Honourees 2009
The 2009 Breakthrough Brits honourees are:
- Dipo Agboluaje
- Riz Ahmed
- Eran Creevy
- Yann Demange
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Shan Khan
- Tinge Krishnan
- Kolton Lee
- Nahrein Mirza Kemp
- China Moo-Young
- Mel Nwanguma
- Femi Tay Oguns
- Ian Iqbal Rashid
Dipo's first screenplay, The Estate is adapted from his stage play of the same title. With director Mel Nwanguma he is developing their short film Area Boys into a feature-length movie for Focus Features.
Riz has starred in multi award winning Road to Guantanamo (Silver Bear, Berlin), Britz (Best Drama Series, BAFTA), and Shifty (nominated Best Actor 2008 BIFA Awards). As Riz MC he has supported Mos Def, Massive Attack, played superclubs, concert halls, Glastonbury, and held an artistic residency at the prestigious Southbank Centre, London.
Eran Creevy - Writer / Director
As well as being an active commercials director, Eran directed his first feature film Shifty (made under the Film London Microwave scheme), which since its premiere at the 2008 London Film Festival has garnered plaudits from across the film industry including five BIFA nominations. He has just finished writing a screenplay Welcome to the Punch.
Yann Demange - Writer / Director
Yann was the lead director of the show Secret Diary of a Call girl in 2007, which sold to Showtime in the US. He went on to be BAFTA nominated for the hit zombie satire mini-series Dead Set. Most recently he directed the critically acclaimed Criminal Justice for BBC1 staring Maxine Peake, Matthew Mcfadyen and Sophie Okenado.
Daniel has continuously worked as an actor and writer for television, features and stage. He was eighteen when he wrote his first episode of Skins as well as acting in the show. This year, Daniel has also been acting in BBC's Psychoville and Doctor Who as well as Film4 and UK Film Council-funded feature Chatroom.
Shan trained as an actor before moving into writing/directing for the stage and screen. He is a Verity Bargate Award winner for stage, as well as being BAFTA nominated for both television and film. He has various projects in development with BBC, UK Film Council and the National Theatre.
He hopes also to direct his first feature-film Honour in the coming months.
Tinge went from being a fully qualified medical doctor to winning a BAFTA for filmmaking. She has just finished a gritty sci-fi martial arts series shot in Asia. She is in development on an emotionally moving east-west sci fi martial arts action feature.
Kolton Lee - Writer / Director
Before getting into filmmaking Kolton represented the UK as an international basketball player and from there turned to sports journalism. In 2005 Kolton wrote and directed the low budget feature Cherps. This year he directed his second feature Freestyle (made under the Film London Microwave scheme), an urban teen romance set in the world of street basketball and freestyle. Kolton has several screenplays in various stages of development including Brixton with author Alex Wheatle.
Nahrein began her career in the BBC before joining Little Bird where she worked in various production
capabilities in films that include Briget Jones' Diary, Gangster No 1, and Invincible. She then went on to originate and executive produce the BBC comedy series Uncle Max. She produced the feature documentary Shot in Bombay for BBC Storyville and the Sundance Channel.
China has directed a diverse range of short films, music videos, commercials and most recently television drama. China is currently developing several feature projects including a portmanteau film and a thriller in conjunction with Film4.
Mel loves exploring the different cultures that exist in his stories, introducing audiences into new worlds in a fresh and exciting way, leaving them with an engaging cinematic experience.
Femi Tay Oguns - Actor / Writer
Femi Tay Oguns is an established versatile actor who has been involved in numerous high profile projects in both screen and stage. Alongside his acting Femi is a highly sought after award winning writer.
Ian Iqbal Rashid - Writer / Director
Writer-director Ian Iqbal Rashid's credits include two award winning features, Touch of Pink and How She Move and the hit BBC series This Life. Honours include the Writers Guild of England Award and The Aga Khan Award for Excellence in the Arts.
