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Award honour puts Agata's hard work into focus

Recent ARU graduate wins the Bill Vinten University Award for Cinematography

Recent Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) filmmaking graduate Agata Kazmierczak has won a prestigious national honour at the Guild of Television Camera Professionals Awards.

Agata, who graduated this year from the BA (Hons) Film and Television Production course in Cambridge, received the 2022 Bill Vinten University Award for Cinematography for her work on Roots, a film produced as part of her ARU course. In addition to Agata, two other recent ARU graduates, Lidia Bieniarz (for A Film about My Dad) and Chloe Kelly (for Therapy), were also in the running for the Cinematography award.

Roots, directed by Ugne Jurgaityte, tells the story of a young woman and her mother living alone in rural isolation. The young woman wakes one morning to discover her mother has died. It is a moment in time that marks both an ending and the potential of a new beginning.  

Roots was screened at the Arts Picturehouse in October as part of the Cambridge Film Festival, and footage from Roots can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL9btw9OZ5s  

Agata said:

"The Guild of Television Camera Professionals hosted a beautiful event, and I am very grateful for this recognition. For filmmakers starting out in their careers, like me and my team, it really means a lot. We are very proud of Roots and its achievements, and for all the support it has received."

 

Sophie Jackson, Agata’s tutor on the BA Film and Television Production course at ARU, said:

“Drawing on the aesthetics of Soviet-era cinema, the Roots team originally planned to film in a small village in Lithuania where the aunt of Ugne, the director, lives. However, just a week before the crew was due to leave, Russia invaded Ukraine and threw the region into turmoil. 

“In just three weeks, demonstrating problem solving skills and tenacity, this student team found new locations in the Peak District and reorganised the production.  It’s great that all the hard work and challenges the students on this production faced have paid off in this beautiful film and now the quality of that work is being recognised by the wider community. 

“It was wonderful to see Roots at the Cambridge Film Festival and winning this national cinematography award really highlights Agata’s contribution. She is an incredibly talented all round filmmaker. I will be following Agata’s future career with great interest.”

 

Roots was directed by Ugne Jurgaityte and co-produced by Joana Neves-Brito, while Mihai Alexandru Filipache was the writer and associate producer. Director of photography Agata was assisted by camera operators Marc Jackson and Yegor Chmilewsky, and camera assistant Luke Redup.