Cristina Roures - Festival Management Team
Cristina has been the Festival Operations Manager at the Cambridge Film Trust since 2016 and part of the Festival Management team since 2020. Her role encompasses strategy, funding, partnerships, event coordination and overseeing the Trust's educational programme. With a background in film and TV production, she has worked with leading production companies in Spain and managed events across academia, sports, and the arts. Cristina co-directs Acting Now, a social theatre company in Cambridge and Barcelona. She holds a BA from Pompeu Fabra University and an MA from Birkbeck University. Originally from Catalonia, she relocated to the UK in 2013.
Espe Moreno - Festival Management Team
Espe is integral to the Operations and Festival Management Team at the Cambridge Film Trust and Film Festival, specialising in development, grants, production, acquisitions, and logistics. She started in film at the Chicago Latino Film Festival and has managed digital campaigns and impact strategies for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival and Together Films. Espe co-founded youfeelm, Spain’s first theatrical on-demand platform. She holds a BA in Journalism from Rey Juan Carlos University and a Masters in Journalism and International Relations from Monash University.
Owen Baker - Festival Management Team
Owen has been part of the Cambridge Film Festival management team since 2014 and has taken on various roles. His background is in marketing and communications Management, predominantly within the arts and cultural sectors. His primary focus with CFF is developing and implementing organisational strategies that enhance festival attendance and public engagement. Alongside this work with CFF, Owen co-founded a boutique marketing agency focused on working with small arts organisations to improve their online presentation. Before working in the arts, his roles focused on brand management and business development in SMEs.
Savina Petkova - Programming Panel Lead
Savina Petkova is a freelance film critic based in London with bylines in MUBI Notebook, Little White Lies, Sight and Sound and Variety, among others. She is also part of the editorial board of the online magazine Talking Shorts and a workshop mentor for short film criticism. Savina is a member of the London Critic Circle, BIFA, the European Film Academy, and FIPRESCI and has recently completed her PhD at King's College London.
Ramon Lamarca - Programmer & Catalan Film Specialist
Ramon started collaborating with the Cambridge Film Festival in 2012, and what was going to be a one-off collaboration became one of the longest-running strands of the Festival, Camera Catalonia. He is also involved with the rest of the festival's programming, and when allowed, he likes to indulge in stereoscopic extravaganzas, like the popular event with Brian May some years ago. Ramon has also programmed Catalan cinema in other UK cinemas and organised numerous film and music events with an orchestra in Spain.
Teodosia Dobriyanova - Programmer
Teodosia, a London-based film programmer, joined the Cambridge Film Festival as a programmer in 2023. She curates the New East Cinema programme at the Barbican Centre, and has previously worked with HOME Manchester and Sheffield Doc/Fest.
Nathasha Orlando Kappler - Short Film Programmer
Nathasha Orlando Kappler is a Mexican-German freelance film programmer with a Master’s Degree in Film Studies, Programming, and Curation at the National Film and Television School, where she specialised in researching the archival and restoration work of Mexico's Golden Age of Cinema. She has previously served as a programmer for Irish Film Festival London, Berlin Film Society, and Deptford Cinema. In 2024 she launched her passion project, Reverie Cineclub, a film season of World Cinema classics and experimental direct-animation curated for family audiences. As a writer, she has contributed to publications Sight and Sound Magazine and Photogénie.
Alonso Aguilar Candanedo - Programming Assistant
Alonso Aguilar Candanedo is a Costa Rican-Panamanian freelance writer, lecturer and programmer. He has written for Sight & Sound, Hyperallergic, and The Brooklyn Rail, among other publications. He has also conducted preselection work for the Encounters Film Festival and London Experimental, and programmed for independent theatres and community centres in Costa Rica. He is a voting member of the Golden Globes and The Latin American Critics’ Awards, and a member of FIPRESCI and the International Cinephile Society.
Elle Haywood - Programme Advisor
Elle is a freelance film curator, critic and voice artist based in London, with a background in film, media and technology. She is the Programming Panel Lead for the Cambridge Film Festival, having been associated with the festival since 2017. She has previously worked with the British Film Institute, Genesis Cinema, London Korean Film Festival, Film Africa, Focal International, and is an Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She has written for Girls on Tops, Take One, Vague Visages, The Final Girls and Jumpcut Online, covering European and U.K. film festivals and online seasons. She has a BA in Media Studies from Anglia Ruskin and an MA in Film Studies, Programming and Curation from the National Film and Television School. Her interests include Scandinavian, Feminist and LGBTQ+ cinema, independent filmmaking and multidisciplinary theoretical research.
