Notre Dame Oscars 2012

Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College in Leeds means the absolute world to me. When I first arrived there as a shy, tubby sixteen year-old with very questionable hair, I knew nobody. It was very scary. I didn't think I'd survive the month.

The red carpet!

Nobody was more surprised than I to discover that, not only did I survive the month, I lived and breathed the place for two fantastic years. It was one of those rare periods of my life when I woke up every morning and actually looked forward to going to 'work'. The simple reason for this was that I loved my friends and I loved my subjects, (Theatre, Media and Classical Civilisation - what's not to like?)

So returning there on 19 September 2012 as an introverted - but still tubby - twenty-four year-old with slightly less hair was an absolute joy, (only "less" because I'd had it chopped - baldness has thus far alluded me.) And walking down St. Mark's Avenue not only felt familiar - it felt routine. I actually believed, for a fleeting moment, that I was on my way to a class. Suddenly I was back in 2006. Incredible.

Of course the reason for my being there was somewhat surreal. My filmmaker friend Kenneth Barker has, for the last few years, been the VIP guest at the Media / Film studies 'Oscar' ceremony, and has presented the awards for the students' coursework. But he was unable to attend this year, and very kindly suggested me as an alternative. I couldn't say "yes" fast enough.

Me at Notre Dame in 2004, and an example of the
bad hair I was referring to...

My responsibilities were simple: first, to talk a little about myself, (and it was "a little" - I am the King of Concise), and to hand out the Oscar statuettes to the winners of the various categories: best editing, best narrative in a music video, best comedy performance, and so on. And very well-deserved these prizes were. The standard of filmmaking in all categories was staggering, with each piece brimming with innovation and creativity. My particular favourites were the music video to 'Blessed' by Tom Fangs Feat. Shermanology, and the film short 'Left Bear' directed by the (immenseley) talented Joshua Palit.

My third responsibility was to pick my overall fave for the Judge's Choice award, and this went to the mini-documentary about a local indie band known as The Scandal, with their video feature entitled 'The Scandal - A General Perspective.' You can find out more about them here http://www.facebook.com/TheScandalLeeds, and please do, they're rather good. I chose this as my winner simply because of how well it flowed, and how quickly it grabbed, and sustained, my attention - not an easy thing to achieve, so hats off to the director Johanna Wilton.

And that was it. The students posed for photographs on the red carpet, and I collected my things and hiked back up St. Mark's for what (I hope) will not be the last time. Notre Dame is such a special place and, on the strength of what I saw yesterday, is certainly not dipping on its standards of love, encouragement and creativity. It was great to be back, albeit for one night.

And I finally got to see inside the staff room, (I'd often wondered...)