LFA BA Filmmaking students were among the top winners at this year’s Kodak / NAHEMI Student Commercial Awards, taking home joint-first prize for the Xbox brief. The awards have been running for over 40 years and celebrate the work of students from film schools, who each create 30-second ads shot on Kodak 16mm film.
Creative 'granny gamer' ad wins Xbox category
The team behind Who Hired Grandma? was recognised onstage at historic host venue Regent Street Cinema, in front of hundreds of fellow film students and industry professionals.
The creative ad triumphed against a dozen other Xbox submissions and was among 61 submissions to the competition.
This fierce competition meant the win came as a huge surprise to student Jose James, director of Who Hired Grandma? :
Honestly, I was really surprised to get the award and I still am. When I was watching all the other commercials, I was really thinking to myself, "Yeah there’s no way we're going to win anything." The level of all the competition was honestly really high, so when they did call up our project as the winner for the Xbox brief I remember looking at Sairish (director of photography) and Camila (producer) who both had the exact same look as me – mouths wide open, confused but also pleasantly surprised.
Jose James
Jose added that the work ethic of his crew likely proved the deciding factor:
I think everyone on the crew, from makeup to the camera department, was super excited and focused during the shoot which definitely made all the difference between winning and losing.
Jose James
"When everyone plays, we all win"
The ad depicts a chaotic, tense, back-alley shootout in the style of a first-person shooter (FPS) video game, with the enemy competition suddenly wiped out by the titular grandma – Xbox controller in hand, decreeing Xbox’s community-oriented slogan: “When everyone plays, we all win.”
The awards ceremony was followed by an afterparty in the adjacent University of Westminster on Regent Street, where Jose, Camila Ana Ballester, and Sairish Amonkar got to pose with their well-earned prize. They share the honours with production designer Francesca Rose Richardson, editor Paul Mathew, and first assistant director Lorenz Demmel.
On the win, producer Camila spoke about what it means to herself and her course mates:
Putting everything into a project is one thing, but having it recognised on a stage like that really reminded us why we do what we do. As a producer, my passion comes from bringing people together, and I’m so grateful for the incredible team behind this. Jose’s sharp direction, Sairish’s creative eye behind the camera, Francesca’s beautiful production design, the detailed SFX work on our grandma, and Lorenz’s patience and care as first AD – everyone brought something special.
Camila Ana Ballester
Camila also extended her thanks to some of the LFA team, who helped the crew behind Who Hired Grandma? execute their vision:
A big thank you to Susana (Facilities Manager) for giving us that extra prep time, to the LFA Kit team – especially Khai (Senior Technical Coordinator) – for making sure we had everything we needed, and to Alastair (Senior Production Coordinator) for giving us the chance to explore and push our creativity. This win belongs to all of us.
Camila Ana Ballester
Jose reiterates this gratitude for his team:
Waking up and seeing the award the next day, I definitely felt that I was put in a very blessed position from beginning to end because all the other students around me seemed like experts of their craft. It’s definitely not my award, but the crew’s, who supported and believed in the collective vision of all the heads of department - myself, Sairish, Cami, Francesca, Lorenz, and Paul.
Jose James
An additional six commercials made by LFA students were screened at the Kodak / NAHEMI Awards, which covered brands including reproductive health services operator Brook and investment trust company Alliance Witan.
LFA wishes huge congratulations to the team behind Who Hired Grandma?, as well as to all our other students that took part in the Kodak / NAHEMI Student Commercial Awards this year. Now, onto next year’s awards.
