Filmmakers celebrate wins for drama and craft at industry awards
Filmmakers from Staffordshire University have scooped two industry awards for their work.
The Royal Television Society’s Midlands Student Awards champions the best new talent from universities across the region with this year’s ceremony hosted at the Midlands Arts Centre.
Recent BA (Hons) Film Production graduate Anya Szelewska won the coveted ‘Best Drama’ category for The Birds Nest. The short film offers of a new perspective on the trials and tribulations of family life through a bird’s eye view of their dinner table.
This year’s panel of industry judges included Sir Lenny Henry who described Anya’s film as “very stylish” and “very moving”.
Anya said: “I was completely overwhelmed to have won. It felt so surreal, and I’m just so thankful to everyone who was involved in every stage of the film.
“I wanted it to evoke positive feelings, something that could relate to a vast audience and make people smile. A dining room table holds so much significance to a family and I loved creating a film that highlighted that.”
Staffordshire University had further cause for celebration when a trio of final year students, Oscar Bell, Darcy Wooton-Davis and Cameron Tura, won the ‘Craft Skills – Best Sound’ award. Their film Big Boys Don’t Cry explores body image and mental health.
Oscar, who wrote and directed the film, explained: “We really wanted to push ourselves and focus on a personal topic. We each had shared experiences of mental health and knew this was something we wanted to communicate. Through making the film we came across numerous men with various experiences of struggle that we witnessed, it proved to us that this topic and this film is really important for people to see.”
He added: “It was really surprising to win, we hope that the award encourages people to see the film and gives more exposure to the subject. It was a great day and encouraging to see how inclusive and supportive the industry can be, it makes leaving university less daunting.”
Members of the public have chance to see more films made by Film Production students at this year’s Degree Show. The free exhibition runs from Friday 2 June to Saturday 10 June and showcases the final year work of hundreds of students across Art, Design, Media and Performance courses.
Amy Platts
Media Communications Officer
t: 01782 292702
m: 07799 341911
e: amy.platts@staffs.ac.uk
Staffordshire University’s ambition is to become the UK’s best modern university. An institution with a strong civic mission, it has committed to being a ‘catalyst for change’ for students and businesses, positively impacting wider society and the regional economy.
Staffordshire University was named a Top 5 university in the UK and ranked Top 10 for job prospects in the StudentCrowd University Awards 2022 – based entirely on student reviews. It also ranked Top 10 for Social Inclusion in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
The 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) classed 68% of the University’s research as world leading or internationally excellent and 87% of its ‘research impact’ was judged to be outstanding or very outstanding.
Substantial investment in innovative technologies and teaching environments ensure next generation courses and education are delivered across all three campuses in Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and London.
