A film created by staff and students from Bath Spa University has been shortlisted for two prestigious awards at this year’s British Film Institute London Film Festival.
Robert Brown, Media Practice Lecturer at Bath Spa and Director of Sixteen has been nominated for Best British Newcomer and the film has also been nominated for the Sutherland Award, given since 1958 in recognition of the best first feature film at the Festival.
Sixteen was produced by Senior Lecturer in Creative Media Practice at Bath Spa, Nic Jeune and Jake Hume, film producer and was supported by a crew of film professionals and students from Bath Spa University.
As part of the Festival, Sixteen will premiere at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square on Monday 14th October followed by the awards ceremony at Banqueting House on Saturday 19th October.
Commenting on the nominations, Robert said: “I’m really honoured that the film has been nominated for the prestigious Sutherland Award and my directing has been recognised with a Best British Newcomer nomination. To have been nominated considering the film wasn’t even finished when it was initially judged back in June is particularly pleasing and hopefully demonstrates the quality of this film.
“Sixteen was made with the support of Bath Spa University and its students, without whom we simply couldn’t have made the film. Several public funds rejected Sixteen when we submitted it so it means a lot that the University showed faith in the project and it is now paying dividends for all involved.”
The film is an urban thriller about Jumah, an African former child soldier now living in London. Jumah’s life looks to be taking a turn for the better with Jumah having a sweet but tentative romance blossoming with a girl called Chloe at school.
However, Jumah witnesses a stabbing in an underpass forcing him to confront his own violent past. The men involved make sure Jumah says nothing to the police as violence forces its way back into Jumah’s life.
Sixteen stars Rachael Stirling (ITV’s The Bletchley Circle, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen), Roger Nsengiyumva (Africa United) and Sam Spruell (Defiance, The Hurt Locker, Snow White and the Huntsman) and was filmed using the same cameras and lenses as used on the latest James Bond film, Skyfall.
The film has been made both to demonstrate the talent of the University’s students and staff, and also to provide a case study to help students on the newly created MA Feature Filmmaking course, understand feature film production before they make their own feature films as part of their degree.
The film was in need of an additional £15,000 to help fund post production costs so the team sought to raise the money needed through crowd sourcing websites such as Kickstarter. Following great support, the amount was raised enabling the film to be finished in time for the Festival.
Nic added: “Students of the MA Feature Filmmaking course have to learn about the funding of filmmaking projects and will be expected to raise money for their films through crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter. By raising the money ourselves in this way, we have provided a best practice template for future students.”
