The RTS NI Student Media Awards – when, what, why and who?

By Katie Ward

On Wednesday the 2nd of April, the RTS NI Student  Media Awards 2025 are slated to take place in the Black Box, Belfast. Kicking off at 6:30pm, the event will be hosted by producer and radio/TV presenter Caoimhe Ní Chathaill, with UTV reporter Jordan Moore delivering the Joe McKinney memorial keynote speech.  

The awards, now celebrating their twelfth year running, were established as part of the Royal Television Society Northern Ireland to celebrate student endeavours in TV and film. Since their establishment, they have become a central part of the Northern Irish TV and film scene; giving up-and-comers hugely beneficial recognition for their future careers, as well as a chance to network with the field’s prominent figures. RTS NI chair Sarah McCaffery calls the awards ‘a fantastic way to celebrate and recognise the outstanding skills, ambition and creativity of those studying at Northern Ireland’s third level colleges and universities’ [1].  

April’s ceremony will see the presentation of all five categories – Animation, Drama, Entertainment and Drama, Factual (short form and long form) and Craft – with the winners proceeding to the national RTS Student Media awards, which will be hosted in London in June of this year. Here at QUB, we have been well represented across four out of five categories, boasting a total of six nominations, which are as follows. 

DRAMA: 

Last Fare – Annabel Harkness, Sam Press, Seán McGlone, Danny Liken, Stephen Linkens, Holly Jenkinson, Brendan Robinson and Lucy Carter-Ashmore. 

‘A degenerate gambler picks up a well dressed hitchhiker at a broken down car. The hitchhiker then makes an offer that may prove too tempting to refuse..’ [2] 

Also nominated for the London Director Awards, Last Fare is a spooky, tense thriller, created by a team of final year students at Queens. More information, as well as a teaser trailer, is available on Instagram @lastfarefilm.  

Is Someone There? – Andrew Dornan, Louise Farmer, Hadyn Curran, Rory Kinghan, Sam Hall, Jonathan Leonard and Dana Emyei. 

‘This taut and atmospheric film follows an isolated protagonist as he is terrorised by a series of unsettling phone calls and the lights in his apartment begin to go out one by one…’ [3] 

Suspenseful and frightening, this short horror was written and directed by Andrew Dornan. The Is Someone There? team is on Instagram, under the handle @is.someone.there.film.  

ENTERTAINMENT AND COMEDY: 

Love From – Oliver Sadlier, Tom Bewley, Rachel McAllister, Sarah McComb, Sian Alexander, Sean Conroy and Leah Watters.  

‘This film follows a young couple in the 80s who are torn apart by an unexpected move. The girl writes to her sweetheart, but he never responds. Will she ever get closure?’ [4] 

Love From is a colourful, stylised and nostalgic Queen’s Final Year Project written by Rachel McAllister and directed by Oliver Sadlier. Behind-the-scenes info and pictures are available on Instagram @lovefromfilm. 

FACTUAL (LONG AND SHORT FORM)

Danseur: Susie Loane, Amy Lonergan, David King, Eimear Reavey and DaiQing Yongcuo. 

‘This stylised documentary follows schoolboy Oscar as he smashes stereotypes by pursuing his dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer’ [5]. 

Touching and atmospheric, Danseur was directed by Susie Loan and chosen as Young Filmmaker Documentary of the year at Cinemagic Film Festival. Behind-the-scenes, updates and teasers are available on Instagram @danseurfilm. 

The Ball’s in Their Court: Orla Dunne, Therese Farren and Joseph Hinchcliffe. 

The Ball’s in Their Court Team describe it as ‘a documentary about the power of wheelchair basketball and the individual impact that the sport can create. Following the stories of Ciara and Lisa, two members of the Northern Ireland Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, we learn about how the sport gave them a new sense of identity and how this community is transforming lives. While there is still scope for the sport to grow and challenges that must be overcome, this team doesn’t let setbacks define them, and continues to keep the ball playing in their court.’ 

Craft: 

That’s News to Me: Arwen Fegan, Matthew Wilson, Georgia McPoland, Micheala Burke and Matthew Martin 

The That’s News to Me team describe it as ‘a student-led live TV programme created to broadcast local news in a digestible way for a young adult audience. It highlighted events ranging from recent political developments to the Soultrane 2024 Music Festival, and featured many interviews with prominent people near and around Belfast, including Trevor Birney, producer of the Kneecap movie.’ 

Tickets for the RTS NI Student Media Awards ceremony go on sale on Monday March 10th at 10am. Best of luck to all our Queen’s nominees!