Category of Screen Based Practice Research
Winner
Ruthless Times - Songs of Care
Linear film. 131 minutes.
Susanna Helke
(Aalto University, Finland)
Linear film. 131 minutes.
Susanna Helke
(Aalto University, Finland)
Ruthless Times - Songs of Care is documentary film on the elderly care crisis in a Scandinavian welfare state, combining choir tableaus with documentary material. The film was made as part of the artistic research project Images of Harmony and Rupture: Documentary Film Reflecting Fractures in the Scandinavian Welfare State Ethos.
What the judges had to say
"This is a stunning and daring documentary about the privatisation and evisceration of the elderly care system. It combines primary research, and detailed journalistic probing with moments of surreal humour and beauty. It upturns the usual narrative arc on its head. The strength of the documentary has so much traction as to suggest the widest possible critique of the current relationship or social contract between state, citizen and the market economy. The scale and ambition of this film is remarkable, formally adventurous and politically acute."
"This is a stunning and daring documentary about the privatisation and evisceration of the elderly care system. It combines primary research, and detailed journalistic probing with moments of surreal humour and beauty. It upturns the usual narrative arc on its head. The strength of the documentary has so much traction as to suggest the widest possible critique of the current relationship or social contract between state, citizen and the market economy. The scale and ambition of this film is remarkable, formally adventurous and politically acute."
Runner-up
Is the number six million – the sacred tally of Jews killed by Nazis – a symbol that we should not question or is understanding it the only way to defend it? In his signature personal style, 2nd generation to Holocaust survivor David Fisher’s film essay, with Executive Producer Errol Morris on board, explores how the number was written into the canon.
What the judges had to say
"The film is a fascinating and genuinely exploratory piece of film making in which a son of holocaust survivors sets out to interrogate the significance and accuracy of the number of six million. The film is exhaustive in its sources and range of interviewees who respond on an emotional spectrum. The film interrogates the way in which a fact can become a *public fact* critically important today during our epistemic crisis when the status of rival truth claims is particularly significant. The film manages both to challenge and add to our understanding both of the Holocaust and of the documentary form itself."
"The film is a fascinating and genuinely exploratory piece of film making in which a son of holocaust survivors sets out to interrogate the significance and accuracy of the number of six million. The film is exhaustive in its sources and range of interviewees who respond on an emotional spectrum. The film interrogates the way in which a fact can become a *public fact* critically important today during our epistemic crisis when the status of rival truth claims is particularly significant. The film manages both to challenge and add to our understanding both of the Holocaust and of the documentary form itself."
Honourable mention
Nothing Echoes Here
Linear film. 27 mins.
Jimmy Hay
(University of Bristol)
Linear film. 27 mins.
Jimmy Hay
(University of Bristol)
Nothing Echoes Here is a Brigstow Institute-funded short film, that was written, shot and directed in order to investigate the portrayal and representation of grief in fiction cinema. Formal elements of film language and performance seek to portray grief in an authentic and empathetic manner, prioritising a sense of experience over story and narrative. The film also explores the role that space – interior, exterior, familiar, non-familiar and the aural space of silence too – plays for those grieving a sudden, profound loss.
What the judges had to say
"The film offers an autoethnographic reflection in order to question the current cinematic discourses around grief. Beautifully constructed, well shot and acted. This film investigates grief without relying on a cause-and-effect narrative structure. With the storytelling unfolding in an acutely gentle, probing and visceral way."
"The film offers an autoethnographic reflection in order to question the current cinematic discourses around grief. Beautifully constructed, well shot and acted. This film investigates grief without relying on a cause-and-effect narrative structure. With the storytelling unfolding in an acutely gentle, probing and visceral way."
Special mention
This year, the panel reviewed more remarkable films than before. The judges felt this marked a pivotal development in the significance, impact, and knowledge exchange of practice research in film. In recognition of this, the BAFTSS EC has decided to include a "Special Mention" nomination for this category.
Cost of Living
Linear film. 17 mins.
