London 2012 today announces the young film makers who have won the first Film Nation: Shorts awards in partnership with Panasonic. The winners have today received their awards at a special awards ceremony at Millennium Point in Birmingham hosted by Simon Bird (Will McKenzie from the E4’s BAFTA-winning TV comedy series ‘The Inbetweeners’) and sports TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher.

The winners have received their awards from exciting figures from the worlds of film, TV and sport including heptathletes Kelly Sotherton and Louise Hazel; James and Oliver Phelps (the Weasley twins from the ‘Harry Potter’ films); Tuppance Middleton (star of 2009 horror film 'Tormented'); April Pearson (from hit E4 show 'Skins'); and Olympic swimmer and TV presenter Sharron Davies.

Download images of the winners

The winning film makers will not only see their films screened at the iconic venues at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and showcased on the London 2012 Big Screens around the country, but they are also invited to a 3D film-making masterclass held in the Panasonic Experience Centre at the renowned Pinewood Studios in February next year. During the masterclass, the winners will have the chance to hone their directorial skills through testing the film-making process from acquisition to broadcast with the latest high end Panasonic products.

The winners of nine categories in the Film Nation: Shorts 2010 national awards presented by Panasonic are:

Best Animation (14–16 year olds)
• The race for 2012 –  Imogen Cripps, Wilf Ratcliffe, Daisy Ruse, Ryan Jones, Ralph Venables, Beth Tong, Lydia Crump, Serena Howard and Lillie Tong, Bath

Best Animation (17–19 year olds)
• Our Journeys – Souzanne Abouzanad, Sarah Abouzanad, Mousa Abouzanad and Liale Al-Hamed, Northampton

Best Animation (20–25 year olds)
• Sparks of genius – Edward Highton, Leicestershire

Best Documentary or Experimental (14–16 year olds)
• Phoenix – Liam Cooke, Rhys Quilter, Ryan Bygrave, Connor Fletcher, Jack Copping, Maggie Hargraves, Mark Holmes, Natalia Sanchez-Jinks, Colchester

Best Documentary or Experimental (17–19 year olds)
• Kids, teens and Olympic dreams – Alicia Netherway and Charlotte Vallance, Newton Abbott

Best Fiction (14–16 year olds)
• The Olympic village – Jess Milverton, Sophie Lester, Scott Kingman, Danny Earle, Ryan Rodd and Ben Harding, Bath

Best Fiction (17 – 19 year olds)
• Sparking the flame – Jesse Nash, Jacob Davies, Simon Burdhall, Daniel Ford, Jack Strood, Joe Aldous, Matt Christian Reed, Tim Frances, George Nash, Ben Ridolfi, Benji Corless, James Hayward, Sam Cartwright, Bath

Best Fiction (20 - 25 year olds)
• Hath not a child ability – Megan Salter, Sara Harrak and Ed Davis,  London and Nottingham

Panasonic Best of Film of the Month
• Our Country –  Zana Abdollah, Canterbury

All the winning films are available to view at the Film Nation: Shorts website www.filmnation.org.uk.

Since the Cultural Olympiad short film competition launched in June 2010, the Film Nation: Shorts website has seen 14–25 year olds across the UK uploading short films that celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic values. From animated films to dramas, documentaries and experimental shorts, young film makers across the UK have taken the opportunity to enter a competition that could see their work screened at the heart of the Games in 2012.

An expert panel of established directors including Sophie Fiennes (The Pervert's Guide to Cinema, Hoover Street Revival), Debbie Isitt (Confetti, Navity) and film industry professionals from BBC Films, Film 4 and Panasonic shortlisted the entries down to a final three films in each of the nine categories.

Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad said: ‘Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to the support of our partners Screen West Midlands, Panasonic and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. Film Nation: Shorts is a programme which will deliver a powerful message about our intentions to put young people and their creative power into the heart of the 2012 Games.’

David Bonney, Panasonic UK Sponsorship Manager said: ‘We are delighted to be working with London 2012 to engage young people in the craft of film making. We are looking forward to helping to identify new film making talent and seeing these short films recognised at this exciting national awards ceremony, and played at the iconic London 2012 venues during the Games.’

