All of our tutors are working industry professionals who are as passionate about teaching as they are about film. We employ a combination of regular tutors and guest lecturers to give you a comprehensive insight into all aspects of filmmaking. They are chosen for their knowledge of their discipline as well as their ability to inspire!

Jonny Persey  - School Director

Jonny is an independent film producer and Managing Director of Met Film Production. His most recent films include Little Ashes, starring Robert Pattinson and the award-winning feature documentary, Heavy Load. Previously, he produced the feature documentary Deep Water with Pathé, Film Four, and the UK Film Council as well as Wondrous Oblivion, starring Delroy Lindo and directed by Paul Morrison.

Jim O'Brien - Head of Fiction

For almost thirty years, Jim has directed television series and feature films, including award-winning projects such as The Jewel in the Crown and The Dressmaker. Between those and many others, Jim has taught directing at his Alma Mater, The National Film and Television School, returning as Course Leader, Head of Fiction Directing and Head of the Advanced Programme.

Lisa Neeley, Head of Screenwriting

Lisa has over 12 years’ experience working in screenplay development in both Los Angeles and the UK. A UCLA film school graduate, she worked for Warner Bros and HBO before relocating to the UK, where she has taught screenwriting for several years. She is co-director of screenplay development consultancy, The Script Connection, and is currently co-producing a low-budget feature with Aria Films.

Karoline Moser, Head of Editing

Karoline has worked professionally in both film and television for thirteen years. Her credits include well-known documentary strands such as Extraordinary People and Equinox Special and several of the films she has edited have won awards. Her teaching experience includes NFTS, Four Corners and Zero-One (Westminster College). She has also been working with a team of young people, helping them write, direct and produce a film based on their personal experiences

Bob Harvey,  Documentary

Bob worked as a dubbing editor, film editor and supervising editor with the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 on numerous prestigious series, including Horizon, Tuesday Documentary, The Multinationals, The Spice of Life and The World at War, and a raft of one-off specials such as Who Killed Martin Luther King? And I Captured Eichmann, before turning to directing some twenty years ago.
 

He recently received a BAFTA for his directing work on BBC Scotland’s 'Raven', which won Best Children’s Entertainment Series, and other awards include Bronze and Silver medals at the New York Film and Television Festival for his corporate work, and a Prix Jeunesse nomination for two ITV children’s series.
 

Alan Lewis, Animation

Alan is a 3D artist and compositor with over 12 years experience in the CG industry. Alan has lived in the UK for the last 5 years, teaching animation and special effects as a university tutor and professional instructor.  Originally from Canada, he spent several years working freelance as a technical artist and modeller, while also teaching animation and architecture, at several different universities in Toronto.

His most recent project, Polywood Studios, is an innovative online distance learning animation school.

Paul Wheeler BSC, Cinematography

Paul was a Senior Drama Film Cameraman at the BBC for 26 years. He has won many awards, shot some fascinating productions and was also head of cinematography at the NFTS. He now works freelance as a DOP, is a respected trainer, and is an author of several books on cinematography.

He is a Fellow of the British Kinematograph, Sound and Television Society; he was awarded his Fellowship both for the quality of his photography and his contribution to the society’s training program. He is a member of the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC). Paul is a member of the Guild of British Camera Technicians.

Chris Bould, Directing for TV

Chris has directed and produced numerous primetime TV shows and movies, both in Britain and America. He’s worked with a wide range of actors and comedians, including Elizabeth Taylor and Bill Hicks.

Chris’s body of work includes the landmark comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, winner of the BAFTA award for best director and the movie My Friend Joe. Recently, Chris was series director on the pioneering BBC show Take One Museum, and was producer/director on the new BBC2 prime time documentary-drama series, Nuclear Secrets.

David Freeman,  Editing

David Freeman has edited many features, including The Full Monty, Mickey Blue Eyes, The Borrowers, Wondrous Oblivion and How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. He has also written a number of commissioned screenplays and won a BAFTA award for co-writing The Candy Show with Pete Hewitt.

Bren Simson, Directing

Bren is an NFTS graduate and qualified teacher with 20 years experience directing primetime television drama including Brookside, Eastenders and The Bill as well as award wining film drama series, Pressgang, Children’s Ward and Starstreet. Since qualifying as a lawyer, Bren directed If Oil for BBC 2 and Lost on the Mountain for C4 as well her own independent documentary on a current legal case.

Carlo Dusi, Producing

A former film specialist solicitor Carlo is the founder and Managing Director of Aria Films. He has executive produced Marcus Adams's US $12m Buena Vista thriller Octane, and Peter Greenaway's trilogy The Tulse Luper Suitcases. Carlo is currently working on his own slate of films with Aria, including the recently completed Kill Kill Faster Faster and Paul Bettany's latest film, There For Me. He also recently produced Little Ashes with Met Film Production, released in May 2009.

Darren Paul Fisher, Screenwriting and Directing

Darren's first film Inbetweeners became not only the first fully digital film ever to play the UK multiplexes, it also became the lowest budget feature ever to be released by a major Hollywood studio when Universal Pictures acquired worldwide rights. Most recently Darren wrote and directed his second feature, the teen-romcom Popcorn.

Philippe Longchamp PhD, Screenwriting

Philippe is a professional script consultant for various production and distribution companies internationally. He is also the writer of several prime-time series for French and Swiss television, and was involved in the pre-sale and distribution of many mainstream US and European productions including Thelma and Louise, Pulp Fiction and Blue Velvet. Phillipe has written a feature film titled Baby Boy Father and has two other feature films currently in pre-production.

Jamie Nuttgens,  Directing

Jamie recently Co-Produced Red Riding, David Peace’s dark detective trilogy with Revolution Films for Film Four and in 2008 Smita Bhide’s first feature, the microbudget The Blue Tower, winning Best UK Feature at Raindance Film Festival. He has written and directed for network television, directing the first DVCAM drama to be aired in primetime, a special for The Bill shot live at Notting Hill Carnival. He has been an actor, stage and lighting designer and a producer in independent radio and last year edited his first feature film.

Josh Appignanesi, Directing

Josh Appignanesi has written and directed several short films and his debut feature, Song Of Songs, starred Natalie Press and had international festival success including a special commendation at the Edinburgh Festival. Distributed by Soda Pictures, it was received with critical acclaim. Josh is currently in production on The Infidel, written by David Baddiel and starring Omid Djalili, produced by Slingshot and Met Film Production.