Two Solent films shortlisted for RTS Student Awards

Southampton Solent University’s talented filmmakers have once again been recognised at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Southern Centre Student Awards 2026, with two student productions shortlisted at the prestigious event.

The RTS awards are judged by industry professionals, and recognise emerging creative talent across the region, showcasing the high standard of work being produced by students in film, television and media.

Representing Solent University in the shortlist are This Film Will Kill Us - nominated in the Entertainment & Comedy category, and ITA The Forgotten Alphabet – nominated in the Factual (Long Form) category.

This Film Will Kill Us is a comedic short film mixed with real archive footage, loosely based on events from the students’ third year of University as they attempted to create their Final Major Project.

James Gibson, the film’s editor, says:

“We tried to run with numerous ideas for our Final Major Project, but they kept on failing. After filming a bunch of footage, we weren't going to use, we realised that the whole process of trying to make our Final Major Project made for an over-the-top entertaining story in itself!

Commenting on the success of the film James says:

“We were all quite surprised. We thought the film would only resonate with people who knew us, and the fact that is being recognised beyond that is really cool!”

James and the rest of the crew behind the film - Ben Fry, Callum Felice and Sam Kershaw - all graduated from Solent last summer.

Recent graduates Ryan Maguire, Marshall Mencacci, Kidane Pusey and Harrison Keast have been shortlisted in the Factual (long form category) for their fascinating exploration of the Initial Teaching Alphabet (ITA) - a 1960s teaching experiment in the Midlands that replaced the traditional alphabet with 44 phonetic symbols to help children learn to read more easily. Although early trials showed promise, many pupils later struggled to transition back to standard English spelling, and the scheme was abandoned in the 1970s due to mixed results and practical challenges.

Kidane Pusey’s mother was one of the children negatively impacted by being taught ITA. Kidane, who wrote and narrated the film, wanted to dive deeper to see who else may have been affected by this method of teaching.

On being nominated for the award, he says:

“I was very surprised, but also thankful and proud, that our documentary has received this recognition.”

Kate O’Driscoll, Senior Lecturer at Solent University, is thrilled with the continuing success of Solent students on the TV and film courses. She says:

“The Royal Television Society annually recognises the best of student work from universities across the UK. I am delighted that we have two student films nominated this year for the Royal Television Society Southern awards.

“These nominations showcase student talent from the BA (Hons) TV Production and BA (Hons) Post-production for Film and TV courses, demonstrating the quality of work they are producing for their Final Major Projects. Huge congratulations to both production teams, this is a thoroughly deserved recognition of their incredible hard work and commitment to their films.”

The winners will be announced at The RTS Southern Awards on Friday 17 April at the Hilton Southampton - Utilita Bowl.

Find out more about TV, Film and Media courses at Solent here.