British Council Film Team

British Council Film has a new team put in place at the end of 2011 which is now working together to promote UK films and filmmakers to international audiences.

The team is led by Briony Hanson, Director of Film.

Briony became British Council’s Director of Film in July 2011 where she is responsible for overseeing its promotion of UK films and filmmakers internationally. She began her career working in cultural exhibition as Director/Programmer of Tyneside Cinema before heading the BFI Programme Unit providing programme advice for regional independent cinemas and curating nationwide tours of film and TV material.  During this time, she also acted as a Consultant for Channel 4’s Independent Film & Video Dept, wrote broadcast support booklets also for Channel 4, and co-programmed the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival from 1996-2000. She joined filmmaker training organisation, The Script Factory, in 2000 and was its Director for over 10 years developing its programme of activities internationally, programming and chairing live events, and overseeing its web and public profile. She has conducted numerous onstage interviews with filmmakers and performers from Julianne Moore and Gus Van Sant to Dustin Hoffman and Andrej Wajda. She makes occasional broadcast appearances as a film critic contributing to BBC TV's The Culture Show, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Front Row and The Film Programme, to Sky TV's Movie News Show, and for one-offs such as Granada's 100 Greatest War Films for C4. She has been a regular guest on both Sky Movies' annual Oscar and Golden Globes Nominations Shows. She co-edited the 2008 Filmmakers' Yearbook for A&C Black, and was the Film Editor for DIVA Magazine from 2007-11.

Briony is unlikely ever to top her greatest career achievement: she was responsible for co-devising and organising the first ever Sing-along-a-Sound Of Music which premiered at the NFT in '99, still runs in London’s West End, has toured America, Australia and Europe – and is “sacred” to Kurt from Glee.

Alongside Briony is a team of Film Advisers:

Will Massa leads on the Americas and EU Europe and looks after the department’s Short Film activities. He came to the British Council after a period spent working in talent development; first at Screen Yorkshire, then at Vision+Media in Salford where he covered short film production, script development and training.  He works on a freelance basis for Reel Solutions as a cinema programme adviser, and for Rankin Film Productions as development coordinator on their short film scheme Collabor8te, currently the largest scheme of its kind in the country. He's a huge fan of all things Latin American, and especially of Colombian and Argentine cinema, a passion that developed after extensive periods spent in both countries. Depending on his mood his favourite film is either Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine or Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future.

Christine Bardsley is an eleven year veteran of British Council Film and is our longest serving Film Adviser, joining Arts in 2001 following a varied career in the British Council including stints working overseas. Christine’s main areas of responsibility are the Wider Europe and South Asia regions, and she also leads on our work in documentary. She designs film projects, curates programmes and advises on selection for screenings of British short and feature films at international festivals and events.

Gary Thomas leads on animation, digital and experimental film, and oversees the Film Department’s work in East Asia, China and the UK. Outside the British Council, he continues to work as Director of Animate Projects, a charity dedicated to championing experimental animation. He was previously Head of Moving Image for Arts Council England, leading on policy development for arts distribution, broadcasting and visual arts, strategic initiatives for archive and commissioning of artists’ moving image, and collaborations with the BFI and UK Film Council, including the Single-Shot multi-platform commissioning project. He has made several short films in collaboration with artist Tim Shore, including the artist's documentary 'Fits and Starts of Restlessness' which is screening as part of the Dickens 2012 bicentenary celebrations.

Rachel Robey leads on feature film support and British Council Film’s relationship with film festivals, and oversees our work in the Middle East and North Africa, sub Saharan Africa. She is a producer herself, having formed Wellington Films in 2000 with her producing partner Alastair Clark.  Their debut feature film production was Paul Andrew Williams’ BAFTA nominated London to Brighton which was awarded the Best Achievement In Production at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards.   Their subsequent productions and co-productions have screened worldwide at festivals including Cannes Critics Week, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance, South By Southwest and Berlin, and have won numerous awards included Best Film at BAFTA Scotland for Justin Molotnikov’s Crying With Laughter in 2010.  Rachel’s latest production is A Man’s Story which chronicles twelve years in the life of superstar fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, which is released in 2012.

The British Council Film Team is supported by Project Assistant, Julian Pye, who has worked across a number of departments within the British Council for over 20 years.