Kingston School of Art illustration animation graduates shortlisted for national student awards by Royal Television Society

Three illustration animation graduates from Kingston School of Art are in the running for a national Royal Television Society student award for work they produced for their final projects at university.

Zoe Wang, Jamie Laing and Miranda Peyton-Jones all scooped accolades at the Royal Television Society's London regional student awards, which now takes them forward to the national student awards hosted in June.

Zoe and Jamie's short, animated film Carrot, which combines stop-motion and 2D animation, was named the winner of the animation category at the London awards. It tells the story of a young woman who returns to her hometown for dinner at her mother's house and she uses a carrot as a metaphor to explain how her adverse childhood experiences have influenced her parenting behaviours.

"When I was young my mother would subject me to abusive behaviour. She realised that she had been copying the behaviour of her parents and she wanted to change this, which influenced my animation," Zoe explained. "When the film was completed, she showed it to her friends, encouraging them to talk about generational trauma and how it affected them as children and relationships within their family."

Carrot has received widespread acclaim elsewhere, also receiving nominations at Madrid Indie Film Festival 2023 and Around International Film Festival in Amsterdam 2023.

Meanwhile, Jeremy, My Father by Miranda Peyton Jones was named the winner of the factual category at the London awards. The film was inspired by Miranda's own bereavement and the range of emotions associated with grief, following the death of her father, Jeremy Peyton Jones, who was an esteemed and talented composer. Through a combination of animation, archival footage and music, it gives the audience a glimpse into Miranda's personal memories of her father and the relationship they shared.

Miranda explained how the illustration animation course at Kingston helped her develop the technical knowledge she needed to create the film. "In our course we were encouraged not to limit ourselves and to think about different ways of communicating our stories," she said. "I was able to implement archiving, drawing, and animation, allowing me to build a narrative around my most intimate and vulnerable feelings associated with my father's death," Miranda said.

Jeremy My Father has already picked up several other prestigious awards including Best Student film award at Around International Film Festival in Berlin in 2022, Best of Show award at Anim8 Student Festival 2022 and Best Student Animation at the Learning on Screen Award 2023. 

Kingston School of Art's Head of Department for Illustration Animation Rachel Gannon praised the students on their achievements. "Animation allows us to communicate complex and difficult topics in a creative and accessible format that others can empathise with," she said. "The success of these two student projects demonstrates just how impactful personal storytelling is."

The winners of the national Royal Television Society student awards will be announced during a ceremony at the BFI Southbank on 23 June.

•  Find out more about the Royal Television Society student awards
•  Find out more about studying Illustration Animation BA (Hons) at Kingston School of Art