Hosted by rapper, author and broadcaster Guvna B, the winners were crowned at the prestigious awards ceremony at the IET, Savoy Place on the Friday 21 June. The RTS Student Television Awards is an annual celebration, showcasing the talent, potential and enthusiasm of students across the UK, identifying exceptional skills and craftsmanship.

The National Film and Television School took home the most wins this afternoon, receiving eight awards across the 24 categories with five of the organisation’s students winning each craft award, including Camera Work, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Writing for the postgraduate categories. Additionally, three projects from the National Film and Television School achieved two awards during the ceremony – Crab Day, Jellyfish and Lobster and With Woman – with each project receiving both a crafts and genre award.

The newly formed Factual categories, now divided into Factual Short Form and Factual Long Form,  crowned Strongwoman for Undergraduate and Death at Sea for Postgraduate in the Factual Short Form categories. Walking the Labyrinth took home the Undergraduate Factual Long Form award, and With Woman received the Postgraduate award. The redefined Saving the Planet award, previously known as Environment and Sustainability, received a wealth of high quality submissions with Tails of Cumbrian Heritage winning Undergraduate and Cowboys vs Prairie Dogs winning for Postgraduate.

Sinéad Rocks, Managing Director, Nations and Regions at Channel 4 and Chair of the RTS Student Television Awards, said: “The RTS Student Television Awards are a brilliant opportunity to recognise the next generation of industry entrants at the top of their games, who are creating dynamic, skilled films and soon to be transforming the screen industries. As we celebrate our winners and nominees, it is a reminder of the value of creating content and its ability to evoke conversation and change. We are now looking forward to receiving submissions for the RTS Student Television Awards 2025.”

The RTS today also launched the 2025 RTS Student Television Awards, with submissions now open until Monday 4th November 2024 and the ceremony set to take place in June 2025. The awards are open to all students enrolled with higher education colleges, universities and institutions in the UK and Ireland only. Entries must have been made between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024. For more information please visit:  https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-student-television-awards-2025

Please see below the full list of 2024 winners and nominees with citations from the juries:

 

Undergraduate Categories

 

Undergraduate Animation

WINNER - Sketchbook - James Watt, Nyah Deamer, Marta Smielewski & Steven Watt (Manchester Metropolitan University)

“The judges felt that the poignancy of the story in this short was well matched by the beautiful and ambitious animation. The attention to detail on colour and visuals was particularly commented upon.”

Nominees:

• Doggerland - Michael Blake & Martin To (University of the West of England, Bristol)
• The Curse of Dracular - Jack Paterson (Norwich University of the Arts)

 

Undergraduate Drama

WINNER - Skive - Corinna Elleschild, Ellis Cate, Louis Barron-Forde, Charlie Guy-Jones & Team (University of the West of England, Bristol)

“The winning film impressed the panel with its authentic and relatable story, told with an irresistible life force, wit and energy. Brilliantly dynamic use of camera, interesting framing and sophisticated yet simple lighting brought the drama to life. Clever visual storytelling, music and humour augmented the piece; really highlighting the feel of the film's world and the aspirations and frustrations of the lead characters.”

Nominees:

• Care - Jagoda Tlok, Jess Kelly, Euan Farmer, Juno Glover & Team (Screen Academy Scotland (Edinburgh Napier University))
• Night Light - Oscar Bell, Thomas Ellison & Madeleine Reddy (Staffordshire University)

 

Undergraduate Entertainment and Comedy Drama

WINNER - The Other Half - Alina Ilin & Benjamin Bogdan-Hodgson (Middlesex University)

“A beautifully shot, quirky and wonderful storyline, were just some of the comments from the jurors. The pacing, technical execution and grading were noted as being of particularly impressive quality, and the whole show felt like a treat. A bonkers, weird and wonderful, visually amazing film.”

Nominees:

• Lulu's Zoo - Sarah Baker (University of Salford)
• Worst Thing - Jayme Bartlett, Bobby Donaldson, Hayley Louise McGuire, Petra Crace & Team (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)

 

Undergraduate Factual – Long Form

WINNER - Walking the Labyrinth - Jessica Doherty, Conor Farrelly, Megan Hughes, Kim Stewart & Team (Dundalk Institute of Technology)

“This quietly compelling film was technically superb - with an engaging, well-produced protagonist, and a narrative arc that gripped throughout. Poetic, hypnotic, charming: a simple story, beautifully told."

Nominees:

• Simme Tutt’uno - Alice Franchi, Yasmin Boxall, Freddie Logan & Alice Sacco (University of Westminster)
• Thank you, Final Fantasy VII - Mark Stiles (University of Sunderland)

 

Undergraduate Factual – Short Form

WINNER - Strongwoman - Kyla Miller, Ewan Patrick, Jodie McMail, Katrina McEwan & Remi Peron (University of Stirling)

“The jury thought this was a strongly told story through the eyes of one woman and her supporting characters. The pacing of the story telling mixed with the intimacy of the shooting resulted in a very engaging and moving film.”

