Hate crime film recognised with two prestigious awards
An educational video produced by the University of Leicester to expose the harms of hate crime has been awarded two prestigious awards.
The University’s Creative Services team, within the Division of External Relations, won the General In-House Award and the Special Jury Award at the British Universities Film and Video Council’s Learning on Screen Awards, which took place last night (23 April).
‘The Harms of Hate’ was produced as part of the Leicester Hate Crime Project in the Department of Criminology and showcases the stories of seven people living in Leicester who have been victimised on the basis of their identity. The participants come from a range of backgrounds and have been victimised for different reasons. Despite these differences however, they have all suffered significant emotional and physical harm as a result of their experiences.
Image: The video production team L-R Professor Neil Chakraborti, Hannah Tucker, Hayley Evans and Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy
The team beat off stiff competition from the Universities of Nottingham, Warwick and Roehampton.
Hayley Evans, Director of The Harms of Hate said: “Being nominated for the General In-House award at the Learning on Screen Awards 2015 was an amazing achievement in itself, and when they announced we had not only won this category, but also the Special Jury Award, I was blown away.
“The Harms of Hate was a team effort from the video team, the academics, and the film participants, and was one of the most eye opening, and enjoyable and rewarding experiences I have ever had whilst making films.”
During the award ceremony, the film was described as ‘a powerful production’ and was commended by the jury for its ‘excellent technical qualities as well as its sensitive depiction of a difficult subject’.
Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy, who was the Lead Researcher for the Leicester Hate Crime Project said: “These awards are a fitting tribute to the victims who were brave enough to share their stories of everyday hate and hostility within this film, and within the broader research.”
Professor Neil Chakraborti, Director of the Leicester Centre for Hate Studies said: "The film is being used as an educational tool within schools, prisons and a range of other environments, and as part of training packages for frontline practitioners. This will ensure that the film continues to make a real difference with respect to helping hate crime victims get the recognition and support they deserve.”
The film previously won a Royal Television Award for Best Factual Programme last autumn. This is the second consecutive year the University has won the Special Jury Award, having previously won it for its video work on Richard III in 2014.
On awarding the Special Jury Award, the organisers said: “The 2015 Learning on Screen Special Jury Award is going to a production made by an organisation that has produced consistently high quality in-house entries for many years now. The jury was astounded by their entry this year, and felt special recognition was due for their sensitive and respectful film, making special mention of the skilful interviews that formed the backbone of the production, which gave a rare and open insight into a highly personal subject matter.”
You can watch the award-winning The Harms of Hate below: