a lot of uncertainty. It seems like there’s this new thing that is worth celebrating about.
Jih-E Peng: I feel really honored to be a part of the BAFTA Breakthrough cohort this year. I’m really humbled because the cohort is amazing, it really means a lot to be surrounded by talented people. I think it’s incredible that BAFTA does this program; it’s necessary during these times and it means a lot to them to support underrated minorities, especially in craft positions.
Nafisa Kaptownwala: It’s extremely flattering and also inspiring. It’s a great feeling I’m proud to be here. I was traveling [when I heard] I got the email at 2 am, and I woke up to it i was surprised and I could not sleep for the rest of the night. I was sure i wasn’t going to get [chosen], so to get that email was such a huge shock.
CM: I’m sure you had a lot of emotions running through your mind, especially since the program has had other API talents like Brandon Pera, Amrit Kaur, and Jingyi Shao in the cohort for previous years. What was going through your mind
HP: Like I mentioned about seeing so many diverse faces, it was specifically Asian faces. We’re obviously not the first Asian people to be a part of filmmaking, but it feels cool to be a part of this next generation. I just feel like I’m in good company, it feels great that there are kids like me who were raised in a similar way and ended up in the same creative spot when it’s less common to do so.
JP: I feel very overwhelmed and, like I said, grateful for the opportunity to be amongst such incredible names, people like Amrit Kaur, I saw “Queen of My Dreams,” and it was amazing. To know this was a program [with] such a good launching pad and helpful for them in their career, it makes me excited and very much looking forward to the mentorship this program brings, and what the future holds.
NK: It’s really inspiring. I think when you get into creative work, I mean at least for me, I never had expectations for myself of where things would go and to receive these affirmations is hugely impactful for me and my career. I’m sure even for other people to see other people that look like that and represent similar parts of the world as them in these spaces, it’s broadens the possibility for marginalized people to think they can participate. It’s a huge affirmation to feeling like [I’m heading] in the right direction.
Find the full list of the BAFTA Breakthrough cohort down below:
UK BREAKTHROUGHS (21):
- 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 BREAKTHROUGHS (13):
- 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 BREAKTHROUGHS (9):
- 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”
