This week, the winners of the annual Film the House competition were announced at a champagne reception at the House of Lords, hosted by comedian Helen Lederer.
Once again, the evening proved to be a fantastic celebration of filmmaking talent — with two exciting directors taking home a Directors UK Award for Best Film Direction. The annual competition is run in collaboration with MPs and industry professionals as a creative way of highlighting the importance of intellectual property (IP) rights to both creators and MPs.
The award for Directors UK Best Film Direction Under 19 went to Freya Hannan-Mills for I’ll Be Back Tomorrow... Directors UK judges said “Freya has such a strong visual voice. I’ll Be Back Tomorrow is a really personal piece with great texture, a surrealist vibe and a poetic anxiety to the storytelling. We are bowled over by what Freya has achieved with this film.”
Meanwhile, the award for Directors UK Best Film Direction Over 19 was presented to Ben Hector for 22. Anna Matthews. Directors UK judges said: “22. Anna Matthews delivers extraordinary emotional complexity and depth with immaculate precision. There isn’t a frame wasted in this beautifully spare and lean film – we all agree that Ben has conjured a mesmerising story.”
Cass Virdee was also specially commended in this category for her film, 51 States (Karen Buck MP, Westminster North), with Directors UK judges commenting: "Cass has a clear voice and is an ambitious director - we got lost in the world they created so deftly. An important, timely and eloquent film – we implore everyone reading this to watch this important film and feel something, see something you might not have before.”
The Directors UK judging panel included members and directors Mo Ali, Bill Anderson and Georgie Yukiko Donovan.
This year, the competition received entries from 136 constituencies across the UK in a range of categories including Best Script, Best Short Film, and the Directors UK awards for Best Film Direction. Winners received Film the House trophies, cash prizes, a certificate of classification for their film from the British Board of Film Classification, as well as mentoring sessions from industry professionals.
Other winners included Charlotte Roberts (Best Film Script Under 19 — If you have been murdered please press 3), Taiyo Yoshida (Best Film Script Over 19 — Get in the Groove), Saul Bell-West (Best Short Film Under 19 — Deserter) and Rosie Westhoff (Best Short Film Over 19 — Our Sister).
Congratulations to all this year’s Film the House winners and nominees! You can find out more about Film the House here.
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