Exposures - New Talent in Moving Image

Robert Brandon
Programmer’s Choice Winner, exposures 08, director What Lies Behind Smiling Eyes
Robert has been working on music videos for independent labels including XL recordings since winning his award at exposures 08. Not only has he been touring with bands with his work, but in the last 3 months he has secured a job editing and filming at Red Bull media house in Salzburg, Austria after a friend recommended him to the company and referred to him as an award winning filmmaker. Robert continues to work on short films and at the moment is finishing a piece about two lovers shot in what he likes to call ‘super-slow motion’ accompanied by music from Grandaddy’s Jared Lytle and a poem from Australian, Sam Zifchak.

Leo Bridle
exposures 2005, director Still Life, With Flowers
Leo is currently being represented by LDM Productions, a French advertising company, after his recent music video for Emily Loizeau’s Je Suis Jalouse was successful. He is producing work in the US represented by Third Floor Productions as well as his work gaining a large following on You Tube.
Leo Bridle’s website

Bill Balaskas
At the moment I am doing an MA at the Royal College of Art. Since the 2007 festival, “Rupture” has participated in various festivals and is going to be broadcasted for the next three years by Propeller Channel on Sky. Also, shortly after the festival, I was invited by EMERGEANDSEE Berlin to be a jury member. Furthermore, in March of 2008 my proposal “Reminiscent Light” was short-listed in the Iraqi Memorial International Call for Artists and last June I presented a paper at the Association of Art Historians Summer Symposium, in Oxford.

Kate Jessop
exposures 2001
Kate graduated from MMU in 2002 in Illustration and Animation and has since gained international attention. She is currently the artist in residence at MMU and is a co-founder of Girls on Film. Recently she has been awarded the femme fantastique at the London Short Film Festival and her film Desires, is to be screened in 20 different cities across the world after being screened at the Birdseye View Festival.
Kate Jessop’s website

William McGregor
Cinematography Award Winner, exposures 09, Who’s Afraid of the Water Sprite?
Our Jury were so impressed with Will’s film that they put it forward to an agent, a fantastic opportunity for any new filmmaker, but especially great for Will who is still studying at University. Who’s Afraid of the Water Sprite? has recently been nominated for Best Drama at the Royal Television Society Student Awards, which is it’s 16th nomination to-date. Will is now nearing completion of his next film Bovine which has been shot on 35mm and is currently being worked on as part of the Berlin Talent Campus. We shall look forward to receiving more work from him in 2010.

Tom Munday
exposures 2006, director Where None Intrudes (Runner up, animation award)
Tom now works as a freelance animator producing motion graphics, music videos and short films. His clients include BBC4, The Guardian, Southbank Centre, UKTV History, and ITV2. He also created the visual effects for Famished: The Musical, a hit show at the Edinburgh Festival 2007.
Tom Munday’s website

Don Pan
exposures 2005, director Conehead, (Runner up, animation award)
Since his success at exposures 2005, Don has worked on various films and Television programmes as a modeler and Creature Technical Director. His credits include Walking with Monsters, PRIMEVAL and THE GOLDEN COMPASS.
Don Pan’s website

Janis Pugh
exposures 2007, director Blue Collars and Buttercups
Blue Collars and Buttercups achieved great success at festivals internationally. It was selected for entry in the Leopards of Tomorrow International Film Competition at the Locarno Film Festival 2007. It was also shown in the Short Films Corner at Cannes Film Festival, 2007.
Janis has a new feature film going into pre-production called One Hundred Years which starts filming on 21 September 2008. She is also currently securing funding for a new feature called Balaclava Sands, a story of a couple’s marriage tested by the instability of life in a small Welsh industrial town during the 1980’s.
Janis Pugh’s website

Cameron Robertson
exposures 2007, director: Harrison’s Chance
Cameron Robertson is a successful journalist and documentary-maker. He is also a founder member of the video department of guardian.co.uk, the website of UK newspaper the Guardian.
The subject matter of his documentaries spans the US Election Primary, dying rural life in remote Russia and interviewing Quentin Blake. A lot of his work is produced with Guardian Films, the film unit of the Guardian and Observer Newspapers. He is interested in exploring the potential of online video in journalistic story telling.
He recently received a bronze medal at the Malofiej Awards in Pamplona, Spain, as part of the team who produced interactive video and graphics on the British army’s Battle at Garmsir, Afghanistan, for www.guardian.co.uk.
Cameron Robertson’s website

Andy Sykes
exposures 2005, director: Photograph
Andy is an independent animator and illustrator working around Manchester. His book The Hexjibber Colouring and Activity Book is currently being sold by Borders, Amazon and Waterstones.
Andy Sykes’ book website

Ryan Vernava
Best Live Action Winner, exposures 2009, director, Prick
After winning his exposures award Ryan has been offered a years representation by a new media division soon to be launched by MyJam Group. He is currently developing a feature length television special which is to be pitched to Sky One, whilst one of his other scripts has been selected for the final 12 projects to enter development in Digishorts 2009/2010 in association with Screen West Midlands and the UK Film Council. Shortly after his success at exposures Ryan launched Brain Wash a quarterly short film night in association with the Tricycle Cinema, Kilburn. Brain Wash is also soon to curate an exhibition at The Hub in Lincoln in conjunction with the launch of their website and magazine. His film Prick is to be featured on the Lomography website shortly.

Estephan Wagner
Best Documentary Winner, exposures 09, director Waiting for Women
Estephan is currently shooting a documentary, Over the Ice directed by Marianne Houghen-Moraga and financed by the Danish Film Institute. The film centres upon 3 adolescent boys from difficult backgrounds from a foster home in Nuuk, Greenland. Through sports therapy they challenge their energy which will culminate in them taking part in one of the world’s hardest cross country skiing competitions: Arctic Circle Race.
Estephan is also in pre-production of his next film The Vanishing Worlds, a feature length documentary about forced migration due to changing climates. Produced by Rachel Wexler and Michelle Eastwood the film is shot globally in locations where people’s lives have been severely affected. The production has received development funding from the UK Film Council and the BBC.