University Centre Weston (UCW) celebrated the best in student filmmaking with an awards ceremony at the Arnolfini in Bristol.
The annual Dirigo International Student Film Festival is curated by students from UCW’s Foundation degree in Film and Media Arts Production, which is delivered in partnership with Bath Spa University.
Around 150 submissions were received from around the world in the Festival’s four main categories - including entries from student filmmakers in the United States, Thailand and France – making this year’s competition the biggest ever.
The more than 100 festivalgoers also picked their favourite from the films screened on the night, bestowing Sarah Lew with the coveted Audience Award for her film ‘A Christmas Surprise’.
The UCW students have been working on staging the Festival since October.
As well as planning, promoting and managing the event at the Arnolfini, they formed a jury to review the submissions, select the programme for the night, and pick the winners.
Jessie Clayton, who co-directed this year’s Festival with fellow UCW students Farhath Siddiqui and Miguel Fonseca (pictured), said: “It has been a fantastic but challenging experience to organise such a big show while also reviewing all the films and keeping up with our university work.
“The competition has never been stronger, with so many wonderful films in different styles and genres, and it is really fitting to celebrate the filmmakers’ hard work and creativity in a venue as great as the Arnolfini.
“Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who supported us.”
To find out more about Dirigo, and the highly-regarded creative arts degree programmes on offer at UCW, visit www.ucw.ac.uk or follow ‘UCWeston’ on social media.
Dirigo 2017 Winners
Audience Award: ‘A Christmas Surprise’ by Sarah Lew (age 20, US)
Best Animation: ‘Wake-up Call’ by Luke Angus (age 26, UK)
Best in South West: ‘The Farm’ by Riyadh Haque (age 28, UK)
Best International: ‘Rough Waters’ by Troy Charbonnet and Claire Imler (both 17, US)
Best Young Student: ‘Something Blue’ by Joseph Johnson (age 17, UK)