Announcing the nominees for the 2017 Into Film Awards

UPDATE - The Into Film Awards 2017 have now taken place, with a hugely successful, star-studded ceremony that saw young people from across the UK travelling to London's Leicester Square to pick up their awards. You can still watch all of the brilliant nominated films below, but if you want to catch the highlights and find out who won what, click the link below... 

While you can hear from the ultimate winners in the link above - including our Ones to Watch, which were only announced at the ceremony - all of our shortlisted nominees remain phenomenal pieces of filmmaking, and can still be viewed below. Congratulations once again to all of our nominees, who we hope and expect to see plenty more films from in the years to come - not least of all at next year's Into Film Awards!

Simply click the title of the films below to jump to the video/review.

Congratulations again - and thank you to all of our Awards Partners.

Teacher of the Year (Sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

• Amy Parry - Cwmrhydyceirw Primary School, Swansea
• Nic Williams - Blue Bell Hill Primary School, Nottingham
• Tracy Rossborough - Ashfield Girls' High School, Belfast

Into Film Club of the Year: 12 and Under

• Cleddau Reach VC Primary School - Llangwm, Haverfordwest
• Horton Park Primary School - Canterbury, Bradford
• Meadows Primary School and Nursery - Ketley, Telford

Into Film Club of the Year: 13 and Over

• Arts and Media School Islington - London
• John Paul Academy - Somerston, Glasgow
• Milton Keynes College - Leadenhall, Milton Keynes

Best Live Action: 12 and Under (Sponsored by Saban's POWER RANGERS)

• Ysbryd (Ghost) - Ysgol Cefn Coch - Penrhyndeudraeth
• The New Girl - St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School & Cottonfield Films - Liverpool
• SSL - Heathlands School for Deaf Children & Mutt and Jeff Pictures - St. Albans

Best Live Action: 13 and Over (Sponsored by Universal Pictures International)

• Two Kids Lost - Close House & SHYPP - Hereford
• O2 - Sam Jones, Alfie Robinson, Tim Sutton-Brand, Henry Barlow, Alex Patel - Altrincham
• My Not So Ordinary Life - MENCAP & X-Ray Eye Films - Belfast

Best Animation: 12 and Under (Sponsored by Warner Brothers Creative Talent)

• The Magic Pencil - Sacred Heart Catholic Primary & My Pockets - Leeds
• The Lost Roar - Signal Starters & Signal Film and Media - Barrow-in-Furness
• Breaking the Cycle - Brandon Estate Community Hall & Rainbow Collective - London

Best Animation: 13 and Over

• Snap! - Joe Blandamer - Axminster
• Curiosity - Thomas Varnish - Rugby
• Go Forward - Child & Family Services of the City & County of Swansea & Winding Snake - Swansea

Best Documentary: 12 and Under

• Plastic Fantastic - Anson Primary School & 104 Films - London
• The Lost Station - Barrow Island Primary School & Signal Film and Media - Barrow-in-Furness
• The Suffragettes Votes for Women - Iceni Academy & Signals Media Art Centre - Colchester

Best Documentary: 13 and Over

• Accessories - Colston's Girls' School & Phoenix Films - Bristol
• SMASH - SMASH & The Cut LTD - Hull
• Miracle Life - The Haven & Two Way Street & My Pockets - Hull

Into Film: Into Space & Home: 12 and Under (Supported by UK Space Agency)

• Tim and Sky's Adventure - Timmergreens Primary School & Andrew Low - Arbroath
• Beyond Earth - The John Bentley School - Calne, Wiltshire
• Aurelia's Astronaut School - Aurelia Wesbroom - Henley-on-Thames

Into Film: Into Space & Home: 13 and Over (Supported by UK Space Agency)

• Messaging My Martian Cousin - Alia Nelson-Riggott - Middlewich
• Beyond the Stars - Isabel Bromfield, Gabe Krason-Smith, Olivia Romanow and Aric Fowler - Pershore
• Space Coffee - Eleanor Webb-Thomas - Shrewsbury

Review of the Year (Sponsored by IMDb)

• Charlotte, age 9, reviews High Noon - Meadows Primary School & Nursery, Ketley, Telford
• Michael, age 14, reviews Wadjda - St. Ninians High School, Glasgow
• Dorothy, age 16, reviews I, Daniel Blake - St Anne's Arts. C/O: Barnstaple Town Council, Devon

Once again, a huge congratulations to all of our nominated films. 

You can view the winners of the 2017 Into Film Awards here.

Ysbryd (Ghost) - Ysgol Cefn Coch - Penrhyndeudraeth

The New Girl - St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School & Cottonfield Films - Liverpool

SSL - Heathlands School for Deaf Children & Mutt and Jeff Pictures - St. Albans

Two Kids Lost - Close House & SHYPP - Hereford

O2 - Sam Jones, Alfie Robinson, Tim Sutton-Brand, Henry Barlow, Alex Patel - Altrincham

My Not So Ordinary Life - MENCAP & X-Ray Eye Films - Belfast

The Magic Pencil - Sacred Heart Catholic Primary & My Pockets - Leeds

The Lost Roar - Signal Starters & Signal Film and Media - Barrow-in-Furness

Breaking the Cycle - Brandon Estate Community Hall & Rainbow Collective - London

Snap! - Joe Blandamer - Axminster

Curiosity - Thomas Varnish - Rugby

Go Forward - Child & Family Services of the City & County of Swansea & Winding Snake - Swansea

