11 November 2020
Newsdesk
The winners of the 2020 Into Film Awards were today announced as part of a virtual ceremony hosted by David Walliams for film education charity, Into Film, honouring the talent and hard work of young filmmakers and film enthusiasts from schools across the UK.
Host for the 2020 Awards, David Walliams said: “I love the Into Film Awards because it gives the opportunity to young people, from all kinds of backgrounds, to be a part of the film industry. As an actor, these young people are the future, and you want them to give you a job one day! Anything that encourages creativity is important, we have an amazing film industry in this country which is often ignored by politicians and we need to support it. Into Film is an amazing charity."
The Into Film Awards, which celebrate exceptional talent from children and young people aged 5 – 19 years old who have demonstrated impressive achievements in filmmaking and film reviewing, were due to take place at a live event at Odeon Leicester Square. Due to COVID-19 developments however, the live event that would have seen over 400 school children in attendance alongside stars of the film and TV industry, could not take place.
To honour and recognise the efforts of the class of 2020, Into Film have announced the names of the winning young filmmakers, whose short films cover an eclectic range of subjects and themes including the impact of plastic usage on our oceans, gender dysphoria, celebrating your heritage, Asperger’s syndrome, living without hearing, self-improvement, and many more. The revealed winners also include the recipients in the non-filmmaking categories – Film Clubs of the Year, Reviewer of the Year and Teacher of the Year. All films and supporting films in each category were filmed in 2019 and earlier this year, prior to COVID-19 distancing regulations.
Into Film CEO, Paul Reeve said: “In a year during which the central ‘homes’ for Into Film’s work – schools and cinemas - have faced extraordinary disruption, we’ve constantly had to find creative ways to keep film at the heart of young people’s learning. So presenting a virtual Awards show seems rather fitting and I’m delighted we’ve been able to make it happen. Teachers and their pupils are among the heroes of 2020, so it feels more important than ever to recognise and celebrate the talent and achievements of our nominees and winners.”
The winners, who hail from all over the UK, each receive the coveted Into Film Award to add to their mantle or school cabinet.
The 2020 Into Film Awards winners are:
Best Film: 11 Years and Under: Sponsored by Warner Media
Save Bobby the Fish – Hilderthorpe Primary school Film Club, East Riding, Yorkshire
Teacher of the Year: Sponsored by Working title Films
Timm Dadds, Cwmrhydyceirw Primary School, Swansea
Best Documentary: Sponsored by Universal Pictures International
1 Year – Ben Hodge, Merseyside
Into Film Club of the Year: 11 and Under: Sponsored by MGM Studios
Dunn Street Primary School, Jarrow, Tyneside
Reviewer of the Year: Sponsored by IMDb
Archie, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Into Film Club of the Year: 12 and Over: Sponsored by Lucasflim Ltd
Labert High School, Falkirk, Scotland
Best Film: 12-15 Years: Sponsored by Paramount Pictures
I’m The One – Eden Quine-Taylor, Powys, Wales
Ones to Watch: Sponsored by Eon Productions In partnership with the BFI Film Academy
Hedydd Ioan, Gwynedd, Wales
Jack Hill – Henfield, West Sussex
Leoreta Ratkoceri & Mahek Haque – Westminster Academy, London
Best Animated Film: Sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK
Overload – Joe Blandamer, Axminster, Devon
Best Film: 16-19 Years: Sponsored by Motion Picture Solutions
Bob’s Your Uncle – Mercer MacWilliam Hughes, Belfast
Audience Choice Award: Sponsored by Netflix
voted for by the public via Facebook and Twitter across all categories
Best Documentary – It’s Just Not Fair! – Castleton Primary School, Castlemilk, Scotland
The short films were created and produced by young people individually or as a wider group based in their school, college or youth group. The use of film as an educational tool was also paid tribute to in the non-filmmaking categories. More entries were received this year than ever before, paying a true testament to all those that were nominated. As well as celebrating the creative young people who have shown impressive skills in all areas of filmmaking, the Awards aim to actively seek out and encourage people from all backgrounds to participate in film and filmmaking, as a way of addressing the gender and diversity balance within the industry.
The much-loved Into Film Awards highlight the power of film in young people’s education and cultural lives and are made possible with the support of sponsorship from the UK film industry and by the BFI through National Lottery funding.
National Lottery players raise £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK.
For full details about the Into Film and the Into Film Awards visit: www.intofilm.org/awards2020winners