Hannah Hitchin - Submissions Coordinator / Outreach & Events Lead
Hannah Hitchin started as a volunteer for the Cambridge Film Festival in 2013 and has since worked in various roles for the Festival, including Events, Marketing and Outreach. She also worked for many years at the Festival's host venue, the Arts Picturehouse, in customer service, projection and as a chef. She received her doctorate in Film and Television Studies in 2023 from the University of Warwick; her thesis focussed on British film in the 1960s and teen stardom. She also teaches the Business of Film at Warwick
Abigail Pollock - Youth Lab Lead
Abby Pollock is a Creative Educator dedicated to fostering engagement in the arts and culture sector through multiple Cambridge-based initiatives. She has been involved with the Cambridge Film Festival since 2017, supporting its evolution and expanding its offerings. She has curated the festival’s Short Fusion strand for a number of years, carefully selecting outstanding short films—many of which have gone on to receive BAFTA wins and Oscar nominations. Passionate about supporting emerging talent, Abby leads the Youth Lab, mentoring young creatives as they take the next steps in their careers.
Becky Mann - Festival PR & Partnerships Manager
Becky Mann is a seasoned Festival PR and Partnerships Manager with nearly three decades in PR, communications, and business development. Over the last 10 years, she has become a key figure in the regional festival circuit, particularly at events like the Cambridge Film Festival. Her career includes roles with Arts Council England and collaborations with festivals run by the University of Cambridge, showcasing her versatility across prestigious contexts. Becky's deep connection to cinema began during her student years, working in cinemas and at the London Film Festival, cementing her dedication to the film festival industry.
Simon Jones - Chair - Managing director at Studio 24
Simon is the Founder and Managing Director of Cambridge-based digital agency Studio 24, with two decades of expertise in digital design and technology. He advises clients on effective online strategies and leads a team creating exceptional websites and web apps. Simon has contributed to Cambridge tech groups, volunteered with the Web Standards Project, spoken at industry events, and served as a school governor. Since 2007, Studio 24 has sponsored the Cambridge Film Festival, providing its digital presence. As a trustee of the Cambridge Film Trust since 2016, Simon combines his business and tech expertise with a passion for the arts, supporting its mission to engage diverse audiences.
Tina Kendall – Film academic at Anglia Ruskin University
Dr Tina Kendall is Associate Professor of Film & Media and Faculty Director of Research Students at Anglia Ruskin University. Tina has been privileged to work with the Cambridge Film Festival and the Youth Lab, where she has helped to connect ARU students to the inspiring work of the Cambridge Film Trust. She is passionate about the Trust’s role in bringing opportunities to the young people of Cambridgeshire and beyond. In her research work, Tina has published on contemporary European and American cinema, including work on new extremism in cinema and new materialist perspectives on filmmakers such as Lynne Ramsay, Agnès Varda, and Harmony Korine. Her recent work considers short-form video sharing platforms from Vine to TikTok, with a focus on content that people post and watch when they are feeling bored. She is the author of Entertained or Else: Boredom and Networked Media (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025).
Tony Jones - Festival Director. 1981 to 2019
Tony Jones is a pivotal figure in independent film exhibition in the East of England. With a distinguished career in art house, world, and independent cinema, he became Festival Director of the Cambridge Film Festival in 1981, leading it until 2019. Tony also founded the Cambridge Film Trust, which delivers the festival. His journey in cinema programming began in 1968 with the Arts Lab in Birmingham. In 1980, he became programming manager for the Arts Cinema in Cambridge, transforming it into the UK's top-grossing single-screen venue outside London. In 1989, Tony co-founded City Screen Limited, growing it into the UK's leading independent cinema operator, which Cineworld acquired in 2012. Tony has consistently redefined public film screening, taking cinema beyond traditional spaces into streets, stately homes, rooftops, and rural meadows, championing innovation in cinematic experiences.
Rowena Goldman - Producer, Director & Author
Rowena Goldman is an award-winning television producer, director, and published author. Her thirty-year TV career spans entertainment, news, live shows and documentaries for Channel 4, ITV and the BBC, where she was part of the BAFTA -award winning team on Radio 4’s interactive drama ‘The Dark House’. She is the co-founder of Nick O’Time Films, specialising in screenwriting, script development, and film production, and is also the co-screenwriter of a feature film in development in Germany. In addition to the Cambridge Film Festival, Rowena regularly attends the Berlinale, Cannes, and London. As a journalist, she has written for ‘Time Out’, ‘The First Post’, ‘Drama Quarterly’ and ‘The Scotsman’. In theatre, she is co-librettist and co-lyricist of the stage musicals ‘A Tale of Little Italy’ and ‘Up Is There’. Rowena is a BBC-trained ACC Coach. She is a mentor, coach, screenwriting consultant and manuscript editor for literary consultancy The Writing Coach and is a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain.
