by Maureen Murray
Women In Film & Television UK is now twenty years old and it has blossomed from its beginnings in 1989 as a rather shy and awkward youngster of an organisation into a highly polished professional outfit, self-confident in its achievements and accepted by its peers. The organisation has come of age, and the WFTV 2009 Awards Ceremony really showed it! The London Park Lane Hilton Hotel ballroom was a positive feast of glitz and glamour. The list of invitees and awardees was stellar. Top comedienne Jo Brand got things going with a swing in her role as Awards Compere. John Hurt, sitting next to Lifetime Achievement Awardee Dame Helen Mirren at the next table to ours was corpsing with laughter throughout. The atmosphere in the room was celebratory and the role call of recognition was enjoyed by almost one thousand guests representing all sectors of the UK film and television industry.
It was one of the proudest professional moments of my life when Margy was called up on stage to receive the WFTV 2009 Creative Originality Award, which was presented to her by writer and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup. Margy is a heroine of independent arts film-making. In the last year alone she has talked thrills and spills with Placido Domingo in Los Angeles, raced around the Venice Bienale in a vaporetto, touched the musical heartbeat of Russia at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre and spent dreamtime with aboriginal artists in Australia. Throughout her career she has made individual and beautiful films that make you you laugh, let you cry and – above all – encourage you to understand and celebrate the creative spirit. And it has been my very great privilege to be able to help her bring some of that work to life and now witness her very long overdue recognition. Well done, Margy!
Click on the thumbnails below to scroll through the gallery:
The Awardees:
HANNAH McGILL: Winner of the Talkback-THAMES New Talent Award Presented by Claudia Winkleman
MOIRA ARMSTRONG: Winner of the Ascent Media Director Award Presented by Patricia Hodge and Miriam Margolyes
BECKY BENTHAM & KAREN ELLIOTT: Winners of the Eon Productions Business Award Presented by Sarah Harding
CAROLINE HEWITT: Winner of the Barclays Commercial Project Management Award Presented by Kerry Fox and Ben Wishaw
DINA EATON: Winner of the Panalux Craft Award Presented by Toby Stephens
NORMA PERCY: Winner of the BBC News and Factual Award
PAULA MILNE: Winner of the UK Film Council Writing Award Presented by Hayley Atwell
MARGY KINMONTH: Winner of the Skillset Creative Originality Award Presented by Mariella Frostrup
FRANNY ARMSTRONG: Winner of the ITV Achievement of the Year Award
KATIE JARVIS: Winner of the Pinewood Studios Best Performance Award Presented by Adrian Lester
CLARE BINNS: Winner of the Littlestar Services Contribution to the Medium Award Presented by Romola Garai
DAME HELEN MIRREN: Winner of the Working Title Films Lifetime Achievement Award Presented by John Hurt
Share your comments & feedback