London win for Leitrim’s Fiachra Gallagher Lawson at Royal Television Society Student Television Awards 2023

The winners of the Royal Television Society Student Television Awards 2023, were presented with their awards at a prestigious ceremony at the BFI Southbank in London and hosted by TV and radio presenter, Will Njobvu on Friday, June 23, 2023. This awards ceremony comprises a shortlist of nominees selected from the winners across regional and national events, earlier in the year.

The National Film and Television School based in England received the most wins with nine awards, closely followed by the National Film School at IADT from the Republic of Ireland, taking home five wins.

Bestial Ones from the National Film School at IADT received three wins becoming the most awarded project of the evening, winning in all of the categories where they were nominated, with the jury describing the film as an accomplished piece of film-making, with an immersive and intimate visual style.

These awards celebrate the best audiovisual work created by students across the UK and the Republic of Ireland at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Undergraduate and Postgraduate categories include Animation, Drama, Factual, Entertainment and Comedy Drama, Environment and Sustainability and Journalism.

The award for Undergraduate Drama went to Bestial Ones - Miles Davis Murphy, Michael Largey, Fiachra Gallagher Lawson & Sophie Brassil (National Film School at IADT). This film was completed as part of their final year work for the BA Hons degree in Film & TV Production at the National Film School at the Institute for Art, Design and Technology in Dun Laoghaire (IADT). 

The jury commented on the film: 

“The jury were blown away by this lyrical and affecting film, describing it as a mature and accomplished piece of film-making with an authentic, heartfelt narrative and captivating performances. An immersive and intimate visual style, and strong sense of place further elevated this beautiful piece of work.”

The Craft Skills categories were also presented during the ceremony, awarded at the discretion of the judges across Camerawork, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Writing. The National Film School at IADT took home three of these awards with Bestial Ones, winning in the crafts of Camerawork and Sound. Leitrim based Fiachra Gallagher Lawson won the Best Camerawork Award for his cinematography on Bestial Ones. 

Still Fiadh crying Bestial Ones DOP Fiachra Gallagher Lawson Dir Miles Murphy

The judges' comments  on Fiachra’s work included:

“This film was beautifully put together, with great camera work and a perfect solution for every scene. The shots were bold and ambitious, and in difficult lighting conditions, the camerawork brilliantly evoked the characters’ emotional states. Overall, the jury thought this was an astounding bit of film making, with not a shot out of place - feature film standard.”

Fiachra Gallagher Lawson is the grandson of the late Anna and Pat Gallagher, MRCVS, Mohill. He lives in North Leitrim in Creevelea, near Drumkeeran. Fiachra graduated with First Class Honours in his degree and has already won several awards for his work on film. On winning this award Fiachra said he was really delighted to see his work recognised by the jury.  

“I am honoured to receive this prestigious award which recognises my deep love of cinematography. These awards won by our film, Bestial Ones, are just not a personal achievement, they are a celebration of the incredible collaboration and artistry of our talented crew team, led by director Miles Davis Murphy. To receive the winning award as best drama is the culmination of the hard work and dedication the crew and cast applied to the making of Bestial Ones", said Fiachra.

"The award represents how the crew tirelessly brought the visions to life, and the cast breathed soul into every frame. Thank you to all our cast and crew, our lecturers, in particular Matt Skinner,  the jury,  our sponsors and our families, everyone who has supported and believed in our work. This award ignites a fire within me to continue pushing boundaries, exploring new realms, and capturing the magic of life on screen. In my role as Director of Photography on this film, I wanted to capture the vision, the story and the intricacies and emotions of the individual characters."

Sam Bannon (National Film School at IADT) was the winner for his work on Sound on the film - Bestial Ones. The jury said of Sam’s work: 

“Right from the opening sequence, this film was so evocative and clearly a huge amount of thought had gone into the sound craft. From outdoor streets to the intimacy of a bedroom, to the noise of a nightclub the film took several very different audio environments and really made the viewer feel like they were living in them. The soundscapes brilliantly complemented the beautiful pictures and the jury felt that this was a real masterclass in sound.”

IADT students also won awards for Best Undergraduate Animation and Best Production Design for the film, The Small Makings of a Storm – Avery Angle, Samantha Sack, Bróna Nic Gabhann & Team (National Film School at IADT) with the jury commenting:

“This film beautifully marries an enticing visual style with elevating sound design to create a narrative which enchants from the very first frame.”

Sinéad Rocks, Managing Director, Nations and Regions at Channel 4 and Chair of the RTS Student Television Awards, said: 

“We were hugely impressed by the incredible calibre of work produced this year, which made for some tough decisions for the juries to decide on a single winner for each category. It was wonderful to come together this afternoon to celebrate the winners as well as all those nominated. Congratulations to all!”