Three top prizes – Best Film, Teacher of the Year and Ones to Watch – are all coming home to Wales, after winners were announced at the UK-wide 2020 Into Film Awards, in a virtual ceremony hosted by David Walliams this morning (11 Nov).

Teacher of the Year: Sponsored by Working title Films

Timm Dadds, Cwmrhydyceirw Primary School, Swansea

Best Film: 12-15 Years: Sponsored by Paramount Pictures

I’m The One – Eden Quine-Taylor, Powys, Wales

Ones to Watch: Sponsored by Eon Productions In partnership with the BFI Film Academy

Hedydd Ioan, Gwynedd, Wales

Known as the young people’s Oscars, the Welsh winners were due to travel in March to the Into Film Awards at the Odeon, Leicester Square, London, but due to COVID-19 developments the event could not go ahead. Welsh actors Rhys Ifans and Luke Evans have previously presented awards at the star-studded ceremonies in London.

Now in their seventh year, the Into Film Awards, which are sponsored by the UK film industry and by the BFI through National Lottery funding, celebrate young people’s creativity in film, showcasing and highlighting the wealth of tomorrow’s creative talent across the UK. The event also gives recognition to educators who use film as an education tool.

Teacher of the Year, Timm Dadds, on receiving the award said: “It is a huge honour to have won Into Film Teacher of the Year and for my school to receive recognition for putting film at the heart of our curriculum. I believe that film has a vital role to play in making our curriculum more relevant, accessible and engaging to learners as well as preparing them for the world of work.”

Fifteen-year-old Eden Quine-Taylor, who won Best Film (12-15 years) for her film ‘I’m the One’, said: “I’m delighted to have won such a prestigious award. Being able to have my work seen by industry professionals is so very exciting! Making films has always been my passion. I can’t see myself doing anything else!”

On the film itself, which is a poetic and impressively staged one-shot film in which the residents of one small town demonstrate that everyone has their story and their own issues to deal with, Eden said: “We all want the right to live our lives peacefully and without judgement, and so we should all learn to be more compassionate and understanding of each other.”

The Ones to Watch awards, which involve an official partnership between Into Film and the BFI Film Academy, seek to highlight phenomenal individuals who have already achieved an incredible amount in the world of film and look set to go much further. Hedydd Ioan from Gwynedd was named as one of the recipients, and said: “It’s an honour to be chosen as one of the ‘Ones to Watch’ this year. I’m so glad for this chance to be able to develop what I love doing.”

Host for the 2020 Awards, David Walliams, said: “I love the Into Film Awards because it gives the opportunity to young people, from all kinds of backgrounds, to be a part of the film industry. As an actor, these young people are the future, and you want them to give you a job one day! Anything that encourages creativity is important, we have an amazing film industry in this country which is often ignored by politicians and we need to support it. Into Film is an amazing charity.”

Head of Into Film Cymru, Non Stevens, said: “The aim of the UK-wide Awards is to promote the power of film and highlight how the scope of Into Film work can contribute to the educational, cultural and personal development of children and young people. We are delighted that, this year, we had a record number of nominations from Wales, demonstrating that we are punching above our weight as a small nation. It is fantastic that three top prizes are coming home to Wales and I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Timm, Eden and Hedydd.”