Budding young filmmakers recognised at 7th Moving Image Awards

 Over 750 students, teachers and parents from schools and colleges across the UK attended our first virtual ceremony to celebrate the success of talented young directors, screenwriters and producers.

The Moving Image Awards, recognises and rewards the UK’s most talented student film-makers and screenwriters, encouraging more young people to consider a career within the film industry.

Every year, students undertaking our qualifications in Film and Media Studies are invited to submit their work for consideration by a panel of judges, for awards including Best Film/TV Extract, Best Screenplay and Best Music Video. This year, we welcomed entries from candidates who completed work but were unable to submit NEA for assessment in 2020 due to Covid19.

Max Roach, from Havering Sixth Form College, Essex, won the award for Best Film/TV Extract and was selected as Overall Winner for his creative entry titled ‘Lift-off’.

His entry focuses on Samuel, who discovers that having a colony in space awakens questions in himself, and his views on innovation and future exploration.

After winning two awards Max said:

“It feels absolutely incredible that the fantastic team that worked on this film is getting recognition for their amazing work, an award is nothing without the team, memories and dedication behind it. Sara Pascoe and Edgar Wright have both been massive inspirations for me and are partly responsible to why I took film in the first place so hearing them bestow the awards to Lift-Off was out of this world. It was also an amazing experience to watch the other brilliant films being screened at the event, but I have to thank Sean Stubbs-Tyler along with the other amazing Film & TV staff at HSFC for not only telling me about the awards but also being brilliant tutors and mentors.”

Commenting on the winning entry was Rebecca Ellis, our Film Studies Subject Officer:

“The judging panel found this entry to be completely imaginative and innovative. An ambitious idea which is carefully crafted and sumptuously executed paying close attention to every aspect of film-making. A well-deserved winner and an inspirational entry for future generations of film-production students.”

Winners
Other awards went to:

• Best Short Film – Antony Popov, from Ashbourne College, London. 
  Inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Memento and the idea of memory loss, ‘Continuum’ follows a teenager who has no recollection of the events leading up to his inevitable accident.

  The judging panel described Antony’s work as well-executed, with an experimental narrative which has the viewer gripped from start to finish. They concluded it was a masterclass in how to build tension.

• Best Music Video – Oliver Freelove, from Myton School, Warwick.

Combining live action filming with animation, this music video for Caravan Palace’s ‘Supersonics’ shows both the fun and frustrating sides of animation.

Our expert judging panel concluded that ‘Supersonics’ demonstrates excellent technical skills in a light-hearted highly creative production piece. The music video ambitiously combines live action and animation with imaginative results.

• Best Screenplay – Scarlett Balaguero from Bilborough College, Nottingham
  This screenplay – ‘The Life Of Death’, sets out to unravel the origin of Death; a humanity within him is unmasked when he meets his next victim, Joy, whose condition forces him to accept his past and determine her fate.

  Scarlett’s screenplay was described as a beautifully structured piece with thoughtful and meaningful dialogue by our judging panel. It offered a superb ending which elevated it into a league of its own.

• 16 and Under – Lola Cronin from Ashlyns School, Herts.
  This short musical film – ‘The Interview’, depicts two teenagers with very different lives getting ready for a job interview through song and dance.

  Discussing why ‘The Interview’ won their category, our judging panel noted that attempting to write and create a musical is a huge undertaking at the best of times, but to try and accomplish this for GCSE production coursework really is something else. Convincingly executed, ‘The Interview’ leaves the viewer wanting to see more.

The winning videos are available to view on our YouTube channel.

Guest speaker

 The ceremony has gained recognition from teachers and lecturers of film and media courses at institutions across the UK, as well as leading figures in the film industry.  This year we had a fantastic line-up of speakers, including Michael Sheen, Edgar Wright, Peter Lord, Jo Whiley, Sara Pascoe, and many more.

Anna Smith (film critic and broadcaster) said,

“I am always so impressed by these student film-makers and was so thrilled to be hosting the online awards ceremony. Huge congratulations to all the film-maker – fantastic work.”

Rebecca Ellis, WJEC Eduqas Film Studies Subject Officer, said:

“’We were delighted to be able to reward student’s this year, despite such difficult circumstances and were thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to showcase the work by such talented young people in our first ever virtual awards ceremony. It has been an absolute privilege to work with our amazing panel of presenters who also recognise what a difficult year this has been for our young people. Huge congratulations to all of our highly commended, shortlisted entrants and winners, and the teachers who have clearly worked so hard to support their creative endeavours.”

Sponsors
We would like to thank our sponsors the British Film Institute, Golley Slater,  Castell Howell Foods, Illuminate Publishing, KK Solutions, and My Company Clothing for their continued support.