Students from one course at Cornwall College saw their name in lights after a clean sweep at the Cornish Oscars, writes Lewis Vicary.

Extended Diploma Media students won all four categories open to college students, entertainment/music video, animation, fiction and factual, at the Cornish Film Festival 2013.

Kai Delaney, winner of the music video category and co-director of the best fiction feature at the event in Newquay’s Lighthouse Cinema last week, said: “It’s unbelievable.

“I didn’t expect to win and I am so proud to not only to get an individual award, but one which my whole class worked so hard for.

“The opportunities we have had on the course, for example filming our feature on a £60,000 camera with some of the top guys in the industry, has been incredible and an opportunity most students would never get.”

The awards were part of the Screen Actions event at the festival which provides a unique opportunity for young people to see their work on the big screen, as well as engage in a range of industry led workshops.

The winning awards went to James Bunt, who collected best factual for his documentary on animation, while Kai Delaney and Callum James won best entertainment/music video for the film I fed Him on Bananas, and Michael Barnell won the best animation for his piece Hard Boiled.

The best fiction category was jointly won by Kai Delaney and Aphra Perring, for Billy No Mates along with Red Butterfly directed by Truro College’s Keiran Sebille, as the judges were unable to pick between the two.

The awards are not the first success for the ED Media Production course at Cornwall College, which prides itself with equipping students with industry led vocational skills, having already scooped awards  from the Royal Television Society and boasting students producing on The XFactor and American Idol.

Panel judge and BBC cameraman Nigel Walters, whose credits include Kavanagh QC said: “As judges we were amazed by the quality of entries, the camera work, editing and storytelling was exceptional. There can only be a few winners but there are certainly no losers here today.”

Rory Mason, cluster manager for media and game design at Cornwall College, said: “Winning all four categories is a monumental achievement and testament to all the hard work the students put in. The department staff are so proud, especially given the industry experience of the judging panel.”