ARU students win Kodak prize for bold commercial
Eros – The Myth Buster is named the best commercial in national film competition
ARU students Lisa-Marie Soulier, left, and Claudia Vogt at the awards ceremony
Two Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) students have won a national award run by Kodak for a “bold” and “funny” commercial, beating off entries from 17 other universities and film schools from across the UK and Ireland.
Director Claudia Vogt and producer Lisa-Marie Soulier, both 22-year-old third year BA (Hons) Film and Television Production students at ARU, collected the award for best overall film at a ceremony held at the historic Regent Street Cinema in London.
The Kodak Student Commercial Awards is an annual competition run by Kodak and Nahemi, the national association for higher education in the moving image. The competition, which has been running for nearly 40 years, received a total of 61 entries this year.
Students were provided with a 10 minute roll of Kodak 16mm film to make a 30 second commercial based on one of four live briefs set by advertising agencies McCann, Libertine and TBWA. Representatives from the national agencies were on the judging panel.
The ARU students’ live brief was for the sexual health and wellbeing charity Brook, and their winning film, Eros – The Myth Buster, is a light-hearted commercial to promote the use of condoms.
The judges described the commercial as “a film that really stood out with its original storytelling and bold, funny approach. The sharp writing had us laughing throughout, and it felt more like an entertaining story than an ad, in the best possible way.”
In addition to Claudia and Lisa-Marie, the cinematographer for Eros – The Myth Buster was Jack Bryant and it was edited by Karina Bhojwani, who are also both third year BA (Hons) Film and Television Production students at ARU.
“We didn’t expect to win first prize at all, so this is such a surprise. It’s also incredibly rewarding because it was quite a complicated shoot, using cameras we don’t use on a day-to-day basis, so this recognition from Kodak and the judges is fantastic.”
Student Claudia Vogt, who directed the film
“The brilliant thing about the Film and TV Production course at ARU is that it’s so hands-on and practical.
“We have access to the very best equipment, such as ARRI Alexa Mini LF cameras, which are the same cameras used in Hollywood, and our tutors have been amazing. They’ve provided opportunities for us during the course to work with high-profile organisations such as the Imperial War Museum and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, which is great for our portfolios.”
Producer Lisa-Marie Soulier, who came to study at ARU from Montreal in CanadaThe pair also combined for their graduation film Saturday Night Butch, which is on show at the ARU Creative Showcase, and plan to continue working together after graduation.
Claudia added: “We’ve made documentary, fiction and now adverts together, and we plan to expand on all of these and continue to focus on opportunities and projects that feel relevant to us.”