STUDENTS from the University of Stirling and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama were the top winners at an awards ceremony held last night to celebrate the work of student TV programme-makers
The competition – organised by the Scottish branch of the Royal Television Society – saw the Stirling students take the prize for Best Factual Programme, while their counterparts from RSAMD were winners of the Best Fiction title.
The awards ceremony took place at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow. It was attended by almost 100 students, academics and industry professionals.
The Best Factual Programme winner, Upon the Green, was made by Woodruff Laputka, Maggie Whyte, Stephen Sirinides, Andrew Cameron, Kirsty Black and Cheryl Judge. Described as “a moving observational documentary..which focused on the personalities involved in running an outdoor bowling club”, the RTS judging panel said it was “an outstanding piece of work”.
Also nominated in the Factual category were A Hound’s Day Out (University of the West of Scotland) and A New Beginning (also the University of Stirling).
The Best Fiction award went to Room 9, made by RSAMD students Carlo D’Alessandro, Karen Gardener and David Van Der Zanden. It is described as “a story of a young woman’s fantasy relationship with a mysterious hotel guest”.
Other nominations in the Fiction category were Ghost Story (RSAMD) and Liam (University of Stirling). Two other productions, Ties (University of Stirling) and Up (City of Glasgow College), were commended by the judges.
The awards were presented by BBC Scotland executive producer of Children’s Programmes, Yvonne Jennings, and leading drama producer, Barbara McKissack, of Heaton Productions. The event was organised by Christine Geraghty Professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow.
RTS Scotland chair, Henry Eagles, described this year’s entries as “proof that the future of film making for television in Scotland is in very talented hands”.
The award winners are nominated automatically for the RTS UK Student Awards, which take place later this Spring. Last year’s UK Fiction award was won by another RSAMD production, ‘Choreomania’.