Nominees:

• Beyond Borders: Mo's Story - Oliver Burke, Searus Aynsley & Max Clibbon (Sheffield Hallam University)
• Dragons - Tyrese Shipp, Sophie Taylor, Harry Orr & Alex Chiles (Bath Spa University)

 

Undergraduate Journalism

WINNER - I'LL JUST HAVE CATS - Kay Proctor & Team (University of Gloucestershire)

“This was a really compelling story, with brilliant case studies and outstanding production values. The story-telling was engaging, and used clever devices to hold the audience’s interest.   This entry was inclusive in every sense of the word and was a very bright and informative watch.”

Nominees:

• ANGLE NEWS Final Newsday - Kaleigh Pritchard, Aoife Harkin, Meg Griffiths, Isaac Lewis & Team (University of Gloucestershire)
• Bruised - Carla Basu, Lauren Fitzpatrick & Adam Millar (University of the West of Scotland)

 

Undergraduate Saving the Planet

WINNER - Tails of Cumbrian Heritage - Georgia Costin & Abbey Wilkinson (University of Cumbria)

“The jury said this was a clear and powerful film, making an impassioned argument for not losing touch with your roots.”

Nominees:

• Fibres - The Roots of Industrial Hemp - Matthew Tyler-Howells, Vic Kolbe & Emily Hogg (Aberystwyth University)
• Forgotten Fibre - Tristan Patrick Sherfield, Alex Stevenson, Maurice A Wren, Robert Loud & Team (University of the West of England, Bristol)

 

Craft Categories

 

Undergraduate Craft Skills – Camerawork

WINNER - Simme Tutt’uno - Freddie Logan (University of Westminster)

“The camerawork in this film showed a confidence and creativity that propelled the story and allowed the stunning visuals, and original story to capture our minds. It showed good juxtaposition of the bleakness of the landscape with the colour and joy of the community.”

 

Undergraduate Craft Skills – Editing

WINNER - Doggerland - Michael Blake (University of the West of England, Bristol)

“Beautiful, confident editing in it’s rawest form, taking this key skill and making a brilliantly eloquent and creative film. It flowed effortlessly from one scene to another, keeping your attention from start to finish and successfully conveying a number of emotions.”

 

Undergraduate Craft Skills – Production Design

WINNER - The Curse of Dracular - Jack Paterson (Norwich University of the Arts)

“What a stunning piece of work! The attention to detail in terms of storytelling, likeness and humour was at the heart of this wonderfully creative film.”

 

Undergraduate Craft Skills – Sound

WINNER - Worst Thing - Erin Williamson, Megan Daly & Jayme Bartlett (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)

“This film was very evocative with its multi layered use of sound. It was a story with sound design front and centre, as the spine of the film.”

 

Undergraduate Craft Skills – Writing

WINNER - Care - Jagoda Tlok (Screen Academy Scotland (Edinburgh Napier University))

“The brilliantly composed key relationship in this film have the exquisite, subtle and genuinely funny script to thank. The actors had a lot to work with and delivered performances which made you want to know where their friendship - and the writing - might take them next.”

 

Postgraduate Categories

 

Postgraduate Animation

WINNER - Crab Day - Ross Stringer, Aleksandra Sykulak, Bartosz Stanislawek & Donya Maguire (National Film and Television School)

“The judges loved this fresh take on a coming-of-age story told with humor and poignancy. The beautiful and deceptively simple animation style only served to enhance the clever storytelling in this captivating short.”

Nominees:

• Mum’s Spaghetti - Lisa Kenney, Emma Grazette, Martina Buendia Silva, Jack Maraghy & Team (National Film and Television School)
• Singularity - Conor Mullin, Alexander Leeming Froudakis, Joe Flowers, Pip Denning & Team (University of the West of England, Bristol)

 

Postgraduate Drama

WINNER - Jellyfish and Lobster - Elizabeth Rufai, Yasmin Afifi, Linda Wu,

Max Reynolds & Team (National Film and Television School)

“The jury were blown away by the technical execution of this film and felt that it delivered a powerful and emotional story. They were particularly impressed with tone; the way in which the dark and challenging subject matter was handled with levity throughout, and the filmmakers willingness to push the story in surprising and unexpected ways. They also noted the use of music and visual montage to achieve a poignant emotional effect.”

Nominees:

• Killing Boris Johnson - Musa Alderson-Clarke, Solomon Golding & Team (National Film and Television School)
• MaoMao - Siqin Qu, Yifei Yue, Xianglong Zhang & Shengshuo Hou (University of York)

 

Postgraduate Entertainment and Comedy Drama

WINNER - Why Don't You Stay For Tonight - Guilherme Pires, Yegor Chmilewsky,

El Hakim & Gundham Onorati (Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge Campus)

“A wild card entry that paid off! This was cited as a visually arresting, surreal and compelling watch. The lyrics, use of music, sound and choreography to tell a story came together really well and felt very different to the other entries in this category. This was definitely a show-stopper that commanded attention.”

