Kino Industry Session: Supprting Emerging Talent with BIFA & Beyond (18)

Filmmaker and curator Nia Childs speaks with BIFA Springboard/Kino alumni Alix Austin, Michelle Brøndum & Keir Siewert. They’ll chat about their careers in short form, their journey into features, and opportunities/initiatives that exist (like BIFA and Kino) that other emerging filmmakers can leverage to support the early stages of a career in film.

- Alix Austin is a London-based British Director with an obsession for genre filmmaking and lethal sound design, having grown up bilingually (English/German) in Basel, Switzerland. She directed and sold her first feature film Kill Your Lover in 2024 with directing partner Keir Siewert (now available on SHUDDER and Amazon Prime). She is a BIFA Springboard Alum mentored by Ed King (Producer: His House), a recipient of the Raimi Productions Scholarship with Rogue Studios and a Directors UK Inspire mentee (by Loki’s Kate Herron). Alix’s solo directing work spans award-winning short films, interactive gaming and specialises in Performance Capture.

- Michelle Brøndum is an indepdent producer whose work spans animation, documentary, and narrative film. Founder of the London-based production company Jante Films, she has over a decade of experience in production and holds an MA in Producing from the National Film and Television School. Her films have been nominated at leading international festivals including Cannes, Tribeca, Annecy and Sitges, and her work as a producer has been recognised with the Producer Network Award at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (selected by representatives from the Marché du Film at Cannes) and the Sony Futures Filmmakers Award in 2026. Most recently, she produced the stop-motion animation Ovary-Acting, which was longlisted for a BAFTA and nominated for an Annie Award.

- Nia Childs is a filmmaker and curator based in London. Her films have screened at a number of BIFA and BAFTA qualifying festivals such as the BFI London Film Festival, Aesthetica, The London Short Film Festival and BFI Flare. She is also a curator specialising in contemporary British cinema, and regularly hosts Q&As and interviews with filmmakers. Nia is a BIFA voter and previously sat on the nomination committee for four years.

- Keir Siewert is a Scottish/American filmmaker and photographer based in London and specialising in genre cinema. His feature film debut Kill Your Lover, which he made with his directing/producing partner Alix Austin, premiered at Brooklyn Horror in 2023 and is now currently available on SHUDDER. He was selected as in 2025 to be part of BIFA Springboards new genre program and currently has several projects in development.

Kino Short Film connects emerging filmmakers with audiences who crave something outside the mainstream. From first time filmmakers to Oscar winners, Kino supports indie and emerging talent at every stage of their journey - with funding, on set, in the festival circuit, and beyond.