Justin Chadwick was born in Salford, UK, brought up in Manchester and Bolton. His mum is an art teacher. Justin joined Bolton Little Theatre and played Billy Casper in ‘Kes’ at 11. He then joined Manchester youth theatre and played Jan in the world premier of Ian Serraillier’s The Silver Sword at Oldham Coliseum at 14. Justin graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Performing Arts Drama from Leicester. Throughout college he was part of NSDF (National Student Drama Festival).

Justin is an award winning theatre, television and film director who most recently completed shooting THE FIRST GRADER, starring Naomie Harris for Origin Pictures / Sixth Sense Productions for BBC Films and the UK Film Council. His first feature film was the highly-acclaimed The Other Boleyn Girl, which premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival, starring Eric Bana, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.

Previous to this Justin set-up the mini-series, Bleak House, and directed nine of the fifteen episodes, which were broadcast by the BBC in the UK, and by PBS in the United States as part of their Masterpiece Theatre series. He was nominated for the Prime-time Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special; the Royal Television Society Award for Breakout Performance Behind the Scenes; and, the BAFTA Award for Best Direction for his work on Bleak House, which was the Best Drama Serial winner at the British Academy Television Awards 2006. Bleak House was nominated for two Golden Globes, three Satellite Awards and won at the Royal Television Society Awards, the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the Television Critics Awards.

Coming from a background in acting, he started his directorial career in the theatre with award winning productions including Molieres Hypochondriac at the Assembley rooms during the Edinburgh Festival. He made his television debut with the 1993 television movie Family Style starring Ewan McGregor, after which he directed and performed in Shakespeare Shorts, a series that explored the history of Shakespearean characters and presented them in key scenes from the plays in which they appeared. He directed episodes of East Enders, Byker Grove, The Bill, Spooks, and set up the series’ for Red Cap and Murder Prevention.

Justin is also developing several projects including the screen version of the Daphne du Maurier novel, Jamaica Inn, for Focus Films, he is writing the adaptation for the multi-award winning novel, The Tenderness of Wolves, for Pink Sands Films / Film 4, which he will also direct, and he is attached to the Ron Bass script, The Godmother, with Unanimous Pictures producing, based on the novel by Carrie Adams.

Ann immigrated with her family to Los Angeles where she became a screenwriter. Ann won an Emmy for her first film A LESSON BEFORE DYING, which she wrote for HBO, and followed it with the blockbuster hit THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, NIGHTS IN RODANTHE and KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL. Her upcoming projects, other than THE FIRST GRADER, include an adaptation of John Grisham’s THE PARTNER, the epic MARCO POLO, the action classic ODYSSEUS, the indie MEMORY OF RUNNING and adventure story AIRMAN. She has retained a strong connection with Africa.

“My goal is to create a multifaceted and integrated company that brings the most original, innovative and captivating stories of our time to the big screen.” As the Company’s CEO, his philosophy is “to create feature films that are of the highest caliber, have significant mainstream appeal and great commercial potential, while also maintaining an extraordinary level of critical excellence.”

Richard’s greatest and proudest accomplishment to date, is producing THE FIRST GRADER.

Richard is also President and Chairman of End Malaria Now, a non-profit organization that helps raise life-saving bed nets for African families to end the spread of malaria; he continues to help rebuild a continent stricken with malaria - the Number One killer disease of children in Africa.

He left the BBC in 2008 to set up independent production company Origin Pictures. Origin produces both film and television through their development deal with BBC Fiction, Fremantle Media and Distant Horizon. Their first film for the BBC, FREEFALL by Dominic Savage, was the first drama to explore the financial crisis. Their feature, THE FIRST GRADER, set in Kenya, will come out later in the year and this summer they will shoot a four-part adaptation of Michel Faber’s bestselling novel THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE for the BBC, as well as Edwardian ghost story, THE AWAKENING, starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton.

Whilst at the BBC, Thompson made a special contribution to introducing the work of new directors such as Pawel Pawlikowski, Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold, Saul Dibb, Dominic Savage, Sarah Gavron and Francesca Joseph. His TV credits as producer include several Alan Clarke films such as THE FIRM and ROAD, as well as the first SHADOWLANDS and numerous award-winning television dramas which he executive produced / produced such as INTO THE STORM, THE GATHERING STORM, CONSPIRACY, THE LOST PRINCE and EINSTEIN & EDDINGTON for the BBC.

Joe joined BBC Films’ development team in 1998. Covering the full range of the department’s output in the last ten years, he has worked with established auteurs and filmmakers as well as with up-and-coming talent new to the cinema. His work has been across a wide range of genres, from contemporary drama to period biopic, taking in comedy, horror and documentary. For THE FIRST GRADER, Joe relied on his extensive experience with African-based production shoots, including previous films SHOOTING DOGS, RED DUST and THE MEERKATS; he continues to executive produce the internationally successful television series, THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY starring Jill Scott.

