Channel 4 appoints Catherine Bray as Editor, Random Acts

13 February 2017

Channel 4 has appointed Catherine Bray as the new editor of Random Acts, their short-form arts strand. 

This follows the departure earlier this year of Pegah Farahmand who has taken up a new role at Maker Studios. 

Catherine Bray is an award-winning producer, writer and broadcaster. Her shorts and feature films have screened at Sundance, SXSW and the BFI London Film Festival, and she has written/broadcast for Variety, Sight & Sound, BBC1 and Radio 4. Prior to her new role she managed digital for Film4 online for seven years. She was formerly a commissioner for Channel 4's 4Talent networks.

 Catherine Bray: "Channel 4's Random Acts is the only arts strand of its kind, giving artists and filmmakers of every discipline and background a major platform to showcase their originality, wit, ambition and creativity, and I'm very excited to become part of that."

John Hay, Head of Specialist Factual: “Catherine has arrived in a blaze of energy and brilliant new ideas and looks set to build on Pegah’s excellent work establishing the strand over the last couple of years.  I’m thinking of retiring.”

In her new position she will commission new Random Act short films, work with Arts Council England’s Random Acts Network Centres on shorts from new and emerging talent, oversee the strand’s online and television platforms, and seek new partnerships and opportunities to expand Random Acts still further.  She will work to John Hay, the channel’s Commissioning Editor for Arts.

Little Dot Studios will produce the new series of Random Acts which will air on the channel in the spring.

This will be the third series in the new supercharged Random Acts strand, following a new partnership with Arts Council England which is investing £3m over 3 years and creating a series of Random Acts Network Centres across the country.  Each is charged with finding, training and developing 16-24-year-old creatives and giving them the chance to make films for the strand.

The inaugural Playback Festival: in association with Random Acts will take place at the ICA from 9-12 March, showcasing the work of these young filmmakers. This will be followed by a national tour and screenings across the England. More information can be found here.

Notes to Editors

Little Dot Studios is one of the fastest growing next generation media companies in the world. Managing YouTube channels and social video for over 100 global TV brands, they work with 95 independent production companies and broadcasters such as Channel 4, ITV and Discovery, generating 2 billion video views each month on social platforms. ​Little Dot Studios is also a major producer of original, digital-led video, working closely with filmmakers and influencers to develop and create content for broadcasters, platforms and brands including Samsung, Pepsi, Honda and Porsche.