From the director of The Arbor, The Selfish Giant, Dark River and Ali & Ava comes a new poignant work, a story of friendship and community, delving into the challenges of both leaving and remaining in the town where you grew up. Join us to discover the story and the creative process behind Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, with the director’s long-time producer Tracy O’Riordan, the writer of the acclaimed novel Keiran Goddard, and Olivier Award-winning actor Anthony Boyle (House of Guinness, Manhunt, Danny Boy). The film is supported by BBC FILM and the BFI.

Speakers:

ANTHONY BOYLE | Actor (Patrick) I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

KEIRAN GODDARD | Novelist I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

TRACEY O'RIORDAN | Producer I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

Moderator:

WENDY MITCHELL | Journalist and Film Festival Programmer

About the speakers:

ANTHONY BOYLE Anthony is an Olivier Award-winning, Tony-nominated Northern Irish actor who trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He first came to prominence in HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, playing the role of Scorpius Malfoy in the West End and on Broadway. Anthony most recently wrapped on Steven Knight's HOUSE OF GUINNESS for Netflix. Prior to this he was seen starring in the Apple TV+ limited series MANHUNT, playing John Wilkes Booth opposite Tobias Menzies, as well as starring in MASTERS OF THE AIR for Apple TV+, alongside Callum Turner and Austin Butler. Other credits include HBO's limited series THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, the feature film TETRIS and DANNY BOY for BBC, for which he received rave reviews. Up next, Anthony is currently filming the leading role of Sam Bankman-Fried in the Netflix series THE ALTRUISTS, starring alongside Julia Garner.

KEIRAN GODDARD Keiran Goddard is an internationally published novelist, poet and social theorist. His first collection was shortlisted for the William Blake prize and the Melita Hulme Prize, his debut novel HOURGLASS was listed for the Desmond Elliott prize and his second novel I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING was published to widespread acclaim and nominated for the Gordon Burn Prize. His third novel FILL THE WORLD will be published in late 2026. He also writes regularly as a critic for The Guardian and The Observer.

TRACEY O'RIORDAN I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING is Tracy’s fifth film with Clio Barnard. Tracy was co-producer on Joshua Oppenheimer’s post-apocalyptic musical THE END (2023), starring Michael Shannon, Tilda Swinton and George MacKay. Prior to this she produced the TV series ALICE & JACK (2022), for Me+You Productions and Groundswell Films, written by Victor Levin, directed by Juho Kuosmanen and Hong Khaou, starring Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson. Twice BAFTA-nominated ALI & AVA, stars Claire Rushbrook and Adeel Akhtar, and was released in March 2022. DREAM HORSE (2019) written by Neil McKay, directed by Euros Lyn, starring Owen Teale, Toni Collette and Damian Lewis, premiered at Sundance, and won two Welsh BAFTAs in 2022. MONSOON (2018), directed by Hong Khaou (LILTING), stars Henry Golding and Parker Sawyers. DARK RIVER (2017) was Tracy’s third film with Clio Barnard starring Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley and Sean Bean. THE SELFISH GIANT (2012), selected for The Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, was nominated for an Outstanding British Film BAFTA Award. The much lauded THE ARBOR (2010), her first project with Clio Barnard, won several international awards and was nominated for an Outstanding Debut BAFTA Award.

WENDY MITCHELL Wendy Mitchell is a journalist, curator and moderator. She is a Contributing Editor at Screen International and hosts the weekly Screen Podcast. She also serves as the Nordic and UK delegate for the San Sebastian International Film Festival and curates their Creative Investors Conference, as well as consulting for Cannes Marche and Berlinale's European Film Market.

In the competition for attention, films can struggle to stand out without a strong marketing, PR or social media campaign. Our international panel of speakers reveal the lessons learnt from years of work around festival campaigns, national releases, and global markets. From the role of influencers to social media platforms and press junkets, find out how to cut through the noise.

Speakers:

MATHIAS NOSCHIS | Head of Strategy Alphapanda

JONATHAN RUTTER | Executive Director Premier PR

KARINA GECHTMAN | International Marketing & Publicity Consultant

Moderator:

ANNA HIGGS | Managing Director Character 7

About the speakers:

MATHIAS NOSCHIS Mathias Noschis is a film marketing strategist specialised in social media. He is the founder of Alphapanda, a film marketing agency with team members in Berlin, Warsaw and Milan. Alphapanda’s client list includes The Match Factory, Bankside Pictures, Warner Bros, the European Film Market and several independent producers, distributors and sales agents. Alphapanda’s recent projects include Yellow Letters (Berlinale ’26 Golden Bear), Father Mother Sister Brother (Venice ’25 Golden Lion), Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Sundance ’23) and The Quiet Girl (Berlinale ’21). Mathias is also a speaker and tutor for organisations such as ACE Producers, EAVE and Locarno Industry Academy.

