Awards a plenty
at RTS Southern Awards

There were awards a plenty at the annual Royal Television Society’s (RTS) Southern Awards last week, as students from the BA (Hons) Film Production course took home Best Student Drama and Best Student Factual Short.

04 April 2025

The Extraordinary Marvel of Francesco Linguine, which won Best Student Drama, was created by third-year students Logan Tindell (Screenwriter), Brandon Sadler (Director), Elliot Duvoisin (Director of Photography), Seth Harrison (Producer) and Lily Askew (Production Designer), who all graduated last year.

Logan said: “It’s wonderful. Seeing our little crazy film getting that level of recognition was beyond any of our expectations; which you could see if you saw our reactions when the presenter read out the winner.” 

The film celebrates imaginative storytelling, recounting a story of two friends birdwatching at an old fort and discovering a dead body on the beach. Vibrant, cinematic and elaborate theories are then concocted as to how they died. 

“It was very much inspired by the works of Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright, having both dabbled with the blend of comedy and crime, with inspirations like Wes Anderson… and Buck from Ice Age 3,” added Logan. 

“I basically wrote a script for middle-aged men to remain straight-faced when portraying characters all named after different pasta!” 

Best Student Factual Short was won by Tales of Exile, created by second-year students, Sambor Czarnawski-Iliev, director, Goncalo Almeida, cinematographer and Nell Whitefoot, producer.

The documentary was set in the refugee camps of Jordan and followed the personal histories of Palestinian refugees, reflecting on the 76 years of exile they’ve had to endure, amid the 2024 attacks on Gaza.

Inspiration behind the film was from a visit the director made to Israel and Palestine in 2023.

“Seeing the Palestinian water tanks riddled with Israeli bullet holes, the abandoned houses half-bulldozed to make way for the walls, the desolate UNRWA refugee camp full of memorials to murdered children, it became almost of a necessity for me to make a documentary about this subject to help spread awareness through my medium; film,” explained Sambor. 

“After learning about the history of Palestine and then the escalation of tensions in October 2023, when I was approached by the director, Sambor, I couldn’t refuse the opportunity to use my skills to help those in need,” added Nell.

As for filming on location in Jordan, it was a truly unique and eye-opening experience for the team. 

Goncalo added: “Adapting to the limited equipment and a small camera crew challenged me to be resourceful and creative in my approach. It was also my first time travelling outside of Europe, and the cultural differences were fascinating and inspiring.  

The warmth and hospitality of the Jordanian people made the experience even more memorable, which enabled me to create visually compelling imagery that not only complemented the narrative but also resonated with viewers on a deeper level.” 

As for the future, both teams hope to screen their films at other film festivals and collaborate again in the future. 

Sambor concluded: “We intend to create more documentaries about social and humanitarian issues. Refugeeism is something I have found myself caring a lot about. We’d love to use Tales of Exile as a proof of concept for a larger documentary filmed in the West Bank in the future.” 

Faith Among The Sea, shot on location in China about the daily life of the local fisherman, was also nominated for Best Student Factual Short.

To learn more about studying film at UCA, visit the course pages.