UCA Graduate Wins Animation Award

A recent graduate from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) at Rochester took home the Audience Award at this year's Canterbury Anifest.
David Keefe's student film, An Audience With, also finished runner-up in the Best Film category, which was judged by BAFTA-nominated filmmakers.
The 22-year-old, who earned a first class honours degree in CG Arts and Animation, said: "It was brilliant. In an instant, working 24-7 for 15 weeks, and consuming a dangerous amount of coffee, all became worth it.
"Winning the Audience Award and having two BAFTA-nominated directors choose my film as the second best in the whole country has given me a huge confidence boost.
"I was also lucky that my film was screened to a large audience - they all laughed in the right places which was an added bonus," he said.
Alan Postings, Senior Lecturer in BA (Hons) CG Arts and Animation, said: "So often we see 3D animations that focus too much on the technology and forget to entertain.
"There's a warmth in David's animation that transcends computers: it's in the story, the animation, and the style. For a young filmmaker this is a rare gift and for an audience, it’s pure magic."
UCA was a major sponsor at the annual animation festival and brought Daryl Shute, producer of the BBC's computer-generated hit The Gruffalo, to speak to festival-goers.
Dan Richards, Canterbury Anifest Festival Director, said: "It was great to have UCA's support and sponsorship at this year's festival. The CG Arts and Animation course is a fresh and exciting degree which Anifest is proud to be associated with."
Alan Postings added: "UCA's involvement with Anifest gave us the opportunity to engage with the filmmakers of the future and show industry-insiders and animation enthusiasts what we are all about.
"It also allowed us to showcase the great work UCA produces from its incredibly talented students."
It has been an exciting few weeks for David, whose work was recently showcased in Digital Arts magazine, but he is now looking forward to future projects.
"The most exciting thing for me at the moment is not knowing what’s going to come next," said David, who is originally from Leamington Spa.
"I've got so many ideas for animations, short films, feature films, even a comedy series, so watch this space."
(BMcC/GK)