Geoffrey Maguire – Film academic at Cambridge University
Geoffrey Maguire is an Associate Professor of Latin American film at Gonville & Caius College, where he has taught film and cultural studies since 2021. His academic interests include global queer film, cinemas of childhood and adolescence, and recent ecological documentary film. He is the author of The Politics of Postmemory (2017), New Visions of Adolescence in Contemporary Latin American Film (2018), and Bodies of Water: Queer Aesthetics in Latin American Cinema (2024). Geoffrey is a long-time supporter of the Cambridge Film Festival and has been a Trustee since 2024.
Rachel Knight - Head of Digital at RNID
Rachel is Head of Digital at RNID (the Royal National Institute for Deaf People), where she leads a team of specialists focused on digital products, user experience and service design. Having initially joined the organisation as Head of Content and Conversion back in 2024, her career has spanned marketing, fundraising and communications over the years, and she’s excited to bring this experience to her role as Trustee. Outside of work, Rachel is passionate about cinema and is regularly found at the Cambridge Picturehouse, as well as other art events in the city. She volunteered at the Film Festival in 2018 and has been a regular attendee ever since.
Mike O'Brien - Former civil servant.
Mike’s main career has been in administration within central government departments of the Civil Service, mainly working on business planning, good working practices, and staff development. His personal experience with mental health inspired him to co-found Break the Stigma, a mental health support group at Defra. Passionate about cinema, Mike helped establish Screen St Ives, programming diverse films, from foreign language and animation to documentaries and British indies. He also founded the Herts Jazz Film Festival, showcasing jazz-themed films alongside the renowned Herts Jazz Festival. A long-time supporter of the Cambridge Film Festival, Mike is honored to serve as a Trustee, championing diversity in film and ensuring access for varied audiences.
Nicola Foley - Editor-in-chief of Definition magazine
Nicola Foley is a writer, editor and content strategist with a wealth of experience across print and digital media. She is editor-in-chief of Definition magazine, a long-running industry title that explores the craft of filmmaking through in-depth production features, interviews with creative talent and coverage of the latest developments in production technology. Nicola also founded and continues to manage Cambridge Edition, a long-running local magazine centred on culture and community, and now serves as editorial director of magazines at Bright Publishing. A long-time fan of the Cambridge Film Festival and passionate about cinema, she’s excited to support the festival’s future as part of the trustee team.
Matthew Webb - Management consulting professional
Matthew Webb is a management consulting professional and artist specializing in sustainability, finance, technology, and engagement. Holding an MBA in finance, sustainability, and change from the University of Durham, he has transformed over 30 leading organizations across more than 40 projects spanning healthcare, government, financial services, energy, media, and retail sectors. Webb’s photographic work has been featured in over 30 solo exhibitions, attracting more than 250,000 visitors. With a passion for film, he has attended festivals worldwide, including during his time living in China, Russia, and Brazil. Webb is the Director of Photography for Panorama and Managing Trustee of the participatory photography charity Eyes of the Street.
Nasheed Qamar Faruqi - Director and Screenwriter
Nasheed is a director and screenwriter. She combines filmmaking with writing about cinema. Her work has been supported by Daniel Pick’s Hidden Persuaders Group at Birkbeck, the Wellcome Trust, the BFI, and the BBC. While developing fictional features, she has completed two documentaries: Re-Reading Fanon (2021) and David Hawkins: A Battle of the Mind (2017). Nasheed worked for/was mentored by the trio behind Merchant Ivory Productions. She has an MFA from Columbia (NY) and read English at Oxford. She was a Clore Fellow in 2015/16 and is a recipient of a 2025 Society of Authors' work-in-progress grant. Nasheed has spoken at the Cambridge Film Festival and was on the jury of the 2024 festival. She is delighted to cement the relationship by joining the board of the Cambridge Film Trust. She is also a trustee of the Directors' Charitable Foundation.
Oleno Netto - Alumni & Donor Relations Officer at Trinity Hall
Oleno is strongly committed to supporting the Cambridge Film Trust’s mission to promote film culture and education. He is the Alumni & Donor Relations Officer at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. His work focuses on alumni engagement and donor stewardship. He previously served as Individual Giving Manager and Development Officer at Cambridge Arts Theatre, overseeing its membership scheme, major gifts, and donor communications. Oleno is originally from Brazil, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and an MPhil in Social Sciences. His academic research focused on income generation within the culture industries, with particular emphasis on festivals and the film industry. As a writer, his primary interest lies in interviewing creatives about their working processes, with his work published in Sounds and Colours, Songlines Magazine, and Plays International & Europe. In his spare time, he can usually be found curating the perfect playlist—another way he enjoys exploring storytelling.