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And the winner is… It’s been a busy award season for our talented film alumni. Graphic design graduate, Poss Kondeatis, got UCA off to a winning start by picking up a BAFTA Award in February. ‘Until the River Runs Red,’ which he produced, won Best Short Film at the glittering awards ceremony which celebrates the best of British film. Poss, who graduated from UCA Epsom in 2004, said: “I’ve been overwhelmed by the whole experience and it feels like a dream: I needed to pinch myself when Paul McCartney came over and shook my hand for five minutes saying how much he loved the film – even JK Rowling gave me a wink.”
Poss (left) and Paul with their awards
Meanwhile, UCA Farnham alumnus, Davide Cinzi, swapped rainy London for the sunshine of Los Angeles and the Oscars. The former Film Production student strutted up the red carpet alongside some of the most famous people on the planet after the film he worked on was nominated for an Academy Award. ‘The Confession,’ which he was the cinematographer on, failed to win Best Short Film on the night but it did not dampen his Hollywood adventure. Oscar-winning Canterbury alumnus Arnold Schwartzman made certain that UCA’s international alumni network was in full swing by extending an invitation to Davide for the Oscar nominees reception hosted by the British Consul-General.
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I got to meet some great people on my trip and the kind of exposure that surrounds the Academy Awards can open many doors
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RTS UCA award winners - photo by Howard Lucas
“You never expect your film to be nominated for an Oscar, but at the same time you always dream that one day it will,” explained Davide. “I got to meet some great people on my trip and the kind of exposure that surrounds the Academy Awards can open many doors.” More recently, UCA celebrated a double success at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Southern Awards. ‘Love Inc’ directed, by Alex Battershall and Anthony Woodley, was named Best Student Drama, while ‘Britain’s Young Soldiers’ by Joseph Martin won Best Student Factual Film. Both films have now been nominated for National RTS Student Awards which will take place at the end of May.
Poss Kondeatis | Awards | Creative Update
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