The ninth annual FOCAL International Awards in association with AP Archive took place last night at The Lancaster London Hotel, with winning entries spanning the decades and unearthing stunning footage illustrating a wide variety of topics, including life in the former USSR, racial segregation, the passion of motor racing and the chilling beauty of degraded film.
 
The standout project at this year's awards was Senna (Working Title/Universal Pictures - UK), winning two out of its three nominated categories, and also deemed worthy of a special award for its research team.
 
Sue Malden, Chair, FOCAL International, said, "This year's entries were very special indeed. With more than 180 submissions from 18 countries the judges had a difficult task on their hands. The winners - from the UK, USA, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands - all demonstrated outstanding use of archive material, and highlighted the importance of preserving film in order to remind us of our collective history. We thank our sponsors, organisers and nominees for making this year's event so inspiring and enjoyable."
 
The awards' host, journalist and broadcaster John Sergeant, revealed the winners (shown with asterisks below) in the following categories:
 
Best Use of Footage in a Factual Production
Sponsored by BBC Motion Gallery,Fremantlemedia Archive, ITN Source
Note: Due to the overwhelming number of submissions in the Factual category, three separate awards of equal standing are awarded annually in this category.
* Blacks of France From 1889 to today (Noirs de France) - Compagnie Phares et Balises (France)
* Entertaining the Troops - BBC Entertainment (UK)
* The Loving Story - Augusta Films, LLC (USA)
9/11 Emergency Room - Testimony Films (UK)
Bernadette: notes on a political journey - Digital Quilts (Ireland)
Lost and Found: Nazi Wolframite - SIC - Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (Portugal)
POV: My Perestroika - Red Square Productions (USA)
The Boy Who Was a King - Agitprop (Bulgaria)
Timeshift: All the Fun of the Fair - BBC (UK)
 
Best Use of Footage in an Entertainment or Drama Production
Sponsored by Broadcast Magazine
* Night on Film: An A-Z of the Dark - BBC Entertainment (UK)
The Story of Variety with Michael Grade - BBC Entertainment (UK)
The Toys That Made Christmas - BBC Entertainment (UK)
 
Best Use of Footage in an Arts Production
Sponsored by Footage Farm
* The Camera That Changed the World - Lambent Productions (UK)
Eames: The Architect and the Painter - Bread and Butter Films & Quest Productions (USA)
Hollywood Invasion - NBC Universal Global Networks Italia (Italy)
 
Best Use of Footage in an Arts Production featuring Music
Sponsored by Getty Images
* Harry Belafonte - Sing your Song - S2BN Belafonte Production (USA)
Queen - Days of Our Lives - Globe Productions (UK)
The Godmother of Rock & Roll - Antelope South Limited (UK)
 
Best Use of Wildlife and Natural History Footage
Sponsored by Framepool
* Broken Tail - Crossing the Line Films (Ireland)
Brutal Killers - The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Netherlands)
Deadly 360 - BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
 
Best Use of Sports Footage
Sponsored by ITV Sport Archive
* Senna - Working Title/Universal Pictures (UK)
 Mighty Jerome - National Film Board of Canada - NFB (Canada)
The Bert Trautmann Story - Testimony Films (UK)
 
Best Use of Footage in a Short Production
Sponsored by Digital Vision
* Liquidator - EYE Film Institute (Netherlands)
Save The Children 'No Child Born to Die' - STALKR (UK)
The Magic Loungeabout - Archive Oracle Productions (UK)
 
Best Use of Footage on Non-television Platforms
Sponsored by Clips & Footage
* Farewell Comrades! Interactive
www.farewellcomrades.com - Artline Films/Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion (France/Germany)
EUscreen: Discover Europe's Television Heritage www.euscreen.eu - Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Netherlands)
Film in Nederland www.filminnederland.nl - EYE Film Institute Netherlands (Netherlands)
 
Best Use of Footage in a Home Entertainment Release
Sponsored by The Production Show
* Rosie Newman's Britain at War in Colour - Imperial War Museums Film Archive (UK)
Senna - Universal Pictures/Working Title (UK)
The Persuaders - The Complete Series - BBC/Network Distributing Ltd (UK)
 
Best Use of Footage in a Cinema Release
Sponsored by British Pathé
* Senna - Working Title/Universal Pictures (UK)
Queen - Days of Our Lives - Globe Productions (UK)
The Extraordinary Voyage - Steamboat Films (France)
 
Best Archive Restoration / Preservation Project
Sponsored by BBC Studios and Post Production
* Desmet Collection - EYE Film Institute/Haghefilm Laboratories (Netherlands)
ITN Digital Archive - ITN Source/Deluxe 142 (UK)
Tales from the Shipyard (This Working Life) - BFI National Archive (UK)
 
Best Archive Restoration / Preservation Title
Sponsored by ERA and FOR-A
* A Trip to the Moon (1902) - colour version - Lobster Films / Technicolor Foundation for Film Heritage / Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema in association with Archives Françaises du Film and M. Malthête Méliès (France/USA)
Shoes (1916) - EYE Film Institute Netherlands/Haghefilm Conservation B.V. (Netherlands)
The Loves of Pharaoh (Das Weib des Pharao) (1921) - Alpha-Omega Digital, George Eastman House, Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv, Filmmuseum Munich, ARTE/ZDF (Germany/USA)
 
The Jane Mercer Footage Researcher of the Year
Sponsored by AP Archive
* Denis Karam, Zig Zag Productions
 
Footage Library Employee of the Year
Sponsored by Deluxe 142
* Paul McAllister - Screenocean
Obi Adumekwe, AP Archive
Serena Sharp, Clips & Footage
Eric Simon, Getty Images
 
Footage Library of the Year
Sponsored by Iron Mountain
* British Pathé
AP Archive
Journeyman Pictures
 
Special Award
* Footage Research Team - Senna (Working Title/Universal Pictures - UK)
 
Lifetime Achievement
* Rick Prelinger