Archived news - New lecturer's documentary wins award at International Film Festival

Llion Iwan, newly appointed Lecturer in Journalism in the Department of Communication and Media, has won a Prize at an International Film Festival, the Coupe Icare or Icarus Festival, held at St Hilaire du Touvet, near Grenoble, France.

Llion was awarded the Best New Director Award for "The man who jumped beneath the Earth", a programme which he filmed, produced and directed. The Festival concentrates on programmes or films related to flying- by whatever means. The winning documentary follows experienced Tremadog mountaineer Eric Jones, 67, as he travels to Mexico to tackle the world's toughest and most dangerous base jump, into the legendary "cave of the swallows". Following a death and environmental concerns, base jumping into the cave has since been banned.

The documentary was screened at the Festival among entries from Canada, America and European countries, the majority of which had already been broadcast on the BBC or Discovery. The winning documentary has also been broadcast and was seen on BBC Wales earlier this year.

During the same week-end, Llion Iwan travelled to Les Diablerets festival in Switzerland, where the film was also screened as a short-listed prize winner.

In March the documentary earned a special mention in the Mountain Culture category at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival and has also been shown at a festival in Slovakia.

"We are delighted to welcome Llion Iwan to the Department at a time when his work is receiving so much deserved praise," said head of Department of Communication & Media, Nic Ros. "Our students are going to benefit from his experience."