Martin Hall
(York St John)
Cost of Living is a timely short film, curated from more than half a century of archive footage, that reflects on the pandemic cycles of boom and bust that continue to affect us.
Linear film. 17 mins.
Martin Hall
(York St John)
Cost of Living is a timely short film, curated from more than half a century of archive footage, that reflects on the pandemic cycles of boom and bust that continue to affect us.
What the judges had to say:
"A highly effective and well edited montage of the archive material, resonant of contemporary crises and stimulating critical thought about the past. The film demonstrates with tragic acuity how class war has an unchanging, almost eternal aspect. The film delivers a human face, a hard face and a face that is comparable to what the UK faces now."
"A highly effective and well edited montage of the archive material, resonant of contemporary crises and stimulating critical thought about the past. The film demonstrates with tragic acuity how class war has an unchanging, almost eternal aspect. The film delivers a human face, a hard face and a face that is comparable to what the UK faces now."
Category of Videographic Criticism
Winner
Spencer Bell, Nobody Knows My Name
Liz Greene
(Northumbria University)
Spencer Bell, Nobody Knows My Name is an audiovisual essay that makes explicit the racist depiction of an African American actor, Spencer Bell, in the first feature length film of The Wizard of Oz (1925). I made this audiovisual essay for several reasons. Firstly, to highlight the strong performance of Spencer Bell in his role as the Cowardly Lion; secondly, to illustrate the racism on display within this film; and finally, to draw attention to how racism in cinema systematically silenced and limited actors’ careers and legacies.
Liz Greene
(Northumbria University)
Spencer Bell, Nobody Knows My Name is an audiovisual essay that makes explicit the racist depiction of an African American actor, Spencer Bell, in the first feature length film of The Wizard of Oz (1925). I made this audiovisual essay for several reasons. Firstly, to highlight the strong performance of Spencer Bell in his role as the Cowardly Lion; secondly, to illustrate the racism on display within this film; and finally, to draw attention to how racism in cinema systematically silenced and limited actors’ careers and legacies.
What the judges had to say
"Published in Open Screens, this is an important film which combines a decolonising impetus with archival research to excavate an unknown (and often uncredited) African American character actor, Spencer Bell. The video isolates and reverses footage of Bell's performance in the 1925 silent film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz to haunting effect, rendering his movements uncanny. This estranging technique is combined with a scholarly narration that seeks to expose his racist depiction. The explanatory voiceover is academic in tone, whilst at the same time being grounded in the author's own subject position as an Irish woman, with an accent which differs from both US and UK standard English. Reading against the grain the video essay attempts to redress the injustices of Hollywood history, inviting us to critically interrogate the representation of Blackness in the early golden age of cinema. The dynamic tension between voice and image tracks works to create videographic film criticism that is both intellectually and emotionally powerful. Formally adventurous, politically engaged, highly original, rigorously researched and executed. A phenomenal video all around, both in terms of form and content."
"Published in Open Screens, this is an important film which combines a decolonising impetus with archival research to excavate an unknown (and often uncredited) African American character actor, Spencer Bell. The video isolates and reverses footage of Bell's performance in the 1925 silent film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz to haunting effect, rendering his movements uncanny. This estranging technique is combined with a scholarly narration that seeks to expose his racist depiction. The explanatory voiceover is academic in tone, whilst at the same time being grounded in the author's own subject position as an Irish woman, with an accent which differs from both US and UK standard English. Reading against the grain the video essay attempts to redress the injustices of Hollywood history, inviting us to critically interrogate the representation of Blackness in the early golden age of cinema. The dynamic tension between voice and image tracks works to create videographic film criticism that is both intellectually and emotionally powerful. Formally adventurous, politically engaged, highly original, rigorously researched and executed. A phenomenal video all around, both in terms of form and content."
Runner-up
Can I Remember it Differently
Cormac Donnelly
(Liverpool John Moores)
Cormac Donnelly
(Liverpool John Moores)
This video essay was made as part of the collaborative project 'Once Upon a Screen' and is a response to a text prompt written by Ariel Avissar. The video essay reflects on questions of film memory, trauma, and catharsis through practice.
