The Grain family is made up of a wide network of filmmakers from all over the world. The relationships we’ve built and maintained over the last decade reflect the value we place on nurturing a supportive and kind, as well as creative and inspiring, workplace. We believe Grain is a safe space for people to flourish, and we work hard to ensure that our team feels able to express and accommodate their beyond-workplace needs and responsibilities.
The Team

Grain is committed to making our industry more representative and inclusive, and to amplifying diverse voices and stories. We try hard to ensure our productions represent the diversity of the UK, but we acknowledge that we need to do more. Our team is also cultivating industry pathways, educational opportunities and mentorships within our sector. We champion and support action-focused initiatives - such as mentorship and work placement schemes with ELAM college in East London, the Grierson Trust's DocLab and BAFTA.


We ensure all of our productions follow the BFI’s diversity standard and have signed up to We Are Doc Women’s 50:50 pledge, so that at least 50% of our productions are directed by women. And we increasingly ensure our productions are Albert (https://wearealbert.org/) certified for sustainable best practice.


Our core staff have decades of wide-ranging experience across the industry - winning awards, creating positive social impact and reaching audiences across the globe.

Alex Spence

Post Production Supervisor

Alex is responsible for the day-to-day running of Grain’s in-house edit suites and post facilities. Since joining the company in 2018 he has overseen the delivery of branded content, prime-time documentary series, premium feature films, and shorts for the BBC, Netflix, You Tube, Nat Geo, and MSNBC, as well as delivering projects to many of the world’s largest film festivals. Achievements include wrangling data from over 15 different countries during the lockdown for the Netflix Original, CONVERGENCE: COURAGE IN A CRISIS; and delivering numerous award-winning films.

Bangaly Kamara

Finance Assistant

Bangaly provides essential accounting support for the company's financial transactions, overseeing the bookkeeping function and supporting the production team in their cost management procedures. He has a wealth of professional accounting experience from over a decade working in the financial services industry, underpinned by his part-qualified ACCA status and a BA in Accounting and Finance.

Chloe Leland

Creative Director

Chloe is Creative Director across Grain Media and Grace Labs (Grain’s social purpose development hub). She is a BAFTA, Emmy and RTS-winning Executive Producer, with over 20 years of experience in creating internationally-renowned series, prime-time singles and premium theatrical documentaries in the scripted and non-scripted space. She has previously served as Creative Director at Nutopia and Head of Development at Impossible Pictures. Notable projects include BUY NOW! THE SHOPPING CONSPIRACY, FROM DEVIL’S BREATH, ONE STRANGE ROCK (Disney), BABIES (Netflix), AMERICA - STORY OF US (A&E), BARBARIANS RISING (A&E) and WALKING WITH MONSTERS (BBC/Discovery).

Harri Grace

Executive Producer

Harri is a multi award-winning producer who specialises in telling human stories in challenging environments. Recent credits include: LOST AND FOUND for Nat Geo, which was nominated for two Emmys and a Grierson Award, and won the Audience Award at AFI Fest; FROM DEVIL'S BREATH, co-produced with Leonardo DiCaprio for MSNBC. He is also a Foreign Press Association award-winning director of series such as EARTHRISE and THE CURE for Al Jazeera. His latest project, THE WALK, directed by Tamara Kotevska, premiered at DocNYC, and is due for release in late 2024

Joe Fowler

Head of Development

In his role as Head of Development, Joe oversees the development of all of Grain’s output.Prior to working at Grain, he held Head of Development roles at Samphire Films and Expectation TV. His development credits include Murder 24/7 (BBC), The Essex Murders (Sky Documentaries), Miriam: Death of a Reality Star (Channel 4), Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls (BBC) and two forthcoming boxset series, one for Sky Documentaries and one for Channel 4. His production credits include the Emmy Award-winning Educating Yorkshire (Channel 4), Reported Missing (BBC), First Dates (Channel 4) and Epidemic: When Britain Fought AIDS (Channel 4).


Katharine Fish

Development executive

Before joining the team at Grain, Katharine was a Development Executive at HiddenLight Productions, and previously worked in the development teams at Five Mile Films, Sundog Pictures, and Double Act TV. Her credits include Move Ya Body: The Birth of House (premiered at Sundance), Zurawski v. Texas (premiered at Telluride), The Cranes Call, (premiered at Tribeca), The Kursk: 10 Days that Shaped Putin (Sky), What’s the Matter with Tony Slattery (BBC Two), The Surrogates (BBC Three), and Teachers Training to Kill (Channel 4) – as well as two upcoming projects for US streamers and a new series set to premiere on BBC Two in late 2025.

Orlando von Einsiedel

Founder

Orlando is an Academy Award-winning director and the founder of Grain Media. His work includes Academy Award-winning short documentary THE WHITE HELMETS; Academy Award-nominated feature documentary VIRUNGA; British Independent Film Award-winning feature documentary EVELYN; Academy Award-winning LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WAR ZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL), which he executive produced; EMMY nominated LOST AND FOUND for National Geographic, EMMY nominated CONVERGENCE: COURAGE IN A CRISIS for Netflix, critically acclaimed series HEART OF INVICTUS, Netflix smash hit THE LOST CHILDREN and forthcoming feature documentary THE CYCLE OF LOVE.

Paula Comley

Group Finance Director

Paula is the Group Finance Director at Grain Media, combining commercial acumen with creative sensibilities that guide the company’s financial activities and facilitate its current work, as well as its vision for the future. Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant over 20 years ago and spending much of her early career in public practice, she also held the position of Head of Practice at ICAEW, and provided internal audit services to the European Medicines Agency. Her remit includes oversight of Business Affairs and HR, along with steering the development and implementation of company strategy for day to day operations, future growth and continued sustainability.

Ruby Blake

Post-Production Assistant

Ruby joined Grain in October 2022 after graduating from MetFilm School with an MA in Post Production. She supports the editors and post production team across all of Grain’s various projects.

Amanda Appleton

Head of HR & Facilities

Amanda brings over a decade of diverse HR and facilities management experience from the banking, tech and construction industries, specialising in organisational effectiveness and employee engagement. In her role at Grain, she is responsible for the full management of HR, while also ensuring our workplace is safe, compliant, and aligned with the needs of our growing business. Amanda is an Associate Member of the CIPD.