The 2009 Jury Chair

Peter Buckingham is Head of Distribution & Exhibition at the UK Film Council. His role is to ensure that audiences across the UK have access to a diverse range of films whilst ensuring that audience admissions across this broadened landscape continues to rise. He heads up a range of schemes to support this strategy including the P&A Fund (prints & advertising) and the world’s first 2k Digital Screen Network. He is also currently on a number of advisory boards including Cass Business School in London. 

With an extensive list of credits to his name, Liam Cunningham has earned his ever growing following on both sides of the Atlantic. He has consistently balanced smaller productions in his native Ireland with much larger scale films. Amongst these, he co-starred in the multi-award winning The Wind that Shakes the Barley and was nominated for a number of Best Supporting Actor awards, including a BIFA, for his performance as Father Moran in last year’s Hunger. Most recently, he starred in British crime thriller Harry Brown alongside Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer. 

Idris Elba started his career in his native London where he became a mainstay on British television in shows such as Dangerfield and Ultraviolet. Now best known for his role as Stringer Bell in gritty US television series, The Wire, Elba has built on his first leading role in the feature, Sometimes In April, with a string of highly acclaimed films including American Gangster and RocknRolla. This year, Idris has been filming throughout the world, from California to Glasgow, and is currently in London working on the psychological crime drama, Luther, for the BBC. 

Kave Quinn studied Fashion at St Martins and after an initial foray into the costume department moved over to design. In 1993 she joined forces with Danny Boyle, Andrew MacDonald, John Hodge and Director of Photography Brian Tufano to collaborate on Shallow Grave. She went on to work with the same team on Trainspotting and A Life less Ordinary. Her other film credits include Layer Cake, Is Anybody there?, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel and Harry Brown.  

Paul Speed never looked back after Star Wars. Aged seven, he was directing playground productions of the opening scenes and had high hopes of one day meeting Princess Leia. He is still waiting for that particular opportunity. For many years now, he has worked as a projectionist at the Soho Screening Rooms (previously Mr Young's), where he observes with great interest the visual development of productions, from rushes through to the finished work. He is always keen to discuss cinema’s many facets and feels honoured to have been invited to sit on this year’s jury. 

Robert Mitchell has recently left the position of Managing Director of Walt Disney Pictures to set up a marketing consultancy with his business partner Jonathan Donovan. Having started as a runner, Mitchell worked his way up the advertising industry before moving to Warner Bros. as Head of Marketing. Finding himself hooked by the business he moved on to Palace Pictures as Deputy Managing Director and set up Buena Vista International with Daniel Battsek. He has executive produced 3 award winning films and won an educational BAFTA for his marketing campaign on King Arthur.  

Jodie Whittaker graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2005, winning the Gold Medal for Acting. She has since co-starred alongside acting veterans such as Leslie Philips in Venus and Viggo Mortensen in Good, and has appeared in a number of acclaimed television series’, including Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Wired. Her theatre credits include Ampelisca in The Storm, and Hennie in Awake and Sing. Jodie’s success is set to continue into 2010 with a number of projects set for release, including Nick Moran’s The Kid.