Tomás Felício Oliveira, a recent Film BA Honours graduate from the University of Westminster, has won the Young Arrows’ Student Commercial of the Year award.
Tomás graduated with a Film BA Honours degree from Westminster earlier this year and directed the award-winning commercial as an extra-curricular activity whilst a student at the University.
The commercial was produced for the Cannes Future Lions competition in 2024 to conceive and advertise a new concept for the Spotify streaming app. Filmed on a London Underground train near Westminster’s campuses, the advertisement showcased the ability to “connect to the world” through “Spotify Surround”, a concept which would allow Spotify users to see what songs those around them were listening to.
The British Arrows awards champion, reward and celebrate the innovation, bravery and artistry of moving image advertising. Their Young Arrows award programme celebrates the contributions of young people in the industry, including university students like Tomás, whose work was awarded the Best Student Commercial of the Year.
On winning the award, Tomás said: “I made this project as an extra-curricular activity during my last year of the Film BA course at the University of Westminster. Anouk Hiffler, another alumnus from Westminster, and I were challenged by the Cannes Future Lions competition to come up with the concept of a new feature for the Spotify app. After intensive brainstorming, we came up with the idea that it would be amazing to be able to see on Spotify what people around us are listening to in order to discover new music on the Tube, the Bus or whatever the place. We made a one-minute commercial for this idea and the film was then shortlisted for the Cannes Future Lions, nominated for the Shining Awards and won Best Student Commercial at the Young Arrows Awards (amongst the six nominees were also two other projects made at Westminster).”
Tomás added: “It was amazing news to get my work recognised in this way and going on stage to receive the award in front of so many professionals of the advertising industry. This will be for sure one of the key moments in my career and it will open numerous doors. Part of the award comes with a six-week internship at the creative agency Neverland that I am beyond excited to take part in.”
Another group from the Film BA Honours course were also nominated for the Young Arrows award for their commercial for McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes titled The Case of the Orange Delight. Directed by Zand Maroof and produced by Lisa Kochanova, the commercial focuses on a young girl who is so shocked she takes legal action against her mother for providing non-McVitie’s cakes.
The Film BA Honours course at Westminster is internationally recognised for its academic and practical teaching conducted from a purpose-built state-of-the-art facility on the University’s Harrow Campus. The course is industry-recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries, and it carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries.
Dr Laura Stephenson, Course Leader for the Film BA Honours course, commented: "The final year of the Film BA Honours degree embeds advertising production within the curriculum, acknowledging the importance of short-form commercials in launching many long-form film careers. We are very pleased that Tomás has won this award which recognises his skills."
Westminster’s Film course contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
Find out more about the Film BA Honours course at the University of Westminster.
