Staff
- Alan Bernstein - Deputy Director/Head of Studies/Term 1 Tutor
- Biography | a.bernstein@lfs.org.uk
- Annette Streete - Admissions Manager
- a.streete@lfs.org.uk
- Dr. Barry Salt - Film History Lecturer / Term 4 / 5 Tutor
- Biography | b.salt@lfs.org.uk
- Ben Gibson - Director
- Biography | b.gibson@lfs.org.uk
- Brian Dunnigan - Head of Screenwriting
- Biography | b.dunnigan@lfs.org.uk
- Carlo Muzi - Camera Department Assistant
- c.muzi@lfs.org.uk
- Carolyn Atherton - Workshops Administrator
- c.atherton@lfs.org.uk
- Cedric James - Senior 35mm Camera Lecturer
- c.james@lfs.org.uk
- Chrissy Bright - Librarian
- Biography | c.bright@lfs.org.uk
- Diana Charnley - Head of Production Design
- Biography | d.charnley@lfs.org.uk
- Gareth Evans - Editing Department Assistant/Technician
- g.evans@lfs.org.uk
- Harriet Cox - Head of Camera Department
- Biography | h.cox@lfs.org.uk
- Howard Thompson - Head of Sound Department
- Biography | h.thompson@lfs.org.uk
- Jane Hewitt - Programming Officer
- j.hewitt@lfs.org.uk
- John Sibley - MA Screenwriting Admin Assistant
- j.sibley@lfs.org.uk
- Karen Warnock - Sound Assistant
- k.warnock@lfs.org.uk
- Kate Hughes - Head of Marketing and Development
- Biography | k.hughes@lfs.org.uk
- Leon Clowes - Development Manager
- l.clowes@lfs.org.uk
- Les Blair - Term 2 and 3 course tutor
- l.blair@lfs.org.uk
- Lesley Edge - PA Director /School Secretary / Staff Governor
- l.edge@lfs.org.uk
- Lynn Broadhouse - Book Keeper
- l.broadhouse@lfs.org.uk
- Margaret Glover - Senior Lecturer- Screenwriting
- m.glover@lfs.org.uk
- Mark Solomon - Acting Head of Editing
- Biography | m.solomon@lfs.org.uk
- Moshe Nitzani - IT Manager
- m.nitzani@lfs.org.uk
- Micola Haslam - Industry Liason and Outreach Coordinator
- n.haslam@lfs.org.uk
- Roger Chinn - Front Office Manager / Receptionist
- r.chinn@lfs.org.uk
- Ronaldo Fagarazzi - Stage Lighting
- r.fagarazzi@lfs.org.uk
- Saskia van Roomen - LFS Workshops Manager
- s.vanroomen@lfs.org.uk
- Stefania Marangoni - Senior Editing Lecturer
- s.marangoni@lfs.org.uk
- Terry Hopkins - Senior 16mm Camera Lecturer
- Biography | t.hopkins@lfs.org.uk
- Shirley Streete-Bharath - Director of Operations
- Biography | s.streete@lfs.org.uk
- Umpha Koroma - Projectionist
- u.koroma@lfs.org.uk
- Wojciech Wrzesniewski - Sound Lecturer
- w.wrzesniewski@lfs.org.uk
You can view all staff biographies here
Governors
Mike Leigh OBE - Chairman
Mike Leigh's credits as writer/director include Bleak Moments; Meantime; High Hopes; Life is Sweet; Naked; Secrets and Lies; Career Girls; Topsy-Turvy; All or Nothing and Vera Drake, garnering numerous Oscar and BAFTA nominations and awards, a Cannes Palme D'or, a Venice Golden Lion amongst many other accolades. He has also written and directed over twenty stage plays, including Abigail's Party, and the most recent Two Thousand Years, which has been enjoying a successful run at the National Theatre in London. Mike Leigh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, at Camberwell and Central Art Schools, and at the London Film School.
Sir Michael Wakeford - Vice Chairman
Sir Michael Wakeford started his career as a barrister and was for 27 years the Clerk of the Mercers Livery Company. For the past 8 years he has been the Trustee of the Portman Estate & director of Portman Settled Estates Ltd. He has been a Governor of LFS since 1985 and is currently Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. He is also a governor of several schools, both independent & state, including Chairman of the Walsall City Academy.
