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The directors of Channel 4’s Damilola: the Boy Next Door and BBC2’s Subnormal: A British Scandal are among 36 individuals recognised as Bafta Breakthrough talent for 2021.

The pair – respectively, Ashley Francis-Roy and Lyttanya Shannon – appear on the list alongside Georgi Banks-Davies, director of Sky drama I Hate Suzie; Coronation Street writer and director David Proud; and two creatives on C4 comedy We Are Ladyparts: costume designer PC Williams and casting director Aisha Bywaters.

The list is drawn from the worlds of TV, film and games and includes on-screen talent including It’s A Sin actor Lydia West and Sex Education’s George Robinson.

Introduced this year, Bafta Breakthrough expands the previous Breakthrough Brits by including 12 names from the US.

Designed to recognise the next generation of talent, the initiative gives individuals individual industry meetings, group roundtable sessions, global networking opportunities and access to career coaching sessions and professional skills development.

The list was drawn up by a jury chaired by ITV group director of diversity and inclusion Ade Rawcliffe and featuring the likes of Afua Hirsch, Niamh Algar and Tim Renkow.

BAFTA Breakthrough 2021 participants

UK:

Aaron Reid, Cinematographer - Stephen

Aisha Bywaters, Casting Director - We Are Lady Parts

Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou, Creative Director/Lead Developer - Röki

Ana Naomi De Sousa, Director - Naseem, Fight with Grace

Ashley Francis-Roy, Director - Damilola: The Boy Next Door

Chad Orororo, Sound Editor/Mixer - Pele

David Proud, Director/Writer - Coronation Street

Elle Osili-Wood, Presenter - Special Characters

Ellora Torchia, Performer - In the Earth

Gemma Hurley, Writer - Host

George Robinson, Performer - Sex Education

Georgi Banks-Davies, Director - I Hate Suzie

Heather Basten, Casting Director - The Origin

Helen Jones, Producer - Censor

Joanna Haslam, Design Director - Family Feud

Jo Jackson, Sound Editor/Mixer - Radioactive

Kirsty Elizabeth Gillmore, Production Voice Director - Destruction AllStars 

Laure De Mey, Programmer - Assemble With Care DLC

Lydia West, Performer - It’s A Sin

Lyttanya Shannon, Director - Subnormal: A British Scandal

Mdhamiri A Nkemi, Editor - Life in a Day

PC Williams, Costume Designer - We Are Lady Parts

Prano Bailey-Bond, Director/Writer - Censor

Rajita Shah, Producer - Love Sarah

US:

Anna Franqueso-Solano, Cinematographer - The Farewell

Bao Nguyen, Director, Documentary - Be Water

Cheyenne Ford, Production Designer - Shiva Baby

Dominique Nieves - Writer/Director - Our Lady Lupe

Ember Lab: Joshua Grier. Mike Grier, Hunter Schmidt, Games - Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Hikari, Writer/Director - 37 Seconds

Orlando Perez Rosso, Composer - Allen V, Farrow

Sarah Lampert, Writer - Ginny & Georgia

Siqi Song, Animator - All In A Day’s Work

Stephanie Economou, Composer – Jupiter’s Legacy