Over the next few weeks we will introduce you to our exciting line up of Judges for the 2025 Awards from across the Film Industry – for our Anniversary Year we have some of Past Award Winners as Judges
ERFF 2025 : Judges for Best Director
Sara Huxley is a BIFA and BAFTA nominated Film & TV Producer and a HETV Line Producer.
Sara originally trained as a professional actor at Rose Bruford College on their BA Acting Course. She started producing theatre, then moved into producing film and TV with producing partner April Kelley.
Alongside Mini, Sara has Line Produced many HETV shows including Worzel Gummidge starring Mackenzie Crook for the BBC and Romantic Getaway starring Romesh Ranganathan and Katherine Ryan for Sky Studios. In 2020, she was Head of Production at Studio71 UK, delivering a multitude of shows to the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery and The History Channel. In 2021 Sara Huxley was nominated for a TV BAFTA for a film she produced called The Main Part for BBC Sparks. The film was for BBC iPlayer as part of their monologues strand and was directed by Rosie Westhoff (Treacle).
Sara Line Produced a BBC feature-length special of Detectorists starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones, which aired on BBC 2 on Boxing Day 2022. She also Co-Produced the multi-award winning 4-part drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office for ITV about the Post Office Scandal which hit the news headlines and resulted in demands for former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells to have her CBE withdrawn .
In 2022 Sara became a full voting member of BAFTA and was awarded a Fellowship at Rose Bruford College for her extensive work in the industry since graduating.
April Kelley is an award-winning actor, writer, and BIFA nominated producer known for her creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. Showcasing her savviness, she founded Mini Productions at the age of 21, whilst still in drama school, she then met Sara Huxley and as they say, the rest was history.
As a writer, April has been acclaimed for her raw, honest, and relatable work. Her debut film, Treacle, which she also starred in and produced in collaboration with the Bisexual Resource Centre, premiered at BFI Flare in 2019. That same year, she was selected as one of the six queer filmmakers for the BFI Network & BAFTA at Flare Mentorship, highlighting her talent and potential. Treacle went on to screen at over 70 festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards including Best Women in Film at Bolton Film Festival.
In 2021, April wrote and premiered her film Just in Case at the BAFTA-qualifying Norwich Film Festival, which, amongst others, went on to win the Audience Award at the Mental Health Rights Film Festival led by the Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health.
In 2022, she premiered her third film, Do This for Me, at BFI Flare, which most recently has won the Best International Film award at the South Dakota Film Festival, solidifying her reputation as a distinguished filmmaker. She has now developed the trilogy of films into a TV series, which in 2023 won ‘Crip Script Pitch’ at ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York. She’s been awarded industry engagement/mentorship with AMC Networks.
Previously, she spent four years as a part of the BFI London Film Festival team, where she produced red carpet content, interviews, and social media coverage.
Beyond her accomplishments in the entertainment industry, April is known for her active advocacy work. She serves as a vocal ambassador for Bipolar UK, actively promoting mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights.
Based in both LA and London, her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact through her work has earned her admiration and respect.
ERFF 2025 : Judges for Best Film
Bridget O’Driscoll is a filmmaker based in Paris. With a degree in music and a master’s in Audiovisual Studies in the Montpellier University, France, she worked as a sound editor on numerous international feature films, collaborating with directors such as Guy Ritchie, John Madden, & Thomas Vinterberg.
Parallel to her work in sound, in 2014 Bridget began writing and directing, attending screenwriting and directing workshops. Her debut short film, The Paris Hunt, aired on OCS TV, followed by her second fantasy-comedy short film, Session N° 78, which garnered multiple awards and was selected in over 50 international festivals.
Including the English Riviera Film Festival the audience award and Best Director in 2021 for the film Replay . In 2018 for Best Director for the film Session N° 78
In 2020, she wrote and directed the award-winning drama Replay, merging her fascination with communication in altered states of consciousness and the art of dance. Starring Theo Augier and Paris Opera Ballet’s Marie-Agnès Gillot, the film explores the intricacies of ethical dilemma.
In 2022, she completed the lockdown-shot short comedy Let’s Ride! and recently wrapped post-production on Through the Mirror, a film produced as part of a national initiative with France Télévisions focused on raising awareness about violence against women.
