British Egyptian actor Amir El-Masry has been appointed president of the jury for the Sutherland Award at the 70th BFI London Film Festival, scheduled to take place from October 7 to 18. The Sutherland Award recognizes the best first feature film in the festival’s official First Feature Competition.

El-Masry will be joined on the jury by Filipino film producer Alembreg Ang and film sales and distribution executive Rosa Bosch. Their collective role will be to evaluate the work of emerging filmmakers competing for the prestigious award.

El-Masry, who has garnered critical acclaim for his acting, notably won a Scottish BAFTA for his role in the film "Limbo" and was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit in 2020. His recent projects include the second season of the television series “The Agency,” available on Paramount+, where he stars alongside Michael Fassbender, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jeffrey Wright, and Richard Gere.

The actor has also joined the cast of the Apple TV+ series “Metropolis,” an adaptation of Philip Kerr’s "Berlin Noir" novels, featuring Colin Firth. In addition, he is currently filming "El Safaah," a project written by Engy Abou El-Saoud and directed by Hadiy El-Bagoury.

El-Masry’s recent film “The Stories” is currently in cinemas. The film notably won the Golden Tanit for Best Film at the Carthage Film Festival and was screened in competition at the Red Sea International Film Festival. It has also been selected as Egypt’s submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2027 Academy Awards.

Further expanding his portfolio, El-Masry stars opposite Pierce Brosnan in “Giant,” a film inspired by the life of British Yemeni boxer Prince Naseem Hamed. “Giant” premiered at the fifth Red Sea International Film Festival, adding to El-Masry’s growing presence in significant international film circles.