Trustees
Neil McCartney - chairman and secretary
Neil is managing director of media/telecoms consultancy McCartney Media and a director of media campaign producer Tribute Inspirations Limited, which set up the Listen Campaign (backed by stars such as Samuel Jackson and Natalie Portman) to support projects for the world's most disadvantaged children. He was the founding editor of Screen Finance, the film industry newsletter, and writes for titles such as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal as well as providing expert analysis for broadcasters such as the BBC, Sky and CNN. Past clients include Warner Brothers and the European Commission.
He was a co-founder of the British Independent Film Awards and remains a founder member of the advisory committee, as well as acting as a consultant to the Raindance Film Festival. He is the London representative of the Moscow International Film Festival and co-produced the UK-Russian feature The Season of Mists, which has won six prizes at international festivals.
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Philippa Juul
Philippa is a non-executive director of Mandrake Films, focusing on film development, and also works freelance as a consulting editor and screenplay reviewer. She is executive producer of an in-development feature, which is being produced by Jim Wilson, based on James Lasdun's novel Seven Lies. She also made a short film with Beth Winslet which is currently in post-production.
She grew up in South Africa, completed a masters degree at Harvard Law School and worked as a litigation solicitor at Linklaters in London. She stopped working in the City in order to have a family and during this time renewed her interest in the creative arts by completing courses in acting, creative writing, painting and jewellery design. She also did voluntary charity work for The Foundation for the Study of Infant Death for several years.
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Lydia Yawavi
Lydia is the founder of "Lydia Yawavi - Life & Executive Coach", a coaching services firm dedicated to helping people to achieve their goals in their professional and personal lives, with a particular interest in diversity and cross-cultural relationships. She studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris and at the University of London, where she was awarded a B.Sc. in Psychology in 2004.
Lydia has gained extensive corporate experience, not only in the private sector in organisations and businesses as diverse as Harrods and Lloyds Corporate, but also in the public sector at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Communities and Local Government, and in the semi-private sector at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.Lydia has a particular interest in the depiction of relationships in film. She was a member of the jury at the Loyal Heart festival of family films in Moscow in October 2008.