Bridget is currently co-writing the feature drama Somebody’s Child. Throughout her work, Bridget consistently explores themes of human connection, societal communication, and post-traumatic family dynamics. She is a member of the Collectif 50/50, an action tank dedicated to promoting equality, diversity, and gender parity in the film and audiovisual industries.
Kenjo McCurtain is an award-winning filmmaker who moved to Japan to pursue his craft after graduating with a BA in Film Studies in the UK, where his work was screened at the university’s annual film festival.
Kenjo has written and directed four short films. Make-Believers (2020), a Japanese romantic musical is his feature film debut as director. Kenjo is a Kyoto Filmmakers’ Lab alumni and bilingual in English and Japanese.
Works:
‘Necropolis’ (2014): selected for the Fukuoka Independent Short Film Festival and ranked in Yahoo’s top ten videos online thereafter;
‘Automation’ (2017) winner of Best Director and Best Actor at the English Riviera Film Festival, Official Selection at Bali International Film Festival and Hollywood Verge Awards;
‘Yamome’ (2018) winner of the Independent World Best Short Film Award at Mt. Fuji Atami Film Festival, Best Actress and Best Drama Short at Genre Celebration Film Festival, the 2019 Shorties Film Festival Best Editing and Best Film winner, and Official Selection for various film festivals worldwide;
‘Transmission’ (2019) a genre effort – is a psychological-horror short adapted from a short story by H.P. Lovecraft and updated to modern day Japan.
‘Make-Believers’ (2021) a feature romantic musical-drama, World Premiered at the 2021 RiverRun International Film Festival in May 2021 as part of the RE:Vision Independent Feature Competition; was winner of the Jury Award at New York Film Week, the Golden Capybara Award for Best Feature Film at Tiete Film Festival and Grand Prix award at Japan Indies Film Festival. Official Selection for 2021 RiverRun Film Festival.
‘The Orange of Daydreams’ (2024) is a innovative and whimsical new short film ala ‘Amelie’ that follows colorblind, cat-lover, Mariya who hires loner-hacker, Tomo, to help her catch a killer of stray cats, and in the process falls in love. It is scheduled for a festival run from late 2024.
ERFF 2025 : Judges for Best South West Film
Claire Bueno is a film journalist, presenter and interviewer, having moderated BAFTA, Royal Television Society (RTS), Women in Film and Television (WFTV), and Apple Store Q&As and hosted Comic Con panel talks. Claire is the founder of Premiere Scene Magazine and has had the privilege of interviewing esteemed artists including Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sigourney Weaver, Emily Blunt, Samuel L Jackson, James Cameron and Andy Serkis.
As a media coach Claire works with leading personal publicists, HBO, Netflix, Sky, ITV, Penguin Random House, the BFI, DDA, MacMillan and Premier, offering practical coaching sessions and safe environment for talent to perfect their interview technique before facing the press. She has extensive experience working with emerging and seasoned professionals and where English is not their first language.
Additionally, Claire is the producer of the critically acclaimed feature documentary CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters and the upcoming TOO HOT TO HANDLE: Remembering Ghostbusters II.
Lee Morgan has been running the D&CFilm site (devon-cornwall-film.co.uk) since the mid ’00s and still loves getting his eyes, ears and mind popped by new and exciting film storytelling. He’s an enthusiastic champion of the skill and quality of local and regional filmmaking and you can often find him staring at a screen or scuttling between screenings.
ERFF 2025 : Judges for Best Documentary film
After graduating film school at the New York Film Academy in 2005, Director Anthony Bueno worked as camera and editor on the retrospective making-of documentary ‘Beware the Moon: Remembering An American Werewolf in London’. Together with his sister Claire they set up Premiere Scene where they reported from the red carpet, interviewing actors and filmmakers, focusing their questions on the art of filmmaking. In 2008, again with Claire, they began work on their own documentary ‘Cleanin’ Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters’ which enjoyed critical acclaim throughout its worldwide release. He is now completing work on the sequel documentary ‘Too Hot To Handle: Remembering Ghostbusters II’.
Dom Lee is a Devon based filmmaker and producer. His work includes Exeter Phoenix commissioned films ‘Rocketshed’ and ‘Croak’, the multi-award winning musical-comedy short film ‘Between the Lines’ and previous English Riviera FF award winner ‘Fort Box’. He’s a Film Teacher at the University of Exeter and also helps organise the monthly ’Shooters in the Pub’ networking event at Exeter Phoenix. Current projects include co-producing Rebecca Melvin Phillips’s upcoming debut feature film ‘The Medusa Box’.
