Last night the Roundhouse announced Honey Birch as the winner of the 2024 Wiggin Emerging Filmmakers Award
12 December 2024
Honey scooped the award, and an £8,000 grant, for their short film entitled ‘If This Were Purgatory’, which follows a group of friends on a night out and eavesdrops on the voice of a queer club queue.
Honey was one of six emerging filmmakers up for the award alongside Muhammed Bittaye, Alison Foyle, Issy Franklin, Swekrati Rai and Grac Talbot. They were announced as the winner as the Roundhouse hosted its Winter Film Fund Screening in its Studio Theatre last night.
They impressed a four-strong judging panel, which included Philip Ilson, Co-Director, London Short Film Festival, January 2025; Gráinne McKenna, Partner at Wiggin; Derek Richards, Head of Broadcast & Digital at the Roundhouse and previous Wiggin Emerging Filmmakers’ Award winner, Sofia Negri.
Honey was first introduced to the Roundhouse during the Poetry Slam Final in 2018, joining the organisation’s Poetry Collective later that year. They then worked with the Roundhouse as part of its entry level Behind The Lens, a seven-week intensive course in live TV broadcast and content creation. Honey was the first person to progress from Behind The Lens to the Roundhouse Film Fund – and is now the 2024 Wiggin Emerging Filmmakers Award winner.
Philip Ilson, Co-Director, London Short Film Festival, January 2025 and one of the judging panel, said: “I am always excited to be on the Roundhouse jury as this is where new and young filmmakers and artists can emerge to really showcase their work. The Fund really allows filmmakers to take risks, which is what makes short film so exciting, where filmmakers can experiment with form and structure. What really drives me as a curator is looking to find new voices that are at the start of their creative process, and the Roundhouse Fund supports that and helps to nurture the next stage of their artistic development.”
Gráinne McKenna, Partner, Wiggin and one of the judging panel, said: “Each year, we are continually impressed by the creativity and exceptional quality demonstrated by the finalists of the Wiggin Emerging Filmmaker Competition. This year’s finalists have showcased a fresh and innovative vision, strong authorial voices, and outstanding technical skill. They truly are “ones to watch,” and Wiggin is proud to support this next generation of filmmakers through our bursary program, and our partnership with The Roundhouse.”
As well as announcing the winner of the Wiggin Emerging Filmmakers Award, the Roundhouse’s Winter Film Fund Screening showcased six innovative, bold films that question the times we live in and look at the issues affecting our daily lives.
The screening featured new work from Muhammed Bittaye, Alison Foyle, Swekriti Rai and Grac Talbot as well films from Honey and Issy Franklin that were first shown back in the summer.
Since beginning their collaboration in 2021, Roundhouse and Wiggin – a leading media, technology and IP law firm – have formed an alliance that has elevated the organisation’s young creatives programmes.
The partnership with Wiggin has significantly advanced the Roundhouse Film Fund, empowering emerging filmmakers to create short films that explore social and political issues from their unique perspectives.
They also provide support for the young film makers to enter in the global film festival circuit, which has resulted in award wins at the BFI Future Film Festival, Women X Film Festival and the Canon Prize.