Peter Armstong
Peter is an established media lawyer with over 25 years' experience in the film and television industry. He is a partner in leading City law firm, Reed Smith Richards Butler LLP and previously at Theodore Goddard and Mishcon de Reya. Peter acts for Hollywood studios such as Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures and for other leading independent UK , US and European film and television producers and industry organisations. Recent films on which he has been the main production lawyer include "Children of Men" and the Bourne Ultimatum". He is legal adviser to Film London and a Governor of the London Film School. He has served as a director of the British Film Commission and as chair of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee of the International Bar Association. Peter regularly speaks at film and copyright conferences in many countries.
Don Boyd
Don Boyd graduated from the London Film School in 1970 and began his directorial career working for the BBC on Tomorrow's World', followed by award-winning commercials work. As a director Don Boyd has combined his work in the cinema (Twenty One; My Kingdom; Lucia; Intimate Reflections) with a significant body of award-winning television documentaries, including the Ruby Wax Show and the recent "Andrew And Jeremy Get Married". As a producer he has collaborated with many renowned directors including Derek Jarman, Alan Clarke, John Schlesinger, Lindsey Anderson, Nic Roeg, Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Altman. Producing credits include Aria; The Last of England; Scum and The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. Don Boyd is a visiting Professor in Film at Exeter University, a Council Member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain and contributes regularly to The Guardian and The Observer.
Dan Chambers
Dan Chambers has been Channel Five's Director of Programming since 2003, having joined the Channel in 2001 as Controller of Factual. At Channel Five his commissions have included Britain's Finest…; World War I In Colour; Battlefield Detectives; Dream Holiday Home; Britain's Worst Driver; Fifth Gear and the RTS Award winning Revealed history strand. He came from Channel 4 where he was Science Editor, commissioning series such as Secrets of The Dead; Scrapheap Challenge; Extinct and The Private Lives of the Pharaohs. He also had joint responsibility for the first UK run of Big Brother. Dan began his career in television in 1991 as a researcher on current affairs programmes, including Panorama and Dispatches.
Simon Channing-Williams
Simon Channing-Williams is an independent producer whose long-standing partnership with Mike Leigh began in 1980. Together they set up the production outfit Thin Man Films, and collaborations include Life is Sweet; Naked; Secrets and Lies; Topsy Turvy and Vera Drake. Other credits include Nicholas Nickleby; When the Whales Came; Brothers of the Head; Jack and Sarah; Man About Dog and the Oscar-winning The Constant Gardener.
Graham Easton
Graham Easton is Chief Executive of Film Finances Inc., the world leader in completion guarantee services, offering completion bonds to film, television, digital and interactive productions. Film Finances Inc has offices in United States, Canada, Denmark, Italy, France, India and Australia.
Lesley Edge - Staff Governor
Lesley Edge graduated with an MA in Political Science from University of Dundee. Her first job was as a trainee journalist with D C Thomsons & Co and her secretarial experience includes working as a Personal Secretary for the Concert Administrator of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and four years with the Royal Brompton Hospital. She has been a secretary with the London Film School since 1998. Other assorted jobs have included working at the British Open Golf Championships, St Andrews and she was also a Quality Controller in a frozen pea factory. She was elected as Staff Governor in summer of 2005.
John Howkins
John Howkins is a leading figure in creativity, media and intellectual policy. He is Director of Equator Group plc and Equator Films Ltd, a Partner of ITR & Co, Director of the Adelphi Charter and was the originator of the London 'Own It' IP advisory centre. He is also Chair of The Creativity Group which advises on the management of creativity and intellectual property, Chairman of the Creative Business School, Chief Advisor to the Shanghai Creative Industries Centre and International Vice President of the Shanghai School of Creative Studies. Other positions held include Deputy Chairman of the British Screen Advisory Council (BSAC), former Chairman of the London Film School and CREATEC, and Vice Chairman of the Association of Independent Producers. He was associated with Time Warner and HBO from 1982 to1996 with responsibilities for TV and broadcast businesses in Europe. His books include 'CODE and 'The Creative Economy' and he is Visiting Professor of Lincoln University UK, and Shanghai Theatre Academy, China. John has also been appointed to the board of Screen East, the screen agency for the East of England.
