Kristin Irving joins BBC Film as Commissioning Executive from the BFI, where she is Senior Production and Development Executive. Anu Henriques joins as Development Executive and was previously working at production company Fable Pictures as Development Associate.

Claudia Yusef  has been named Commissioning Executive expanding her responsibilities across development and production.

Director of BBC Film chief Eva Yates said in a statement: “Since taking the reins at BBC Film my priority has been building an outstanding creative team to ensure our filmmakers enjoy the most thoughtful, rigorous and dynamic support available. I couldn’t be happier to announce Claudia’s expanded role and the appointments today of Kristin and Anu, all of whom bring exactly this energy.

“They are joining a passionate multi-disciplinary team dedicated to supporting and uplifting world class filmmakers – we’re excited to welcome them on board.”

Kristin Irving said: “I am thrilled to be joining Eva and her insanely talented BBC Film team who I have long admired for their passion, energy, ambition and sense of humour. They have been responsible for nurturing and championing some of the most exciting voices in cinema and it’s an incredible opportunity to be part of continuing that work into the future of British film.”

Anu Henriques said: “I’m looking forward to learning from the incredible expertise and ambitions of the team at BBC Film. The opportunity to work with filmmakers every day in this role, to be in the business of imagining, is invaluable to me. I’m particularly motivated by the shared commitment to nurturing and sustaining new creative talent and stories, centring storytellers and communities who don’t get to see themselves on screen and behind the camera often enough.”

Irving is a Senior Production and Development Executive at the BFI’s Film Fund. She formerly worked in a number of development roles, including for production company Portobello Pictures on films such as Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winning IDA and also worked across sales at sister company, Fandango Portobello.

Henriques was previously Development Associate at Fable Pictures (Stan & Ollie, Wild Rose, Rocks) working across their film and TV slate. Prior to this she worked with Sarah Gavron as Associate Director on Rocks, through development, shoot and post production on the collaborative film about the joy of sisterhood.

Anu is the founder and co-director of Skin Deep, an arts and culture organisation that makes space for Black creatives and creatives of colour to work towards justice through cultural production, and is also the co-director of We Are Bridge, an organisation set up to ensure the sustained legacy of new and emerging talent within the film and TV industry.

Anu will join BBC Film in November.

Yusef joined BBC Film as Head of Development in January 2019. She previously worked at Number 9 Films, and before that as a Talent Executive at the Scottish Film Network, part of BFI Network. She also worked as Development Executive at 42 Management and Production.

At BBC Film she has Executive Produced Clio Barnard’s BAFTA-nominated Ali & Ava and forthcoming films including Mahalia Belo’s debut feature, The End We Start From starring Jodie Comer and Nora Fingscheidt’s ‘The Outrun’ starring Saoirse Ronan.