HTV West receive international awards

Five television programmes from HTV West in Bristol have won awards at this year’s Columbus International Film and Video Festival in the USA.
The festival is the longest running of its kind in the US, and this year celebrates its 51st year of continuous operation. Recent editions of the festival received over 700 entries, with more than 30 countries represented in the 113 subject categories.
The winning HTV West entries were entered in the Humanities division (The Chris Awards), covering eight separate categories.
Bronze Plaques went to: 'Set in Stone – the Building of Bath', in The Humanities: Preservation of Artefacts/Buildings section. The series, presented by Richard Wyatt, was produced and directed by Howard Perks, and chartered the history of the development of the city of Bath; 'Life Class: Seeking Shadows', a Wild Fire production, in The Arts: Visual Arts category. Presented by Toyah Willcox, the series, produced by Abigail Davies and directed by Lee Cox, delved into the art of drawing the human body, and was shot at Filton College in Bristol and 'Running the Gauntlet' (an MSP production) in The Humanities: History class. Produced and directed by Crispin Sadler, the series told how a team of West divers discovered the wreck of HMS Manchester, 60 years to the day it was sunk in the Mediterranean by enemy action during World War 2.
Honourable mentions were also made to 'In the Making', produced by Melanie Tolchard and presented by Sue King and Dave Woodland, which celebrated the wealth of craft talent around the West region; and current affairs series 'West Eye View', for the episode 'Coming Up for Air', which looked at the increase of asthma among children locally, and was produced by Vicky Marriott.
The Chris Awards will be presented at the festival’s annual awards ceremony on November 8, at the Columbus College of Art and Design, Worthington, Ohio, USA. Film screenings for the festival will be held from November 6 – 9.
Jane McCloskey, HTV West Director of Programmes, said: “I’m delighted that so many of HTV’s regional programmes have been honoured at the Columbus Awards. Receiving one award would be wonderful but getting five is a fantastic achievement and a great testament to the talented production teams making programmes for us”.
(GB)