'Gandalf' and 'Ron Weasley' Add a Touch of Magic to Star-Studded Young Filmmakers' Awards

'Gandalf' and 'Ron Weasley' Add a Touch of Magic to Star-Studded Young Filmmakers' Awards

LONDON, February 23/PRNewswire/ --

- Tales of shrinking children, egotistical actors, and a secret in the cellar amongst the winners of Lottery-funded film awards for 5 - 18 year olds

Sir Ian McKellen ('Gandalf' in the recent Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Rupert Grint ('Ron Weasley' from the Harry Potter series) were amongst the stars paying tribute to the work of the UK's future filmmakers at the 2005 young people's 'First Light Film Awards' ceremony held in London's Leicester Square today.

The ceremony, which was hosted by Jake Humphrey of CBBC and Fame Academy 2, was attended by screen stars and young filmmakers from across the UK. The awards celebrate shining examples of digital short films made by 5- 18 year olds through the UK Film Council's Lottery-funded programme, First Light.

Award presenters alongside Sir Ian McKellen included, Rosamund Pike (Bond film Die Another Day); Ashley Walters (So Solid Crew member and star of forthcoming film Bullet Boy); Amma Asante (Bafta award winning director of A Way of Life and winner of the London Film Festival UK Film Talent award); Joe Prospero (Finding Neverland); Colin Salmon (Alien vs Predator, Bond); Natalie Press (the Evening Standard's joint Most Promising Newcomer Film Award winner and star of My Summer of Love); MTV presenter Alex Zane; and Hugh Hudson (director of film classic Chariots of Fire).

The awards were assessed by a high-powered panel of judges including Jude Law (Alfie, Cold Mountain, Closer, and The Talented Mr Ripley); Rupert Grint; filmmaker/actor Stephen Fry; Romola Garai (Inside I'm Dancing), Pawel Pawlikowski (director of award-winning film My Summer of Love); Natalie Press; Amma Asante celebrated author Nick Hornby; Pam Ferris (Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban); Nicolas Roeg (Director of The Witches and Castaway); and Hanif Kureshi (writer of The Buddha of Suburbia and My Beautiful Laundrette).

The winning films tell a range of stories including, the ordeal of a group of school children who desperate to get out of a maths test decide to hide out in the school cellar - which turns out to be a very bad idea; a lonely girl who finds solace in her photography and the cheeky rogue who doesn't want to take no for an answer; the tale of a group of children who get shrunk to the size of insects; a mother's childhood memories seen through the eyes of her daughter; and the trials and tribulations of a budding film director as he deals with misbehaving crew members, a vicious producer, egotistical actors and no script.

The winners in each of the nine categories were:

Best Animation - Colour Crazy (Maes yr Haul Primary School, Bridgend, Wales)

A group of 17 young filmmakers, between the ages of seven to 11 produced this animated comedy about a boy with aspirations of becoming a famous painter. The film was produced on a budget of just over GBP5,000.

Best Horror / Thriller - Cellar Door (Buckingham Community Middle School, Shoreham-By-Sea)

A group of schoolchildren desperate to get out of a maths test decide to hide out in the school cellar. It turns out to be a very bad idea. Cellar Door was produced by a group of 21 filmmakers, aged between eight and 12 years old with a budget of just over GBP5,000.

Best Documentary- Old Enough to Know Better (Pilton Video, Edinburgh, Scotland)

Working with a group of 13 to 18 year olds, Pilton Video produced a documentary on the mass protests and school walkouts in Edinburgh in the days leading up to the Iraq war. The film was part of a four-film project with an overall budget of GBP48,000.

Best Comedy - The Making of Untitled (Access Moving Image, Leeds)

This spoof documentary follows the trials and tribulations of a budding film director as he deals with misbehaving crew members, a vicious producer, egotistical actors and no script. The film was produced by a group of 30 filmmakers, aged between 16 and 18 and was shot on a budget of around GBP18,750.

