Playback Festival: BORN n BREAD Presents Women in Film

Speaker biographies

• Dionne Edwards

  Dionne Edwards is a writer and director.  She's made five short films since 2012, working under the name Teng Teng Films with producer Georgia Goggin. Her last short Hi, Miss! screened at festivals worldwide and won the Audience Award at the East EndFilm Festival 2015. Her follow-up We Love Moses was finished in August 2016 and is supported by Film London, Signature Pictures and the Sugar Films Lab and premiered at the BFI London Film Festival 2016, as well as screening as part of BFI's Blackstar season. Dionne is an alumna of Working Title Films’s Action Internship and this year she was invited to the BFI Flare LGBT Filmmakers Mentorship where she gained privileged access to networking and events and mentorship from writer/director Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behaviour). She is currently developing her debut feature Pretty Red Dress.

• Savanah Leaf

  Savanah Leaf is a director and photographer based in London. Her last short, F Word, showcased in international festivals, screenings and events. It was also published in various magazines and online platforms including AfroPunk, Dazed and Confused, and Vimeo Staff Picks. Since the release of her first short, she has been directing music videos while completing a Masters in directing actors at Central Saint Martins Drama Centre London. She has also been working on a second short that will be released later this year. Although film fully encompasses her life today, before the arts, Savanah worked as an athlete playing for professional teams around the world, and nationally for her home country, Team GB. Today she strives to incorporate the lessons and leadership she's acquired in sport into her filmmaking career.

• Jenn Nkiru

  Jenn Nkiru is a British director who holds an MFA in Film Directing from Howard University, Washington DC. She recently made the short film En Vogue under her production company NKIRU + NKIRU, which was commissioned by Channel 4. The film was shown at the 2014 Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival. Nkiru’s previous work includes her short film titled Alien made in 2004 in conjunction with the BBC and Tate, alongside a spec video for Saatchi & Saatchi and an online webisode for The GRAMMYs.