Ekaterina (Katya) Ochagavia (Tyson's 2004), is a filmmaker specialising in international news, the environment and human rights and is an executive producer for the Guardian. She was the Executive Producer on the documentary The Black Cop on Sunday 13 March she was at the BAFTAs to see it win Best British Short (a category of both fiction and factual combined).
The first Guardian film to win a Bafta award, The Black Cop is about Gamal ‘G’ Turawa, the first openly gay black Metropolitan police officer who explores his experiences of homophobia and racial harassment in his early career. Turawa’s story is a multi-layered one and sits in the centre of three pivotal moments in recent British history, from the black communities’ resistance of oppressive policing, to the push for LGBTQIA equality and the aftermath of the west African 'farming' phenomenon, where white families took care of black children outside the remit of local authorities. It was directed by Cherish Oteka and produced by Emma Cooper.
Katya explains that her love for filmmaking took off when she entered and won an inter-house creativity competition with a film about 'urban life', and it continued on in her media studies AS level. After Alleyn’s, Katya studied a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Media Studies and Spanish at the University of Sussex, specializing in documentary-making.
As well as her work in the field, which has taken her as far as North Korea no less, she teaches at Goldsmiths, does mentoring via the BFI and says she really enjoys connecting with young people and trying to get them buzzing about documentaries.
You can watch the documentary in full here
You can follow Ekaterina’s Instagram @katyaochagavia and watch her BAFTA award-winning moment below:
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Last updated on 10 03 2025 at 09:06
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