Platform13 founder Leila Fataar was invited to discuss the important subject of creating a space for representation in media at the BuzzFeed UK HQ with ColorComm.


DE&I

Industry

New ways of working 

Cultural

Talks

ColorComm talk

Long time fam friend, [Paul Ruffles](https://www.instagram.com/pruffs/) (also known as Ruffs) is a trusted and recognised expert in global Sports/Street retail, business and culture.
___
Starting from the shop floor at JD Sports he has a 25-year, proven track record of celebrating, creating, and delivering impact for brands, their products, and their stories. He passionately feeds off and thrives on the purpose and credibility of the work and whom the work is with.
__
He is committed and empathetic to people’s thoughts and needs, and has a clear understanding of how other influences such as music and art inform other cultures and working with those to excite the market - people like Jon Burgerman, Dave White, and more recently Nicole Mclaughlin - honed over 10 years as MD of Size? and Footpatrol, various campaigns with brands such as Reebok and currently new brand directions for Merrell with the launch of Merrell 1TRL.

p13inside track paul intro

Paul Ruffles

[Coralie Rose](https://www.instagram.com/coralie_blamo_rose/) is a casting director with over 12 years experience in music videos, short films, branded content and commercials for global brands including adidas, Facebook, Rimmel London, Heineken, Unilever, Volvo, Apple, Google and H&M.
_____
An early pioneer of street casting, she is renowned for her ability to find the freshest faces to deliver on the most challenging of briefs – and was one of the first casting directors to actively promote diversity in her work.
_____
In 2013, Coralie founded [Road Casting](https://www.instagram.com/roadcasting/), specializing in street casting, with particular focus on celebrating underrepresented people in advertising and film. She was delighted to receive the Entrepreneur of Excellence Award at the 2017 UK National Diversity Awards, honouring the achievements of those committed to diversity, equality and inclusion. On top of that, Coralie was selected as a mentee for the 2019 Women in Film & Television UK Mentoring scheme.

p13insidetrack coralie intro

Coralie Rose

Multi-national [Serena Guen](https://www.instagram.com/serenaguen/) founded the award-winning SUITCASE magazine remotely while in her third year at New York University.
____
Her accolades include being named as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017, 25 under 25 most influential Londoners by The Evening Standard, winning a Women of the Future award for media and Natwest's Entrepreneurs of the Year Award.
____
She is also one of the co-founders of the #CookForSyria movement and cookbooks which generated global awareness for the Syrian crisis and raised over £1m for Unicef.



p13insidetrack serena guen intro 

Serena Guen

[Akinola Davies Jr.](https://www.instagram.com/akinoladaviesjr/) is an award winning filmmaker, writer & video artist. Some might know him from working with Blood Orange, Tim & Barry, Kenzo, or from his documentary for Carhartt WIP which follows the footsteps of Fela Kuti, Nigeria’s most political musical icon, amongst other things.
_____
His work is situated between West Africa and the UK as he identifies as a member of the global diaspora who is situated within the margins of being part of both worlds. Akin tries to delicately navigate the collision of both colonial and imperial tradition and whilst advocating a return to indigenous narratives.
_____
He explores themes of community, race, spirituality, identity and gender, telling the stories that bridge the gap between traditional and millennial communities. These themes come with a duality: that of necessity and urgency in regards to the medium of storytelling.
____
There is a large emphasise on a necessity for clear intention in concepts and a willingness to experiment with form: the preparation and meticulous research for his films assume a central role and are critical to his image manufacturing. He draws from aspects of collective, individual memory and lived experience.