A panel of celebrity judges - including Alfie star Jude Law - is busy deciding which films by young UK filmmakers will scoop the awards at a star-studded ceremony in London’s Leicester Square on 23 February.  Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) will add a touch of movie magic when he presents an award at the ceremony. 

The First Light Film Awards celebrate the best short films made by young people between the ages of 5 and 18 from across the UK.  The films were created through the UK Film Council’s First Light initiative, using National Lottery grants worth an average of £5,000 per project. 

The team of judges also includes Rupert Grint, (Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films); filmmaker/actor Stephen Fry; Romola Garai (Inside I’m Dancing), Pawel Pawlikowski, (Director of award-winning film My Summer of Love); and Evening Standard Film Award winner Natalie Press who stars in the film; celebrated author Nick Hornby; and Pam Ferris (Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).

The ceremony will be hosted by Jake Humphrey of CBBC and Fame Academy 2 at the Odeon West End with awards up for grabs in nine categories including Best Comedy, Best Horror/ Thriller, Best Special Effects, Best Film by Under 12’s, Best Film by Over 13’s, Best Drama, Best Screenplay, Best Animation and Best Documentary.

Award presenters alongside Sir Ian McKellen include, Asher D (So Solid Crew member and star of forthcoming film Bullet Boy); Amma Asante (Director of A Way of Life and winner of the London Film Festival UK Film Talent award); Joe Prospero (Finding Neverland); Colin Salmon (Alien vs Predator, Bond); Nicolas Roeg (Director of The Witches and Castaway); and Hugh Hudson (Director of film classic Chariots of Fire).

The films cover a variety of subjects including, a Merseyside documentary about a champion swimmer with cerebral palsy; a London animation featuring ‘Humungus Mr Lungus’ - a teacher who can’t stop eating; the trials and tribulations of a dyslexic postman from Swindon; a Surrey comedy about every parent’s worst nightmare – a teenage house party; a Manchester horror that sees Britain in the grip of a lethal virus; a film that combines Kung-Fu with hip-hop from Bristol; and a local bully takes on a magician over a game of pool in a film from Hereford.

Films from the following areas have been nominated Banbury; Bridgend; Bristol; Devon; Dorset; Edinburgh; Fife; Glasgow; Hereford; Leeds; London; Manchester; Merseyside; Newcastle; Northamptonshire; Nottingham; Reading; Sheffield; Shoreham-by-Sea; Surrey; and Swindon.

Announcing the nominations UK Film Council Chief Executive Officer John Woodward said: “Thanks to First Light, young people from across the UK have produced some fantastic films despite having little or no previous experience of filmmaking.  These films demonstrate the wealth of talent and creativity present in young people throughout the UK.

First Light Chief Executive Officer Pip Eldridge said: “The 2005 Awards promises to be the most exciting of all our ceremonies.  The nominated films are fantastically imaginative and diverse, while the judges and award presenters represent the very best of the UK filmmaking world. It’s going to be an occasion to remember.”