This year we are delighted to host the 2024 FOCAL Awards at the Church House Westminster on June 20th, we hope you can join us. Congratulations to all the shortlisted nominees.
2024 shortlisted nominations
WHAM!
Director:
Chris Smith
Producer(s):
John Battsek / Chris Smith / Simon Halfon
Footage Archive Researcher:
Kitty Robertson
Footage Archive Producer:
Alex Black
Archival Sources:
BBC / Sony Music / MTV Viacom / So Pure / George Michael Entertainment
Production Company:
Ventureland / Library Films / Nemperor
Country of Production:
UK / USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
In 1982, the best of friends and still teenagers - George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as WHAM! set out to conquer the world.
By June of 1986, they played their very last gig at Wembley Stadium having done exactly that.
Now for the very first time, told in their own words, the amazing story of how in four years they dominated the charts around the world with timeless and classic pop songs.
Hit after hit - Club Tropicana, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom, I’m Your Man and of course Last Christmas.
Their time in the spotlight was white-hot, becoming the very first Western pop act to play in China.
It was a time that both encapsulated and epitomised not just their youth, but also those of the many millions of fans that adored them.
WHAM! is a feature-length documentary that captures this magical time, from director Chris Smith (Tiger King, Sr.) and producers John Battsek (The Deepest Breath) and Simon Halfon (Supersonic)
With unprecedented access to both George and Andrew’s personal archive including remarkable and never-before-seen footage, alongside rare, candid and previously unheard interviews.
WHAM! charts their incredible journey from school friends to superstars.
Time Bomb Y2K
Director:
Brian Becker / Marley McDonald
Producer(s):
Brian Becker
Footage Archive Researcher:
Shelby Fintak / Kushagra Kar
Footage Archive Producer:
Brian Becker / Peter Nauffts
Archival Sources:
ABC / CNN / CBC / Misc Home Video / Veritone
Production Company:
HBO
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
As the clock counts down to the dawn of the 21 st century, the world faces the largest potential technological disaster to ever threaten humanity. The problem is comically simple yet incredibly complex – a bug that could cause computers to misinterpret the year 2000 as 1900, sowing chaos throughout the world as electronic systems failed. Crafted entirely through archival footage, TIME BOMB Y2K is a prescient and often humorous tale about the power and vulnerabilities of technology. By re-appraising both the cooperative efforts and mass hysteria surrounding this millennial milestone, TIME BOMB Y2K explores how modern life has been dramatically transformed by the digital revolution.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Director:
Davis Guggenheim
Producer(s):
Davis Guggenheim / Annetta Marion / Jonathan King / Will Cohen
Footage Archive Producer:
Jackie Clary
Archival Sources:
WTTW / CBS Media Ventures / Universal Studios / Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan / Carson Entertainment Group
Production Company:
Apple Original Films / Concordia Studio
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
Told in his own words with a mix of archival and scripted elements, STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE recounts Fox’s rise to the heights of stardom in 1980s Hollywood. The look at his public life unspools alongside his private journey including the years following his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease.
Amor
Director:
Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Producer(s):
Gabriele Genuino / Edoardo Fracchia / Elena Filippini / Stefano Tealdi / Rasa Miškinytė
Footage Archive Producer:
Guglielmo Parisani
Archival Sources:
Cinecittà, Istituto Luce / Superottimisti
Production Company:
RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana / STEFILM / ERA Film
Country of Production:
Italy / Lithuania
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
"When I see Rome I see my mother. It has been like this since she died".
A summer evening many years ago: the city is deserted, the World Cup final of the world football championship is underway.
A woman, Teresa, reaches the Tiber and lets herself go with its
current. The abyss swallows her and her daughter Virginia, in the darkness of the night, crosses Rome: he wants to find her and save her.
Virginia must cross the depths of the waters, of history, of myths, of misfortunes and the vital glow of a timeless Rome. So she can see again her mother emerge from the darkness of the Tiber to fly to Amor, 'the planet of the care' surrounded by water and where the streets, the squares, the fountains recall those of
Rome and the animals are free to roam.
The Eichmann Trial
Director:
Elliot Levitt
Producer(s):
Elliot Levitt
Footage Archive Producer:
Jessica Berman-Bogdan
Archival Sources:
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum / NBC (via Getty Images) / BBC (via Getty Images) / UCLA Film & Television Archive / CBC
Production Company:
Banality, LLC
Country of Production:
USA
Original Release:
2023
Synopsis
In 1961, history was on trial…in a trial that made history. Just 15 years after the end of World War II, the Holocaust was already considered ancient history. Barely taught in high school or college courses, the attempted extermination of the Jewish people had been largely forgotten outside of Israel. All that changed on May 11, 1960 when Adolf Eichmann, a former Nazi officer hiding in Argentina, was captured and whisked to Jerusalem to stand trial. Over the course of a nearly four-month proceeding, filmed in its entirety and broadcast worldwide on television, many learned for the first time about the extent and horror of Nazi atrocities. During Eichmann’s fiery cross-examination, a debate over disobedience to orders and the banality of evil began which continues to this day.
Told entirely through archival footage of the trial itself and contemporaneous news coverage, The Eichmann Trial documents the most shocking trial in history, and the birth of Holocaust awareness and education.