What the judges had to say:
"A fascinating discussion of re-remembering Minority Report and the phenomenon of "Après-Coup", which builds creatively on Ariel Avissar's provocation. Part of the originality of this video essay comes from the collaboration format itself. But the process-driven unfolding of this piece, together with the integration of a variety of found footage (wittily as well as enlighteningly deployed), paratextual archive and snippets of text, along with the moments from Minority Report, all arranged in split screen, makes this a genuinely novel piece of work. This is a very significant contribution to the essay film as a ‘form that thinks'. The thinking happens formally and in the interrelation of form and content (that must be resolved by the viewer). Likely to be highly influential, even as it remains a model hard to emulate in terms of its achievement. Beautifully made and integrates the personal and the scholarly persuasively through an impressive mix of poetic, personal, and scholarly and a range of videographic techniques."
"A fascinating discussion of re-remembering Minority Report and the phenomenon of "Après-Coup", which builds creatively on Ariel Avissar's provocation. Part of the originality of this video essay comes from the collaboration format itself. But the process-driven unfolding of this piece, together with the integration of a variety of found footage (wittily as well as enlighteningly deployed), paratextual archive and snippets of text, along with the moments from Minority Report, all arranged in split screen, makes this a genuinely novel piece of work. This is a very significant contribution to the essay film as a ‘form that thinks'. The thinking happens formally and in the interrelation of form and content (that must be resolved by the viewer). Likely to be highly influential, even as it remains a model hard to emulate in terms of its achievement. Beautifully made and integrates the personal and the scholarly persuasively through an impressive mix of poetic, personal, and scholarly and a range of videographic techniques."
Honourable mention
Tracing the Threads of Influence: George Hoyningen-Huene and Les Girls (1957)
Lucy Fife Donaldson
(University of St Andrews)
Lucy Fife Donaldson
(University of St Andrews)
Drawing on archival materials and textual analysis, this audiovisual essay builds an account of George Hoyningen-Huene's contribution and collaborations with George Cukor, Gene Allen and Orry-Kelly on 'Les Girls'. Arguing that Huene's contribution should be considered crucial to the film’s achievements is an effort to highlight the kind of creative work that is frequently forgotten or sidelined, and to therefore recognise that the artistry of filmmaking should be shared among a larger group than has been traditionally acknowledged.
What the judges had to say:
"Highly rigorous archival research in a beautifully executed essay exploring the underappreciated craft contribution of Hoyningen-Huene to Les Girls, and the unsung role of the colour consultant in general. Very fine research that is effectively communicated, and dynamically illustrated, with a rhetorically powerful mix and montage of archival material, painting, stills and clips, and close analysis. The traditional scholarly voiceover is a well-deployed, balanced well with the visuals, offering a guide to this under-researched material. Using standard documentary-essay techniques with elements of desktop documentary, this is a very fine piece of original archival research and film analysis, which is enormously effective and engrossing, well-paced and easy to follow. The skill with which the prose statement stages the stakes in this study, ensures that the film historical approach here, as well as the example of its specific subject, attests to the reach and significance of this work."
"Highly rigorous archival research in a beautifully executed essay exploring the underappreciated craft contribution of Hoyningen-Huene to Les Girls, and the unsung role of the colour consultant in general. Very fine research that is effectively communicated, and dynamically illustrated, with a rhetorically powerful mix and montage of archival material, painting, stills and clips, and close analysis. The traditional scholarly voiceover is a well-deployed, balanced well with the visuals, offering a guide to this under-researched material. Using standard documentary-essay techniques with elements of desktop documentary, this is a very fine piece of original archival research and film analysis, which is enormously effective and engrossing, well-paced and easy to follow. The skill with which the prose statement stages the stakes in this study, ensures that the film historical approach here, as well as the example of its specific subject, attests to the reach and significance of this work."
Doctoral category
Winner
Affiorare (Surfacing)
360° VR documentary (requires VR headset). 21 mins.