JONATHAN RUTTER Jonathan Rutter is Executive Director at Premier, the UK’s leading entertainment publicity agency. He began his career as a film publicist in 1985 and between 1993 and 2006 ran the successful agency McDonald & Rutter with partner Charles McDonald. His work covers film productions, festivals, international campaigns and UK distribution, and he has handled films by most of the world’s leading film-makers including multiple titles with Robert Altman, David Lynch, Mike Leigh, Jane Campion, Pedro Almodóvar, Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, Anthony Minghella, Danny Boyle, Whit Stillman, the Coen Brothers, Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos.

KARINA GECHTMAN Karina is an international film marketing and publicity consultant with over 20 years’ experience across production, sales and distribution for independent film and documentary. She partners with filmmakers to shape positioning and lead global marketing strategies from early development through production, festival launch, and worldwide release, working across both B2B and B2C campaigns. Previously VP of International Marketing and Publicity at Anton, she has also held senior roles at Altitude, Secret Cinema, Paramount Pictures, and Disney. Karina has collaborated with leading filmmakers including Asif Kapadia, Lynne Ramsay, David Mackenzie, Sarah Gavron, Clio Barnard and Kevin Macdonald.

ANNA HIGGS Anna Higgs is Managing Director of production company Character 7, whose recent work includes heist Culprits and psychological thriller The Undoing. A second season of The Night Manager, in partnership with Ink Factory, premiered on BBC and Amazon in January 2026. A multi-award-winning producer, columnist and host, Higgs Executive Produced Channel 4 mini-series Beth, from writer-director Uzo Oleh, and is Producer on Hassan Akkad's debut feature film, following his successful short film Matar. Visionary work she has supported includes Sundance-winning Nick Cave film 20,000 Days on Earth, BAFTA-winning The End of the F*cking World and Oscar winner Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank.

Production: Lawrence Francis / www.premiercomms.com

A panel of international producers, from The Netherlands, Greece, and Mexico, discuss their experience co-producing with the UK: models of business collaboration; distribution of roles and responsibilities between partners; creative challenges and opportunities; access to funds, and more. Their combined experience covers such titles as Triangle of Sadness; Swimming Home; Leonora in the Morning Light; How To Have Sex, and many more.

Speakers:

KONSTANTINOS KONTOVRAKIS | Producer Kinestet

LEONTINE PETIT | Founder, CEO & Producer Lemming Film

JULIO CHAVEZMONTES | Founder and CEO Piano

Moderator:

ROWAN WOODS | Curator and Senior Film & TV Executive

About the speakers:

KONSTANTINOS KONTOVRAKIS Konstantinos Kontovrakis has produced and coproduced more than 25 internationally acclaimed films, including Un Certan Regard winner How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker and Palme d’Or winner and Oscar nominated Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund. Kontovrakis received the ‘European Co-production Award’ at the European Film Awards, in 2018. His latest film, the Greek debut The Last Call directed by Sherif Francis and produced by Tanweer Productions, is the highest grossing title in the Greek B.O, for ’26 and he is currently in post-production of Sara Driver’s long-awaited feature fiction An Odd Enchantment.

LEONTINE PETIT Leontine Petit is founder, CEO and producer of Lemming Film. She holds an MA in Philosophy and is an alumnus of EAVE, ACE, and Inside Pictures. A passionate advocate for independent cinema, she serves as Deputy Chair of the European Film Academy board and is a member of 'The Creatives'. In 2016, she received the European Co-production Award – Prix Eurimages. From offices in Amsterdam and Ghent, she has co-produced 75 films and 24 drama series since 1995. Her award-winning work, produced across Europe, Asia, and South America, continues to connect with audiences worldwide.

JULIO CHAVEZMONTES Julio Chavezmontes is a renowned Mexican producer and screenwriter, winner of the Special Jury Prize for Screenwriting at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival for Time Share. Since co-founding Piano in 2011, his productions have screened in major film festivals across the world including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Toronto, receiving over 100 awards and nominations. Notable works include Nuestra Tierra (2025), Triangle of Sadness (2022), Annette (2021), and Memoria (2021). Chavezmontes has been profiled by prestigious outlets such as Variety, Forbes, GQ, and in 2021, he was selected as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Mexico by Quien Magazine.

ROWAN WOODS Rowan is a curator and senior film and TV executive with extensive experience across festival programming, development, commissioning, acquisitions and distribution. She has previously worked for BBC Film, BFI Distribution, Shudder, British Council, BFI London Film Festival. She currently works for Berlinale and Toronto International Film Festival and was most recently the Creative Director at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

Produced by Lawrence Francis / www.premiercomms.com