LFA Team

After working for four years in production on a leading series for Channel 4, then briefly on Richard Eyre’s film Iris, Daisy decided to return to being a student, this time of filmmaking. Unable to find a course that met her expectations and requirements, Daisy co-founded the LFA. In addition to co-running one of the most innovative and dynamic filmmaking schools in the UK, Daisy has produced and directed three short films, including "The Summer House" (starring Robert Pattinson and Talulah Riley).

On the 10th anniversary of London Film Academy Daisy and Anna teamed up with Ri Chakraborty and set up a production company, LFA Productions.

ANNA MACDONALD is responsible for LFA’s day-to-day running and business development as well as distribution of the films made by LFA. She is the executive producer of the short films made at LFA and produced "The Summer House" (starring Robert Pattinson and Talulah Riley, which was no.1 on the iTunes sales charts in UK, USA and Canada and within first 10 in France and Germany on its first day).

She has devised and masterminded special events and educational programmes at film festivals and schools worldwide.  Her previous work as a Publishing and Marketing Consultant includes production and publicity of events at the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as embassies in London and New York. Anna was one of the 30 prominent Londoners with Polish roots featured in the ‘London Creatives: Polish Roots’ exhibition at the Museum of London (October 2009), celebrating the role that Londoners of Polish origin have played in the capital's cultural scene (presented by the Polish Cultural Institute).  

On the 10th anniversary of London Film Academy Anna and Daisy teamed up with Ri Chakraborty and set up a production company, LFA Productions.

SIMON FLYNN leads the LFA diploma courses. He works closely with the Joint-Principals, tutors and students managing courses content and delivery. Simon graduated from York University with a degree in history before moving into the film industry with his work at First Light, who offer UK–wide support to young filmmakers. From there he moved to Screen West Midlands, where he looked after the interests of all emerging filmmaking talent and commissioned short film projects on behalf of the UK Film Council. In his recent role at Creative England, he project managed Film Nation Shorts, a leading filmmaking initiative of the Cultural Olympiad, which encouraged young people aged 16-25 across the UK to make short films, the best of which were screened at venues across London 2012.

IRINA GUIMARAES coordinates our Diploma courses and provides production support for the student films made on these courses. Irina graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra with a degree in Art Studies, specialising in Film. Before coming to LFA she worked for a number of well-established production companies in her homeland of Lisbon, Portugal. Soon after she moved to London Irina worked across a variety of production roles on several projects raging from shorts to corporates, feature teasers and a feature film.

LINCOLN ASCOTT leads our Filmmaking Certificate and tutors cinematography workshops. Lincoln graduated with a degree in Fine Art at DeMontfort University, a postgraduate Diploma in Cinematography from the Northern School of Film and Television at Leeds University and a Masters degree in Cinematography from the National School of Film and Television. He has shot many documentaries and promotional videos and worked on a range of award-winning shorts. As Director of Photography, his first feature film 'Sugar Sugar' won the best newcomer award at the Raindance Film Festival.

ABI PATRICK leads all of our full-time foundation courses and our Documentary Certificate. Abi graduated with a first class degree in English Literature from King's College and an MA in Philosophy from UCL before venturing into theatre. She worked at Arcola Theatre on Brecht and Weill's 'Seven Deadly Sins', directed a one-woman comedy show in New York and received an award from the Jerwood Foundation to take her production of Büchner's 'Woyzeck' to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She then took the LFA Filmmaking Foundation and worked in a variety of roles on several short films before moving to teach at LFA.

STEPHANIE ANDREW coordinates our weekend foundations and specialised courses, as well as our Writer-Director Diploma. She also coordinates all co-productions through Club Panico@LFA. Stephanie left the University of Gloucestershire with a first class degree in Digital Film Production and is currently touring the film festival circuit with her most recent short film 'Fall', which was awarded distribution funding after begin championed by a Film Society. Stephanie's experience includes working as a producer on many short films and devising independent film festivals.

