Three Goldsmiths films reach Royal Television Society Student Awards final

Three films made by Goldsmiths, University of London graduates have reached the shortlist for the Royal Television Society Student Television Awards 2016.

2015 MA Screen Documentary alumnus Phillip Wood’s film about his father’s heroin addiction, Chasing Dad: A Lifelong Addiction, has been shortlisted in the Postgraduate Factual category, alongside projects from Bournemouth University and the National Film and Television School.

The intimate and revealing film – developed from Phillip’s final project at Goldsmiths – was recently screened on BBC3 and again on BBC1 (Tuesday 3 May), giving a “strikingly stark exploration” into a subject that significantly affected Phillip’s childhood.

It is available to watch on iPlayer, and you can read more from Phillip in his April 2016 interview with The Telegraph.

Both of the films shortlisted in the Royal Television Society’s newly-launched Postgraduate News category are by Goldsmiths MA Television Journalism graduates.

“Are cloned horses the future of equestrian sport?” asked 2015 MA Television Journalism alumna Anna Lidster in Cloning: Tailored for Success. Featuring professional riders and experts, the film also stars Tomatillo – one of two cloned horses living in the UK.

Anna is currently working as an associate producer at the largest production company in Qatar, Resolution Films. Since graduating she has completed two documentaries for Al Jazeera and is currently working on a third.

After Poland joined the EU many Poles came to Britain to work and set up home in the UK. But the traffic has not all been one way, as Anna Senkara – also a 2015 MA Television Journalism alumna – discovered in Brits in Poland, as she met with Brits who chose to pursue the good life in Poland.

Since graduating Anna Senkara has been working as London correspondent for a Polish TV station.

Stuart Murphy, Chair of the RTS Student Television Awards and Director, Sky Entertainment Channels, said: “The RTS Student Television Awards are an important showcase of the extraordinary talent coming out of our universities today.

"These students will be the future of broadcasting and it is important to recognise and support them."

The RTS Student Television Awards 2016 will be presented on Friday 3 June 2016 to reward outstanding work produced during the 2014/2015 academic year. After the ceremony at the BFI, Southbank, nominated films will be available to view on Sky Arts’ on-demand service.

For more information visit rts.org.uk/award/studentawards2016

Find out more about MA Filmmaking (Screen Documentary) and MA Television Journalism in the Department of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths.