Writer | Producer | Director
Makez is British-Afghan filmmaker based in London. She made her first short documentary as part of the National Film and Television School's prestigious 'Summerdocs' programme aged 19. She followed this with 'Young Afghans' in 2011, made in conjunction with ORTV and Al Jazeera English, which followed the hopes and dreams of three students at Kabul University. In 2016, she produced a four-part documentary series called 'Blood, Sweat & Chokes' was selected for the Guardian pitch at Sheffield Doc/Fest and won Raindance Film Festival's 'Best UK Series' prize. A year later, Makez was selected for Sheffield Doc/Fest's prestigious 'Doc/Next' program as part of which she developed her award-winning documentary, 'Only Voice Remains'. The hybrid film about Iranian poet and feminist icon, Forugh Farrokhzad, was selected for over 15 international film festivals and won the Sepanta Prize for Best Documentary at the Iranian Film Festival in San Francisco and ‘Best Short Documentary’ at the Williamsburg International Film Festival. Both Young Afghans and Only Voice were picked up for distribution by Docunight. During this same period, Makez was recognised by Channel 4 as an emerging BAME filmmaker and given bespoke director training at the National Film and Television School. She continued her fiction training under the Iranian auteur Mohsen Makhmalbaf before shooting her first fiction film, Fat Girl, which was selected for over 15 international film festivals. She is now working on a dystopian thriller feature.
Alongside her filmmaking career Makez has spent the past decade producing series, content and documentaries for international broadcasters and clients, including Al Jazeera English, CGTN Europe, APTN, ITN Productions and Adobe.
Emma Keeling
Writer |Producer | Director
Emma Keeling is a New Zealander living in London. With over 25 years experience both in front of and behind the camera, Emma has produced and directed current affairs films and documentary features for major international networks such as Television New Zealand, TRT World and CGTN Europe. She is currently producing films and commercial content for BBC storyworks.
Emma’s debut short film Late to the Party received funding from the New Zealand society and Kickstarter. It is currently navigating the international film festival circuit, having premiered at No Coast in America.
Writer | Producer | Director
Sol Rikweda is a producer at The Look post-production house in London where he oversees the delivery of high profile film and television series to clients around the world including the hits Gangs of London and Day of the Jackal. He previously worked as a senior producer at BBC studios.
A graduate of the Metropolitan Film School in London, Sol has over 10 years of experience in producing and directing commercial and creative work for clients including Adobe, Teen Vogue, Illustrated Nails, Bulb, the World Bank and the IFC. His MMA documentary 'Blood, Sweat and Chokes' won the 'Best Series' prize at the Raindance Film Festival and was selected for the Guardian pitch at Shefdoc 2017.
