Education charity, Into Film, celebrated the 2024 Into Film Awards at London’s iconic ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, celebrating the best and brightest young filmmaking talent from across the UK, as well as those who support and facilitate their endeavours.

Hosted by actor, writer and director Susan Wokoma, the ceremony saw 10 awards presented to some of the UK’s most remarkable and creative young filmmakers. A whole host of screen industry stars handed out the awards, with big name presenters including actors Simon Pegg, Thomasin McKenzie, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Jamie Dornan.

For many of the young nominees, who travelled from all corners of the UK to walk the same legendary red carpet as countless film stars have over the years, this was the experience of a lifetime. And with winning films tackling issues as diverse as racism, the Welsh language, dyslexia, the pitfalls of social media, and deadly cereal boxes, the Into Film Awards was a celebration not only of the nominees’ remarkable talents, but also of the incredible, transformative power of film and filmmaking at large.

Categories included Best Animation and Best Film across several age ranges, as well as the  Best Documentary award. New for this year, the Time for Action category (sponsored by Swatch) asked young people to create a film that raises awareness of issues important to them and explores the changes they would like to make in the world, leading to some of the most impactful submissions yet.

Elsewhere, the Ones to Watch award recognised four inspirational young people who are on the cusp of making the leap into screen industry careers (with one overall Ones to Watch winner), while the new Filmmaking Champion award celebrated those who support and facilitate young people’s filmmaking and make it possible for their creativity to shine. All four nominees will receive an exciting package of prizes including a Pinewood Studios experience, an invitation to the Young BAFTA Showcase and to the BFI Future Film Festival in future months.

The Winners:

• Best Animation – 11 and Under – Benjamin’s Magical Kitchen Birds – Benjamin (8), London Presented by actor Simon Pegg.
• Best Film – 11 and Under – Dyslexia and Me – St Luke’s Primary, Rugby, England, presented by actors David Morrissey & Thomasin McKenzie.
• Best Documentary – Disconnected – Safina (17), South Essex College, Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Presented by actors Jason Patel & Ambika Mod.
• Best Animation – 12 and Over – Frog Flight – Caireen Ferguson (19), Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland. Presented by actors Joanne Froggatt & Tobie Donovan.
• Best Film – 12-15 – Language of Cymraeg – Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Presented by writer, director, actor, Stephen Merchant.
• Time for Action – Just Ignore It – My Pockets and Youth Aspire Connect, Hull, England. Presented by actor Kingsley Ben Adir.
• Best Film – 16-19 – STOP – Laquarn McQueen (18), Big Creative Academy, London. Presented by filmmaker/activist, Amani Simpson + actor, Michael Ajao.
• Filmmaking Champion – Scottish Youth Film Foundation, Edinburgh, Scotland. Presented by actor, Dougray Scot.
• Ones to Watch – Ben Mullan (18), Bedford, England. Presented by actor Jayden Revri + actor, writer, director, Zawe Ashton.
• Audience Choice – Cereal Killers, St Colmcille’s High School, Crossgar, Northern Ireland. Presented by actor, Jamie Dornan.

Categories: Press Releases

Tags: into film, London, Odeon, Simon Pegg