Sarah McCaffrey, Chair of the RTS NI said: “As an educational charity, the RTS NI Student Awards encourage, nurture, support and reward the talent, potential and enthusiasm of students in colleges and universities across Northern Ireland creating film and video content. We are delighted to provide our emerging talent with a high-profile platform to showcase their work and look forward to announcing the Northern Ireland winners at the end of this month, who will then go forward to take part in the national RTS Student Awards in June.”

Aidan Browne, Chair of the RTS NI Students Awards said: “We received more than 30 entries for this year’s awards and I know the judges had a very difficult task selecting the shortlist we are announcing today. The local universities and colleges are to be congratulated for ensuring our future generations of creatives graduate with the skills necessary to work in the vibrant Northern Ireland creative industries sector.”

Bernard McCloskey, Head of Exhibition at Northern Ireland Screen said: “Northern Ireland Screen is delighted to be able to support these awards in partnership with RTS NI. The screen industry in Northern Ireland is a key economic driver and to future proof the industry we must support and encourage a talent pipeline of skilled and experienced young people. The RTS NI awards provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on and reward local emerging creative talent who will drive the industry forward.”

UTV Reporter Nathan Hanna, host of the RTS NI Student Awards 2024 says: “I’m really looking forward to hosting these awards which showcase the best of creative talent from our third level students across Northern Ireland. The RTS NI plays a huge role in supporting the next generation of content creators and winning one of these awards provides students with a prestigious accolade to help them with their future careers.”

The nominees for this year’s Awards are:

Animation Category

·         Pure: Michael Doherty, Matthew Kerr and Christopher McCann from Ulster University, Belfast.

·         Unseen –  Alone In Space: Patrick Faulkner from Ulster University, Belfast.

Drama Category

·         Spring is Sure to Follow: Andrew McAllister, Lucy Johnston, Lucy Maxwell, Jon-Marc Maguire, William Penney and Dominic Small from Queen’s University Belfast.

·         Saoirse: Jessica Banks, Aisling Carroll, Karl Castles and David Johnston from Queen’s University Belfast.

·         When It Rains: Luke O’Grady and Marty Carlin from Ulster University, Belfast.

Entertainment and Comedy Drama Category

·         Mantis Shrimp: Stella Skiadopoulou, Jiale Rui, Amy Lonergan, Harry Thompson and Dai Qingyongcuo from Queen’s University Belfast.

·         Soap N’Pie: Catherine Osborne, Luke Galbraith, Matthew Ardies, Danny de Vecchis, Aaron Connolly, Jamie Edgar, Rab McPhee, Dean Wilson, James Ardis, Jamie Powell, Nathan Toland and Joel Rafferty from Belfast Metropolitan College.

Factual – Short Form Category

·         Being Punk: Haoyue Hu, Shanshan Qiu and Jean Watt from Queens University Belfast.

·         On The Edge: Nathan Edgar from Ulster University, Coleraine Campus.

·         Above Par: Harry Thompson, Olivia Peden, Luke Darby, Owen Hogg and Emma Harrisson from Queens University Belfast.

·         Baltic: Stella Skiadopoulou, Padraigin Meighan, Stephen Linkens, Jiale Rui and Dai Qingyongcuo from Queen’s University Belfast.

The winners of these Awards will go forward to the national RTS Student Media Awards in London in June and will also be invited to this year’s RTS NI Programme Awards in November 2024 where they will meet top professionals from across the local screen industries.