Young aspiring filmmakers shortlisted in nationwide film awards

Education charity, Into Film (IF), has revealed the nominees for the 2024 Into Film Awards, with 21 films nominated across 7 filmmaking categories showcasing the phenomenal breadth and depth of young filmmaking talent across the UK.

This year’s awards received hundreds of entries from every corner of the UK, with stories ranging from light-hearted comedies, to thought-provoking documentaries.

With topics such as climate change, mental health, and the ever-increasing reliance on technology also a focus, IF’s nominated films speak to the issues that young people are most concerned about today, as well their filmmaking prowess.

Nominees are from a wide range of areas, from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to areas closer to home like Yorkshire.

The new Time for Action category (sponsored by Swatch) asked young people to create a film that raises awareness of issues important to them and explores the changes they would like to make in the world, whether big or small; personal or society wide.

Nominees are invited to attend the Into Film Awards ceremony at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square in London on Tuesday 25 June 2024, where a host of filmmaking talent will be on hand to present the various awards. Actor, writer and director Susan Wokoma, known for her role as Edith in the Enola Holmes films, will join Into Film to host this year’s ceremony.

Each year, the Into Film Awards are made possible through sponsorship from the UK Screen Industry Into Film is supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.

The shortlist  for 202 includes:

Best animation – 11 and under

• Ein Dyfodol – Made by Gwennan, aged 11 – Aberystwyth, Wales
• Benjamin’s Magical Kitchen Birds – Made by Benjamin, aged 8 – London, England
• Where Your Rubbish Goes – Made by Ibrahim, aged 11 – Surrey, England

Best animation – 12 and over

• Frog Flight – Made by Caireen Ferguson, aged 19 – Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland
• Unlucky Jim – Made by Ben Mullan, aged 18 – Bedford, England
• Branwen, Daughter of Llyr – Made by the whole of Year 8 from Pen y Dre High School – Merthyr, Wales

Best documentary

• Puppet Backup – Made by Maxwell, aged 17, from Barton Peveril Sixth Form College – Eastleigh, England
• Disconnected – Made by Safina, aged 17, from South Essex College – Southend-on-Sea, England
• The Adventures of Barry in Bradford – Made by Haris, Muhammad, Fatiha, Habeebah, all aged 10, from Feversham Primary Academy – Bradford, England

Best film – 11 and under

• Wand-erful Mischief – Made by Aaron, Lucas, Liam, and Cameron, all aged 11, from St Bernard’s Primary School – Glasgow, Scotland
• Unseen – Made by twenty young people aged 9-11 from Whitehall Primary School – London, England
• Dyslexia and Me – Made by children from St. Luke’s Church of England Primary School – Rugby, England

Best film – 12-15

• The Language of Cymraeg – Made by 16 young people aged 11-14 from Ysgol Bro Dinefwr – Carmarthenshire, Wales
• Saving Yourself (And the World) – Made by Indi, aged 14 – Waterlooville, England
• Cereal Killers – Made by 19 young people from St Colmcille’s High School – Crossgar, Northern Ireland

Best film – 16-19

• STOP – Made by Laquarn McQueen, aged 18, from Big Creative Academy Campus – London, England
• Battery – Made by 15 young people aged 16-19 from TAPE Community Music and Film and Ysgol Y Gogarth – Llandudno, Wales
• Birthday – Made by 10 young people aged 16-18 from 104 Projects – London, England

Time for Action

• Just Ignore It – Made by 11 young people aged 11-18 from My Pockets and Youth Aspire Connect – Hull, England
• Headphones – Made by Phoebe Young, aged 18 – Brighton, England
• Thinking Green – Made by 18 young people from Burnham Market Primary School – Norfolk, England

Filmmaking Champion

• Paul Press from The Offshoot Foundation – East Anglia, England
• Scottish Youth Film Foundation – Glasgow, Scotland
• Cardiff Youth Service – Cardiff, Wales

Ones to Watch

• Ben Mullan (aged 18) – Bedford, England
• Riku (aged 13) – London, England
• Evelyn Scott (aged 19) – Epsom, England
• Tom Boyd-Hall (aged 18) – Amersham, England

All young people in the UK from 5-19 can enter the awards, but are asked that all submissions are made by an adult over 20. The awards are a great opportunity for young people looking interested in the film industry to make connections and get more involved.

Although entries are closed for this year, keep an eye out for the Into Film Awards 2025 to enter next year!

Find out more about the awards here.