Medb
Riordan

about the jury

Medb Riordan is a BAFTA-winning producer of film commercials, and music videos, and serves as Co-Owner and Global Managing Director/Executive Producer of Academy Films.

Starting her career on reception at Academy in 2008, Medb rose through the ranks of production, working alongside some of the most acclaimed directors in advertising, including Jonathan Glazer, Seb Edwards, and Kim Gehrig. She has collaborated with major global brands and artists such as Nike, Alexander McQueen, Playstation, Radiohead, Prada, Balenciaga, and The Rolling Stones. 

In 2018, Medb became Co-Managing Director and Co-Owner of Academy Films, alongside Simon Cooper. As a producer and executive producer, her work has received numerous international accolades, including Cannes Lions, British Arrows, and D&AD Pencils – notably the prestigious Black Pencil. Her work has helped secure Academy’s status as Production Company of the Year multiple times. 

In 2023, Medb produced her first feature film, Earth Mama – the debut of director Savannah Leaf, backed by A24 and Film4. The film premiered at Sundance and was released in theaters across the US and UK to widespread critical acclaim, appearing on several Films of the Year lists. For Earth Mama, Medb was awarded the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer in 2024. 

Early the same year, Academy launched its first office in the US, moving the company into the global market. 

Later in 2024, she produced the widely praised music video for Lisa of BLACKPINK’s single Rockstar, which garnered 250 million YouTube views and earned her a coveted MTV VMA. 

That same year, Medb served as chair of the jury for the Young Director Award at Cannes and also acted as chair of the production jury at CICLOPE in Berlin. 

Most recently, Medb produced her most ambitious project to date – a full 360 campaign for War Child’s Help2 album, featuring major artists including Arctic Monkeys, Damon Albarn and Olivia Rodrigo. Creative directed by Jonathan Glazer, and working with multiple Academy directors, renowned edit and post houses, and an Oscar winning crew, Academy produced an OOH campaign, album artwork, 50+ social videos, visualizers, a music video and a forthcoming longer form documentary directed by Jonathan Glazer. The project has been featured in multiple major news and radio outlets including features in The Guardian, BBC Television, BBC Radio and many others. In one week, it had tens of millions of views, millions of unique accounts reached, and tens of thousands of new followers to the War Child Records account. The project was entirely pro-bono and is actively helping to support children affected by war across the globe. 

Medb currently has multiple feature and long-form projects in development with major financiers.