Film BA Honours students have won the Craft Award for Best Writing at the Kodak Student Commercial Awards for their McVitie's advert where a biscuit scandal was under the spotlight.
The Awards are an annual competition sponsored by the motion picture company Kodak and the National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image (NAHEMI).
Organised by Westminster’s own Principal Lecturer for Film Peter Hort, the ceremony was held on 31 May at the Regent Street Cinema and saw 180 student film makers, film teachers and advertising professionals in attendance.
In total there were 64 entries from 17 film schools from across the UK and Ireland who were tasked to create a 30-second commercial with one ten-minute roll of 16mm film provided free-of-charge by Kodak. Each group were given a choice of briefs to work on by the leading advertising agencies McCann, TBWA and Libertine, including a public health warning on salt intake for Action on Salt, and promoting the charity Ovarian Cancer Action, the food delivery service Just Eat, and McVitie's.
Westminster’s award-winning commercial was titled The Case of the Orange Delight and promoted McVitie’s as the original biscuit brand. To do this the advert focuses on a girl who has gone to eat a Jaffa Cake in her kitchen but is traumatised when with one bite she realises that it is not the McVitie’s snack but in fact an imposter. With the girl’s devastation it is clear that in a world of copycats nothing can beat the original.
The Case of the Orange Delight was directed by Zand Maroof and produced by Lisa Kochanova who created the film as part of the Advanced Production module.
The films were shown to a panel of judges representing the agencies that set the briefs, as well as Sam Clark, Kodak’s Director of Sales, Motion Picture and Entertainment for Europe, and the Chair of NAHEMI.
The full team included writers Jonathan ‘Jongy’ Tam, Hetty Hair, Tigerlilly Campbell-Smith, Olmo Ramella and Zand Maroof, as well as Cinematographer Louis Gramond, Sound Recordist Dongle Lian, Editor Chloe Hampson, Production Designer Ieva Rugaityte, Production Manager Henry Butler, First Assistant Director Rebecca Tuffin, First Assistant Camera Caleb Pithers-Gregory, Second Assistant Camera Fergus Barry, Gaffer Hetty Hair, Spark Louis Sheldon, Art Assistants Henry Hughes and Jonah Corr, Sound Editor Dongle Lian and Colour Grader Sophie - Dominique Parea.
Lisa Kochanova said: "Seeing our commercial The Case of the Orange Delight on a big screen at NAHEMI Kodak Student Commercial Awards and receiving a Craft Award for Best Writing was very exciting and rewarding. Our commercial wasn't an easy one to pull off in such a limited time frame but our amazing crew made it possible, and it truly was a team effort!"
Zand Maroof added: “Before I even was accepted to study at Westminster, I had been well aware of the Kodak Student Competition - a staple of UK film courses for many years. I always had eyes to write and direct one of these adverts, and with the help of my amazing crew, I was able not just to do so but also to win an award for Best Writing. However, award aside, the most exciting part of this competition was the process of creating a project on analogue film, which is always my preferred way of shooting. As Peter Hort outlined in his opening speech of this year’s award ceremony, “film is having a resurgence”, and I hope that Kodak and NAHEMI can continue their work in exposing mine and future generations to the format.”
Peter Hort said: “The Kodak Student Commercial Awards are a unique opportunity for students not only to respond to live briefs provided by top advertising agencies for well-known products, but also to work on real film, which is enjoying a renaissance - a majority of the nominations and winners at this year’s Oscars, BAFTAs and Cannes Film Festival were shot on film. By bringing students from all over the UK and Ireland together to see each other’s work, the Awards help to raise standards across the sector, and enable young film makers to network and potentially work together in the future; it’s great to see Westminster’s film students amongst the winners.”
Giving students the chance to use industry equipment to create their own commercials and gain feedback from industry professionals directly 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.
Watch The Case of the Orange Delight.
Find out about Film and Television courses at the University of Westminster.
Photo Credit: Hasan Matar
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