Filmmaking students at UWS in the frame for BAFTA awards

Theo and Gavin nominated in short film and documentary category at top Scottish night

- EDEL KENEALY

Two filmmakers from University of the West of Scotland in Paisley have been nominated in this year's BAFTA Scotland Awards.

PhD student Theo Panagopoulos and MA Filmmaking graduate Gavin Reid are shortlisted in the short film and animation category, with both films exploring themes of identity, memory and belonging.

Theo's documentary, The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, reclaims two silent 16mm colour films originally shot by a Scottish missionary in Palestine during the 1930s and 40s.

His journey to nomination began when he discovered a collection of undigitised film reels at the National Library of Scotland which had remained unseen for decades.

The footage has now been transformed through editing and storytelling, into a moving work that challenges historical erasure and reimagines forgotten histories.

"Working closely with curators, I realised these films couldn't simply be shown without acknowledging the colonial context in which they were made," said Theo.