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‘Astronaut’ Team

Chi Thai (Producer and Project Lead) Katie Boyles (Writer), Toby Midol (Executive Producer), Cathy McNicol (Executive Producer) Professor Paul Crawford (Researcher)

Chi Thai is an independent filmmaker & producer who works across features, documentary, animation & immersive. She has been a Cannes Lions finalist three times and is a BFI Vision awarded producer. Her recent credits include, The Promise, an adaptation New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year by Nicola Davies & Laura Carlin, If, RTS nominated VR feature film commissioned by Google & Netflix Original, Little Miss Sumo. Her current roster includes a television adaptation of the Caldecott winning picture book Me… Jane by Patrick McDonnell with five-time Academy nominated animation studio, Cartoon Saloon (Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea); feature adaptation of Dark Chapter, winner of the Not Booker Prize [2017] by Winnie M Li and television adaptation of Carnegie Medal nominated sci-fi novel, The Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen. She is currently in post production with Paris Zarcilla’s directorial debut feature, Raging Grace for AMC Networks.

Katie Boyles - Writer

Katie’s short film Augustina was funded by Film London in association with the BFI Network and Creative Skillset. Augustina receivedan industry screening at the BFI and screened at the London Short Film Festival and Short Waves Festival whilst also making the 68th BAFTA longlist for Best Short. Katie was part of the BAFTA International New Talent Network with TV drama series Lastlight, which was nominated for the BAFTA Rocliffe TV Drama Forum List. Katie’s feature film Pyro was awarded development funding via Creative England and Film London. Katie wrote on If, the RTS nominated VR feature directed by Dee Harvey and produced by Chi Thai.. Katie ispart of BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew.

Professor Paul Crawford - Researcher

Professor Paul Crawford is a leading figure in medical and health humanities globally and directs the Centre for Social Futures at the Institute of Mental Health, The University of Nottingham, UK. He has contributed to policy development in mental health and humancare (including mutual recovery of carer health) in the UK, advising senior politicians on the importance of the arts and humanities in achieving creative public health. His work has attracted multiple awards, not least Fellowships of the Royal Society of Arts, Academy ofSocial Sciences and Royal Society for Public Health. He has held more than £7m in prestigious research funding and recently led the highly successful What’s Up With Everyone film-based campaign with Academy-award winning Aardman Animations (Shaun the Sheep,Wallace & Gromit) to advance mental health literacy among young people. This reached over 18m people within the first 4 months oflaunch and won Best Social Media and Content at the 2021 Design Week Awards. Professor Crawford has written over 140 publications, including 14 books, most recently Cabin Fever: Surviving Lockdown in the Coronavirus Pandemic (2021), Florence Nightingale at Home (2020) [longlisted for the B.S. Hughes prize] and The Routledge Companion to Health Humanities (2020). His latest book, Mental Health Literacy and Young People is forthcoming in 2022.

Toby Mildon - Executive Producer

Toby Mildon is a Diversity & Inclusion Architect and founder of Mildon, a consultancy and advisory business. Toby works with businesses to re-engineer processes and systems to minimise the impact of bias and build a culture of inclusion. Prior to setting up his business, Toby worked as an in-house diversity and inclusion manager at the BBC and Deloitte. He was born with a genetic condition calledSpinal Muscular Atrophy.

Cathy McNicol - Executive Producer

Cathy McNicol was born with a genetic condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She has a degree in Audio & Music Technology andMathematics; and obtained her PGCE in Secondary Mathematics in Durham, which she says is the least wheelchair friendly city inEngland! After teaching for 8 years, she works as an engagement officer for an organisation that works with people with neuromuscular conditions. She also plays and coaches power chair football and was the founding member of her club. She currently lives inMiddlesbrough with her partner, their two grown-up kids & three cats.

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