University of York students win at the Royal Television Society Awards

A group of University of York students won the Best Factual Long Form Award at this year’s Royal Television Society Student Awards for Yorkshire.

This is not the first time HUNT has been recognised, as it won Best Student Film at the Graddies, the student film festival, last Autumn.

The Graddies win was especially significant because it made HUNT the first film from the University of York to win a national award.

What is the film about?

HUNT was directed by Thalia Saleh, with David Merritt as producer, Ed Shaw as editor, Alex Weir was responsible for sound, and Charlie Ord was the film’s cinematographer.

The film was made as part of the BSc Film and Television Production third-year Film and Television Group Projects module at the University of York, and the students had to complete the work between November and May. This included pre-production, production and postproduction.

The film explores the life of Freddie Hunt, who is the son of James Hunt, who won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1976.  Freddie Hunt has now left his life and racing legacy behind in favour of finding peace on a farm in rural Scotland. The documentary was shot entirely on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, in just five days.

More recognition for HUNT

The student filmmakers, from the School of Arts and Creative Technologies (ACT) were also awarded individual craft awards for their work in cinematography, sound and editing. The judges created new craft awards for producing and directing, as a result of the overall strength of the work they saw in those areas.

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In a post published on the university’s website, director of HUNT, Thalia Saleh, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of our team and I’m so happy to see people enjoy HUNT as much as we enjoyed making it.

“Congratulations to all the other winners. It was an honour being in a room with so many talented storytellers.”

Thalia also told The York Tab before the Royal Television win: “The team has poured their hearts into this project, and it’s amazing to see our hard work recognised.

“I really believe we’ve created something special, and I’m looking forward to seeing how audiences continue to connect with the story”.

What is next for HUNT?

The winners will now represent Yorkshire RTS in the Royal Television Society National Student TV Awards in London in June 2025!

HUNT adds the Royal Television Awards win to its victories at the Graddies (Best Student Film) and The Luma Film Festival (Best Film and Best Non-Fiction). This documentary is the first film from the University of York to win a national award.

Currently, HUNT is not yet available to watch as it is still being submitted to film festivals but you can keep up to date with any news on its Instagram page.

Featured images via Instagram @huntdocumentary