5 February 2008
Today the regional winners were announced for “60 Seconds of Fame”, the short film initiative for the general public from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Orange.
Last week, BBC ONE screened the nominated films on their regional and national news programmes and encouraged the public to vote for their favourite. Over 24,000 votes were cast and BAFTA and Orange can now announce the names of the winning filmmakers in their regions.
REGIONAL WINNERS
*John Worland, “Empathy” (East)
*Cheryl Marshall, “Unite (d polar showtime dancers)” (East Midlands)
*Ryan Braund, “Stick Together” (East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire)
*Tina Lockett, “My Darling Wife” (London)
*Benjamin Stevens, “Frank” (North East & Cumbria)
*Ed Lilly, “United Youth?” (North West)
*Carol Moore, “History Unfinished” (Northern Ireland)
*Dana Dorian, “Little Dinosaurs” (Scotland)
*Daniel Cox, “Fused” (South)
*Tim Hunt, “The Lonely Tree” (South East)
*Brett Harvey, “The Lovers” (South West)
*Sally El Hosaini, “The Fifth Bowl” (Wales)
*Paul Jackson, “Speed Date” (West)
*Christian Evans, “Unite” (West Midlands)
*Sam Donovan, “UNITE” (Yorkshire)
These winners, one from each of the fifteen BBC Nations and Regions, will now be invited to attend the red carpet event of the year: the Orange British Academy Film Awards, held on Sunday 10 February at the Royal Opera House in London.
The overall UK winner will be chosen by a BAFTA grand jury chaired by Duncan Kenworthy OBE and made up of key industry figures including Tessa Ross, Andy Serkis, Asif Kapadia, Paul Webster and BAFTA-winning short filmmaker Asitha Ameresekere.
All fifteen regional winning films will be shown on a big screen in Covent Garden’s Piazza on the day of the ceremony and the overall winner will be announced by Mark Kermode and Andy Serkis. The winning film will also be featured as part of the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony which will be broadcast on BBC ONE at 9pm on Sunday 10 February 2008.
“60 Seconds of Fame”, launched by BAFTA & Orange with Andy Serkis in October 2007, invited budding filmmakers from across the UK to make a 60 second short film based on the theme ‘unite’. The best films from each of the 15 BBC Nations and Regions, as chosen by expert BAFTA panels, were shortlisted on www.60secondsoffame.co.uk. Each BBC Nation and Region screened its shortlisted films on its own BBC regional news programme from Monday 28 January to Friday 1 February and the public decided the winners by voting for their favourite film online or by telephone.
Amanda Berry, BAFTA Chief Executive, said:
“I was overwhelmed by the response to the public vote for “60 Seconds of Fame” which clearly highlights the growing interest in short filmmaking in the UK. My congratulations go out to the 15 winners, and I look forward to meeting them at the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Sunday.”
Hattie Magee, Head of Partnerships at Orange, said:
“The fantastic thing about this initiative is you don’t have to be a professional filmmaker to be in with a chance of winning. “60 Seconds of Fame” is first and foremost about creativity and capturing the imagination of the public. Orange believes in supporting next generation talent and so we are very much looking forward to finding out who wins.”
Notes to Editors
For more information:
Press Enquiries / Orange
John Parker or Naomi Li at M&C Saatchi:
Tel: 020 7544 3855/3687
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Press Enquiries / BAFTA
Vicky Grayson or Johanna Fernihough at Freud Communications
Tel: 020 3003 6300
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]