Jules Wright Prize

Noski Deville, recepient of the Jules Wright Prize 2015, on set
Noski Deville, recepient of the Jules Wright Prize 2015, on set

Jules Wright Prize

Over the past three editions,  the Jules Wright Prize celebrated the behind-the-scenes work by women working in creative technical roles with artists filmmakers enabling them to bring their visions to screen. A £5,000 prize was presented to a female creative technician who has played a significant role in the area of artists’ moving image production in the UK.  The Jules Wright Prize 2015-17 was presented in  partnership with Film London and given as part of the Jarman Award.

 

In 2015, Noski Deville received the inaugural Jules Wright Prize for her exceptional collaborations in the role of cinematographer with artists such as Alia Syed, Jananne Al Ani, Steve McQueen and Isaac Julien.

In 2016, editor Lucy Harris received the Prize for her intelligent, collaborative and sensitive approach has positively contributed to both the rhythmic qualities and the conceptual structure of a diverse range of artists’ works including Rosalind Nashashibi.

In 2017, sound designer Chu-Li Shewring received the Prize for her exquisite ‘invisible’ art and craft of layering emotions, mood and underscoring actions in films by artists such as Steve McQueen, Frances Scott and Ben Rivers.

2017 + –

Winner: Chu-Li Shewring

Chu-Li Shewring was awarded the  2017 Jules Wright Prize, which focused on women sound designers, who collaborate with artists working in moving image. 

 Shortlist 2017

  • Beatrice Dillon
  • Chu-Li Shewring
  • Zhe Wu

Criteria 2017

  • Woman who works as a sound designer
  • Woman who has played a significant role in the area of artist’s moving image production in the UK
  • Woman who has made a significant input in artists filmmakers’ work and career through her creative and technical skills in the field of sound design

Jury 2017

  • Sara Putt, Director of Sara Putt Associates – a leading agency for behind the camera talent
  • Lucy Harris, Editor and Recipient of 2016 Jules Wright Prize
  • Errollyn Wallen MBE,  Composer and Performer, Collaborator of Jules Wright

About the 2017 Shortlist

Beatrice Dillon is a composer, sound designer and producer based in London. She has released critically-acclaimed solo work, remixes and collaborative releases across Boomkat Editions, PAN, The Trilogy Tapes and Where To Now?. With a background in Fine Art, Beatrice has collaborated closely with award-winning visual artists Conrad Shawcross RA, Jorinde Voigt, Pedro Reyes, Mai-Thu Perret and Claire Hooper, producing sound and music for film, installation and performance. Aside from her own solo work, she is currently developing new commissions for Lisson Gallery and Wysing Arts Centre.

Beatrice Dillon, Florence Peake and Anne Tetzlaff, Untitled, 2017. Installation view: Wysing Arts Centre, 2017

Chu-Li Shewring is a filmmaker and sound designer collaborating mainly with artists and independent filmmakers. She is also a visiting sound tutor at UCL and the National Film and Television School. Shewring is a graduate of MA in Sound Design at the National Film and Television School. Hunger (2008), by Steve McQueen, was one of her first experiences working with an artist. Her most recent collaborations are with the artist Frances Scott on her film installation CANWEYE { } (2016), and her archival film Diviner. Shewring has also worked with the artists Ben Rivers, Phil Coy and Esther Johnson.

https://vimeo.com/223111510

Frances Scott, CANWEYE { }, 2016 – excerpt. Sound design: Chu-Li Shewring

Zhe Wu grew up in China and is based in London. She works worldwide as a sound designer and re-recording mixer. In 2010, she received two Verna Fields nominations for Golden Reels Awards from the MPSE (Motion Picture Sound Editors) in Los Angeles and a Best Sound nomination from the British Animation Awards. Wu worked with artist filmmaker Sarah Turner on her two feature films Perestroika and Public House. She has also worked on the film installation The Running Tongue by Siobhan Davies and David Hinton. Rather than creating sounds that simply “enlarge” the picture, she is interested in sound design that enhances the emotion and storytelling of the film.

Sarah Turner, Perestroika, 2009 – excerpt. Sound design: Zhe Wu

2016 + –

Winner: Lucy Harris

Lucy Harris was awarded the  2016 Jules Wright Prize, which focused on women editors, who collaborate with artists working in moving image. 

Shortlist 2016

Nse Asuquo has contributed her creative and technical editing skills to a number of artists work but the jury were particularly impressed with the editing on John Akomfrah’s triple screen ‘The Unfinished Conversation’. This is extremely complicated and complex editing with wonderful juxtaposition of movement, stillness, sound, music, timing and rhythm. An intelligent approach that evokes rather than dictates, creating multi-layered levels of engagement and a real presence.

