Ella Glendining, Savanah Leaf and Nadira Murray have all been named winners at the second annual British Film Institute (BFI) & Chanel Filmmaker Awards.
The winners of the 2023 awards were selected by a jury of Oscar-winning actor Tilda Swinton; Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue; Marie-Louise Khondji, producer and founder of streaming platform Le Cinéma Club; and Ben Roberts, BFI chief executive.
Glendining, a Screen Star of Tomorrow 2020, is the writer-director of Sundance documentary Is There Anybody Out There?, that interrogates ableism through Glendining’s own personal journey. The jury described her work as “an important film for many reasons and so unique, but also quite simply a story brilliantly told and a debut feature beautifully executed.”
Leaf is the writer-director of Earth Mama, another Sundance title, which We Are Parable will release in the UK on December 8. It follows a pregnant single mother who is trying to keep her head above water in difficult times. The jury felt the film was “one of the most accomplished debuts we have seen this year” and Leaf has “demonstrated real skill and talent in drawing out exceptional performances from her actors”.
Murray is the producer of Hassan Nazer’s Edinburgh premiere Winners, an Iran-set story of an impoverished young boy who stumbles across an Oscar statuette in a remote village. Murray won the Bifa for breakthrough producer for her work on Winners, in 2022. “With a passion for championing filmmakers and stories unrepresented in our industry,” said the jury, “we believe Nadira has the talent to bring many more engaging, important, surprising and entertaining films to our screens.”
Filmmakers will receive financial support of £20,000 each, with the aim, according to a statement from the BFI, “to expand their practice and explore new ideas, cultivate co-creation and knowledge exchange, and widen the representation of voices in today’s cultural community.”
The jury said in a joint statement: “We were presented with an incredibly strong and diverse shortlist, indicative of the exceptional quality of work being produced by early career UK filmmakers at the moment. It was a very difficult decision, but ultimately we were unanimous in selecting these three talented filmmakers whose early work shows enormous potential. We were also thrilled to have selected three women, each bringing a different perspective to their work.”
“Amidst an increasingly tough climate for UK independent filmmaking, working with Chanel to offer this unique opportunity is hugely important,” added Roberts. ”I thank them for their committed partnership and enabling this fantastic opportunity to these very worthy winners.”
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