Film club nominated for national award
YOUNG film programmers from Tiree walked the red carpet this week after being nominated for national recognition at the 2018 Into Film Awards.
Their Into Film club was nominated for its exceptional engagement with film and they attended a star-studded ceremony, hosted by TV and radio presenter Gemma Cairney, at BFI Southbank on Tuesday March 13, though they didn’t win.
Tiree Film Club leader Jen Skinner said: ‘We were thrilled to be nominated as Film Club of the Year. Tiree has a population of 650 and the nearest cinema is four hours away by boat.
‘Our biggest highlight last year was welcoming Jim Parkyn from Aardman. He made Morphs with most of the children on the island and adults. He talked about his work at Aardman and introduced films. He inspired some future animators, with one girl saying it had been ‘the best day ever’.
‘This year we started our young film programmers group and it was fantastic to hear their ideas including a spooky Hallowe'en screening and a snowball fight during a festive screening of Elf.
‘One of our young film programmers has also gone on to be a youth adviser for Into Film, which is an amazing opportunity for him. Running our film club opens up the world of cinema not just on Tiree but connects us with activity across the UK, enabling us to share ideas and broaden our experiences.’
The awards were hosted by film education charity Into Film, which engages with more than half of UK schools and count Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Sheen and Naomie Harris among their ambassadors. The awards pay tribute to outstanding five- to 19-year-olds who have shown exceptional achievement in film-making, film reviewing or within their film clubs and to educators who have demonstrated inspirational use of film in the classroom.