Dion Wyn Hughes chosen as the winner from a shortlist of individuals who have made a difference to their local communities simply ‘For The Love of Film’

Expert panel including Edgar Wright & Aisling Bea have chosen Dion Wyn Hughes from Bangor, Wales as 2022 winner

Today, BAFTA has announced this year’s For The Love of Film competition finalists, as well as the overall winner. Now in its 3rd edition, the For The Love of Film competition is a nationwide search to honour and celebrate local film heroes who have gone to great lengths to share their passion for film in the community.

Dion Wyn Hughes from Bangor, Wales has been selected as this year’s winner selected by a panel of film lovers including BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Edgar Wright, BAFTA-nominated comedian Aisling Bea, Film and TV Critic Amon Warmann, and arts broadcasters Grant Tucker and Rhianna Dhillon. Dion was chosen as the winner due to his love of film and his passion and enthusiasm for working to get young people involved in the arts. Dion works voluntarily with a wide range of organisations groups across North Wales, including Wicked Wales, Into Film Cymru, Film Hub Wales, Ffilm Cymru, Bangor University and BFI Academy. His work helps to spread the joy of filmmaking within his community, and nurture future industry professionals. Dion also coordinates the only Welsh language film festival in the world.

Over the past 12 months, Dion has coordinated Ffilm Ifanc, a young programmers initiative across Wales which aims to get those aged 18-26 more involved in the industry, they receive training from industry professionals, and have recently run a showcase of films across several Welsh cinemas.

The finalists include Jenny Lee, the founder of the I Will Tell International Film Festival; Lisa-Marie Tonelli, the founder of the North East International Film Festival; and Nina Jurkovic, who founded the Oxford Film Appreciation Society. Full details of the finalists can be found below.

Dion and his guest will join BAFTA and EE at the nation’s biggest celebration of film, the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 13 March, walking the Royal Albert Hall’s red carpet before enjoying dinner and an overnight stay at the Savoy Hotel in London.

Dion Wyn Hughes commented: “It’s a great honour to be acknowledged by BAFTA for my work within North Wales. During these turbulent times, it has been a privilege to work with so many talented young filmmakers to ignite their creativity and help them start their journey into the film industry. I am very fortunate to work with so many dedicated colleagues across Wales, and I share this prize with them.”

Krishnendu Majumdar, Chair of BAFTA said: “Congratulations to Dion on winning this year’s For the Love of Film competition. The competition is designed to recognise individuals like Dion who are the unsung heroes of the industry. Dion’s shares BAFTA’s passion in encouraging and supporting young people in film and he hope he has a wonderful night as he joins us for the EE British Academy Film Awards this weekend.”

The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 13 March. The ceremony will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One, BBC One HD and BBC iPlayer in the UK at 7pm GMT, broadcast on BritBox in US, Canada and South Africa, and broadcast in all other major territories around the world. On the night, www.bafta.org will feature red carpet highlights, photography and winner’s interviews, as well as dedicated coverage on its social channels @BAFTA hosted by AJ Odudu and Tom Allen.

NOTES TO EDITORS

‘For the Love of Film’ Competition Finalists:

WINNER Dion Wyn Hughes, Bangor Wales

https://www.wickedwales.com/ffilm-ifanc

Dion goes above and beyond in his love for film and his push to get more young people into the arts. He works with multiple groups across North Wales such as Wicked Wales, Into Film Cymru, Film Hub Wales, Ffilm Cymru, Bangor University and BFI Academy encouraging the future of our industry in the local community that they can achieve magnificent things, even without big budgets and expensive equipment.

Working through the medium of Welsh and English he continues to help develop projects and festivals with local community and student groups, including assisting a local youth LGBTQ+ group called GISDA from Caernarfon to host their first film festival. Developing a programme of films that championed representation and helped them develop their skills. Dion’s also been the coordinator for the only Welsh language film festival in the world called PICS with Galeri Caernarfon. It is a place for young people to learn more about filmmaking through workshops and film screenings to eventually lead to them creating their own films.

Over the past 12 months, Dion has coordinated Ffilm Ifanc, a young programmers initiative across Wales which aims to get those aged 18-26 more involved in the industry, they receive training from industry professionals, and have recently run a showcase of films across several Welsh cinemas.

