OUR TEAM
FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Tolu Stedford
Tolu Stedford is an award-winning producer and founder of STORY COMPOUND. She has over 20 years of industry experience and has produced, written and associate director credits encompassing television, film, and stage. As the former CEO of the Independent Film Trust, she has supported and developed BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated talent and projects created by marginalised creatives.
She recently completed her debut documentary, "THE MEDALLION," commissioned by BFI DOC SOCIETY. This compelling documentary has noteworthy official selections and has been acquired by the renowned The NEW YORKER Magazine (Conde Nast Entertainment for worldwide distribution. She also pioneered the Creative Corridor programme sponsored by SONY Entertainment Television, developing international co-pro opportunities for BGM writers from the US and UK.
FILM LONDON has recognised Tolu as a promising industry leader as part of the Breaking Glass Ceiling 23 cohort and has been partnered with JAY HUNT (APPLE TV Creative Director) and EVA YATES (Director of the film). Tolu is also a thought leader in the area of advocacy for better representation and access for underrepresented creatives, a BAFTA Connect member, British Screen Forum's FUTURE LEADER, Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre 'INDUSTRY CHAMPION', Film and TV Charity IPP panel member, RECLAIM the FRAME Advisory board member, KIFF Film Festival jury member, COMIC RELIEF Pop Culture Funding Body Member as well as a member of the ScreenSkills Film Council.
PRODUCER, PROJECT MANAGER
lily usher
Lily Usher is a British award-winning producer. Her debut documentary short film, The Medallion, was supported by the BFI Doc Society: Made of Truth Fund and won Best Documentary Short at San Francisco International Film Festival (2024) and Best International Film by the Student Jury at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (2024). The Medallion has been acquired by The New Yorker and is an Official Selection for Short of the Week, Aesthetica Short Film Festival (2023), DOC NYC (2023), London Short Film Festival (2024), Clermont-Ferrand (2024), True/False Film Fest (2024), Glasgow Short Film Festival (2024), Movies That Matter (2024), SFFILM (2024), Hot Docs (2024), Docaviv (2024) and Leiden Shorts (2024). Lily was announced as one of the 2023 OSBD Film Fund Awardees, an inaugural film fund for emerging filmmakers and was also part of the 2024 Watersprite Hubs Documentary Producer Cohort.
Lily has previously worked at BBC Studios, Channel 5, Lime Pictures, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), and has completed an MA in Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity at Birkbeck, University of London. She has worked in Creative Development at The Independent Film Trust (IFT), where she worked with Tolu, and currently supports production at charitable organisation Media Trust Films.