Plastic Fantastic - Anson Primary School & 104 Films - London

The Lost Station - Barrow Island Primary School & Signal Film and Media - Barrow-in-Furness

The Suffragettes Votes for Women - Iceni Academy & Signals Media Art Centre - Colchester

Accessories - Colston's Girls' School & Phoenix Films - Bristol

SMASH - SMASH & The Cut LTD - Hull

Miracle Life - The Haven & Two Way Street & My Pockets - Hull

Tim and Sky's Adventure - Timmergreens Primary School & Andrew Low - Arbroath

Beyond Earth - The John Bentley School - Calne, Wiltshire

Aurelia's Astronaut School - Aurelia Wesbroom - Henley-on-Thames

Messaging My Martian Cousin - Alia Nelson-Riggott - Middlewich

Beyond the Stars - Isabel Bromfield, Gabe Krason-Smith, Olivia Romanow and Aric Fowler - Pershore

Space Coffee - Eleanor Webb-Thomas - Shrewsbury

Charlotte, age 9, reviews High Noon - Meadows Primary School & Nursery, Ketley, Telford

Do you like films that make you think? If you do then this is the film for you! It is packed to the brim with action ,adventure and of course, cowboys!

The film starts with the town's marshal, Will Kane, getting married. But what should have been one of the happiest days of his life, turned out to be one of his worst! He was told that one of the men he had put in prison years ago (Frank Miller) was coming back for revenge! And even though this may not seem like good news for Will , it turns out even worse for the bad guys!

I like this film because if you pay attention, you won't get bored and it keeps you hooked until the end. I also like the way that they build up tension so you just have to keep on watching. They do this by the use of the camera and music in the background. In the film the camera is angled differently depending whether the character is wanted to look weak or powerful. The music is also used wisely as there is a constant drum beat all the way through the film.

I would recommend this film to children aged eight to twelve as you do have to pay attention, but if you`re enjoying the film (which you will) you should do that anyway. So, I`ll see you soon in cowboy land. Bye for now, YEE-HAW!

Michael, age 14, reviews Wadjda - St. Ninians High School, Glasgow

Wadjda, I was quite sceptical about how this film would turn out. I was quite literally stepping into the unknown. The title, the main menu of the DVD, they gave close to nothing away. Before watching this movie, I had no heads up from anyone else, just my dad asking me if I wanted to watch a film because I was bored.
You see, Wadjda has a plot which is quite unclear until near enough a third of the way through the film. It is about a girl who does not care much for school and how she spends a large amount of her time with a boy because of her parents' collapsing relationship. She is very competitive and yearns to beat her friend at his own game: a bicycle race. Unfortunately for her, being a girl and riding a bicycle is looked down upon from a religious standpoint and she has insufficient funds to buy one, thus she spends the next two thirds of the film trying to find a way to raise 800 riyals- the price of the bike. When an opportunity arises concerning a religious competition in which girls must give the meaning of terms linked to Islam and recite from the Koran itself, it is up to Wadjda (the name of the girl) to begin taking her studies more seriously to earn the coveted first prize- 1,000 riyals.
I fell in love with this film, I found myself rooting for Wadjda subconsciously and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen- even when my mother had returned from her work I could not face her and say "Hello". Not every film has me in this state, I was just engrossed by all of it; the developing storyline, the characters, the decisions made which would seem insignificant to us but had major knock on effects in the society Wadjda lived in. Compelling. Luminous. Fantastic. These are just a few words that I would use the describe Wadjda. I was missing out on a truly great film- don't make the same mistake as me, kick off 2016 watching Wadjda and thank me later.

Dorothy, age 16, reviews I, Daniel Blake - St Anne's Arts. C/O: Barnstaple Town Council, Devon

The latest work of acclaimed British film director Ken Loach tells the story of a man in Newcastle fighting to stay on benefits after he is deemed unfit for work. An argument at the job centre resulting in Daniel standing up for a single mother sees the beginning of an unlikely friendship.

Known for turning the camera on topical social issues, in this film Loach captures the injustice that people face on a day to day basis due to the strict rules and regulations of the welfare system. The film challenges the popular opinion that people who receive benefits are lazy and cheating the system. Some media exploit this - Channel 4's 'Benefits Street' and Channel 5's 'Benefits Britain' have sparked disapproval of people on benefits - but the viewer's relationship with the characters and their hardships in ‘I, Daniel Blake' seeks to change this.

The casting is commendable - Dave Johns (Daniel Blake) known for stand up comedy perfectly balances comedic and bittersweet moments. The character of Katie (Hayley Squires) is so easy to empathise with as an audience one particularly heart wrenching scene in a food bank had everyone in the cinema in tears. The relationship between the two is believable, and the paternal aspect to it shows the trust that they have in each other.

Loach's realism style of filmmaking combined with Paul Laverty's screenplay (which included the improvisation of actors) really gives the impression that you are watching real lives unfold before you. This is really important because although the film wasn't based on a true story it's safe to say that it showed a scenario which is currently happening to many people in Britain. The hash tag #wearealldanielblake was trending on social media around the time of the film's release, emphasising the fact that it could happen to anybody.

Even if you have no interest in topical issues you will still enjoy it thoroughly - but ‘I, Daniel Blake' struck a chord with me; making me really think for the first time about important political issues in Britain.

A well deserved Palme d'Or at Cannes for this truly poignant piece of filmmaking.