Selected credits: THE AWAKENING (in production); THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, NATIVITY!, THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY; TORMENTED; THE EDGE OF LOVE; FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL; DEATH DEFYING ACTS; CONFETTI; SHOOTING DOGS; MILLIONS; RED DUST; MY SUMMER OF LOVE; THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS; CODE 46; ANITA & ME; TRAUMA; KISS OF LIFE; THIS LITTLE LIFE; CONSPIRACY; LAST RESORT.

Executive Producer, ANANT SINGH is recognised as South Africa’s pre-eminent film producer, having produced more than 100 films since 1984. Born and raised in Durban Singh began his film career at age 18 when he left his studies at the University of Durban-Westville to purchase a 16mm movie rental store. From there, he moved into video distribution, forming Videovision Entertainment and then progressed into film production in 1984 with PALACE OF WEEPIING, the first anti-apartheid film to be made entirely in South Africa.

He is responsible for many of the most profound anti-apartheid films made in South Africa, among which are PLACE OF WEEPING, SARAFINA!, CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY and YESTERDAY which received South Africa’s first Oscar® nomination.

Nelson Mandela called Singh “a producer I respect very much… a man of tremendous ability” when he granted him the film rights to his autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom. Singh is set to film LONG WALK TO FREEDOM later this year.

Among the films produced by Singh include: THE ROAD TO MECCA, with Kathy Bates; FATHER HOOD, with Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry; CAPTIVES, with Julia Ormond and Tim Roth; Tobe Hooper’s THE MANGLER, with Robert Englund and based on a Stephen King short story; PALJAS (shot in Afrikaans, the first South African film to be selected for Oscar Consideration in the Best Foreign Language film category); and RED DUST, with Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor, a drama focussing on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Singh’s association with South Africa’s number one box office star, Leon Schuster, saw the production of the Top Three Highest Grossing South African Films of All Time, MR BONES 2, MR BONES 1 AND MAMA JACK. The inspirational film, MORE THAN JUST A GAME which tells the story of organised football on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned was supported by FIFA and was released in 2008. Following this were the 2009 productions: the comedy, JOZI directed by Craig Freimond (GUMS ‘N NOSES) and OUTRAGEOUS! which sees South Africa’s top stand up comics come together in a no-holds barred, adults only stand up comedy experience.

In 2007, the Palm Beach International Film Festival conferred the World Visionary Award to Singh for his contribution to world cinema and his production of socially conscious films. The South African Film Industry honoured Singh for his significant contribution to the advancement of the industry with the inaugural Golden Horn Award for Outstanding Contributor at the first South African Film and Television Awards in October 2006. Singh is also a recipient of the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award and was conferred with honorary doctorates by the University of Durban-Westville and the University Of Port Elizabeth.

She also produced the Academy Award® nominated motion picture, YESTERDAY (2005), starring Leleti Khumalo (SARAFINA!); RED DUST, the TRC courtroom drama starring Hilary Swank; the stylish Cape Flats gangster film, DOLLARS AND WHITE PIPES; the record-breaking box office performers MAMA JACK and MR. BONES, starring South Africa’s number one box office star, Leon Schuster; THE LONG RUN starring Armin Muehler-Stahl (SHINE); THE THEORY OF FLIGHT starring Academy Award® winning Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham Carter; BRAVO TWO ZERO, (as co-producer), a BBC co-production starring Sean Bean, based on Andy McNab’s best-selling book of the same title.

Helena was also executive producer of the motion picture WAATI, directed by Palme D’Or winner Souleymane Cisse; THE MANGLER, directed by Tobe Hooper (POLTERGEIST); Katinka Heyns’ PALJAS, which was selected as South Africa’s first official entry in the 1998 Academy Awards® in the Best Foreign Language film category and Darrell James Roodt’s SARAFINA! starring Whoopi Goldberg, which received a Christopher Award.

DEAR FRANKIE (Miramax Films), the psychological thriller TRAUMA (Warner Bros.), starring Colin Firth and Mena Suvari, the Fox Searchlight romantic comedy IMAGINE ME AND YOU, and Steve Coogan’s hi-jinx comedy THE PAROLE OFFICER. While scoring THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, Alex travelled to Uganda to record and produce many of the bands featured on the soundtrack. His score to acclaimed thriller STATE OF PLAY, starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren, featured a collaboration with classic British rock producer Flood. He also collaborated with director Tim Burton on his screen adaptation of SWEENEY TODD starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

Alex’s scores have been nominated for BAFTA, Ivor Novello, European Film Academy and ASCAP awards. On the concert platform Alex’s music has been featured at venues as diverse as Symphony Hall Birmingham, the London Jazz Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He was composer in residence at the Sangat Music Festival in Mumbai, India and in 2003 was invited to the Sultanate of Oman to attend the premiere of his overture commissioned by the Oman Royal Symphony Orchestra. His band, the Alex Heffes Trio, was featured on the soundtracks to WOMEN TALKING DIRTY (Rocket Pictures) and CIRCUS (Columbia Pictures).

MLA’s aim is to promote South African talent and South African stories.

In 2003 Moonyeenn was nominated to the National Executive Committee of The Independent Producers Organization and to the Film Board of Create South Africa.