News & Events

RTS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF NI STUDENT TELEVISION AWARDS FOR 2025

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Date Posted: April 7, 2025

The Royal Television Society Northern Ireland (RTS NI) Student Television Awards winners were announced last week (2 April 2025) in the Black Box, Belfast at an awards ceremony hosted by Presenter Caoimhe Ní Chathail with the Joe McKinney Memorial Keynote Speech delivered by UTV’s north west reporter Jordan Moore.

The RTS NI Awards encourage, nurture and reward the talent, potential and enthusiasm of students in colleges and universities across Northern Ireland creating film and video content.

The Animation Award went to Ulster University Belfast for Shellbound, by Alisa Kamari which the judges said was a beautiful animation with well-defined characters and an enchanting narrative which would be popular with young audiences.

Queen’s University Belfast students Susie Loane, Amy Lonergan, David King, Eimear Reavey and DaiQing Yongcuo picked up the Best Factual Short Form Award for Danseur, which was described as having a fantastic contributor at the heart of a story that was beautifully and compelling told with wonderful dance sequences and choreography by the judges.

The Long Form Factual Award also went to Queen’s University Belfast for The Ball’s in their Court by Orla Dunne, Therese Farren and Joseph Hinchcliffe. This was a well-crafted documentary with inspiring contributors and impressive production values according to the judges.

 

Queen’s University Belfast also picked up the Entertainment and Comedy Award for Love From by Oliver Sadlier, Tom Bewley, Rachel McAllister, Sarah McComb, Sian Alexander, Sean Conroy and Leah Watters. The high production values of Love From impressed the judges making it stand out as a refreshing addition to the student film category.

The Drama Award went to Last Fare by Annabel Harkness, Sam Press, Seán McGlone, Danny Liken, Stephen Linkens, Holly Jenkinson, Brendan Robinson and Lucy Carter-Ashmore from Queen’s University Belfast. The judges said Last Fare demonstrated strong storytelling with an intriguing narrative and a well-crafted script.

There were two Craft Award winners for Production this year, one went to Queen’s University Belfast students Arwen Fegan, Matthew Wilson, Georgia McPoland, Michaela Burke and Matthew Martin for That’s News to Me which impressed the judges with its superb insert packages and the research undertaken for these segments was described as being comparable to professional broadcast journalism standards.

The second Craft Award for Production went to Ulster University Belfast students Jonathan Elder, Conor Martin, Gareth Walsh, Ruairi McGonnell and Summer Long for The LEGO Man. The judges felt this film had a very high production standard overall and loved the use of Lego pieces in the reconstructive narratives.  

Finally, Christopher McSherry from Ulster University Derry-Londonderry was awarded the Craft Award for Camera Work for his production U of A. Shot entirely on an iPhone, the judges were impressed by the high-quality cinematography by a single person crew.

Sarah McCaffrey, Chair of the RTS NI said: “We are delighted to celebrate the best in student film-making in Northern Ireland as we reveal the winners for the 2025 RTS NI Student television Awards. From though-provoking documentaries to powerful drama, this year’s talented filmmakers have demonstrated remarkable creativity and dedication to the art of television production.”

Madeline Whiteside, Chair of the RTS NI Students Awards said: “The RTS NI plays a huge role in supporting the next generation of content creators and winning one of these awards provides local students with a prestigious accolade to help them with their future careers.”

Keynote speaker UTV’s Jordan Moore said: “These awards celebrate the wealth of young talent emerging from our colleges, providing our students with an amazing opportunity to have their talent seen and celebrated by industry professionals.”

The full list of winners’ and student works which were highly commended below:

 

Animation

• Winner: Shellbound: Alisa Kamari – Ulster University, Belfast
• Highly Commended: The Little Feastly Fable: Carlo Tripp and Harry Rees – Ulster University, Derry – Londonderry

Drama

• Winner: Last Fare: Annabel Harkness, Sam Press, Seán McGlone, Danny Liken, Stephen Linkens, Holly Jenkinson, Brendan Robinson and Lucy Carter-Ashmore – Queen’s University Belfast
• Highly Commended: STATIC: TJ Harvey Kelly, Nathan Toland, Boróka Hegyi, Alex Monaghan, Michael Rooney and Aoife Doherty – Ulster University, Derry – Londonderry

Entertainment and Comedy Drama

• Winner: Love From: Oliver Sadlier, Tom Bewley, Rachel McAllister, Sarah McComb, Sian Alexander, Sean Conroy and Leah Watters – Queen’s University Belfast
• Highly Commended: Hubert: Daenel Carillo, Emma Lown and Dylan Reilly – Ulster University, Derry – Londonderry

Factual (Short Form)

• Winner: Danseur: Susie Loane, Amy Lonergan, David King, Eimear Reavey and DaiQing Yongcuo – Queen’s University Belfast
• Highly Commended: The LEGO Man: Jonathan Elder, Conor Martin, Gareth Walsh, Ruairi McGonnell and Summer Long – Ulster University, Belfast

Factual (Long Form)

• Winner: The Ball’s in Their Court: Orla Dunne, Therese Farren and Joseph Hinchcliffe – Queen’s University Belfast

Craft Award Winners

• Winner: Production: That’s News to Me: Arwen Fegan, Matthew Wilson, Georgia McPoland, Michaela Burke and Matthew Martin – Queen’s University Belfast
• Winner Production: The LEGO Man: Jonathan Elder, Conor Martin, Gareth Walsh, Ruairi McGonnell and Summer Long – Ulster University, Belfast
• Winner: Cameras: U of A: Christopher McSherry – Ulster University, Derry – Londonderry

The winners of these awards go forward to the national RTS Student Media Awards in London in June this year. 

For more information vist their website: RTS NI REVEALS STUDENT TELEVISION FINALISTS FOR 2025 AWARDS | Royal Television Society