LYNDSEY GHERARDI coordinates all student applications, schedules student interviews, open house events and tours, answers student enquiries, assists applicants with finding suitable accommodation and guides international students through the process of obtain relevant visas. Lyndsey graduated with a degree in Art History & History from Northumbria University and has since worked in various art galleries and organisations in her hometown of Belfast before moving to London in March 2012. Her work across these cultural venues involved volunteer work coordinating art and music education events and workshops.

CONNY NIELSEN is a first point of contact for the LFA. She supports and assists students, prospective students and staff and deals with enquiries. In addition to numerous administrative tasks, she also updates our social media and website and looks after maintenance of LFA premises. Conny graduated from the University of Southern Denmark with a Bachelors degree in Media Science. She has since worked at Odense International Film Festival in Denmark as the festival coordinator where her main responsibilities were print management and guest coordination. In January 2013, Conny completed a producer course at the Danish film school 18Frames and has been producing a number of short films in her spare time.

JEANNE CHEVALIER assists our Joint-Principals with marketing and PR as well as coordinating events and submitting LFA films to film festivals. Jeanne began her career in French TV before living in India to make documentaries and moving to London in 2011. She recently graduated from LFA Filmmaking Diploma and was named student of the year 2012. Over the past year, Jeanne has written and directed two short films, edited a number of others and is currently developing several new film projects including a feature screenplay and a short.

TOM ROWSON coordinates the Post Production department and oversees all of the editing at LFA. Tom studied Mathematics at the University of Liverpool before choosing to pursue film. He graduated from the LFA Filmmaking Diploma in 2003 and has since directed short film ‘Arrowman Sam’, which won Best Short Film at the Belfast Film Festival and was a finalist in the Broadcast Magazine ‘Young Writer of the Year Award’. He has also worked as a writer for Baby Cow Productions, World Productions and BBC Comedy. Outside of LFA, he works as a stand up comedian, winning ‘So You Think You’re Funny’ in 2011 and was recently a finalist for the ‘BBC New Comedian of the Year Award 2012’. 

JOHN DANVOYE assists students across all of our courses with the editing of their films and projects. John hails from Brussels, where he graduated from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve with a Masters degree in Journalism. After a year living in Istanbul, he worked as a freelance journalist for the RTBF (Belgian National Television) covering events such as the Football World Cup 2010. He then decided to pursue a career in film and graduated from LFA Filmmaking Diploma in 2011. His short film ‘Interference’, which he directed, won the LFA Audience Award 2012 and John also was named Student of the Year 2012. Outside of LFA John works as First Assistant Director on many LFA and external productions (incl. Rob Kendrick's upcoming short film ‘Sunrise’ starring Miranda Raison; Maeve's Murphy's feature film pilot ‘Taking Stock’, which won the 2011 Sub-Ti Short Film Competition with the announcement made at the Venice Film Festival).

ALEV ERDOGAN leads the Technical Team managing LFA’s technical needs. Her responsibilities include issuing cameras, lighting and sound equipment for all LFA student shoots and classes as well as assisting tutors with their audio visual requirements. She also repairs existing equipment and reccommends new equipment in order to maintain high quality support. Alev graduated from an MA in Filmmaking at Goldsmiths University of London where she specialised in Cinematography. She has had over nine years’ experience in the UK Film industry, having worked in various job roles within the camera and lighting department for over fifty productions,  ranging from advertising, documentaries, promo videos and short films.

RICHARD HADJU is part of the Technical Team and assists with maintaining equipment and sourcing new pieces, providing technical assistance to students and tutors on set and in class. He graduated with a degree in English & American Studies & Film History/Theory from The University of Szeged, Hungary and studied First Assistant Direction & Production Management at The Hungarian Society of Cinematographers in Budapest before moving to London in 2010. He is a graduate of LFA’s Filmmaking Diploma course and was named Student of the Year 2011. He is writing, directing and producing his own short and feature scripts. His first feature film, Eva and Noah finished shooting in 2012 and will be released in 2013.

MICHAEL FLACK supports the equipment office with both practical and administrational assistance. He is assists with maintaining equipment and sourcing new pieces, providing technical assistance to students and tutors on set and in class. Michael graduated from the LFA Filmmaking Diploma in 2011. He has produced a number of short films, two of which have found themselves in the short corners at international film festivals. Michael also works within the football industry as a qualified official.