Future Film Awards Ceremony in London

Congratulations to two sets of AFU filmmakers who achieved an unprecedented double at the BFI’s Future Film Festival in association with BBC Blast at the National Film Theatre in London last week, when they scooped the awards for both “Best Documentary” and “Best Animation”. In Tian Ji’s powerful 2009 documentary A Soldier, made with Matt Copson and Ben Hollins, Company Sergeant Major Nelson Macleod reflects on his career in the British Army and his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. By turns moving and thought-provoking, the film impressed all who saw it at the AFU screening in May 2009, and clearly had the same effect on the judges at the Future Film Festival. For Pierre Leveque’s 2008 claymation, Oh No My Dog!, this was a second major award. It won the National Young Filmmaker Award at the Leeds Student Film Festival last April, and this time it was hailed as the best animation in the 13-18 category. Tian, Matt and Pierre travelled to BFI Southbank last Friday to receive their awards from Radio 1’s James King and Switch’s AJ.

Tian Ji, Matthew Copson & Ben Hollins
Documentary, 7.21

This documentary examines war through the eyes of Sergeant Major Macleod, a soldier who has served in the army for 26 years. Combining unique footage from Afghanistan, Iraq and an interview filmed in an Oxfordshire garden far from the frontline, this film concentrates on a soldier’s experiences in war zones and their impact on him, as well as his feelings on returning to England.

Joe Brown and Tom Lambert
Stop-motion, 2.50

The Abingdon School catering has never been better. Or that’s what most of these lippy kitchen utensils seem to think. A witty combination of vox pop interviews and animated talking cutlery.

Henry Dunbar
Claymation, 1.22

Look for echoes of the Adam and Eve story in this delightful fantasy of a lone plastiscine man as he acquires a new friend.

James Yan & Chris Hyde
Documentary, 4.47

A family sits down to dinner on a Thursday evening. It is 7 o’clock in the kitchen of a detached house in Abingdon. Angela is preparing the meal. As the clock ticks, the food goes in the frying pan, but there is something unsettling. The front door opens and dinner is served.

Charlie Floyd
Flash, 1.16

A computer-based animation about a day in the life of an assassin. Created by drawing onto the computer and then using software to animate the drawings. This film focuses mostly on the visual elements of the story with bold-coloured backgrounds and dark, heavy foregrounds.

Matthew Choi, Simon Lam & Will Abell
Documentary, 7.27

From the dazzling glamour and bustle of Hong Kong to the tranquility of rural Oxfordshire, this documentary journeys into the mind of Jonathan, a new student at Abingdon School who arrived from Hong Kong last September. From learning styles to social lives, it explores the differences he experiences, and in particular, the sacrifices he makes when he leaves his family and friends to continue his education on the other side of the world.

Kingsley Hoskins, Olivia Powell and Marina Michelson from St Helen’s
Documentary, 5.02

A film inspired by the catching atmosphere of greyhound racing. Influenced by Mike Grigsby’s The Score, the focus is largely on the spectators, and follows their journey from tension and anticipation, through expectation, to joy and relief. The AFU’s first all-female film production.

Freddie Barber
Cut-out, 3.00

A musical mystery tour inspired in part by the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, and featuring original music by father and son.

Will McDowell & Tom Bateman
Documentary, 6.15

A film about language and its importance in life, focusing on Sonia, a Spanish student learning Arabic, the Gamios, a Peruvian family who have recently moved to England, and Pól, an Irishman struggling to keep his native language alive. It encourages an appreciation of culture and identity in relation to the words we speak.