Best Special Effects - Underfoot Safari (Learning Lighthouse, Moreton, The Wirral, Merseyside)

A group of children get shrunk to the size of insects using blue-screen technology. Made as part of a four-film project, it was shot on a budget of around GBP11,750 by a group of 16 filmmakers, aged between nine and 11 years old.

Best Screenplay - Okey (Greenwich Films, London, SE8)

In the underground scene of Turkish London, the cultural game of Okey holds huge prestige. When a gang leader loses to a female player, he swears revenge. The film was made by a group of 16 to 18 year old filmmakers on a budget of around GBP12,000.

Best Drama - Taking Pictures ( PVA Media Lab, Bridport, Dorset

This romantic drama tells the story of a lonely girl who finds solace in her photography and the cheeky rogue who doesn't want to take no for an answer. The film was produced by a group of ten filmmakers, aged between 15 and 17 years old. The budget was just over GBP6,000.

Best Film made by under-12s - When Mum Was Young (Reading Borough Council, Reading)

This animation revisits a mother's childhood memories through the eyes of her daughter. The film was produced on a budget of just under GBP6,000 by a group of 42 filmmakers, aged between seven and 11 years old.

Best Film made by over-13s - My Grandma (Smith & Watson Productions, Totnes, Devon)

This comedy drama tells the story of a girl stuck in the daily grind of looking after her elderly grandmother. Has she got a nasty streak or is she just mischievous? A cast and crew of 24 young people, aged between 13 and 18 years old, produced the film with a budget of just over GBP6,000.

First Light, which is managed by Birmingham-based Hi8us First Light Limited, was launched by the UK Film Council in May 2001. To date it has given around 8,500 young people the chance to write, act, shoot and produce more than 550 films under the guidance of professional filmmakers. First Light works in association with youth agencies, schools, colleges, production companies and film clubs throughout the UK. Some young filmmakers have used First Light as a stepping stone to gain work experience in the film industry.

Praising the work produced by the award winners, UK Film Council Chairman Stewart Till CBE said: "It's wonderful to see that thanks to First Light potential Oscar-winners of the future are getting their chance to turn their ideas and imagination into stories on the screen.

"These often challenging and imaginative films are a wonderful example of the positive pay-off from National Lottery investment in the film industry and film culture in the UK.

"The UK film industry has produced world-renowned creative and technical talent. First Light film-makers from across the UK have shown that they have those talents in abundance."

First Light Chief Executive Officer Pip Eldridge added: "It's fantastic to be able to praise the achievements of these filmmakers. We hope that their success will inspire other young people from across the UK to take a greater interest in filmmaking."

Notes to Editors:

1. Digital stills, extracts and copies of the winning films, as well as Judges comments are available from the UK Film Council Press Office.

2. First Light was launched in May 2001 to fund and inspire the making of short digital films, reflecting the diversity of young people's lives. First Light is an initiative supported by the UK Film Council with Lottery funding and managed by Hi8us First Light Limited.

3. The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad. We invest Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production; training; international development and export promotion; distribution and exhibition; and education. Our aim is to deliver lasting benefits to the industry and the public alike through:

- creativity - encouraging the development of new talent, skills, and creative and technological innovation in UK film and assisting new and established film-makers to produce successful and distinctive British films;

- enterprise - supporting the creation and growth of sustainable businesses in the film sector, providing access to finance and helping the UK film industry compete successfully in the domestic and global marketplace;

- imagination - promoting education and an appreciation and enjoyment of cinema by giving UK audiences access to the widest range of UK and international cinema, and by supporting film culture and heritage.

Source: UK Film Council

For further information please contact: Ian Thomson / Caroline Nagle, UK Film Council Press Office, T: +44-(0)20-7861-7901/7508, E: press@filmcouncil.org.uk; Keith Gabriel / Sam Plester, First Light, T: +44-(0)121-693-2094, E: press@firstlightmovies.com

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