Our Team

Kellen Playford

Founder / Lead Consultant

Kellen founded the festival in 2009 after discovering a lack of platforms in the regions for filmmakers to showcase their work. He has an MA and a BA in film, and has spent the last decade promoting Norwich as a filmmaking hub, while also finding time to produce his own short documentary and creative projects. He’s a big fan of films with great music, but not so much a fan of musicals.

Siobhan Ennis

PARTICIPATION MANAGER

Siobhan joined the team in 2016 and helps with a plethora of jobs from event management to administration of the festival. She is currently in charge of managing volunteer and audience participation within the festival. She loves film enjoys reviewing short film submissions due to the variety on offer.

Michelle Lillie

EVENTS CO-ORDINATOR

Michelle joined the team in 2017 after being an enthusiastic attendee of the festival. She was impressed with the level of creativity and quality of the films being shown and wanted to be more involved. In 2017 she changed career to study and practice art. She enjoys all creative arts and is fascinated by the  ‘behind the scenes’ and production processes. Her favourite genre of film is science fiction.

Charlie Hunt

SUBMISSIONS CO-ORDINATOR

Charlie joined the team in 2018. His role involves judging film submissions, contributing to the selection process, and writing event reviews for the NFF website. He has a particular interest in films that explore social justice issues and moral dilemmas. He is a full-time student in Philosophy and Politics at the University of East Anglia and writes film reviews for Concrete, UEA’s student newspaper. He also works as a carer for children with learning disabilities.

Ewan Tough

MARKETING CO-ORDINATOR

Ewan joined the team in 2019 after completing City College Norwich’s Media Learning Company course. His role involves leading the marketing of the festival within areas such as social media and other online platforms.

Alongside his role, he also works as a filmmaker and has worked across a number of projects ranging from documentaries to narrative-based short films. He particularly enjoys watching films which show unique perspectives in innovative ways.

Craig Higgins

Consultant

Craig has been involved with festival for several years – first as a volunteer, then a film reviewer, then an operation and events lead. He became co-director and lead consultant in 2015 and has been responsible for many of the expansion developments since then. He’s a film lover and a keen advocate of short films. He has also been a voting member with BIFA and the Watersprite Film Festival. Craig has recently become a father for the first time, which has resulted in him scaling back his duties at the festival, but he still helps out where possible.