The Judges
Kevin Spacey
Award-winning stage and film actor and currently the artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre, Kevin began his career on stage in the 1980s. He won his first Oscar in 1995 for his role in The Usual Suspects and another in 1999 for American Beauty. Kevin’s own production company, Trigger Street, recently produced 21 and co-produced political drama Recount with HBO. In 2008, Kevin was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe Award as Best Actor for his performance in Recount, whilst the film also won the Emmy for Outstanding Made-For-Television Movie. Kevin is currently Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University and is also an associate producer of the new musical Spring Awakening at the Novello Theatre in London’s West End.
Gemma Arterton
Gemma is one of the UK's most promising stars. Best known for her performance as an iconic Bond girl in Quantum of Solace, one of 2008's biggest blockbusters, she recently won Best Newcomer Award at the Empire Film Awards. Her other film credits include Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla and the classic remake of St. Trinian’s, for which she received a nomination for Best Female Performance at the National Movie Awards. She can also be seen in Richard Curtis’ The Boat that Rocked, and will play Princess Tamina in Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time next year. Gemma is also known for her role as Tess in the BBC adaptation of Tess of the D'Urbevilles.
Noel Clarke
Noel is an award-winning actor, director and writer and this year's winner of the BAFTA Rising Star Award. He recently wrote, directed and starred in Adulthood, one of the highest grossing British films of 2008, taking over £1.2 million on its opening weekend alone. The film revisits characters seven years on from his previous hit movie, Kidulthood, which won Best Screenplay at the Dinard Film Festival and at the Screen Nations Awards, and the Douglas Hickox Award at the BIFAs in 2006. In 2003 Noel won a Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in the play, Where Do We Live, at the Royal Court Theatre. He is also known for his TV roles as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who, and Wyman in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
Daniel Barber
British director and BAFTA winner Daniel was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for his short film The Tonto Woman, which also won the Best of Festival award at LA Shorts 2008 and Best Film at Palm Springs 2007. He’s won dozens of prizes for his TV ads too, including those for BMW, British Airways, Toyota, Sony, Orange, O2, Becks, & The BBC. He is currently finishing his first feature film Harry Brown which stars Sir Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer.
Dominic Eames
Dominic is the online content director at Virgin Media, and is responsible for developing the content strategy of the website - virginmedia.com. On a day to day basis, he manages the team responsible for running and developing entertainment sites including Virgin Media Shorts. Dominic is a self-confessed film fan. He studied film at the Royal College of Art and has previously produced short films for the BBC and BFI, as well as co-writing the feature film, Goodbye Charlie Bright. Combining his love for film and the internet, he launched FilmFour.com before becoming the Editor of Channel4.com.
Emma Clarke
Emma is a senior executive in the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund. She works with the filmmakers overseeing all aspects of production, from development through to financing, shooting and editing to completion. Recent projects include Armando Iannucci’s In The Loop, Andrea Arnold’s second feature Fishtank and Jane Campion’s Bright Star. Also supported by the fund are James Marsh’s Oscar®-winning Man on Wire, Paul Greengrass’s Bloody Sunday, Kevin Macdonald’s Touching The Void, Sally Potter’s Yes and Rage, Michael Caton Jones’s Shooting Dogs and Andrea Arnold’s Red Road.
Jason Solomons
Jason has a weekly movie news column and writes regular reviews for The Observer, as well as presenting the Guardian/Observer Film Weekly podcast. He is also the resident reviewer for the Mail on Sunday, Channel Five News, BBC Radio London and BBC Six Music, as well as frequently contributing to BBC Radio Four’s Front Row, Sky News and BBC News Channel. Jason regularly hosts Q&A sessions at the BFI Southbank, The Gate Cinema and The Curzon Soho, and sits on the board of the UK Jewish Film Festival.
VIP Judge: Jordan Campbell
Watching over 600 films a year and owning hundreds of DVDs, Jordan was a clear winner in our competition to find this year's VIP Judge. The teenager from Glasgow beat off stiff competition from teenage film fanatics across the UK and impressed the judges with his passion and knowledge of the big screen. We're delighted that he's joining our Panel – and as for Jordan, he's 'absolutely over the moon'.
Mobile Shorts Judges
Jessie Britton
Jessie is the digital services delivery manager at Virgin Media, specialising in mobile entertainment content. On a day to day basis, she works with our partners to ensure our customers are getting a great experience when they visit our mobile portal. Jessie is a massive film fan and keeps herself busy with regular visits to the cinema to check out the new releases, especially during Oscar season. She studied American Studies at university, specialising in American film, so she’s well versed in both studying films and watching them for pleasure.
Natasha Stokes
Natasha is the Editor at the UK's number one mobile phone consumer magazine, Mobile Choice. She has a background in tech and media writing, and has attempted to shoot short videos on really low-end handsets as well as her swanky new HTC Touch HD.
Danny Brogan
Danny is the Reviews Editor at the UK's number one mobile phone consumer magazine, Mobile Choice. Providing expert opinion on the latest mobile devices, he also has a keen interest in film and lists Gladiator, Goodfellas and Back To The Future among his personal favourites.
