14-year-old Scot wins prestigious award in London for short film
Edward Ryan, from Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, scooped the publicly voted Audience Award at the Into Films Awards in London on Tuesday and was presented with his prize by actor Andy Serkis and presenter Edith Bowman.
The 14-year-old's short film More Than One Way To Go Home was also nominated for Best Story at the awards and was inspired by the filmmaker's own personal experiences.
The film follows a young autistic girl who has to find her own way home when her brother leaves her to fend for herself and aims to convey some of the difficulties that autistic people can face and demonstrates how the right support can be key to overcoming those challenges.
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Speaking at the awards, Ryan said he felt overwhelmed with joy for receiving the award, as he said: 'I put a lot of hard work and effort into this film but none of it would have been possible without the help of my friends and all the support from my parents and family.
'Especially from my Mum for entering me into this amazing competition. I would also like to thank the whole of my community in Sanquhar for their unwavering encouragement.
'I feel overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to have this opportunity and to receive this award.'
Ryan, who wrote, directed, acted, edited and produced the film alone, said the film was particularly inspired by one incident where he was bullied by an adult while out filming.
(Image: Edward Ryan)
The young Scot said that he was scared to go near the person and had to find a new way to get home and as an autistic person, it was challenging for him to do so.
The encounter sparked the inspiration for Ryan to make this short film to highlight how the event made him feel and to show others what it can be like inside his head.
Ryan said he started filmmaking during lockdown and that he loves creating with Lego and wanted a way to bring his creations to life, so he made short stop-motion animations.
Soon his love of filmmaking evolved into him making short movies starring him and his friends.
As Ryan developed his skills further, he became increasingly interested in the technical side of filmmaking, learning how to use various cameras and editing software.
(Image: More Than One Way To Go Home)
Ryan has a YouTube channel called Mr Porridgen, named after his love of porridge, which is run by his parents, and has created a variety of films including short reels and short films.
He has also made a short film called Forward to the Past which premiered at a local community centre and a documentary for his local arts centre A' the Airts when he was 12, which led to him winning Young Community Champion at the Dumfries and Galloway Life Awards.
Fiona Evans, CEO of Into Film, said: 'These Awards are both a celebration of their talent and a clear statement of intent: that the UK film industry values, nurtures and believes in the voices of the next generation.'
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