BFI Fellow and Chanel Ambassador Tilda Swinton presented the BFI & Chanel Filmmaker Awards last night, at Luminous, the BFI’s biannual fundraising gala.
The awards, which celebrate creative audacity, went to Luna Carmoon, writer/director (Hoard); Pinny Grylls, writer/director (co-writer/co-director Grand Theft Hamlet); and Naqqash Khalid writer/director (In Camera).
Each of the three UK filmmakers won a prize of £20,000 each for their creative audacity and their ambition to explore a new dynamic to their practice
Tilda Swinton was joined on the 2024 Awards jury by Edward Enninful OBE, Editorial Advisor, British Vogue and Global Creative and Cultural Advisor, Vogue, Marie-Louise Khondji, producer and founder of Le Cinéma Club, and BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts.
Tilda Swinton said: “The three films we have had the honour to spotlight this year represent – with urgency and accuracy – some of the core values the BFI & Chanel Filmmaker Awards were set up to encourage: self-determination, a reflection on untold life experience and a boundaryless curiosity about the capacities of filmmaking itself, regardless of any limitation. The teams that brought these projects into harbour were all galvanised and led by the sort of practical and inspirational attitude that makes ground-breaking possible in the first place. We honour these individuals tonight and look forward with real eagerness to their road ahead.”
The Awards were launched at the BFI’s 2022 Luminous Gala. The Awards also seek to celebrate and champion underrepresented voices, with at least one of the Awards committed to a filmmaker identifying as female/non-binary. All projects that rendered the filmmaker eligible had to meet the BFI Diversity Standards.
Previous winners include Kathryn Ferguson, who won in 2022 with her debut award-winning documentary Nothing Compares about Sinead O’Connor, director of the upcoming Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes, a documentary about Hollywood icon Humphrey Bogart for Universal; and Savannah Leaf, who won in 2023 with Earth Mama and went on to win the 2024 BAFTA for Best Debut British Writer, Director or Producer.
The BFI & CHANEL Filmmaker Awards jury said of each winner:
Luna Carmoon, writer/director of Hoard
“Luna demonstrates such confidence with her filmmaking and has a vivid and distinctive style that makes an impact. We believe this award can help develop her career and can’t wait to see what she does next.”
Pinny Grylls, writer/director of Grand Theft Hamlet
“The sheer audacity of her unique approach to storytelling with Grand Theft Hamlet and having the talent to execute it so brilliantly, made Pinny the perfect recipient of this award.”
Naqqash Khalid, writer/director of In Camera
“Naqqash’s ambition and talent were incredibly compelling. With In Camera he has made a truly risk taking and original film and we felt he could use the prize to really experiment and develop his talent.”
BFI & CHANEL FILMMAKER AWARDS WINNERS 2022-2023
2023 Filmmaker Awards:
– Ella Glendining, writer/director (director and cast of Is There Anybody Out There?)
– Savanah Leaf, writer/director/producer (writer/director of Earth Mama)
– Nadira Murray, producer (Winners)
2022 Filmmaker Awards:
– Baff Akoto, artist/director (producer of The Queen of Glory)
– Kathryn Ferguson, writer/director (Nothing Compares)
– Sam Firth, director/producer (The Wolf Suit)
– Erfan Saadati director/producer (Child of Empire)
The jury’s decision and deliberation covers the filmmaker’s body of work and the strength of their application, and each nominee had to have a work released and/or showcased between 1 January 2023-30 June 2024 to be eligible.
For the 2024 Award, the winners were selected from a shortlist of nine filmmakers, developed through a process of collaboration and consultation with experienced professionals from across the sector. A group of industry experts each nominated filmmakers, who were then invited to apply for the Awards. Producers, writers, directors, or writer/directors were eligible if they were UK residents, had made one or two features or XR/immersive works which have been released in the UK or presented at a leading UK or international film festival.
Photo credit Oliver Holm
Pippa Considine
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