Where Are They Now? Award-Winning NFTS Graduates Talk About How to Succeed in Filmmaking

Andrew is an RTS-nominated Development Executive & Producer. He previously was a senior development executive at Red Production Company (“Happy Valley,” “It's A Sin,” Harlan Coben's “Work”) where he developed projects alongside A-list writers and emerging voices. Prior to this, he script- edited several series, including “Alexander: The Making of a God” for Netflix, the adaptation of Graham Norton’s bestselling novel “Holding for ITV,” the debut series of “Whitstable Pearl” for Acorn TV, and two series of returning comedy-drama “Agatha Raisin for Sky”. Additional script credits include “Endeavour,” “Holby City,” and “Coronation Street.”

Andrew is a National Film and Television School alumni, where he was awarded both the Christie Most Promising Student Award & the IOSH Award.

Born storyteller, proud northerner and Student Academy Award Winner, Lisa Kenney is a director/animator with something to say. With comedy at the core of her practice, she strives to tell authentic, grounded and gritty stories with integrity and wit – pushing her films to represent characters that might not have gotten a look at otherwise.

Since graduating from the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in 2023, where she was awarded the accolade of Most Promising Student, Lisa has enjoyed several award wins on the festival circuit, including a student Oscar, a student BAFTA shortlist place, and a Sony Future Filmmaker Award nomination. She’s currently working on her first live-action short for BBC Film – and developing an animated TV series as part of the BBC Ignite scheme.

Michael is a colorist boasting multiple credits across major productions, including “James Bond: No Time To Die,” “Ant Man 3: Quantumania,” and “3 Body Problem.” Immediately after graduating from the NFTS in 2020, where he received the Most Promising Student award, Michael joined the acclaimed post house Company 3 as a color assistant, having previously worked as a dailies operator during his degree on “Fast and Furious 9.” Michael joined Technicolor, where he began as a dailies operator on “Operation Fortune,” “Andor S1” and “Ant Man3,” after which he was promoted to dailies colorist and worked on “3 Body Problem” and “Andor S2.”

Michael worked for No. 8 and now currently works for leading boutique Rascal as a color assistant, working across multiple high-end commercials and promos.

Lizzie Francke is the head of directing at the NFTS. Throughout her career, she has identified and championed the best of the world and British cinema with a particular interest in bringing new and diverse talent to wider attention. She started out as a film critic with the Guardian and Sight and Sound, among journals and newspapers, before being appointed artistic director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (1997-2001). In the last two decades, she has been an executive producer for EM Media, UKFC and, most recently, the BFI Film Fund. She has worked with an extraordinary range of filmmakers, including Charlotte Wells, Sir John Akomfrah, Joanna Hogg, James Graham, Alice Birch, Jesse Armstrong, Andrew Haigh, Lynne Ramsey and Andrea Arnold.

In addition to her work at the NFTS, Francke is a consultant executive producer working on various British and international projects. She is currently co-developing with Mike Goodridge’s company, Good Chaos, and working with Maria Zuckerman, based in the US, on a script based on her original idea.