The Norwich Film Festival is overseen by a board of dedicated trustee’s which includes:
- John Gordon-Saker (Chair) has an event, marketing and financial background; he previously ran WPP’s brand communication agency and business media division of World Productions, the independent broadcast production company set up by Tony Garnett and Chris Blackwell and spent his early career with HSBC. Until recently he was the CEO of Open Youth Trust in Norwich, responsible for the development of the venue and charity. He has since re-launched his former management business under the banner of JGSNorwich, working with clients to promote the city as a cultural hub and destination for business and leisure.
- Dr Matilda Crumpton-Taylor (Treasurer) is an ACA qualified Chartered Accountant, with a background in auditing medium sized companies and not for profit organisations. Since working within the corporate division at MHA Larking Gowen as an Assistant Manager, she has recently moved to Brown & Co LLP as Management Accountant.
- Alex Saunders (Secretary) is a Senior Associate at Leathes Prior, one of East Anglia’s leading law firms offering a full range of legal services to organisations and individuals in Norfolk and beyond. He works in the Corporate and Commercial team and assists with various corporate matters, including acquisitions and disposals, shareholders’ agreements, share options, corporate finance and corporate re-structuring.
- Lucy Ward has worked for Wavelength Films as a Producer and Executive Producer since 2003. The company has been BAFTA nominated and won several RTS awards in the UK. She oversees the production and distribution of a range of documentary projects (both singles and series) for broadcast and theatrical release. Lucy served on the board of EM Media and founded one of Creative England’s network hubs in 2012, write2screen, which ran a BFI.NETWORK and Creative England talent development scheme for the East of England.
- Professor Keith Johnston is a Senior UEA Lecturer in Film and TV. He studied for his BA in Film & Media Studies at the University of Stirling and the University of California Santa Barbara and received his MA and PhD from the University of Kent. He taught at the University of Kent between 2004 and 2008 and was employed as a writer/producer in the British media industry for eight years (1996-2004).
- Keith Saunt comes from a long and successful career as the Chief Operating Officer of Red Bull and Lotus in Formula One Motorsport (with a plethora of film courses both locally and at the London Film Academy under his belt).