NFTS short animated film Miss Todd directed by Kristina Yee, co-written by Frances Poletti and produced by Suzanne Mayger has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) as one of the finalists in the Foreign Category, for the 40th Anniversary Student Academy Awards.
This is the second year in succession that the NFTS has reached this stage and since 1981, when non-USA institutions were allowed to enter in their own category (last year the NFTS film Skyborn was nominated). The NFTS has previously won this competition 5 times.
The annual competitionis open to all film schools from across the world who are members CILECT. Winners qualify to participate in the main Academy Awards. In 2010, NFTS film The Confession was nominated in this competition, was voted the overall winner and went on to achieve a nomination for the main Oscars in 2011. In addition, NFTS short animated film Head Over Heels was nominated for an Oscar in 2013.
Miss Todd uses the painstaking process of stop-frame animation. Director Kristina Yee said: “I am deeply honoured and truly excited to receive recognition from The Academy - it is a real triumph for the whole team. We are all passionate about the story - it's gutsy and full of heart, and we hope that Miss Todd's struggle and determination will resonate with the judges, and with every audience it reaches. I am very proud to be representing the NFTS in this competition.”
The awards ceremony is on Saturday 8th June in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, L.A. Don’t miss your chance to join the NFTS’ Animation MA – apply before the July 11th deadline.
In addition, the NFTS is the only UK film school with a film in Cinéfondation and its graduates and tutors have films in five sections of the 66th Cannes Film Festival.
The 2013 short animated student film The Magnificent Lion Boy (pictured above)- directed by Ana Caro and produced by James Cotton with characters voiced by the actors Andy Serkis and Hugh Bonneville - has been selected for the Cinéfondation section.
Two of our 2010 graduates have first feature films selected and there are 3 films in Directors' Fortnight. 2010 graduate Paul Wright who won a Best Short Film BAFTA for his NFTS film Until the River Runs Red has his first feature film For Those in Peril selected for Critics Week and 2010 graduate Anthony Chen’s film Ilo Ilo, which follows a family coping with the fallout of financial crisis, will be shown in Director's Fortnight (La Quinzaine). Their films also include NFTS graduate crews. Clio Barnard who graduated from the NFTS’ advanced course has her film The Selfish Giant selected for Directors’ Fortnight as well as Lynne Ramsay whose BAFTA winning film Swimmer is in the Directors' Fortnight short film section. Lynne Ramsay is also on the Cannes Film Festival Jury that will chose the winner of the coverted Palme d'Or.
NFTS Director Nik Powell said: “We are very proud to be the only UK film school at Cinéfondation this year – congratulations to the whole student film crew. It is also unprecedented to have two graduates from the same year (2010) with first feature films at Cannes at the same time. They are both stunning film-makers who deserve their place at the world’s most prestigious film festival.”
And congratulations to NFTS Visiting Fellow Director Stephen Frears whose film Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight is in the Official Selection out of Competition. In the Un Certain Regard section is the film Omar, directed by Hany Abu-Assad and edited by NFTS Deputy Head of Editing Martin Brinkler.
