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The AHRC Research in Film Awards 2018 

14th Jun 2018 

Research in Film Awards returns with two new categories


 

The AHRC Research in Film Awards are returning for its fourth year with two new categories focused on migration and social media.  

 

The two new awards for 2018 are: 

  • The People on the Move Award: Stories of New Beginnings
  • Social Media Short Award 

The competition closes on Thursday 14 June at 16:00 hours. 

 

These awards are designed to recognise and reward the considerable body of work created at the interface between research and film and to acknowledge the world-leading work of arts and humanities researchers and practitioners.

 

There are five categories in total, including four aimed at the research community and one open to the general public - the only proviso is that the film must have been inspired by the arts and humanities. This offers a fantastic opportunity for members of the public to be involved while receiving recognition for their work.

 

The winning filmmakers in each category will receive £2,000 towards their filmmaking activities and will be honoured at an awards ceremony on Thursday 8 November at the prestigious 195 Piccadilly in London, the home of BAFTA.

 

The films will be judged by a panel of academic and film industry experts, chaired by Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of the Financial Times. Entrants have until 4pm on Thursday 14 June to apply.

 

For more information about the awards visit the AHRC website and follow #RIFA2018 on Twitter.

 

 

Best film produced by a researcher or research team in 2017 

 

Pain in the Machine by Dr Beth Singler, University of Cambridge

 

Pain in the Machine started with a deceptively simple question: could, and should, robots feel pain? This short documentary explores this question in a publicly accessible way. It invokes popular culture references - such as the Terminator films, The Simpsons, and Wall-E - alongside the voices of experts in the fields of pain, robotics, ethics, social anthropology, cognitive science, and moral philosophy. 

 

The judges said: "Really excellent timely film with an accessible but provocative line on sentience by pursuing the issue of pain."

Innovation Award - new approaches to storytelling in film

 

 The Shampoo Summit by Iris Zaki, Royal Holloway, University of London

 

The Shampoo Summit explores subjectivity, community representation, performance and power relations through long conversations about Israeli history, politics, life and love, in an Arab-owned hair salon in Haifa, Israel, where both Jewish and Arab women convene inside peacefully. It uses the 'Abandoned Camera' technique, where a fixed, unmanned camera is used to reduce the awkwardness of the subjects and encourage them to talk freely.

 

The judges said: "A beautiful film. Technically strong, imaginative, touching and conveys research to powerful effect."