Having recently announced the filmmakers selected to make films on the subject of 'Disinfo' - this year's brief - Yarns has now revealed the experienced professionals who will mentor the filmmakers during the process of making their films.

The mentors are director Georgi Banks-Davies, writer-director Luke Brookner and writer, director and producer Katie Lambert. From perfecting scripts to navigating post-production, the mentors have each been assigned a project, to challenge, champion and elevate the shorts being developed for this year’s timely and provocative brief - set by Homespun, the new talent division of Stitch Editing. 

Georgi Banks-Davies is a BAFTA winning director. Her TV debut was as lead director on I Hate Suzie written by Lucy Prebble, and starring Billie Piper. She was the lead director on the sci-fi adaptation Paper Girls for Amazon, and Greek God opus Kaos for Netflix. She is currently in post production on the The Night Manager 2 for BBC/Amazon, of which she directed the whole series. She has also directed many festival-screened shorts, most notably Garfield, selected for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Georgi is also a successful commercials director - represented by Rogue Films. She joins Yarns to mentor duo Ciara O’Rourke and Jack Clarke, bringing her experience in both realism and speculative fiction to their end-of-the-world fable Don’t Believe A Word I Say.

“Yarns is one of the most exciting film competitions out there, throwing a light on new voices and talent, and giving them the platform to shine," she says. "It goes without saying I'm proper chuffed to be a part of the scheme, supporting a brilliant filmmaker to achieve their vision. Selfishly, I also get to learn from (steal!) their skills and talent too.”

Luke Brookner is an award-winning writer-director based in East London. He studied screenwriting at MET film school, and since then he has honed his skills and creative voice over the years as a writer in the creative departments of various creative agencies and brands, including Brothers and Sisters and Beats by Dre. As a director, Luke searches for the intimacy and honesty in the small moments and often showcases a sensitivity and rawness, achieved by his obsession to capture a sense of naturalism in whatever he makes. He’ll be bringing his sharp eye for performance and comedy while mentoring Tom Tennant for his fishy rom-com Angling For Love.

Katie Lambert is half of MrMr films and loves a good time. As a writer and director, her interests lie in exploring female trouble and referencing every Lady Gaga music video ever made. With MrMr she has produced award-winning work globally, including that time she tried to sneak onto Usher’s private jet (denied). She’ll be mentoring Naomi Pallas as she dives into a dark corner of the internet in her documentary short How To Sell A Girl.

"I love Homespun!" says Lambert. "What an exciting competition. I am so thrilled to work with Naomi and make something truly excellent."

Each mentor will generously equip each filmmaker with valuable advice throughout the process. The films will be screened at the Curzon, Soho on November 13th.

Homespun co-owner Leo King adds: “We’re really excited to have these three mentors on board for Yarns this year. The competition is all about nurturing bold new voices, and this trio couldn’t be better placed to help our finalists bring their visions to life.”

• More on Yarns: DISINFO here