Image (Left-Right): Luke Purdye, Natasha Busjeet, Anna Tomlinson, Holly Bootman, Eden Taylor, Emma Hinnells, Daria Nikiforova, Ava Majumdar
We are thrilled to announce the cohort for this year’s edition of Amplify: Production Talent. Supported by BBC and Channel 4, the initiative offers early-career production professionals the opportunity to connect with UK production company executives in the documentary TV sector, experience an international marketplace, widen their network, and learn more about the industry.
Meet the cohort:
Luke Purdye
A 2024 graduate and BBC Scholar at NFTS, Luke is a London-based shooting researcher and emerging documentary director. Almost a decade working in environmental roles before coming to film shaped his work, which lives at the intersection of people and place, in its economy and ecology and the surreal in the everyday. Luke’s latest film, Mail Order Queens—a deep dive into our broken relationship with the honey bee through the lens of the absurd yet shadowy global beekeeping industry—was a Student Academy Award finalist and Grierson nominee. Full of ideas and always up for a chat—he’s here at Sheffield to connect and collaborate. wwww.lukepurdye.com @lukepurdye
Natasha Busjeet
Natasha is a Shooting Researcher, Field Director, and Dive Supervisor with a degree in Marine Biology and a passion for telling powerful natural history stories. She combines scientific knowledge with creative and logistical expertise to deliver impactful documentaries from some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments. Natasha has worked on high-end productions for broadcasters including National Geographic and Sky Nature, with credits on Sentient, Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory, and Wild Side of the Moon. Her experience spans researching and shooting in the field, directing character-led sequences, and supervising complex underwater operations—often serving as the sole production lead on location. She is equally adept behind the camera, in planning logistics, and managing safety protocols. Committed to ethical wildlife filmmaking, Natasha uses her skills to spotlight marine life and conservation issues, bringing a grounded, visually rich approach to every story she helps tell.
Anna Tomlinson
Anna has a background in languages and translation, which has led to a diverse career across multiple countries. She started in unscripted TV in Ireland in 2022, before moving to New Zealand and working in production with Warner Bros. After returning to the UK, she continues to work in unscripted TV in Bristol. Anna has experience across children's TV, reality and factual entertainment, and is now focused on transitioning into a researcher role within documentary.
Holly Bootman
Holly is currently a Production Runner at AMOS Pictures in London, where she recently earned her first broadcast credit on Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson. With a foundation in post-production, she is now building her on-set experience - camera assisting and sound operating for AMOS’s current productions, including the upcoming film Superbug.
She has directed and edited short films exploring themes of community, class, and human connection, from grassroots cooperatives to intimate portraits of sisterhood.
Holly studied International Social Policy and Economics at LSE before receiving a scholarship to pursue an MA in Documentary Film at UAL. Her work is grounded in a belief that documentary can connect personal stories to wider systems, particularly around community, class, and the forces that shape everyday life. She hopes to develop into a self-shooting producer-director, driven by curiosity, collaboration, and a commitment to telling nuanced, socially engaged stories.
Eden Taylor
Eden is a Scottish Assistant Editor in the TV industry with a strong passion for storytelling. Her goal is to become an offline editor in high-end television. She loves shaping narrative in the edit—finding standout moments that grab attention and ensuring everything flows naturally with emotional impact.
With a background in unscripted & short-form content, she has developed a solid foundation in both the creative & technical sides of post-production. She spent three years running an MCR, giving her hands-on experience with the full post workflow and the value of efficiency & collaboration.
She is keen to explore new formats—including scripted, documentary, and hybrid genres—to expand her editing skills and connect with creative teams across the UK. She is always learning, always improving, and eager to take on projects that pushes her to grow as both an editor and a storyteller.
Emma Hinnells
Emma currently works in documentaries as a Production Assistant. She has primarily been working across a slate of documentaries at Keo Films, including Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem for BBC, Mystery of the Bitcoin Billionaire for Channel 4 and Once Upon a Time in Space for BBC.
She has experience across shoot production (local and international), post production, archive research and clearances. Emma also previously worked in production accounting for 3 years before moving across to production.
She recently graduated from the National Film and Television School, where she was a Sargent-Disc scholar, studying Production Management. Whilst at NFTS Emma worked on 13 productions including documentaries, science and natural history films, animation, commercials and fiction. Emma was awarded the IOSH Safety Award for her graduation documentary film A Good Question, and a documentary she PM'ed In The Wake of Remembering has been selected for Sheffield DocFest 2025.
Daria Nikiforova
Daria started out as a runner and has since worked across a wide range of documentary projects, including true crime, history, and films documenting war. Her most recent credit is as Assistant Producer on a history series.
She is drawn to human stories that focus on overlooked voices and experiences - often involving complex or challenging subject matter - and is very aware of the responsibility that comes with telling them.
Ava Majumdar
Ava is a shooting producer director and documentary filmmaker. As a queer British-Indian woman, she is drawn to stories that explore themes of community, belonging, and the human condition and amplify marginalised both in front of and behind the camera. She works professionally at a social enterprise film production company making short-form video content for artists, charities and cultural institutions while training underrepresented young people to diversify the film industry.
Through work with organisations like Four Corners and the Bishopsgate Institute, that document radical histories, her interest in recontextualising archive has grown. Her films often remix historical material to create fresh narratives; bridging the gap between the past to expand our understanding of the present.
She is committed to becoming a more skilled producer by working on more challenging stories, improving her technical abilities and, through personal projects, developing a distinctive creative style.
Amplify: Production Talent is supported by BBC and Channel 4
