Sheila Ruiz is Deputy Director at the Royal African Society, having formerly been Head of Programmes, Partnerships and Operations and Events Programme Manager. In her current role, Sheila is responsible for implementing the strategic plan, managing the team and overseeing the different projects and programmes. Sheila also acts as the cultural head for the organisation, leading on the biennial Film Africa and Africa Writes festivals.
Prior to joining the RAS in September 2011, Sheila was the Communications and Programming Consultant for the Africa Centre and previously worked as a freelance events producer for various arts projects in London. Sheila holds an MA in African Studies from SOAS - University of London, and a BA in History from UCL. She is of Spanish and Equato-Guinean heritage and is bilingual in Spanish and English. With a passion for dance and music, Sheila has performed with a number of groups, including the London Lucumi Choir.
Sarah Wechselberger is a freelance producer and curator with experience in film, literature and visual arts.
With a degree in African Studies from the University of Vienna and Humboldt University of Berlin, Sarah has worked with leading festivals and cultural institutions across Africa, Europe and the United States.
Instagram: @spinocchi
Facebook: Sarah Spinocchi
Nyambura M. Waruingi has the privilege to create, curate, and collaborate across various artistic expressions, encountering unique ways to imagine new worlds. She is a cultural activist, producer and disruptor with a 20-year career in film, television, theatre, and visual arts. She has worked with award-winning production companies, renowned public cultural institutions, and innovative film and visual arts collectives in Canada, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, USA, India, and Uganda. She has been a jury at Mashariki African Film Festival 2019 (Rwanda), Artistic Director and Curator of NOMA!: An XR Experience (Kenya), as well as Curator and Producer for the European Film Festival 2018 & 2019 (Kenya) and No Direct Flight (UK/Kenya/USA), among others.
Instagram: @akoiaco
Facebook: Akoia & Company
Katarina Hedrén is a Swedish film-programmer and film critic/writer of Ethiopian origin based in South Africa. She is the co-curator of the First Wednesday Film Club - one of South Africa’s longest running film screening events, the former chairperson of CinemAfrica film festival in Stockholm as well as a former director and curator of the European Film Festival in South Africa. Katarina is a resident film-critic for the Johannesburg radio-station, 702. She is a published film-writer for platforms, incl. BBC Culture, the Swedish periodical FLM and the pan-African platform, Africa is a Country. She is a contributor to the anthology Gaze Regimes – Films and Feminisms in Africa (Mistry & Schuhmann, Wits University Press, 2015). Katarina also contributes as a consultant and adviser for film festivals and film-related initiatives across the world, incl. as advisory board member for the ERC-funded research-project, African Screen Worlds: Decolonising Film and Screen Studies, and the Goethe-Institut funded online platform for African film-professionals, cinidb.africa. For her contribution to the South African film landscape, Katarina was named in South African weekly Mail & Guardian’s 2019 list, Women Changing South Africa.
Aseye Tamakloe holds a BFA in Film and Television Editing, from the National Film and Television Institute, Ghana and an MPhil in African Studies from the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. Besides working as a freelance editor for film and television, she is also a lecturer at the National film and Television Institute. She has also been a resource person at significant scholarly and technical forums both in Africa and in Europe. As a freelance editor, her works include, award winning films like, “Perfect Picture” (2009) by Shirley Frimpong –Manso, “Chronicles of Odumkrom; The Headmaster” (2014) by Ernest Kofi Abbeyquaye. She was also assistant editor for the films “Who is Afraid of Ngugi” (2006) by Manthia Diawara and “Freetown” (2015) by Garret Barty. Aseye Tamakloe is currently producer/ director for the documentary film “ARCHIVES OF ACTIVISM” under the project, GENDER AND PUBLIC HISTORY IN POSTCOLONIAL GHANA” and also producer of the documentary film “ STANDARDS OF MIGRATION” with Generation Africa. She was the Festival Programmer and Co-Organizer, of the maiden edition of the European Film Festival, Ghana. (EUFFGH) Aseye Tamakloe is a recipient of the Andrew Mellon Scholarship and a PhD candidate at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. She is the founder and festival director of NDIVA WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL. A festival that aims to create artistic platforms for the presentation and preservation of work by, for and about women.
Instagram: aseyetamakloe
Twitter: @tamakloeaseye
Facebook: Aseye Tamakloe
Beth O’Connor is a marketing and pr specialist with experience working around the world in Australia, the UK and sub-Saharan Africa. She has overseen the marketing and pr for a number of London venues including Rich Mix, the Design Museum and Bishopsgate Institute as well as Malawi’s international Lake of Stars Festival. Recently Beth has combined working in South Africa and Kenya with studying, publishing her Masters research on live music audiences in Johannesburg in 2016 and is currently exploring Nairobi creative collectives for her PHD. Twitter @bethoconnor3
Nouria Bah is the Marketing & Communications Consultant at RAS and Marketing Coordinator for Film Africa. She has previously worked in marketing, communications and fundraising in various charities focused on theatre, music and business in Africa. Nouria holds an BA in Anthropology and Music from Washington College and an MA in Anthropology of Media at SOAS, University of London.
Anthony Lee is an arts marketer, content creator and website manager and is supporting the Film Africa marketing team. His current role as Digital Manager at the Young Vic is focused around digital projects, channel engagement and content production. Anthony has previously worked in marketing teams at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and Royal Shakespeare Company; developing strategies to build on brand and the engaging of new and existing audiences.
Twitter: @ant_lee
Instagram: @i_umloda