Henfield film-maker is confirmed as "one to watch"

Jack Hill, aged 18, was honoued by the award which is an official partnership with the BFI Film Academy, highlighting “phenomenal individuals who have already achieved an incredible amount in the world of film and look set to go much further.”

Jack is already an accomplished filmmaker whose films explore important themes such as suicide rates among young people, the nature of ambition and doubt and the effect of social media on personal relationships.

They have played at numerous prestigious festivals, from St Andrews Film Festival in Scotland and Brighton Rocks Film Festival to one in West Bengal, India.

Jack said: “I am incredibly thankful to Into Film for providing me with such an opportunity, and I am honoured to be recognised alongside so many talented, passionate young filmmakers.

“Being a young filmmaker is hard work. It’s expensive and exhausting and exceptionally challenging, but when the audience finally watch, and it affects them in ways that are unexplainable in words but tangible through film, none of that really matters. It is all worth it.”

The winners of the 2020 Into Film Awards were announced as part of a virtual ceremony hosted by David Walliams for film education charity, Into Film, honouring the talent and hard work of young filmmakers and film enthusiasts from schools across the UK.

Awards spokesman Matthew Kent said: “Jack is an extremely talented filmmaker whose suspenseful thriller, Suburbia won Into Film’s Film of the Month competition in April 2019 and has played at a variety of film festivals since.

“His next project, Small Talk played at Brighton Rocks Film Festival and explores mental health and suicide.

“The film had a significant impact, with many young people reaching out to Jack afterwards to express how much they identified with the story.

“Stand-Up Stanley is about the nature of ambition and doubt and also played the festival circuit and his most recent short film, Midnight was officially selected for the Sunday Shorts Film Festival as well as screening in London and Lisbon this year.”