The BAFTA breakthrough picks have been announced for 2025.
The awards honour rising stars from across the creative industries. This includes TV, film, gaming and more – with sections including costume design, production, direction and games design.
Now in its 11th year, the initiative has a knack for picking some of the UK’s hottest up and coming talent: previous alumni include Ambika Mod (who recently appeared in the Netflix show One Day), Bella Ramsey, Paapa Essiedu, Josh O’Connor, Jessie Buckley and Letitia Wright.
Accordingly, this year’s nominees range from Jennifer English (who was nominated for a BAFTA Games Award for her word as the narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3) to Mawaan Rizwan, who broke through by creating and starring in BBC Three series Juice.
In addition to the UK, there are nominees from the US and India, including Nava Mau, who played Teri in Richard Gadd’s series Baby Reindeer, and Erica Tremblay, who wrote and directed the Lily Gladstone film Fancy Dance.
The awards are supported by streaming giant Netflix, which offers its nominees a year-round programme of support and professional development opportunities.
“We are so proud to support the exceptional group of creatives who make up BAFTA Breakthrough,” said Netflix’s VP, Anne Mensah. “Breakthrough is brilliant at unearthing fresh voices, spotlighting talent and providing the support needed to help creatives reach their full potential."
“This year we have an amazing roster of casting directors, producers, writers, performers, lead artists, cinematographers, lead developers, and more,” added Jane Millichip, BAFTA’s CEO. “We urge the industry to take note.”
The full list of nominees are:
UK BREAKTHROUGHS:
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•Alice Russell, Director - If the Streets Were on Fire
•Beth Park, Lead Performance Director - Black Myth: Wukong
•Clair Titley, Director - The Contestant
•Cobbie Yates, Costume Designer - Layla
•Daf James, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer/Musical Director - Lost Boys & Fairies
•Fred Hoffman, Art Director - Paper Trail
•Georgina Hurcombe, Creator/Producer/Director - Pop Paper City
•Harry Gilbert, Casting Director - G'wed
•Jennifer English, Performer - Baldur's Gate 3
•Kyla Harris*, Lead Performer/Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Associate Producer - We Might Regret This
•Lauren Sequeira, Creator/Writer/Executive Producer - Domino Day
•Lee Getty*, Co-Creator/Co-Writer/Associate Producer - We Might Regret This
•Loran Dunn, Producer - Hoard
•Luna Carmoon, Writer/Director - Hoard
•Luned Tonderai, Series Director - Miriam: Death Of A Reality Star
•Mawaan Rizwan, Performer/Writer/Creator/Executive Producer - Juice
•Otto Baxter, Writer/Director/Performer - The Puppet Asylum
•Poulomi Basu, Creator/Director/Writer/Art Director - MAYA: The Birth of a Superhero
•Rochelle Newman, Producer - White Nanny Black Child
•Shahnaz Dulaimy, Editor - Top Boy
•Sophie Knowles, Lead Artist – Viewfinder
US BREAKTHROUGHS:
•Angela Walker Patton**, Director - Daughters
•Elaine Gómez, Creative Director - Blink Land
•Erica Tremblay, Writer/Director - Fancy Dance
•Hanna Park, Editor - Bottoms
•Jih-E Peng, Cinematographer - Girls Will Be Girls
•Joy Ngiaw, Composer - WondLa
•Juliana Hoffpauir, Costume Designer - Hit Man
•Karrie Shirou Shao, Game Writer/Lead Designer - Pacific Drive
•Nafisa Kaptownwala, Casting Director - Dìdi
•Natalie Rae**, Director - Daughters
•Nava Mau, Performer - Baby Reindeer
•Nicole He, Creative Director - The Crush House
•Sean Wang, Writer/Director - Dìdi
INDIA BREAKTHROUGHS
•Abhinav Chokhavatia, Game Producer - Down and Out
•Christo Tomy, Director - Curry and Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case
•Deepa Bhatia, Writer/Director/Producer - First Act
•Dhiman Karmakar, Sound Designer/Production Sound Mixer - Amar Singh Chamkila
•Jaydeep Sarkar, Showrunner/Series Director/Executive Producer - Rainbow Rishta
•Monisha Thyagarajan, Series Producer - The Hunt for Veerappan
•Neeraj Kumar, Producer/Lead Developer - Artifice: War Tactics
•Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, Writer/Director/Performer - Aachar & Co.
•Varun Grover, Writer/Director - All India Rank
