Adrian holds a Master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism and has travelled through more than forty countries, often working with charities to create books, videos and websites supporting their fundraising efforts. Carrying a Super 8 camera on his journeys led to experimental screenings at underground parties, 3D mapping for music festivals, and participatory projects amplifying marginalised voices. His feature documentary The Death of the Postcard, a mosaic of travellers’ footage, music and email stories, was self-distributed across hippy markets, beaches, mountain tops and even screened on a barge on the River Ganges. The project evolved into Sunset Cinema, a pop-up travelling cinema that carried films around the world.

Back in England, Adrian developed long-term projects including Four Years On, a three-decade chronicle of working-class families watching the World Cup, and collective works Family Album and Something Beautiful.

In 2017, he founded Bolton International Film Festival, now the largest short film festival in the North West of England and a BAFTA & BIFA qualifying platform for amplifying bold new voices from around the world. 

Zoe Rothwell is an alumni of the University of Bolton where she studied a Masters in Multi Media Journalism, she went on to be an independent film maker & photographer before working in education for ten years. As the festival producer at Bolton Film Festival she helps facilitate the day to day running of a complex event, she programmes for the festival and she is also the friendly face who will make you feel at ease on your visit to Bolton. 

Alisha is a graduate of University of Manchester where she obtained an alumni scholarship for her M.A in Film Studies. Alisha was previously a pre-programmer at Bolton Film Festival, but we were so impressed with her knowledge of film we've asked to step up to programming. Alisha has a passion and love for documentary and docu-fiction. She's active in production, working with Grey Moth as a studio manager and is a regular face at film events in London.

Edie Barnabas is a Northern queer film programmer and filmmaker passionate about
creating a vibrant film industry outside of London. Through their film night Slime Presents they successfully screened films to an engaged audience in Leeds, securing funding from FilmHub North in 2024. Edie is currently a Programme Advisor for Sheffield DocFest, they believe in championing innovative cinema and focus on curating programmes that reflect the diversity of our communities.

Virginia is a film programmer with a background in cultural management. She holds a Master’s degree in Innovation and Organisation of Culture and the Arts (GIOCA) from the University of Bologna awarded with honours. She works in festival programming and the film office for Concorto Film Festival (IT) and has collaborated with Indy Shorts Film Festival and Heartland Film Festival (Indianapolis, USA). She writes reviews for independent online film magazines. 

Charlotte graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with an MA in Filmmaking in 2017, returning to study after twenty years working behind the scenes in TV and Film as a Make-Up Artist. Since graduating Charlotte has produced her own documentary short film projects with a focus on everyday life and human interest stories. She was previously a pre-programmer at SeeMôr Film Festival and was a member of Sheffield Doc Fest/WaterBear Pitch Jury in 2021. Charlotte continues to work in the TV industry and has revisited Sheffield Hallam as a part-time lecturer. 

Megan graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2019, before working in London in documentary production and distribution. She helps us with administrative work including communications, greeting guests, managing films, liaising with partners, keeping track of scheduling, editing film synopsis’ and writing descriptions. At the time of the festival she's hands on with managing one of venues and co-ordinating volunteers. 

Demira oversees our social media, creating and scheduling content that connects with audiences year-round and bringing a fresh, youthful voice to our communications. During the festival, she also manages one of our key venues, coordinating volunteers and supporting guest filmmakers. A recent Film Studies graduate from the University of Bristol, she brings hands-on production experience and a strong creative eye. She has worked as a runner on Channel 4’s The Dog House and is keen to pursue a career in screen production.

Jim Dummett runs Cinebox, who specialise in technical delivery of film festivals and events. They manage all the DCP creation for Bolton Film Festival and other leading film festivals in the UK.

Jim has been producing film events since 2009, from the mud-splattered fields of Glastonbury, pop-ups in London, film festivals such as Open City Doc Fest and Branchage Jersey, and delivering touring programmes to major venues including BFI Southbank, Watershed Bristol and FACT Liverpool. Prior to his work in cinema, Jim was an online editor and broadcast technician working on documentaries for BBC, ITV and Discovery.

cinebox.co

Dennis is the creator of Filmchief, a popular cloud-based film festival management system and an online streaming platform. Dennis is himself an animation filmmaker with a passion for cinema.

filmchief.com