The 15th edition of the BFI Future Film Festival announced the winners of the Awards with talented young filmmakers aged 16-25 that took home prizes include Adekemi Roluga for Best New Talent for Exhale; Florence Winter Hill for Best Film for The Gospel According to Gail; and Will Wightman for Best Director for Heart Failure.
Other awards went to Georgia Madden for Best Animation for Divination Dave; Bradley Banton for Best Experimental Film for Blackmael; Lucy Werrett for Best Documentary for Homebound; Katie Byford for Best Writer for You Look Fine; Christina Giordano for Best Micro Short for Stolen; Spencer Glassman for Best International Special Mention for This Time With Feeling and Evan Kerbage for Best International Film for Mirrored Family.
Winners of BFI Future Film Festival Award
BEST NEW TALENT
EXHALE (Dir. Adekemi Roluga)
The jury selected Adekemi Roluga’s EXHALE, a film that explores the mental and emotional impact of racial micro-aggressions and follows six individuals who differ in age, gender, and location, but are united by a shared experience.
BEST FILM
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GAIL (Dir. Florence Winter Hill)
The jury selected Florence Winter Hill’S THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GAIL, a film that follows 17 year old Mia (played by ROCKS’ Bukky Bakray), who just wants to live life in the fast lane, but learning to drive with Gail is so much more than a driving lesson, it’s a life lesson. This category recognizes the Best Film made by a UK-based filmmaker aged 16-25.
BEST DIRECTOR
HEART FAILURE (Dir. Will Wightman)
The jury selected Will Wightman’s HEART FAILURE, a musical, but not as you know it which follows Frank and his relationship with Lizzie. From the one-night stand where they meet, to the day she tells him she loves him; from the week she ignores his texts, to the moment she says they need to talk.
BEST ANIMATION
DIVINATION DAVE (Dir. Georgia Madden)
Georgia Madden wins £1,000 + a mentoring package for DIVINATION DAVE, a story about a crisp loving couch potato who finds himself on a journey of accidental enlightenment when his favorite flavor of salty crisps runs out.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
MIRRORED FAMILY (Dir. Evan Kerbage)
Evan Kerbage wins for MIRRORED FAMILY, an insightful piece that offers a glimpse into the developing relationships of five family members in isolation during the first Covid lockdown.
BEST INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL MENTION
THIS TIME WITH FEELING (Dir. Spencer Glassman)
Spencer Glassman wins for THIS TIME WITH FEELING, a tale of desperation as budding actress Edith launches into a spiral of self-doubt after heart-breaking rejections.
BEST WRITER
YOU LOOK FINE (Dir. Katie Byford)
Katie Byford wins for YOU LOOK FINE, which follows Syd as she attends a doctor’s appointment while coping with PTSD symptoms, following a recent incident of sexual assault.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
BLACKMAEL (Dir. Bradley Banton)
The award goes to Bradley Banton’s BLACKMAEL, a thought-provoking piece on assimilation and an extension of self-preservation – a social tactic familiar to Black people yet far from exclusive to the Black experience.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
HOMEBOUND (Dir. Lucy Werrett)
HOMEBOUND takes a retrospective look at the collective mental shifts that occurred in the first UK lockdown; narrated by a patchwork quilt of anonymous voices, self-recorded from within their isolation.
BEST MICRO SHORT
STOLEN. (Dir. Christina Giordano)
STOLEN. brings you on a journey from who and where stolen items could have gone.