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And the winners are
Local legend Victorem awards went to actors Denise Welch and Jill Halfpenny and also to directors Neil Marshall and Geoff Wonfor
Local legend Victorem awards went to actors Denise Welch and Jill Halfpenny and also to directors Neil Marshall and Geoff Wonfor.
Denise Welch, whose film Black Eyed Susan was screened at the festival, Tweeted that she was “thrilled, surprised and honoured”.
Victorems also went to film icons from opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Ken Loach wasn’t there to collect his award but Dave Johns, the Newcastle comedian-turned-film star who had the title role in Loach’s I, Daniel Blake, was present to host the event.
The Victorem was collected on Loach’s behalf by actress Kierston Wareing whose first film role was as Angie in the director’s 2007 release, It’s a Free World...
New Yorker Abel Ferrara, dubbed the “godfather of independent film” and responsible for releases such as King of New York and Bad Lieutenant, had also made the trip from his adopted home city of Rome.
There was a message of congratulations to the Victorem-clutching director from American actor Willem Dafoe who has starred in several of his films.
The award for acting (male or female) went to Richard Armitage who was in Newcastle to talk about Urban and the Shed Crew, a gritty drama inspired by Bernard Hare’s real-life account of a group of Leeds children fending for themselves on the streets of 1990s Leeds.
Armitage, famous for his roles in The Hobbit (as Thorin Oakenshield) and Captain America: The First Avenger (Heinz Kruger), plays Chop in the film which also stars Anna Friel and newcomer Fraser Kelly as Urban Grimshaw.