The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced 2018’s BAFTA Breakthrough Brits, in partnership with Burberry – Nineteen of the UK’s most promising future stars of film, games and television. Of the stars chosen are Bude-based John Campbell and Katie Goode, co-founders of VR games studio Triangular Pixels.
Triangular Pixels has had commercial and critical success with their first game, the BAFTA nominated Unseen Diplomacy. They are continuing to push what VR is capable of with their just launched, manic multiplayer PlayStation VR title, Smash Hit Plunder.
Breakthrough Brits is BAFTA’s flagship initiative that identifies and supports the next generation of British creative talent. Selected by a jury of industry experts after a UK-wide open call for nominations and applications, the 2018 Breakthrough Brits will be supported by BAFTA over the next 12 months as they progress their careers. Katie and John are looking forward to the networking opportunities and mentoring that’ll help propel their studio even greater future successes.
Since the launch of the initiative in 2013, previous Breakthrough Brits have gone on to be recognised at BAFTA’s awards ceremonies, including 2018 BAFTA winners Molly Windsor (Leading Actress for Three Girls); Daisy May Cooper (Female Performance for This Country) and Tom Davis (Comedy Entertainment Programme for Murder in Successville). Also in 2018, 2016 Breakthrough Brit honouree Florence Pugh was nominated for the 2018 EE Rising Star Award. Other previous Breakthrough Brits include composer Segun Akinola (Doctor Who), actress Letitia Wright (Black Panther), actor Alex Lawther (Imitation Game) and 2017 EE Rising star winner, actor Tom Holland (Spider-man: Homecoming).
The full list of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits in 2018 are:
Adrienne Law – Games Producer
Annie Price – Presenter
Chris Walley – Actor
Daniel Kokotajlo – Writer/Director
Daniel Lawrence Taylor – Actor/Writer
Ellena Wood – Director
Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly – Producer
Harry Nesbitt – Artist and Game Developer
Jay Armstrong – Game Developer
Jessica Barden – Actress
John Campbell and Katie Goode – Technical Director & Creative Director
Lucy Cohen – Writer/Director
Luisa Omielan – Comedian
Lottie Bevan – Co-Founder & COO
Michael Pearce – Director
Paapa Essiedu – Actor
Ria Zmitrowicz – Actress
Vanessa Whyte – Cinematographer
This year’s Breakthrough Brits jury members included actress and producer Gemma Arterton (EE Rising Star nominee in 2011), actress Stacy Martin (BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2014), actor George MacKay (EE Rising Star nominee in 2014), and composer Nainita Desai (BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2016).
BAFTA and Burberry share a joint vision of celebrating emerging British talent and giving them the tools to develop their skills at the start of their careers. Alongside one-to-one mentoring and guidance sessions, honourees also receive free access to BAFTA events for 12 months and networking opportunities in the UK and internationally.
Figures who have given support to the 2017 Breakthrough Brits in the past year include: actress Tilda Swinton, actor and producer Brad Pitt, game designer and developer Brenda Romero, actress Oliva Colman, director Tom Harper and game designer Tim Schafer.
Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said: “We are delighted to announce our 2018 Breakthrough Brits, hugely talented individuals from a range of backgrounds at a pivotal stage in their careers. As Breakthrough Brits reaches its sixth year, it is wonderful to see what our previous Breakthrough Brits have gone on to achieve, and I am so excited to see, with BAFTA’s support, guidance and mentorship, what our 2018 honourees will do next.”
For more information about BAFTA Breakthrough Brits, in partnership with Burberry, go to: http://bit.ly/Breakthrough-Brits
This year’s honourees will be celebrated at a reception attended by leading figures in the creative industries on Wednesday 7 November, taking place at 194 Piccadilly, an exciting new event space underneath the home of BAFTA.