ERFF 2025 : Judges for Best Animated Film
Ashley Thorpe is an Exeter based animator, writer / director. His early animated films – SCAYRECROW’ 2008 (winner of the Media Innovation Award 2009), ‘THE SCREAMING SKULL’ 2008 (nominated Best UK Short film at Raindance 2009) and ‘THE HAIRY HANDS’ 2010 (A SWS / UK Film Council project) – led to his first animated feature film – the multi-award winning ‘BORLEY RECTORY’ (a Carrion Film / Glass Eye Pix co-venture) with Reece Shearsmith & Julian Sands. After being released on Blu Ray in 2019 the film is now streaming on Netflix, Prime, TUBI and Talking Pictures TV.
As a freelance animator Ashley has provided animated sequences for such varied films as the multi award winning ‘WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED’, Saturn award winning ‘TALES OF HALLOWEEN’, ‘WOLF MANOR’, ‘MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW’, ‘MANCUNIAN MAN’ and created the title sequence for BBC’s ‘UNCANNY’ with Danny Robins.
Sue Thorpe
Long suffering wife / supporter of Carrion Films, Sue Thorpe utilised her years of management experience and festival attendance to create the Hell Tor Festival in 2019.
Further galvanised by the inspiring Manchester premiere of ‘MANCUNIAN MAN’, Sue set up CARRION EVENTS (part of Film Hub SW), launching with a special screening of Jake West’s documentary and subsequently resurrected the Hell Tor festival for 2024 with many proposed future Carrion Events on the horizon.
ERFF 2025 – Judge for Best Cinematography
David is a multi-award-winning writer and director specializing in comedy, drama, and horror. With over 15 years of experience in short films, music videos, and broadcast television, he is also a member of Directors UK and BAFTA Connect.
David’s films have been well-received, earning selections at numerous festivals worldwide, including BIFA, Bafta, and Oscar-qualifying festivals. He has won several awards, including ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Director’ for his films WE, SAFEKEEPING, EJECT, CLOUDS, and ERIC. His work has also been featured on platforms such as David Reviews, Shots, Directors Notes, Omeleto, Screambox and genre favourite Arrow Player.
ERFF 2025 : Judges for Best Screenplay
Justin Carter is a multi award-winning filmmaker with a history of work in short and feature films, documentaries, television drama, entertainment shows, music promos, and corporate videos.
His debut feature, “TORN: a SHOCK YOUmentary”, is ranked among the “10 BEST SUPERNATURAL HORROR MOVIES OF THE LAST DECADE” (SCREEN RANT Sep 15, 2020).
His recent projects include romantic period drama “Jay’s Grave” and the pilot episodes of techno thriller ‘Level 10: Wild Wild West’ and comedy mockumentary “KillCon”.
As well as work behind a camera, he’s also sold a number of feature length screenplays to film studios. He recently completed scripting duties on “How To Train A Princess” for ITN Studio/Jagged Edge Productions, makers of the 2023 box office hit “Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey”. “How To Train A Princess” is scheduled for release Christmas 2024.
Molly Povey studied Film and Photography at University in London and worked in television before moving back to Devon to raise a family with her husband. Molly has worked as freelance writer, radio presenter and over 16 years of experience working in education, as a Media Studies Lecturer and specialising in health and wellness classes supporting confidence through a variety of teaching techniques.
Molly currently works for the NHS Talking Therapies, having furthered her education at Exeter University. Molly has a love of film and has been known to have discussions on film and their benefits on mental wellness within her work.
With several years of experience of being a judge at film festivals, Molly loves to champion and nurture new talent within the industry.
As a lifelong sci-fi fan, Molly maintains she still knows the entire script of Aliens!
ERFF Award Judge for Best Film Score
Sean Wilson is a digital editor, journalist, author and podcast with 12 years’ experience writing for the likes of Cineworld, Curzon, Picturehouse, HeyUGuys, Den of Geek, Composer Magazine and the BBC. In 2022 Sean’s first book, The Sound of Cinema: Hollywood Film Music from the Silents to the Present Day, was published. It encompasses the 100-year history of soundtrack music and is published my McFarland.
Twitter: @seano22
Instagram: @seanfilmwriter
Author of The Sound of Cinema, now available to pre-order from McFarland Publishing: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-sound-of-cinema/