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BAFTA has revealed the winners of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits and of the 20 people identified as the talented newcomers across film, games and television, five hail from, or have worked in, the video game industry.
Every year, BAFTA selects 20 of the most promising and inspiring young Brits across the creative industries. As last year, a quarter of that number was made up of representatives from the video games sector; Ghost Town Games lead writer and narrative designer, Gemma Langford, actor and Assassin’s Creed: Origins voice actor Abubakar Salim, UsTwo Games artist Chris Cox, Failbetter Games’ principal quality analyst Lesleyann White, and Media Molecule’s principal programmer, Liam de Valmency.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to sit on this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough Brits jury,” said Breakthrough Brits jury member Joe Cole. “I have loved watching the work of this year’s shortlisted newcomers. It’s an exciting time in global film, games and television, with so much opportunity, but it can also be daunting for those trying to break into the industry. Breakthrough Brits is an incredible programme, offering invaluable support, guidance and mentoring from BAFTA.”
“We are delighted to announce this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough Brits, 20 enormously talented individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, across film, games and television,” added Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA. “Since its launch in 2013, BAFTA Breakthrough Brits has championed over 100 talented newcomers and it is wonderful to see what our previous Breakthrough Brits have gone on to achieve. I am absolutely delighted that we are partnering this year with Netflix, who share our vision to celebrate emerging British talent and provide them with the tools to develop their skills at this pivotal moment in their careers.”
BAFTA Breakthrough is “BAFTA’s flagship new talent scheme that showcases and supports the next generation of creative talent in film, games and television in the UK”. Since its launch in 2013, BAFTA Breakthrough Brits has championed over 100 talented newcomers who receive one-to-one mentoring and career guidance, as well as access to BAFTA events and networking opportunities in the UK and internationally.
Last year, the winners from gaming included game directors, Adam and Thomas Vian of SFB Games who developed Snipperclips, artist Anna Hollinrake, who worked on Lola and the Giant from Climax Studios, creative director Henry Hoffman, who developed Hue with Fiddlesticks, writer and editor Olivia Wood of Failbetter Games, and games designer Daniel Fountain, who developed mobile puzzle game Kami.