Nominees:

• 7 Day Expert - Julia Waller, Hannah Dodge & Team (National Film and Television School)
• Tastes of the Past - Shu Wang, Anastasia Adruzova, Marcin Mazurek & Fleur Capocci (National Film and Television School)

 

Postgraduate Factual – Long Form

WINNER - With Woman - Mia Harvey, Yu-Pu Pon, Luke Barnfather, Diana Duah & Team (National Film and Television School)

“The jurors said this film was beautiful and warm with a perfect level of intimacy. It flowed naturally, with music and sound that made it a compelling, cinematic experience that we would expect to see in the cinema.”

Nominees:

• Cadáver - Benjamin Kodboel, Frederik Ribergaard, Itzel Gonzalez Estrada, Jack McCartney & Team (National Film and Television School)
• Lettre à Elie (Letter to Elie) - Alexis Grigorieff, Louise Bernard Pallas, Harry Foster, Ciara McKenna & Team (National Film and Television School)

 

Postgraduate Factual – Short Form

WINNER - Death at Sea - Sara Pipernos, Mikey Sneddon & Nyal Mueenuddin (University of the West of England, Bristol)

“Genuinely eye-opening, powerful and important original journalism with purpose. This was a story sensitively told with strong access, opening a window into an unknown world. The film maker shone a light on a massive injustice which resulted in an accomplished and emotional film.”

Nominees:

• My Dad and the Volcano - Gavin Reid & Brendan Swift (The University of the West of Scotland)
• My Mum Rita - Qiqi Hou (London College of Communication (University of the Arts London)

 

Postgraduate Journalism

WINNER - Charlton Upbeats Football Fundraiser - Lili Sheppard & Shivansh Gupta (City, University of London)

“This entry had high production values.  In a category that was hard to judge it was felt this entry wouldn’t have been out of place on a news magazine programme.  It brought us stories from people not normally heard from and felt really inclusive.”

Nominees:

• Ukranian cafe - Lili Sheppard & Tiffany Muthee (City, University of London)
• Under The Sky - The Homeless of Calcutta - Rini Ghosh (Nottingham Trent University)

 

Postgraduate Saving the Planet

WINNERS - Cowboys vs Prairie Dogs - Alexander Crisp (University of the West of England, Bristol)

“A deftly made film that moves assuredly between light and dark tones, with excellent access and impressive camerawork.”

Nominees:

• Forgotten Forests - Robyn Dean, Lauren Wynter, Siim Skepast, Jack McCartney & Team (National Film and Television School)
• Grasping the Nettle - Mairi Eyres, Leo Alexander, Mikey Sneddon, Ningjing Wang & Team (University of the West of England, Bristol)

 

Craft Categories

 

Postgraduate Craft Skills – Camerawork

WINNERS - Cadáver - Benjamin Kodboel (National Film and Television School)

“The jury was impressed with how the camera was sensitive in capturing the story by not being intrusive and wasn’t shy about the darker moments that helped bring this film to life. Letting shots breathe allowed the main character to be the author of his own story and its creative cinematography brought ashore the stark realities of a forgotten society.”

 

Postgraduate Craft Skills – Editing

WINNERS - With Woman - Yu-Pu Pon (National Film and Television School)

“The jury felt the use of black and white was a bold move that played off handsomely, especially when piecing together the final part of the story which showed the magical union between mother, father, and child with no unnoticeable cuts in sight. The pacing and rhythm of the editing style drive the scenes and help the film breathe and move forward at just the right moments in this winning entry.”

 

Postgraduate Craft Skills – Production Design

WINNERS - Mum’s Spaghetti - Luke Stronach (National Film and Television School)

“A great production designer is worth their weight in gold and this one certainly is and more. The attention to detail and variety of design was truly stunning that if you stopped to examine each scene, frame by frame, the environment created by the designer would have been a pleasure to light and shoot.”

 

Postgraduate Craft Skills – Sound

WINNERS - Crab Day - Simon Panayi (National Film and Television School)

“The jury recognized this film was exceptional. It was a challenging feat to bring a minimalist world to life, especially when sound was the driving force behind the plot and characters. There is a real purpose for the sound treatment in this film and one where the designer had to consider every single frame for the narrative of this animation to come alive.”

 

Postgraduate Craft Skills – Writing

WINNERS - Jellyfish and Lobster - Yasmin Afifi (National Film and Television School)

“The dialogue and conversations between the core characters were key to bringing the personality and humour of this film to light. The jury found that this entry showed a true talent for writing where the author was able to blend in the dark nature of the film’s theme, covering sensitive issues and had the ability to bring in light and shade with some comedic moments to help bring balance against the backdrop of the two residents living in a care home.”