Announcing the 2018 Into Film Awards Nominees

*Unfortunately, due to an external error, some of the below films are no longer available for viewing. If you're behind one of these films and would like to send us your original file to be re-uploaded, please get in touch at info@intofilm.org

We're thrilled to announce the list of phenomenal nominees for the 2018 Into Film Awards. Young people aged 5 - 19 all across the UK, have been submitting hundreds of short films they have made in school, youth clubs or at home, across live action, documentary and animation categories, and we've been absolutely bowled over by the quality of the submissions. 

The winners will be announced on 13 March at a star-studded red carpet ceremony at London's famous BFI Southbank, hosted by TV and radio presenter Gemma Cairney. Last year's ceremony saw Daniel Craig, Eddie Redmayne and Amma Asante all in attendence and presenting awards, so the nominees are sure to be in for an incredible experience.

It was no mean feat narrowing the incredible entries down to the shortlist below, so we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who entered, whether it was submitting a film, or nominating an Into Film Club or an educator.

Voting for Family Film of the Year (in association with First News, sponsored by CMS) is currently taking place over at First News. The vote is open until Monday 26 Feb, and a certain marmalade-loving bear is currently in the lead, so if you want to have your say, head on over to First News and cast your vote!

Championing young people's creative talent and passion for film, the Into Film Awards are supportedby education partners NATE, GTN and First News, and made possible through UK film industry sponsorship, including event partner, Universal International Pictures; premier sponsor, Cineworld Cinemas; Sony Pictures Releasing (UK); Disney; Paramount Pictures UK; United Agents; Warner Brothers Creative Talent; IMDb; Eon Productions and Working Title Films.

So, without further ado, the 2018 Into Film Awards nominees are...

Click the film titles below to watch the nominated films

Club of the Year - 12 and Under (sponsored by Warner Bros. Creative Talent)

• Bridge Integrated Primary School - Banbridge, Northern Ireland

• Horton Park Primary School - Bradford, West Yorkshire

• BossCrowns Film and Drama School - Barking, Essex

Warner Bros. Creative Talent supports Into Film as part of our commitment to the next generation of creative industries talent in the UK & Ireland, and we are proud to sponsor the Film Club of the Year: 12 and Under category of this year's Awards.

Club of the Year - 13 and Over (sponsored by United Agents)

• Lipson Cooperative Academy - Plymouth, Devon

• Coleg Sir Gar - Camarthenshire, Wales

• Isle of Tiree Film Club - Isle of Tiree, Scotland

Educator of the Year (sponsored by Working Title Films)

• Suzanne Cohen - Camden Summer University, London

• Sarah Downing - Stratford-upon-Avon College, Warwickshire

• Timm Dadds - Cwmrhydyceirw Primary School, Swansea

Best Documentary (sponsored by Paramount Pictures)

• The Decider: A Story of The Police, Roma and Football - Watershed: Rife Magazine / City Academy - Bristol

• The Black Taxi - Karina - Newmarket, Suffolk

• Still Life - Amy, Rowan, Freya, Rebecca - Northumberland

Best Animation - 12 and Under (sponsored by Disney)

• Finball Wizard - Anson Primary School - London

• The Great Escape - Willowmann Producations / Braunston Primary School - Northamptonshire

• A Trawl Through Time - Bricknell Primary School - Hull

Best Animation - 13 and Over (sponsored by Mr and Mrs Meyer)

• Identify - Eilisha, James, Charlie - Liverpool

• Altitude - Media Active Projects - Shropshire

• Ashta and the Dragon - Jude - London

Best Live Action - 12 and Under (sponsored by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

• Imagine - Michael and Jonah - London

• Mystery of the Wishing Star - PQA Leicester - Leicester

• Swyn - Dyffryn Nantlle Film Club - Gwynedd, Wales

Best Live Action - 13 and Over (sponsored by Cineworld Cinemas)

• The Heart of the City - Adam - London

• Underpass - Screen Education Edinburgh - Edinburgh

• Mittens - Eleanor - Sheffield

Review of the Year (sponsored by IMDb)

Maddy, age 12, reviews Rabbit Proof Fence

I really liked this film, as I am really into history. The cast did an amazing job at acting out the scenes of what really happened. When they were walking, I was amazed at the amount of time that passed. For example, one minute it was the summer, then it was the winter. The film was really entertaining, my friends and I were constantly gasping at some of the things that was really happening. In this film, you would find me shouting at the whiteboard, because of how cruel I thought the people who told the police of where the girls were. I will continue to take part in film club, as it is a social and entertaining club to take part in, as you are constantly watching films that you will love.

