Judges
Check out our celebrity line up of judges! Click on their name for more information.
Guillem Balagué, Sky Sports
John Bateman, UK Youth
Marie Bonnel, Institut Français
Roland Goll, Goethe Institut
Derek Malcolm, film critic
Jon Angelo Molinari, Filmmaker
Sir Trevor McDonald, Journalist and broadcaster
Eddie Izzard, Actor and comedian
Professor Mike Kelly
Dr Lid King
Janine Marmot, Skillset
Mick Webb, BBC Languages
'The fact is that if you want an international career you have to be able to communicate with people across the world. Speaking another language helps you cross frontiers you didn’t even know existed, taking your career to the next level.
'I’m proud to support the LAFTAs; they’re fun, they’re creative and they get more young people to see the opportunities languages provide.'
Guillem Balagué is a commentator for Sky Sports. He is an expert in Spanish football and commentates in Spanish and English. A respected international journalist, Guillem also writes football commentary for The Observer, The Times and prestigious Spanish papers. You can read his column on the Sky Sports website.
“The ability to communicate is one of the greatest skills that we possess, but if we can only do so via one language we are depriving ourselves of so many important experiences. Whether travelling abroad, socialising in diverse community groups or enjoying the breadth and diversity of different cultures the ability to communicate in different languages is a skill that will deliver a lifetime of benefit”.
John Bateman OBE is Chief Executive of UK Youth, an organisation which promotes non-formal education programmes for young people - working with them to develop their potential.
The UK Youth network supports more than 750,000 young people, 7000 youth groups, clubs and projects and more than 40,000 volunteer and part-time youth workers throughout the UK.
It works to make a lasting impact by encouraging young people to take responsibility and become involved citizens. It gives a voice to people who are too rarely heard and builds skills that will remain useful throughout their lives.
Marie Bonnel, Institut Français
'Cultural diversity is central to our work at the French Institute. Knowledge of different languages is very important as it allows us to express different identities and promotes artistic inspiration.
The Cine Lumiere at the French institute belongs to Europa Cinema and our program includes not only French films but also European and world cinema. We support the LAFTAs because of the excellent opportunity they offer to promote and encourage language exchange.'
Marie Bonnel is Deputy Director of the Institut Français in London where she is responsible for Film and Audiovisual matters.
'This competition gets young people inspiring each other to take up other languages and thinking about the financial, cultural and benefits they provide. We are more than proud to support the LAFTAs.'
Roland Goll is the Director of the Goethe Institut in London, which works to promote awareness and engagement in German culture in Britain. He also spent six years at the Goethe Institut in Australia where he helped to pioneer a German film festival and visual art exhibitions. To find out more about the Goethe Institut visit their website.
Derek Malcolm was film critic for The Guardian for many years and now contributes to the Evening Standard as well as being President of the British Federation of Film Societies.
'I think the LAFTAs are a hilarious way to get young people into making films and learning languages. Because there are no restrictions on entry, you can be as creative and original as you want. It’s also a great way of getting your work recognised by bigwigs - I’d enter myself if I wasn’t past the age limit!'
Jon Angelo Molinari is a young filmmaker from North London. Having been awarded a NESTA grant to further his filmmaking talent, he has made a variety of documentaries on youth culture and helped produce music videos. His famous 'dinner party on the tube' film clip has received national media coverage. He is currently studying film and sociology at Leeds University. You can watch some of his work on YouTube.
'I think learning a foreign language brings to anyone who learns it an appreciation of another culture. It brings an understanding of what makes those people the way they are. Stick with it, it’s never easy at first but it gives immense rewards years later.'
Sir Trevor is a world-renowned journalist and broadcaster, and has received more awards for his work than any other news broadcaster in Britain. Born in Trinidad, he was the UK’s first black news anchor and was knighted in 1999 for his work. Sir Trevor presented ITV’s News at Ten for many years and was also the Diplomatic Editor for Channel Four News.
He has interviewed major world figures such as Bill Clinton and former Iraq president Saddam Hussein and now hosts his own show, 'Tonight with Trevor McDonald'. Sir Trevor also fronted the Nuffield Inquiry into languages, which warned that government education policy was failing to teach pupils necessary language skills. He remains Patron of CILT, the National Centre for Languages.
'Being able to speak another language has really helped my career – it’s great to be able to perform to French and British audiences and it’s made my shows more dynamic and exciting. I think more young people should get into languages; they’re fun, creative and you can use them to say whatever you want be it going for a job interview or swearing like a true national.'
Eddie Izzard is an internationally renowned cross dressing comedian. Mr Izzard has performed across the world, his linguistic skills allowing him to deliver stand up shows in French as well as English. He has also starred in film and television shows including The Riches and Velvet Goldmine. Izzard picked up two Emmy Awards in 2000 for performance and writing and was listed as number 3 in Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Comedians.
‘We are working together to bring language learning to young people and inspire them to engage with today’s globalised world. These are exciting times to be learning languages and we believe there will be great benefits for the career options of our young people.'
Professor Kelly is a specialist in modern French culture and society, head of the School of Humanities at Southampton University, and Director of the UK Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. He is also Director of a major new programme, Routes into Languages, which aims to increase the take up of modern languages in secondary and higher education.
Professor Kelly is a member of the government’s Implementation Group for the National Languages Strategy in Higher Education and was a prime mover in the Nuffield Languages Inquiry, which helped put languages on the UK’s public agenda.
‘English is not enough in this ever-smaller world. Languages are for all and for life.’
Lid King is the National Director for Languages within the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Before entering the Department, Dr King was Director of CILT, the National Centre of Languages, where he spent eleven years developing the work of the organisation and spearheading a wide range of language initiatives.
‘My advice is learn a language - it might just give you the career break you want. I studied French at university and decided, like thousands of others, that I’d like to work in film…My real break came when I applied to work on a series about world cinema for Channel 4. Competition was stiff and I was given the job because much of the work was in France and Africa and I spoke some French. Travel and Film – how cool is that?’
Janine Marmot is a film producer and Director of Film at Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the AudioVisual industries, responsible for the UK Film Skills Strategy, a £50m training and skills initiative involving Skillset and the UK Film Council
She has been producing award-winning films for fifteen years, working with many directors including Chantal Akerman, Brothers Quay, Simon Pummell and Nichola Bruce. Her films have won awards around the world including a BAFTA and BIFA for Bodysong (2002) with a soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
'I've found that being able to communicate in other languages is not just a great addition to the CV but
improves your holidays, leads to all kinds of friendships and above all provides no end of entertainment.'
Mick Webb runs the BBC Languages website. After studying Spanish and French at Southampton University
he had a brief spell as an teacher of English in Venezuela and a briefer spell as a French teacher in Birmingham. He then joined the BBC where he has been for many years as a producer of factual programmes and language learning resources.