The winners of the 2018 Royal Television Society Northern Ireland (RTS NI) Programme Awards have been announced.
Casting Director Carla Stronge was announced as the winner of the Brian Waddell Award, which recognises her outstanding contribution to the local television and film industry. Belfast born Carla set up The Extras Dept in Belfast in 2007 with Siobhan Allan and went on to set up Carla Stronge Casting in 2013. Carla has worked on all 8 seasons of HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’; BBC 2’s ‘THE FALL’ and recent Belfast set true story ‘Doing Money’; ITV’s ‘The Secret’ and Channel 4's ‘Derry Girls’ as well as films including ‘The Dig’, ‘Kissing Candice’ , and upcoming 2019 release We Don’t Talk About Love. She has won two Emmy's for her work on Game of Thrones in 2015 and 2016.
Speaking about receiving the award, Casting Director Carla Stronge said:
“This is a mind-blowing honour. Waddell Media was the first place I did work experience, so I am very proud to be the first recipient in the Award’s new name. It's a great privilege to be congratulated by your peers and those whom you massively respect. We're in a very exciting chapter of growth and development here in our industry in Northern Ireland, when elsewhere everyone is calling Time's Up! Here in Northern Ireland the time is now to build on our success. I know with the most pro-active screen agency in the UK, if not Europe and the world, we can continue to grow this place as a centre of excellence in every way, with values of equality, respect and inclusion at its core. I’m very honoured to be a small part of that journey.”
‘Derry Girls’ picked up the Award for Best Scripted Comedy for Hat Trick Productions and ‘No Stone Unturned’ won the Current Affairs Award for Fine Point Films.
Fine Point Films also picked up the Award for Best Documentary with Cyprus Avenue Films for ‘66 Days’ with the Specialist Factual Award going to Erica Starling Productions & Ronachan Films for ‘Leonora Carrington – The Lost Surrealist’.
‘Come Home’ filmed in Belfast by Red Production Company Ltd took the Award for best Drama and the Entertainment Award went to Nice One Productions & Hindsight Productions for ‘What Makes You Tic?’
‘Rachel Allen: A Cook’s Adventure’ took the Features/Factual Entertainment Award for Big Mountain Productions with the Award for Original Music Score going to Below The Radar for ‘Rocky Ros Muc’.
‘BBC Newsline’ picked up the News Award for its Paedophile Hunter Investigation and the Award for Children’s Animation went to Zodiak Kids Studios for ‘Joe All Home – Home Alone’ with BBC Northern Ireland also picking up the Interactive Award for ‘1943 Berlin Blitz’.
Chair of RTS NI, Kieran Doherty said:
“The high quality of this year’s entries was truly impressive and hugely reflective of Northern Ireland’s dynamic creative community. I know the judges had a tough time deciding the eventual winners so congratulations to everyone who was nominated as well as tonight’s winners. The RTS NI is an educational charity and events like these Awards give us the opportunity to highlight and celebrate the wonderful achievements of our vibrant film and TV industry which is now being recognised on the global stage.”
The RTS NI Programme Awards 2018 are delivered in partnership with BBC Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen, Channel 4 and UTV.
Full list of RTS NI Award winners:
Children’s and / or Animation
WINNER: Zodiak Kids Studios: Joe All Alone – Home Alone
Finalists: Sixteen South: ‘Claude’ – Shiny Shoes and Paper Owl Films: Pablo
Entertainment
WINNER: Nice One Productions & Hindsight Productions: What Makes You Tic?
Finalists: Stellify Media: Don’t Say It Bring It and Beauty Queen and Single
Interactive
WINNER: BBC NI: 1943 Berlin Blitz
Finalists: 360 Productions, Big Motive: Contagion – The BBC Four Pandemic (App)
Features and / or Factual Entertainment
WINNER: Big Mountain Productions: Rachel Allen: A Cook’s Adventure
Finalists: Waddell Media: World’s Most Expensive Cars and Alleycats TV: Keepin ‘Er Country: Festival of Love
Drama
WINNER: Red Production Company Ltd: Come Home
Finalists: Afro-Mic Productions: Cry Rosa and Darlow Smithson Productions: Dave Allen at Peace
Original Music Score
WINNER: Below The Radar: Rocky Ros Muc
Finalists: Doubleband: Britain’s Ancient Tracks with Tony Robinson and Paper Owl Films: Pablo
Current Affairs
WINNER: Fine Point Films: No Stone Unturned
Finalists: UTV: UTV Up Close – Game Over and UTV Up Close - Para-Normal
News Coverage
WINNER: BBC NI: BBC Newsline Paedophile Hunter Investigation
Finalists: UTV: UTV Live – North West Floods and UTV Live – Stormont Talks Collapse
Scripted Comedy
WINNER: Hat Trick Productions: Derry Girls
Finalists: The Comedy Unit: Soft Border Patrol and Nice One Productions in Partnership with Retort: Fright Shorts: The Visit
Specialist Factual
WINNER: Erica Starling Productions & Ronachan Films: Leonora Carrington – The Lost Surrealist
Finalists: Dragonfly Film & Television Productions Ltd: My Dad, The Peace Deal and Me
Erica Starling Productions: Out of the Shadows
Documentary
WINNER: Cyprus Avenue Films / Fine Point Films: 66 Days
Finalists: Erica Starling Productions: Searching for Shergar and Waddell Media: The Flower Shop
The Brian Waddell Award for Outstanding Contribution
WINNER: Casting Director Carla Stronge.