They included Sedona May Tubbs and Kieran Howe, who were part of the team from the Royal Conservatoire Scotland who won the Drama category with their film What Separates Us From the Beast.

Sedona said, “any students thinking about submitting their work should not be afraid and just submit and keep submitting”.

A similar message was echoed by Marco Di Gioia from the University of Stirling’s team that produced the Factual category winner, The Bad Guy.

“You have nothing to lose. Especially if you a do a topic that interests you, and that you are passionate about, you’ll have made a piece that is interesting and shows you’ve gone the extra mile”.

Since winning her award, Sedona May Tubbs now works as a Film Teacher at the SAE Institute in Glasgow. Marco Di Gioia and his team have had their film­ commissioned into a longer 30-minute documentary by the BBC.

2018 Comedy & Entertainment winner, Andy Ashworth, was also at the event. His short-comedy ‘Best Men’ also took home the National RTS Students Awards trophy. Andy now works at Cut Media in Glasgow, making content for various clients across the globe including Adidas, Red Bull and Visit Scotland. Talking with Laura he revealed a new 1 month paid internship that Cut Media is now launching to support upcoming talent.

Unveiling the criteria and deadlines for this year’s awards, Chair of judges James Wilson said, “judges love to also hear about the thinking behind the concept and hear about how your movie was developed”. Entries should ensure they have full clearance on any music used, as all nominated and winning programmes will be available on the STV Player for the year. 

The evening was then closed with STV Chief Executive Simon Pitts announcing that STV would be continuing its increased support for upcoming talent in Scotland. As well as supporting the Student Awards for a second year, STV are now also sponsoring 10 new Scottish RTS Bursary students, through mentoring and financial assistance.

The deadline for award entries is the 25th of October 2019 with the 2020 awards taking place on the 5th of February at The Everyman cinema, Glasgow.