Rosa Rossella Schillaci
(Nova University of Lisbon)
360° VR documentary (requires VR headset). 21 mins.
Rosa Rossella Schillaci
(Nova University of Lisbon)
A 360° immersive experimental documentary set amongst mothers and children who live in prison. The film provides a journey into their everyday life, with animations of their memories of the past and dreams for the future, created through a collaborative process during PhD practice-based research.
What the judges had to say
"This highly creative VR piece utilises the 360° form to expressively represent the experiences of women and their children who are imprisoned under the Italian legal system, which requires children remain with their mother in prison until the age of 10. The imagery, animations and soundscape coalesce with the spoken commentary to fully immerse the audience in the environment. These elements encourage the audience to feel empathy for the mothers and their children, deepening a sense of connection with their stories. The research statement clearly sets out the aims, intentions, theoretical underpinnings and the innovative collaborative methodology of the film, revealing the creative complexity of this brilliant project."
"This highly creative VR piece utilises the 360° form to expressively represent the experiences of women and their children who are imprisoned under the Italian legal system, which requires children remain with their mother in prison until the age of 10. The imagery, animations and soundscape coalesce with the spoken commentary to fully immerse the audience in the environment. These elements encourage the audience to feel empathy for the mothers and their children, deepening a sense of connection with their stories. The research statement clearly sets out the aims, intentions, theoretical underpinnings and the innovative collaborative methodology of the film, revealing the creative complexity of this brilliant project."
Runner-up
Gaddafi in Rome: Notes for a Film
Linear documentaries. 3 x 20 mins.
Alessandra Ferrini
(University of the Arts, London)
Linear documentaries. 3 x 20 mins.
Alessandra Ferrini
(University of the Arts, London)
Gaddafi in Rome: Notes for a Film is a three-channel essay film that dissects a twenty-first century neo-colonial spectacle that caused a media frenzy in Italy: the 2009 meeting between Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar Gaddafi in Rome.
What the judges had to say
"This fascinating documentary/installation (constructed in 3x20min sections in order to reflexively interrogate the 3-act structure) explores Gaddafi's 2009 visit to Italy to meet with Berlusconi. The film adopts and adapts the traditional expository documentary form (voice-of-god narration illustrated by indexical visuals) in a highly original way. It creatively utilises still and moving images combined with web-based sources that are literally dissected to explore the layers of complexity in this unique event, revealing complex themes around colonization, migration, national identity and representation."
"This fascinating documentary/installation (constructed in 3x20min sections in order to reflexively interrogate the 3-act structure) explores Gaddafi's 2009 visit to Italy to meet with Berlusconi. The film adopts and adapts the traditional expository documentary form (voice-of-god narration illustrated by indexical visuals) in a highly original way. It creatively utilises still and moving images combined with web-based sources that are literally dissected to explore the layers of complexity in this unique event, revealing complex themes around colonization, migration, national identity and representation."
Honourable mention
Divergent Minds
Linear animated documentary. 56mins.
Alex Widdowson
(Queen Mary University of London)
Linear animated documentary. 56mins.
Alex Widdowson
(Queen Mary University of London)
A work-in-progress animated documentary feature film about the neurodiversity paradigm, autism representation and documentary ethics.
What the judges had to say
"This animated collaborative documentary sensitively and reflexively explores the experiences of its participants whist simultaneously questioning the filmmaker’s motivations and methods. The choice to use animation as the method of visually representing its subjects’ experiences of neuro-divergence is thoughtfully explored within the film. This innovative methodology encourages the audience to consider how different forms of image-making produce a variety of interpretations – creatively coalescing with its core theme of divergence."
"This animated collaborative documentary sensitively and reflexively explores the experiences of its participants whist simultaneously questioning the filmmaker’s motivations and methods. The choice to use animation as the method of visually representing its subjects’ experiences of neuro-divergence is thoughtfully explored within the film. This innovative methodology encourages the audience to consider how different forms of image-making produce a variety of interpretations – creatively coalescing with its core theme of divergence."