Ruth Lesirge
Ruth Lesirge is an independent consultant working with not-for-profit organisations - charities, social enterprises and public sector bodies. She has held CEO positions in voluntary sector organisations, including the Mental Health Foundation and Retail Trust, as well as being mentor to Chief Executives of several major national charities. Additional positions held include chair and trustee of a number of not-for-profit organisations; Trustee of the Centre for Policy on Ageing; Vice Chair of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations and Chair of its Professional Development Committee. Currently she is also Associate Director of NFTE UK, an educational charity, enabling disaffected young people to run their own businesses and is a lecturer at the CASS Business School.
Margaret Matheson
Margaret Matheson is a film producer and has been running her independent production company, Bard Entertainments, since 1993. Prior to Bard Entertainments she was Chief Executive of Island World and a founding director of Zenith Productions Ltd. Margaret Matheson's producing credits include Revengers Tragedy; American Cousins; Nina's Heavenly Delights; Space Island One; Cardiac Arrest Juice; Wide Eyed and Legless; The Hit; Sid and Nancy and Wish You Were Here, amongst many others.
John Rendall
John Rendall worked in documentary filmmaking from 1957 to 1965. He has travelled widely as Director/Cameraman and was Head of Features Marketing at Panavision London. Since 1965 he worked in equipment rental and technical support in all formats from '65 to the present.
Lisa Marie Russo
American-born Lisa Marie Russo produced and directed documentaries in the US, where she won an Emmy for her film Peace. Her work has been widely shown at international festivals and screened on US TV, BBC, Channel 4, the Discovery Channel and many others. Her most recent credits include Shiny Shiny; Bright New Hole in My Heart and Brothers of the Head, as well as numerous shorts including the BAFTA nominated The Tale of the Rat that Wrote.
Amanda Walsh
Amanda is currently Chief Executive of advertising agency Lowe London, recognised as the 8th most creative advertising agency in the World. Previous roles include Chief Executive of the WPP network, Red Cell, partner in agency Walsh Trott Chick Smith and Managing Director of WCRS.
Amanda was a member of the IPA Board 1993-2003 (Institute of Practitioners of Advertising), Chaired the IPA Training Committee (1987-1995), was President of WACL in 2002 (Women in Advertising and Communications London) and featured in AdAge’s “Women to Watch” in 2005.
She is also a Non-Executive Director of the UK Film Council and a Trustee of the Brain & Spine Foundation Charity.
Bertrand Faivre
Bertrand started as Head of Acquisitions at UGC France before joining Les Productions Lazennec (La Haine, Scent of Green Papaya, and Cyclo) in 1992 until 2001. He ran the short film section at Lazennec Tout Court for 5 years. He began producing feature films in 1996. He set up independently a UK production company, THE BUREAU in 2000 & a French one, LE BUREAU in October 2001 to develop long-term relationships with some of the best European directors of their generation.
In the past 10 years, Bertrand has been producing or co-producing over 12 feature films in France, England, Ireland, Romania, Norway, Mexico, India and the US. They include “The Warrior”, directed by Asif Kapadia which won, inter alia, two Bafta Awards including Best British Film, ‘The devils’, by Christophe Ruggia who won the Grand Prize in Cannes Junior, ‘Burnt Out’ by multi-award winning director Fabienne Godet and horror-cult movie ‘Isolation’ by Irish director Billy O’Brien. or co-producing such movies as Lynne Ramsay’s Bafta-winning critically acclaimed directorial feature debut “Ratcatcher” and Christian Carion’s Oscar-Golden Globe- Bafta nominated ‘Joyeux Noel’. He is involved in the next projects from most of these directors.
Major partners and references include Film Four, Lions Gate, Ingenious, Celluloid Dreams, Redbus, Pathé UK, Wild Bunch, Miramax, Film Council, Canal+
Governors
- Mike Leigh OBE - Chairman
- Sir Michael Wakeford - Vice Chairman
- Peter Armstong
- Don Boyd
- Dan Chambers
- Simon Channing-Williams
- Graham Easton
- Lesley Edge - Staff Governor
- John Howkins
- Ruth Lesirge
- Margaret Matheson
- John Rendall
- Lisa Marie Russo
- Bertrand Faivre
- Rubens Azevado
- Amanda Walsh
- Sue Bruce-Smith
- Kerry O'brian
Departmental Visiting Lecturers
Chris Allies - Rostrum Camera Instructors
Rodney Newton - Film Music Consultant
Ralph Sheldon - Editing Lecturer
Simon Louvish Screen Studies Lecturer
