A student at Stratford-upon-Avon College has been rewarded for her impressive film review writing with a nomination for a national film award.
Katie Jellicoe, 19 from Solihull, has been shortlisted to the final three in the Reviewer of the Year category at this year’s Into Film Awards. Katie was nominated by her teacher, Media and Film Studies lecturer Sarah Downing, herself a nominee in the Teacher of the Year category.
Katie has written 10 reviews for Into Film and has already had her work recognised – in September 2017 she received the Review of the Week accolade for her insightful analysis of the film ‘Submarine’ directed by Richard Ayoade.
She is appreciative of the recognition she has now been given for the hard work she has put in to her studies. Her film reviews offer a personal response which is supported not only by detailed discussion of the films but also by strong evidence of research, the latter being one of Sarah’s main reasons for putting her forward for the award.
Discussing her commitment to research, Katie said: “I like to read other reviews to get an idea of what people think and see if I agree with their opinions. Recently I wrote a review of ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest’, which we’re studying at College now, and I watched a lot of documentaries on the making of the film, in which the director talked about his ideas and intentions for the film.”
Katie described what appeals to her most about film reviewing: “I enjoy putting across my opinion and thinking critically about the ideology of the films I review. The effect that films can have on an audience, and how the director uses cinematography to convey emotions are always interesting to me.”
Katie recognises that her studies have benefited from contact with industry professionals who have visited the College as guest speakers, including George MacKay, one of the stars of Oscar-nominated film Captain Fantastic. Following a recent screening of the film at the College, he came to talk to the students about his career and his experiences of making the film.
Katie aims to progress to the University of Birmingham this September to study English and Creative Writing, with a view to establishing a career as a scriptwriter or author. She believes her review writing has helped with her studies in general: “I’ve found that writing reviews has helped me to prepare for my exams as I’m already thinking analytically about the films we study. It helps with my other subjects as well since I have to write critically about texts in English Literature classes.”
Into Film is a charity which promotes the use of film as an educational tool in schools and colleges throughout the UK. This year’s award ceremony, which Katie will attend, will take place at London’s Leicester Square on Monday 4th March.
We wish her the very best of luck on the night.
