Congratulations to NFTS graduate director Kim Longinotto on winning the coveted BBC Grierson Trustees’ Award at the prestigious Grierson Awards, which recognise and celebrate filmmakers who have made a significant contribution to the genre and that demonstrate quality, integrity, creativity, originality and overall excellence.
Kim, who is a tutor on the NFTS’ Directing Documentary MA course, has made over 20 films and won more than 32 awards including prizes at Cannes and BAFTA, the Sundance Film Festival Directing Award earlier this year and the Camerimage for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking (2014).
Her films usually feature inspiring women and girls including her most recent film, Dreamcatcher, about the world of prostitution and sexual abuse of underage girls in Chicago, which has been bought by the BBC and will have its UK debut in BBC4’s Storyville slot on 9 November, 2015.
Speaking about teaching at the NFTS, Kim Longinotto says she enjoys, “…encouraging students to find how they want to do it, maybe film a little less. It is about very basic things, not art, things like how to create a scene.” And she adds: “ It is wonderful” to be given the Grierson award, but her main priority is getting exposure for her work. “It feels like it’s not an award for me, but all the people in the films, these films are worth looking at. And it means more people will watch them.”
Find out more about the NFTS Directing Documentary MA course here.
