Students’ talent recognised by local and national film competitions

Current and former students from the University of Portsmouth's BA (Hons) Film Production course have been recognised for their exceptional talents by local and national film competitions.

Two students were recently celebrated at the prestigious Wave Makers Talent Development Day, part of the Making Waves Film Festival annual season. This event, hosted at the iconic No6 Cinema within the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, spotlighted the burgeoning film talent across the South West.

This year’s event, sponsored by Millstream Productions and supported by BFI NETWORK and FILM ACADEMY, served as a crucial platform for students, professionals, and film enthusiasts.

The standout short film, ‘Daylight’, directed by current students Alfie Sadler and produced by Ben Steed, clinched the Judges' Award. This compelling narrative, which humorously explores a student's frantic race against Daylight Savings Time, demonstrated the students' innovative storytelling and technical finesse, attributes cultivated through their course.

Judges praised ‘Daylight’ for its "sense of frustration," exemplary editing, and the effective use of cross-cutting, which significantly elevated the film's narrative tension.

Neil Hunt, Senior Teaching Fellow in Film and Broadcasting and Course Leader for BA (Hons) Film Production, said: “This accolade is a significant acknowledgment of the dedication and creativity of our students and the University’s role in nurturing future filmmaking talent.

“It reaffirms our commitment to providing an enriching environment for students to excel in the dynamic field of film production. It also demonstrates the vital role of educational institutions in fostering the next generation of filmmakers and the importance of industry support in showcasing emerging talent.”

In more good news, former students from the BA Film Production course, have also been nominated for prestigious national awards.

Luke Flight (2012 graduate) and Nicholas Moysey (2022 graduate) have been nominated for British Academy Television (BAFTA) TV Awards for their roles in major TV series.  Luke is nominated as part of the Best Editing Team: Factual for Formula 1: Driven to Succeed (Netflix), while Nicholas is up for Best Single Documentary - Hatton (Sky Documentaries).

Three Graduation Films have also been nominated for a Royal Television Society Award in the Entertainment/Comedy and Drama short film categories:

• Frank (Drama)
• Hymn & Her (Musical / Entertainment)
• Tinsel (Comedy/Drama)

Ben Thompson, Academic Lead for Film and Television in the School of Film, Media and Communication, said: “This is a superb achievement to be recognised by the Royal Television Society and industry professionals! Well done to all involved in the creation of these excellent short films, both our talented film students and our dedicated staff team.”

Further cementing its reputation for excellence, the BA (Hons) Film Production course has just been endorsed by ScreenSkills Select, securing accreditation status for another four years. ScreenSkills is the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries, and carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries.