Ukrainian Film Takes Home BAFTA as Grad Student Director Wins Award

Director Franz B?hm, actor Oleksandr Rudynskyy, and producer Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer received a BAFTA for their short film “A graduate who won a major film award described the victory as ‘surreal’. Franz B?hm studied at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, after moving to the UK from Germany. His war thriller ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’, which is based on the true story of a Ukrainian civilian named Ivan, won the BAFTA for Best British Short Film.

“Being part of the BAFTA ceremony was already such a dream,” B?hm said. “Then to win this award made it absolutely surreal. It was certainly an amazing atmosphere there; I couldn’t believe we were invited to the winners’ bar. I tried to keep my cool, met some incredible people, and pretended like it was just another day at work.”

The 20-minute short film ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’, shot in the UK with a performance by Ukrainian actor Oleksandr Rudynskyy, was written and directed by B?hm during his two-year masters course on directing fiction. “It was our graduation project,” he explained. “We got plenty of support from the school, but it’s clearly a professional film made while we were still students.”

B?hm added that though he thought he did well, “I certainly wasn’t the best student.” The cast and crew attended the BAFTA ceremony on Sunday.

The winner of Best Short Animation was ‘Wander to Wonder,’ directed by NFTA alumnus Nina Gantz. Another former student, Nick Park, won two BAFTAs for ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.’ In 2024, NFTA students triumphed in the British Short Animation and British Short Film categories with their films ‘Crab Day’ and ‘Jellyfish and Lobster.’

NFTS director Jon Wardle said, “Winning BAFTAs for student work two years running speaks to the creativity, dedication, and innovation of our students. The School remains a global leader in film and animation training, and we’re incredibly proud of this outstanding BAFTA win.”