At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Founder operating in the Film Distribution space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Efe Cakarel
Founder & CEO of MUBI
Efe Cakarel is a Turkish entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of MUBI, an online film service. Previously, Cakarel worked with Goldman Sachs in London and New York, where he worked on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity investments. Cakarel obtained his bachelor of science in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT in 1998, and his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2005. Cakarel was a contributor to The Huffington Post. He also has two patents involving the monetization of web applications.
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About MUBI: MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor.
Jake Cossington
Founder & CEO of Terrabyte Studios Limited
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About Terrabyte Studios Limited: Terrabyte Studios Limited is a Media Company powering online services.
Catherine Downes
Co-Founder of usheru
Founder at usherU
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About usheru: usheru powers direct ticketing and marketing data insights for film distributors.
Ollie Fegan
Co-Founder of usheru
Founder of usherU
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About usheru: usheru powers direct ticketing and marketing data insights for film distributors.
Maria Tanjala
Co-Founder of Big Couch
Maria is the co-founder of Big Couch, a fintech startup, energising the entertainment industry with a new financial model: Crewfunding. Since 2017, Big Couch has been developing a new product, FilmChain on the blockchain, in partnership with Imperial College London. In 2018, they have been awarded an innovation grant from Innovate UK. Maria has been a prominent figure at film industry events and festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Berlin, Glasgow etc. She produced and associate produced two feature docs and one drama.
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About Big Couch, FilmChain: Big Couch is the ‘crewfunding’ platform that empowers filmmakers, connecting them with crews that invest in projects they believe in.
Sarah Jane Thomson
Co Founder of Discover Film
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About Discover Film: A technology and entertainment platform for short movies. Films can be watched online and via mobile and Smart TV Apps.
Steve Harmston
Founder of Discover Film
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About Discover Film: A technology and entertainment platform for short movies. Films can be watched online and via mobile and Smart TV Apps.
Shamim Sarif
Co-Founder of Enlightenment Productions
British/Canadian writer and director Shamim Sarif is an equally successful novelist (the Pendleton May First Novel Award, Betty Trask Award), screenwriter, and feature film director. Shamim recently completed the film, Despite the Falling Snow, an epic story of love and betrayal in cold war Russia based on her second novel, published by Hodder Headline and St Martins Press to universal acclaim. Shamim’s first feature film ‘I Can’t Think Straight’ won 11 awards and her follow up movie ‘The World Unseen’ had its debut at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival before going on to garner 23 awards internationally, including 11 SAFTAs (South African Film Awards). Shamim’s third film, The House of Tomorrow, was shot on location in Israel and Palestine and had festival debuts in New York and Sarasota in 2012 and won its first award this year in France. An accomplished speaker, Shamim has spoken at TED events including the invitation-only TEDSalon in London, TEDxHolyLand in Jerusalem and TED India, as well as at DLD Women for the past three years. With her partner and producer on her films, Hanan Kattan, Shamim runs Enlightenment Productions, based in London and their Canadian film company, SK Enlightenment Films. Shamim is also a Founder of the Sarif-Kattan Foundation, focused on empowering and educating women and children. Shamim earned her B.A. in English from Royal Holloway at University of London and M.A. in English from Boston University.
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About EBS Digital, Enlightenment Productions: Enlightenment Productions is a multi-media entertainment company.
