NEWPORT film students are celebrating after scooping an arm full of accolades at a top awards ceremony.

Animators, documentarians and fiction students from Newport Film School won eight out of the 13 categories they were nominated in at the 2011 Ffresh Students Moving Image Festival of Wales held in Cardiff last week.

Judges praised the university’s entries, which included two animation awards, including the prestigious, “Best in Festival”, two fiction awards and four documentary awards. The talented filmmakers were also successful in The Royal Television Student Awards, coming away with four accolades. The winners will now go forward to the UK finals in London later this year.

Christopher Morris, Head of Newport Film School said the awards showed a vote of confidence in the adventurous and creative film courses the university runs.

He said: “There is no doubt that Newport is now the pre-eminent institution for studying film in Wales and a vital cog in the continued growth of the film and television industry in Wales.”

Graduates from Newport Film School are highly regarded amongst industry professionals with BAFTA award winning director Steve Robinson praised them for their ability to emerge from university ready to work.

Mr Morris, who worked in documentary film making before turning he started lecturing at the school in 2003, said South Wales and Newport was fast becoming a hub for talented young professionals and it was crucial that talent remained in Wales.

He said: “There is every reason to expect that if we successfully develop and retain our talent, in twenty years time, South Wales will be the driving force for film and TV production in Britain.”

He added that with an increasing amount of drama content made by BBC Cymru Wales including supernatural drama Being Human and police documentary Crimewatch, graduates no longer needed to leave Wales in search of a career in the industry.