Sri Lankan origin filmmaker Anushka wins at the British Academy Film Awards

Sri Lankan origin filmmaker, Anushka Kishani Naanayakkara’s stop-motion animated film ‘A Love Story’ won the award for Best British Short Animation, at the 2017 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) ceremony held on Sunday.

In an interview during the BAFTAs with director and co-writer Nanayakkara, along with Elena Ruscombe-King (co-writer), and Khaled Gad (Producer), the film was described as being about a relationship told through wool and about two characters weaving themselves together and trying to unpick themselves.  

The short film which is seven minutes in length was released in 2016. It has won a number of accolades prior to the BAFTA win, including the Best Experimental Film Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the New Orleans Film Festival, the Best Short Animation at the Kiwi International Film Festival among others.

Nanayakkara, a graduate of the National Film and Television School (NFTS), in her acceptance speech thanked the many people who supported the team, their family and friends, as well as the NFTS, adding that ‘today is an amazing day, I hope it is life changing’.  Other short animated films nominated in the category included ‘The Alan Dimension’ directed by Jac Clinch and ‘Tough’ directed by Jennifer Zheng.