BAFTA Breakthrough: Akinola Davies Jr & Laura Carreira Among 2025 Cohort
Akinola Davies Jr, the director and co-writer of My Father’s Shadow, the UK’s entry for this year’s Best International Oscar race, and Laura Carreira, writer-director of the buzzy social drama On Falling, are among the 20 names selected for this year’s cohort of BAFTA Breakthrough talents.
BAFTA Breakthrough is awarded to individuals in the midst of or on the cusp of their breakthrough moment as creatives. The award functions as a year-long initiative and includes one-to-one meetings and career guidance, full voting membership, access to BAFTA events, and screenings alongside networking events in the UK and internationally. This year marks the scheme’s 12th anniversary.
Breakthrough participants are selected through an open application process. Some alumni of the scheme include Josh O’Connor, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Jim LeBrecht, Letitia Wright, Paapa Essiedu, Tom Holland, Lauren Ridloff, Brandon Perea, Laurie Nunn, and Sarah Lampert.
Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA, said it is an “absolute pleasure to welcome this year’s outstanding participants of BAFTA Breakthrough.”
“For 12 years, this BAFTA talent programme has supported creatives and practitioners in film, games, and television to navigate the often complex corridors of the screen arts,” Millichip said in a statement “I am enormously grateful to Netflix for their continued support of BAFTA and for their shared passion and commitment to providing opportunity and career pathways for UK talent from all backgrounds.”
The full list of this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough UK cohort is as follows:
Akinola Davies Jr – director/co-writer (My Father’s Shadow)
Alderney Middleton – series producer (Maddie + Triggs)
Cara Ellison – writer/ narrative designer (Ghost Town)
Ellis Howard – performer (What It Feels Like for a Girl)
Jodie-Simone Howe – costume designer (Mr Loverman)
Kyle Banks -director (Farewell North)
Laura Carreira – director/writer (On Falling)
Marie-Elena Dyche – producer (Harvest)
Mark Choi – composer (Empire of the Ants)
Matthew Gurney – performer (Reunion)
Megumi Inman – co-director/producer (Atomic People)
Nathalie Pitters – director of photography (Brian and Maggie)
Nathaniel Price – writer/associate producer (Mr Loverman)
Olaide Sadiq – director (Grenfell: Uncovered)
Owen Tooth – director (EastEnders)
Pinny Grylls – director/writer/editor (Grand Theft Hamlet)
Sally Beaumont – lead voice actor/script consultant (Old Skies)
Stanley Baxton – solo developer (LATEX, LEATHER, LIPSTICK, LOVE, LUST)
Stephanie Taylor – composer (The Search For Nicola Bulley)
Vivian Eguridu – series casting producer (Love is Blind UK Series 1)