Fletcher, aged 10, reviews Spirited Away

This Japanese animation is filled with: Parental pigs, twin witches, spider men, big babies, a person without a face (called no face), mud sludges, a literate ghost town, and Sin. 

This movie is loaded with surreal characters and settings as a young girl travels to a new home, but stumbles upon an abandoned village. Her parents stay behind and have a 'little' snack but young Sin carries on, until a brave protector saves her from being spirited away before the night comes and the spirits take over. To stay safe from the beasts and the hotel, Sin must conquer whatever the 'horrific hotel' has in-store for her. And (with enough luck) she might earn a ticket to freedom and leave the dusty 'getaway' behind her. 

Spirited away is a brilliant movie with perfect animation to make you grin on just any occasion. The detail put into this amazing film is unreal as the characters personalities are realistic and all of the mystical creatures had different personalities, but all the guests were pretty much greedy as they come. The settings were also set in intricate detail that shows its own story. 

I think ages 1-100 will love this movie as it warms hearts and gives an amazingly thought story. 

PS. If you didn't realise I love Japanese animations.

Laura, aged 16, reviews Pride

Uplifting. Inspiring. Heart-warming. 'Pride' is an ode to activism, and an illustration of how hearts and minds can be changed through the actions of a few, and the support of many. It is funny and smart without trivialising the issues that it deals with, and follows on from The Full Monty and Billy Elliot as a story set in Britain's shattered industrial base. 

Pride follows the workers of the Welsh mining community of Onllwyn in the Dulais Valley, and their unlikely allies - a group of homosexual fund-raisers who storm the streets of London with buckets in hand, collecting money for their community. Joe (played by MacKay), is a middle-class, entirely normal young man who attends a Pride march in London, which his equally middle-class, far more homophobic parents would not be pleased about. There, he is offered a banner saying 'QUEERS: better blatant than latent'. At the march, he meets Mark (Schnetzer), a young, LGBT rights activist who makes the plans for fundraising, founds LGSM (An LGBT group working in support of the miners), and has managed to drive the minibus to Powys before you can say even Bronski Beat. In Onllwyn, the group meet Dai (Considine), Cliff (Nighy), and Hefina (Staunton), who are organizing a separate fund-raising for the miners in their village. Their initial mistrust softens as easily as butter, and the two very different groups come together for a good cause. 

The story is entirely true, and the members of LGSM showed their support for the miners because Mark saw something in their cause that reminded him of his own. They were one and the same - mocked and demonized in the tabloids, at odds with the police, labelled a nuisance by their own community, loathed by Thatcher's government, and in some cases, disowned by their loved ones. It has the same dramatic motor driving it as the modern, contemporary Britain we know today. Of course, things have changed; there are no coal miners on strike, LGBT marriage has been legalized, and the LGBT community is no longer labelled as something to be feared or disgusted by. Yes, there is still tension and taboo that surrounds being LGBTQ+ or questioning, but there is a range of support and systems in place to help people - young and old - to come to terms with their sexuality, and laws in place to protect those people. We are still a long way off a society in which being LGBTQ+ or otherwise identifying is perfectly accepted, but we are making so much progress. This is what makes movies like Pride so essential - it is in equal parts inspiring and warm, supportive and controversial, confidence-building and barrier-breaking. Pride is a shining example of LGBTQ+ cinema, and wonderfully explores so many aspects of queerness that goes so far beyond a coming out story. Pride is hopeful. Pride vibrates all of the energy of its West End counterpart. Pride is everything that a young queer individual needs to see, and it will tell them 'you have a voice'. 

LGBTQ+, questioning or otherwise, I implore you; watch this movie.

Nominated Films

The Decider: A Story of The Police, Roma and Football - Watershed: Rife Magazine / City Academy - Bristol

The Black Taxi - Karina - Newmarket, Suffolk

Still Life - Amy, Rowan, Freya, Rebecca - Northumberland

This film was produced in 2017 as part of the Northern Stars Documentary Academy at Tyneside Cinema, supported by intu. Find out more at Tyneside Cinema.

Finball Wizard - Anson Primary School - London

The Great Escape - Willowmann Producations / Braunston Primary School - Northamptonshire

A Trawl Through Time - Bricknell Primary School - Hull

Identify - Eilisha, James, Charlie - Liverpool

Altitude - Media Active Projects - Shropshire

Ashta and the Dragon - Jude - London

Imagine - Michael and Jonah - London

Mystery of the Wishing Star - PQA Leicester - Leicester

Swyn - Dyffryn Nantlle Film Club - Gwynedd, Wales

The Heart of the City - Adam - London

Underpass - Screen Education Edinburgh - Edinburgh

Mittens - Eleanor - Sheffield