Festival Juries | Manchester Animation Festival

Juries

Short Film Jury

Tom Brown

Tom C J Brown is a British Artist and Filmmaker, primarily known for his short films "Christopher at Sea" (2022), “Cousin John - The Arrival” (2020), teeth (2015), and “t.o.m.” (2007) which have collectively won over 50 awards at festivals around the world including Sundance, SXSW, Outfest, Annecy, and BIFA nominated. Brown spent 12 years in New York working at Psyop in animation and film, before returning to the UK to take up residence in the Peak District. Now working at his boutique production company Temple Carrington & Brown, producing films and creating commercial content.

Erik Van Drunen

Erik is a curator for animation and film programmes, in the Netherlands as well as internationally.
After a short but dynamic experience in psychiatric nursing and art therapy, Erik van Drunen took a second chance and studied animation and photography. Since then, the path has led him through a wide range of activities in the field of animation, film and film education. He has served on selection committees, juries and advisory boards for film and animation production in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Tanya J Scott

Tanya J Scott is an Award-winning Director and Creator based in London. After 14 years of working in television series for some of the largest UK studios, Tanya decided to study for her MA at the National Film and Television School, graduating in 2023. Her film has gone on to screen at Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals around the world and won a British Animation Award in 2024. Tanya now works in Directing and Development for animation but also writes and illustrates books. She is the co-creator (along with writer Sam Morrison) of "The Underglow", a preschool series commissioned by the BBC via the inaugural Ignite scheme.

Feature Film Jury

Andrew Baker

Andrew Baker is an award-winning Producer and Executive Producer and founder of Cantilever Media, a UK based film and television production company.
Cantilever Media’s first animated theatrical feature film was ‘The Amazing Maurice’, based on the award-winning book ‘The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents’ by Sir Terry Pratchett, written by Terry Rossio (Shrek, Aladdin) and co-produced with Ulysses Productions in Germany (Louis and the Aliens, Oops Noah is Gone).

Rafael Motamayor

Rafael Motamayor is a freelance critic and reporter based in Norway specializing in animated film and TV. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, IndieWire, Variety, Vulture, IGN, and others.

Imogen Sutton

Imogen Sutton is the Academy and BAFTA nominated film producer and director of Prologue. Her award winning documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 include Animating Art and Daughters of de Beauvoir (with associated book). Her career in animation began producing the feature film The Thief and the Cobbler and then the sell-out Richard Williams’ Animation Masterclasses around the world. Sutton is co-editor of the best-selling book The Animator’s Survival Kit and co-author of Adventures in Animation .