A Stellar Year for FE at the Learning on Screen Awards

We’re delighted to announce our full list of 41 nominations on International Women’s Day. Learning on Screen is proud to represent women working in educational film and media production, and this year we couldn’t be happier that over 50% of our nominations are produced or directed by women.

Female voices are taking precedence at the ceremony, both behind the camera and on the screen. Among our nominations are FAY PRESTO: THE QUEEN OF CLOSE-UP, a portrait documentary about legendary magician Fay Presto, who would rather die on stage than quit performing, and THE FEMALE VOICE, a sobering but vital documentary about gender inequality from students at Goldsmiths, University of London.

We’ve also got VOTES FOR WOMEN: THE FIRST MASS PETITION from the UK Parliament, a free online teaching resource that brings the campaign for women’s voting rights to life, and GENDER AND FAIRTRADE from the University of Bath, a beautifully shot and ambitious film telling the stories of female cocoa farmers in Ghana.

It’s been another stellar year of college higher education entries. STARS ON MARS from The Manchester College is a hard-hitting piece of satirical drama in the vein of Black Mirror, and MR PERFECT resurrects the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe, combining a twisted poetic tale with flourishes of Weimar expressionism.

Learning on Screen is once again recognising the important work of the UK’s higher education students. This year our nominations include I AM DYSLEXIC, an animated film from the University of Falmouth expressing what it feels like to have learning difficulties in the UK school system, and LIMPIADORES, a moving account of the struggles faced by cleaning staff around the world.

Among this year’s broadcast nominations is EXODUS: OUR JOURNEY TO EUROPE. Produced by Keo Films with the Open University for BBC2, this urgent documentary shows the first-hand accounts of refugees fleeing war and conflict in the biggest movement of people Europe has seen since the Second World War. And then there’s SECRETS OF THE BRAIN: MEMORY, a fun, interactive programme using remarkable experiments and stunning illusions to reveal the inner workings of the mind.

In-house education productions from the UK’s educational and cultural institutions this year include EVERY COOK CAN GOVERN, a fascinating feature documentary about the Trinidadian born revolutionary C.L.R. James and ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN THE FOOD CHAIN from the University of Nottingham, an enlightening film that was recently included in a FutureLearn MOOC on antibiotic resistance

From exciting new MOOCs to innovative multimedia, and from hard-hitting drama to enlightening documentary, this year’s nominations recognise excellence and innovation in educational media production and celebrate a diverse pool of educational filmmaking talent.

Chair of our Judging Panel, Ian Wall, Managing Director of The Film Space, commented: Once again, the standard of entries for the Learning on Screen awards was outstanding. Coming up with a list of nominees proved to be a challenge for the juries in each category. The entries confirmed the fact that the UK has a diverse and phenomenal wealth of expertise in educational screen production. Student entries showed a new pool of new talent emerging from our film schools and colleges – talent which is not afraid of tackling difficult subjects in a direct and thoughtful way.

All the winners will be announced at our ceremony on 27 April 2017 at the BFI Southbank in London, where award-winning scientist and broadcaster Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock will be our guest speaker.