Ariadna Fatjo-Vilas’ highly experienced, skilled, empathetic and collaborative approach has added context, texture and pacing to a number of artist’s works from Andrea Luka Zimmerman to Marcus Coates. She has a strong documentary sensitivity, which enables the work to balance elements of narrative, documentation and humour. Her intelligent handling and balancing of documentary and performance elements allows the viewer space for contemplation and imagination.

Sue Giovanni has had a significant technical and creative input and impact on a wide range of artists work throughout her extensive career from Rose English to Jananne Al-Ani.  During this time, spanning many technical changes and innovations, she has maintained and developed her exacting technical knowledge and continued to facilitate work to a high level including work as an online editor and colourist. She is respected and highly regarded for her exceptional command of the technology and an ability to apply it creatively.

Lucy Harris is a highly regarded editor who has an extensive knowledge of artists’ moving image work, both historical and contemporary, bringing an intellectual overview to her work.  She has a facility for sharing her knowledge of different editing platforms and approaches and as an artist herself has a profound understanding of the artistic process that enables her to be particularly supportive and insightful.  Her intelligent, collaborative and sensitive approach has positively contributed to both the rhythmic qualities and the conceptual structure of a diverse range of artists’ works including Rosalind Nashashibi.

Criteria 2016

  • Woman who works as an editor
  • Woman who has played a significant role in the area of artist’s moving image production in the UK
  • Woman who has made a significant input in artists filmmakers’ work and career through her creative and technical skills in the field of editing

Jury 2016

  • Kate Kinninmont MBE, CEO, Women in Film and TV (UK)
  • Noski Deville, Cinematographer and Senior Lecturer at Farnham Film School , winner of the Jules Wright Prize 2015
  • Joan Leese, Director, VET Production and Training
2015 + –

Winner: Noski Deville

The inaugural Jules Wright Prize focused on cinematographers. The 2015 Jules Wright Prize was awarded to cinematographer Noski Deville in recognition of the tremendous impact she has made on the field of cinematography, the breadth of her work and the range of artist filmmakers she has worked alongside.

Noski on her career

“I worked as Workshop Co-ordinator at the London Filmmakers Co-op from 1986-89 where I had the unique opportunity to see many seminal artists films. It was here that my love and understanding of experimental cinema and the creative possibilities it offered, was fostered and enhanced. My passion for the ‘magic’ of film, my understanding of the technical aspects of filmmaking plus the teaching and sharing of that knowledge were all further developed during this time.

Since then I have had the privilege of working as a cinematographer/DOP with many emerging and high profile artists and now have over 20 years experience in this field. These varied projects offer insight and understanding of a diverse range of creative processes, often with complex technical and creative challenges that require ingenious solutions and thinking ‘outside the box’ to achieve the desired outcomes. I enjoy helping to find and understand the essence of the artwork through the artist’s vision (getting inside their head, so to speak) and to help translate their thoughts and ideas into moving imagery. It is the fusion of the creative, the intellectual and the technological that I find exciting and constantly engaging.

I am also committed to education and technical tutoring in a variety of ways, including mentoring trainees on set, as a technical advisor on artists’ projects, delivering ACCESS workshops, and in my current role as Senior Lecturer in Film Production, specialising in Cinematography at the UCA Farnham Film School. I aim to foster an environment of mutual respect, open to discussion and questioning, where talent and creativity can flourish. I enjoy the sharing of knowledge and watching current and previous students forge their own successful careers. The expansion of digital technology has kept me ‘on my toes’, understanding the technical possibilities, while retaining the essential creativity inherent in any form of filmmaking. I am proud to say that in 2014 we won the prestigious award of Best University for Teaching in Cinematography from the Guild of British Camera Technicians.

Throughout my career as a cinematographer shooting promos, dramas and documentaries, I have also worked and contributed to many organisations including:, The London Filmmakers Co-Op, Sankofa Black Film & Video Workshop, Goldsmiths College of Art, Portsmouth University, The Slade School of Art, University of London The University of Hertfordshire and The University for the Creative Arts at Farnham Film School. I have also been on the Board of Directors of Four Corners Film & Video Workshop, London Filmmakers Co-op and Greater London Arts. I am a member of the Guild of British Camera Technicians and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.”

Shortlist 2015

  • Noski Deville
  • Taina Galis
  • Suzie Lavelle
  • Margaret Salmon