[3] Among those delivering masterclasses were Mark Herman (Screenwriter, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), Ivana Mackinnon (Executive Producer, Slumdog Millionaire) and the Senior Commissioner for Channel 4.

[7] Masterclasses were held by Danny Cohen (BAFTA-nominated cinematographer of The King’s Speech, The Boat That Rocked and Glorious 39), Barry Ryan the head of Warp Films (Dead Man’s Shoes, Four Lions, This is England and Submarine) and Matt Greenhalgh (BAFTA winning screenwriter of Control and Nowhere Boy).

[11] Saera Jin, director of the comedy Konnichiwa Brick Lane was in attendance, alongside Curt Apduhan who discussed the making of his drama Anniversary.

Manjinder Virk received the Festival Winner award for her short Out of Darkness, which the Observer's Chief Film Critic Mark Kermode described as "intriguing and thought provoking.

"[12][13] Events included a series of masterclasses from Joakim Sundström (Seven Psychopaths), Craig McNeil from Beggars Group, Warp Films, Film4, Channel 4, Alice Lowe (Sightseers, Hot Fuzz) and more.

[24][25] The festival's Masterclass series included sessions from BAFTA-winning Warp Films' Head of Production Barry Ryan (’71, Berberian Sound Studio, Four Lions and This is England); Stephen Whelan, Executive Producer and founder at White Lodge; and Price James, who worked previously at Ridley Scott Associates and is a director at BAFTA-winning production company Agile Films.

Organisations also included Association of Camera Operators, Rankin Film, Shooting People, National Theatre, British Society of Cinematographers, Studio AKA, Channel 4, Framestore and more.

[31] Audiences were given a chance to see several UK premieres with performances from film and TV figures including Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, Idris Elba and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Best of Fest winners were Benjamin Cleary and TJ O’Grady Peyton for Wave, the story of a man who wakes from a coma speaking a fully formed but unrecognisable language, which also went on to win the Best Drama Award.

[34] Feature films in competition for the 2018 festival included Akram Khan's Giselle (As part of the English National Ballet), Mark Cousins' The Eyes of Orson Welles and Benjamin Wigley's Paa Joe & The Lion.

Best of Fest was awarded to Ed Perkins for his film Black Sheep, which told the story of Cornelius Walker and the murder of Damilola Taylor, in what became one of the UK's most high-profile cases.

For 2019, Masterclasses included representatives from British Vogue, i-D and Rankin, as well as Emmy- and Oscar-nominated producers, directors, sound designers, editors and cinematographers such as Simon Chinn, Dick Pope, Tracey Granger and Mick Audsley.

The event was a platform for attendees and delegates to engage with organisations from across the sector, including international film festivals, screen agencies, sales agents, global distributors and universities.

The award recognises directors with exceptional vision and a unique cinematic voice, with the winner receiving a post production package for their next short film.

Guest speakers include Andrea Arnold (Wasp, Fish Tank, American Honey), Sarah Gavron (This Little Life, Suffragette, Rocks), Jeanie Finlay(Seahorse, Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch), Sam Feder (DISCLOSURE, Boy I Am), Glenn Freemantle (Gravity, Annihilation), Paul Franklin (Inception, Interstellar), as well as animators, cinematographers, editors, production designers and representatives from Film4, BBC Films, and Framestore..

The strand titles included: Just Another Day on Earth, Humans and their Environment, Connections: People, Places and Identity, Breaking Down Barriers and Keep on the Sunny Side of Life.

The programme included a focus on diversity, with industry events and screenings centred on LGBTQ+, communities, Black Lives Matter, women, gender and identity.

Industry representatives included Sally Potter, Maxine Peake, Gamba Cole, Craig Roberts, Framestore, ILM, Film4, Channel 4, and BBC Film.

Guest Programmes included shorts from We Are Parable, Queer East Film Festival, Iris Prize, and Scottish Documentary Institute.

The line-up featured directors, actors and producers including Philip Barantini (Boiling Point), Lizzie Franck (Aftersun) and Claire Oakley (Makeup), and organisations such as Ubisoft, BFI, Framestore, Guardian Documentaries, BBC Writersroom, Ridley Scott Creative Group, and Film4.

There were 300 films in competition spanning 12 genres, organised into five thematic strands: Now, In This Very Moment; Standing at the Threshold of Change; A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With One Step; Be Free From Yourself; It’s Nice to Meet You.

Festival attendees included directors and cinematographers such as Sarah Gavron (Rocks), Mark Jenkin (Bait), Nicolas Brown (1917), Diana Olifirova (Heartstopper) and Kathryn Ferguson (NOTHING COMPARES), to give sessions on their experience working in the industry.

The programme of 60 masterclasses and panel sessions included Aardman, BBC Film, Film4, Framestore, Guardian, Industrial Light and Magic, Studio AKA and Ridley Scott Associates.

The festival hosted more than 50 masterclasses, panel sessions and workshops, run by industry professionals like actor and video game director Abubaker Salim (Napoleon), screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh (Back to Black), composer Simon Franglen (Titanic, Avatar, Skyfall), production designer Sonja Klaus (Terminator: Dark Fate) and video game design director Ben Furneaux (Call of Duty).

Speakers were from companies including Aardman, BBC Film, Film4, Framestore, Guardian Documentaries, Industrial Light & Magic and Ridley Scott Associates.

Previous winners have gone on to achieve further award success, including Oscar wins (The Silent Child, Chris Overton in 2017 and Stutterer, Benjamin Cleary, in 2016).