(Photo by Jess Richards)

And the winner is … Newport!

Cineworld, Cardiff, Monday 12th May.

You may wonder what happens to the winners of the RTS Wales Student Film Awards.  What did they do next, and what effect did winning the award have on their careers?  The Wales Centre brought two alumni of the Newport Film School, who went on to win RTS UK awards, to Ffresh, the Student Media Festival in Cardiff, to reveal all.  In conversation with their former tutor, Chris Morris, they talked about their winning films, and what they are doing now.

Lauren Muchan (above) showed her 2009 film Letters to Angola, which told the story of her correspondence with Herman Wallace, who had spent 36 years in solitary confinement in a Louisiana prison.  Wallace was convicted of a murder he said he did not commit, and was only released when diagnosed with liver cancer.  He died two days later.

After winning the award and graduating, Lauren went on to make a campaigning feature length film on the Wallace case and the possible miscarriage of justice.  She then had an internship with The Mob Film Company, and is about join NATO TV in Afghanistan.  Lauren said that winning the RTS award had given her confidence in her own ability, and that Society events were a great place to make the contacts which are so vital at the start of your career.

Josh Bennett (above) won the Wales and UK Entertainment awards in 2011 for his programme Bedroom Live, a quirky music show presented from his own bedroom.  The format was picked up by Project4, and Josh produced nine programmes, and there was a UK wide tour based on the idea.

Josh has directed his first feature film and worked as a freelance for six months.  He has now set up his own production company.  ‘Storm+Shelter’ shoots all kinds of digital content, from documentaries to music programmes and corporate videos.

Both Lauren and Josh agreed that the RTS award was a very useful addition to their CVs.  Lauren said, “You know that the brand counts for something.  When you walk into an indie’s reception you always look for the RTS awards.  I know that winning it really did help kick start my career”.
 

Tim Hartley

Some Bedroom Live videos are available on YouTube

Letters to Angola is available on Vimeo