Briony Hanson

Briony Hanson is the British Council’s Director of Film, responsible for promoting UK film internationally and finding opportunities for cultural exchange. Previously she directed The Script Factory training organisation, headed both Tyneside Cinema and the BFI Programme Unit, and co-programmed London’s LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.

She chaired BAFTA's Original Debut Award Jury for 4 years, and is an occasional film critic for BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, with multiple appearances previously on The Film Programme and Saturday Review, shows among many other outlets. She is also a regular onstage interview host for BAFTA and others where her subjects have ranged from Margot Robbie, Kate Hudson and Hugh Grant to Baz Luhrmann, Christopher Nolan and Todd Haynes.