Film Nation: Shorts is an annual competition and submissions for the 2011 competition are now open. In addition to being inspired by the Olympic and Paralympic values, young people are being encouraged to make short films inspired by the theme of ‘Truce’, following a partnership between London 2012 and Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley and ambassador Jude Law. Whether it be making a short film about young people’s own experience of a truce with friends or family, how a truce either past or present has inspired them or made a difference to their lives, or what a global truce in 2012 would mean to them personally, London 2012 with Peace One Day are looking for films with inspiring stories.

To help new young film makers, and those looking to further develop their skills, a unique programme of free workshops will continue across the country to give young film makers the chance to meet professional film makers and acquire new skills in film-making techniques using the latest state-of-the-art Panasonic equipment.

Suzie Norton, CEO, Screen WM said: ‘Screen WM is delighted to have played a major part in devising and to now be delivering such an exciting project and proud that the first awards were held here in the Midlands. We are passionate about supporting emerging UK talent and work hard to promote both innovation and excellence.’

More details of the workshops and how to enter the competition can be found at www.filmnation.org.uk.

Film Nation: Shorts is delivered in partnership with Panasonic and Screen West Midlands with funding from the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor.

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Media contacts:

Footage for broadcasters from the award ceremony, including interviews with the winning young film-makers, is available by request.

LOCOG
For further information please contact Paul Woodmansey the London 2012 Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 100, paul.woodmansey@london2012.com or visit the website at www.london2012.com.

Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://blog.london2012.com or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012

Rewired PR
Sam Dowling, Rewired PR – 07879 600960, sam@rewiredpr.com

Panasonic
Sara Barrett, 01344 476536, sara.barrett@eu.panasonic.com

Notes to editors: 

About the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival
The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.

Since the Cultural Olympiad started in 2008, 11.2 million people from across the UK have participated in or attended public performances as part of the Cultural Olympiad and programmes inspired by 2012 and funded by our principle funders and sponsors. Over 67,000 people have attended 6,800 workshops as part of Cultural Olympiad programmes.
 
The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival from 21 June – 9 September 2012. Leading artists from all over the world will come together for a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, film and digital innovation, and leave a lasting legacy for the arts in the UK.

Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. 

BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.

The British Council will support the international development of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects. Panasonic are the presenting partner of Film Nation:Shorts.
 
For more details visit www.london2012.com/culture

London 2012 Live Sites
The Big Screens are erected and run in partnership between LOCOG, the BBC and the various cities, in association with London 2012 partners BT and Lloyds TSB, supported by Cisco and the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor. The screens carry a combination of local and national news, London 2012 updates, partner films and local community focused output such as university graduations or local art projects.

There are currently 18 London 2012 Live Sites located in Bristol, Cardiff, Middlesborough, Norwich, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Swansea, Waltham Forest, Bradford, Derby, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Swindon, Edinburgh, Leicester, Dover and Woolwich. 

At Games-time in 2012 it is hoped there will be a national network of screens – both permanent and temporary – which will enable local communities to gather and watch London 2012 events.

Panasonic
Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.77 trillion yen (US$78.4 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. The company's shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE: PC) stock exchanges.

Panasonic fully supports the ideals of the Olympic Movement and is proud to be the official Audio and Visual Equipment Partner for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Since the Calgary 1988 Olympic Winter Games, Panasonic has been an Official Worldwide Olympic Partner, bringing the passion and performance of top athletes to homes around the world through state-of-the-art audio and visual technology.

For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company's website at http://panasonic.net/.

Olympic Lottery Distributor
The Olympic Lottery Distributor is investing National Lottery money to fund the London 2012 Games. It is providing £16.6 million to support the Cultural Olympiad and is a principal funder of Film Nation: Shorts.  It is also providing funding of £3.42 million to fund the network of Big Screens across the UK and will be providing up to £1.8 billion for the infrastructure of the Olympic Park and other Olympic facilities across the UK.

More information about the Olympic Lottery Distributor can be found at www.olympiclotterydistributor.org.uk

Screen WM
Screen WM is the lead agency for film, television, games and digital media in the West Midlands; a region that is driving innovation and excellence in content creation and cross-media collaboration. Our remit is to develop the economic, social and cultural wealth of the region through support for the screen media industries.

LOCOG
As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are seventeen domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, GSK, Gymnova, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, Next, The Nielsen Company, Populous, Ticketmaster and Trident.

There is now one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games Partner, Sainsbury’s.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos Origin, Dow Chemicals, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung and Visa.