Update, issued March 20 2020: the festival has had to be cancelled, in light of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
GARETH Thomas’ moving documentary account of living with HIV is among the nominees for the prestigious 41st Celtic Media Festival, which takes place in Quimper, Brittany, this coming June.
Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me is nominated in the hotly-contested Best Single Documentary category; among the record nine nominees is RTÉ’s Laura Brennan: This is Me and TG4’s Sceal na Beatha. Gareth joins BBC’s critically-acclaimed Line of Duty, currently filming its sixth series, is in contention for the Best Drama Series category.
Over in Radio Comedy, internationally best-selling author Marian Keyes is nominated with BBC Radio 4’s Between Ourselves with Marian Keyes, with nominations also from Galicia, Ireland and Wales.
Meanwhile, Loose Women’s Kaye Adams is once again in contention for Radio Presenter
of the Year, (having won it last year) for BBC Radio Scotland). And in a year of firsts, both RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Radio 1 join the contenders for Radio Station of the Year, alongside RTÉ RnaG, BBC Radio Ulster, Raidió na Life, BBC Radio Foyle, BBC Radio nan Gáidheal and BBC Radio Cymru.
There are powerful stories, powerfully told, in the three nominations in Current Affairs; from France 3 Bretagne, a look at the hidden history of uranium extraction in Brittany; from RTÉ, a powerful look at the inside track of the Irish greyhound industry; and from BBC Scotland, Samantha Poling’s investigation of the high-profile unsolved murder of Emma Caldwell, who was found strangled 14 years ago in remote Scottish countryside.
Catriona Logan, festival director, said: “I’m bowled over by the quality and quantity of entries this year, and that quality and breadth is evident in our list of nominees. At the Celtic Media Festival, big sporting names, well-known faces and top-rating dramas will come to compete alongside names and content that may not be so well known, but whose excellence is now recognised in these nominations.
“We have strong representation from all the Celtic nations this year, and it’s particular gratifying to see Galicia and Brittany secure such a strong showing in the shortlists.
“It’s clear too that short form and radio documentary are two of the most democratic, accessible and growing formats internationally – with nine and ten nominations respectively, we can see where more and more creatives are going to tell their stories.
“Coming from the success of the 40th anniversary of the festival, and as we prepare to head back to France for the first time in 18 years, this is an exceptional list of nominees.”
Ireland’s Hector Ó hÉochagáin is among the nominees in Factual Entertainment, for his TG4 series, Ó Siberia Go Saigon, while the BBC lead the pack in comedy this year, with Soft Border Patrol (BBC Northern Ireland) and Two Doors Down (BBC Two) securing nominations.
In Factual Series, BBC Scotland’s Murder Case follows Police Scotland’s Major Investigations Team, going behind the scenes on some of the most serious and complex murder investigations in the country.
The shift toward digital is mirrored in the breadth of the Short Form category, with nine nominations, from Wales, Isle of Man, Scotland, Galicia and others. The Radio Documentary category is also among the biggest this year, with nominations from Scotland, Cornwall, Galicia, Wales. In their debut at the Celtic Media Festival, the hugely popular Irish website Journal.ie gets their first nod in this popular category of Radio Documentary.
See the full list of nominations here: www.celticmediafestival.co.uk/nominees
Notes for editors:
ABOUT THE CELTIC MEDIA FESTIVAL
* The Celtic Media Festival 2020 is being held from 2nd-4th of June in Quimper, Brittany, France.
* The Celtic Media Festival’s aim is to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic countries on screen and in broadcasting. The Celtic Media Festival is supported by broadcast, film, cultural and economic development organisations throughout the Celtic countries.
* The festival is an annual three-day celebration of broadcasting, film talent and excellence from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall, Brittany and Galicia.
* One of the many festival highlights will be the presentation of the Torc Awards for Excellence. Categories include Drama Series, Factual Series, Arts, Sport, Current Affairs, Short Form and Radio Station of the Year. For further details, please see www.celticmediafestival.co.uk
* For more details on the history of the festival, award categories and delegate registration, please visit www.celticmediafestival.co.uk
* The festival is core funded by: BBC Wales, BBC Northern Ireland, RTÉ, TG4, MG
ALBA, Northern Ireland Screen, BBC Scotland and S4C.
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