Mark Tonderai
Trained in architecture in Kingston, England, before finding his way into broadcasting at the BBC, Mark began as a trainee presenter and then a Radio 1 DJ, taking over the show after John Peel. He moved into BBC Light Entertainment, producing hours of network radio comedy including the topical news show Weekending, and worked with comedians including Peter Serafinowicz and Simon Munnery.
From there he moved into television, writing The Ian Wright Show for ITV and creating and presenting The Beginner’s Guide for BBC Two, while also presenting the weekend breakfast show on Kiss 100.
In the late 1990s, convinced that digital filmmaking was the future, Mark self-financed four television pilots using some of Sony’s first digital cameras, hired a cinema in London’s West End and invited the major broadcasters to watch. Two sold. Through Shona Films, he made Homie and Way for Channel 4’s Comedy Lab and the hip-hop sketch show Uncut Funk for BBC Two, which he wrote, directed, produced, showran and acted in.
He co-wrote the feature Dog Eat Dog, released by Film4, before writing and directing several shorts, including the award-nominated Sarah Smile, and raising finance for his first feature, Hush.
Released in 2008, Hush was nominated for a British Independent Film Award and brought Mark to the attention of the US studios. He was invited to direct House at the End of the Street, casting Jennifer Lawrence before the world discovered her. The film opened at number one in the US and went on to gross $66 million worldwide.
Mark then moved into television, directing the pilot and all ten episodes of The Five, followed by Paranoid, Time After Time, Lucifer, Gotham, Impulse, Black Lightning, Blindspot, Nightflyers, Doctor Who, Tell Me a Story, Foundation, Castle Rock and Locke & Key. In 2021, he directed Spell for Paramount, then won an Emmy for The Mysterious Benedict Society. Most recently, he directed Virdee for the BBC. And, because directing apparently wasn’t quite enough, he also operates B camera.
Zoe Stewart
Zoe Stewart is a filmmaker and producer whose career has taken her from the BBC to independent film, from comedy to drama, and from London to Los Angeles. Originally from England, she began her career at BBC Television before co-founding Shona Productions, where she produced the BBC Two comedy sketch series Uncut Funk and the Channel 4 sitcom Homie and Away, which she also directed. It was an early lesson in filmmaking that has stayed with her: good stories can come from anywhere, and the best ones tend to surprise you.
She went on to produce the feature film Hush for Warp X, earning a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Achievement in Production and being named a Star of Tomorrow by Screen International. She is a Berlinale Talents alum and a British Film Institute Breakthrough Brit honoree.
After stepping away from filmmaking for a time to raise her family, Zoe returned behind the camera with Family Time, an award-winning short she wrote and directed. The film led to her selection for the Sony Pictures Television New Director Program, established to discover and champion diverse voices for Sony’s episodic television slate.
Zoe continues to work across both directing and producing, drawn to stories that are character-driven, emotionally resonant and a little unexpected. Most recently, she produced the feature Broken Bird for Catalyst Studios, which received a US theatrical release through Panorama Motion Pictures, who also acquired worldwide rights.
A graduate of the London College of Printing with a BA (Hons) in Film and Television, Zoe now lives and works in Los Angeles. She brings to her work a distinctly British sensibility, an instinct for character and comedy, and a deep belief that filmmaking is ultimately about one thing: telling a story that makes people feel something.