Even in his full time job Dion finds a way to help young people build a passion for film. Dion is a journalist at Movie Marker, where he has been helping develop young writers’ portfolios, providing opportunities for them to review films early, interview cast & crew and attend film festivals. We aim to be able to show them their potential through mentorships with experienced critics, discussions about their writing with senior writers and paying them for their words.

Jenny Lee, London

https://iwilltell.com/

Jenny Lee is the founder of the I Will Tell International Film Festival. The film festival is a powerful celebration of features, documentaries, animations and short films from across the world that highlight key societal issues such as war, poverty, violence and racism as well as music, creativity and the power of ordinary people to overcome extraordinary circumstances.

Held every year in London, each screening is followed by a Q&A with Directors, Filmmakers, Country Ambassadors, subject matter experts and high profile community leaders. A strong focus is the stories that are often overlooked in society from those from poor or minority backgrounds. The festival is taken to various locations from London all the way to South Florida and Jenny’s birthplace Trinidad and Tobago reaching a vast amount of people and local community members each year. In 2020 the festival was able to quickly pivot to online and offered a special section of Covid-19 shorts which were streamed free of charge to the public.

Jenny has an instinctive eye for films that will make an impact and a few have been shown just before they have become widespread such as Ava DuVernay’s 13th, Nate Parker’s The Birth of A Nation, Queen of Katwe, The Help, and When they See Us with a special Q&A with Raymond Santana, a member of the Exonerated Five. What stands out about Jenny is that this is not for profit but a pure love of film and the need to tell untold stories. This shows in her determination to reach a larger audience every year, to have meaningful conversations about the world we live in. An incredible achievement for a woman who came from a small town in Trinidad.

Lisa-Marie Tonelli, Newcastle

https://neiff.co.uk/
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic and whilst on maternity leave, Lisa set about creating an international film festival in her home town of Newcastle Upon Tyne after noticing a huge gap in the market. The NEIFF was borne out of her desire to host a film festival that was accessible to all and not genre specific. She is a very proud Geordie who was keen on collaborations with the local community and showcasing local talent. Lisa wanted the festival to benefit those from previously under-represented groups and therefore the diverse submission categories were extremely important to her (especially the Visable category which represents disability in all its forms).

The festival is the first ever to sign up to the BBC 50/50 Equality Project, the first to receive a Raising Films Ribbon for creating an inclusive and adaptable space for Filmmakers, Audience and her team, the first to offer a Top Screener Award and one of 80 festivals to adopt the F-Rating. Lisa is also an active volunteer of Star & Shadow Cinema which is entirely volunteer led and she has taken part in mentoring with Newcastle University, Northumbria University and Creative Fuse and has engaged with 55 student volunteers in the festivals first year offering placements. A huge opportunity for those starting out in the industry.

Lisa has also recently been added to the Northern Power Women Future List for her work with the NEIFF and the community and helping to accelerate gender equality. She continues to inspire her community to join in for her love of film and advocates passionately that it should be accessible for all.

Nina Jurkovic, Oxford

https://oxfordfilmsoc.wixsite.com/site
Nina founded the Oxford Film Appreciation Society to provide a space for students with a passion for film and cinema to gather and make friends. Over the winter lockdowns they held weekly events, including screenings, discussion groups and game/quiz nights to help bring together people interested in film across the university. This was a great source of comfort at a difficult time for most first year students who were experiencing a very unpredicted and isolating time. As restrictions began to ease we’ve continued to hold regular meetings and screenings showcasing both new films and old classics which is often followed up with great debates on the topic of the film in the pub afterwards.

Alongside this work, Nina also produces a monthly fan zine, the Reel Thing, gathering enthusiastic writers and artists to contribute reviews, features and opinion pieces on some of the most diverse and interesting areas of film; From LGBTQ representation in the ‘Golden Age’ of cinema to ‘The anatomy of a Jump Scare.’ Each issue concludes with a recommendation list of films to watch, books to read and podcasts to listen to which delve deeper into the details of cinema.

Nina is currently working with a new writer/director Niky Pasolini’s to produce and organise her short film ‘Two Days Later’ which is now screening as part of the Oxford University Film Foundation’s (OUFF) Short Film Festival, and is in the process of directing a play containing multiple filmed sequences, which is being produced with filmmakers from the OUFF.

Learn more about the competition and the previous on BAFTA’s website:

www.bafta.org/film/awards/ftlof

For further information and interview opportunities, please contact: 
[email protected]