FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR Award Winner JonnyLewisFilms.com
I’m not sure how this has happened, but I’ve somehow won the FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR SUPREME CHAMPION AWARD in the Pro Moviemaker International Awards for a number of films I made with Jay Goldmark and Goldmark Films. Last year’s winners included a music video for the Pigeon Detectives (apparently they are still going), a documentary for The Daily Telegraph and promotional film for Ferrari, so I was shocked to be told that I’ve won the top prize from this years awards, which included 16 categories!
“Our overall victor can now be revealed as Jonny Lewis, a Briton who juggles his work as an editor for the USA’s biggest rugby TV channel with his commissioned work, where he makes films for a local art gallery with its own YouTube channel; his evocative films promote the wide range of international artists it represents. Already nominated for four Royal Television Society East Awards, Lewis was also the winner of one of our flagship awards, the commercial & corporate category.”
As well as wining the FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR SUPREME CHAMPION AWARD I was also fortunate to win the COMMERCIAL & CORPORATE award.
Pro Moviemaker Filmmaker of the Year Award page 1 of 2
Pro Moviemaker Filmmaker of the Year Award page 2 of 2
“This is the category of paid work commissioned by clients and is the big one indie companies want to win.
We were flooded by amazing branded content and promotional videos, but the work of Jonny Lewis really stood out.
This is for a high-end art gallery, but isn’t a hard sell for its products.
His work is a series of documentary shorts featuring interviews with the artists themselves which are sensitive portraits. Lewis films the artists in a mix of locations - often at work or at home, away from their studios. He really draws out the personalities and stories of the artist and their pieces. You don’t have to be an art lover or collector to pick up that Lewis creates these films with a real love for storytelling and in a stylish, engaging manner. They are stunning examples of modern, commercial filmmaking that entertain, inspire and ultimately truly engage with the target audience. You can’t help but be drawn into the artwork thanks to the compelling stories behind them.
Lewis’ entry included six short films that fall in line with the gallery’s brand.
One stunning piece is Sid Burnard’s Curious Kingdom, which has been shortlisted for a Royal Television Society Award. Lewis says: “I never thought I’d have a film shortlisted at the same event as the BBC’s fantastic Detectorists!”
It tells the tale of an artist who makes sculptures from found objects, such as driftwood from beaches near his home.
The story is engaging, the visuals are top-notch and the audio is excellent - often an area where films are let down.
John Allen: Woven England concerns the wall carpets made by an 89-year-old who blends his passions for art and nature. It’s testament to his emotional connection with the English landscape, and the film transports us to this world.
We learn about Allen’s working-class upbringing, his early life working in the coal business before training as a dental technician, then enrolling on textiles courses at Camberwell and the Royal College of Art.
Further afield is a film on one of the world’s top ceramicists, Anne Mette Hjortshoj, shot during a few days on the island of Bornholm in Denmark where she lives and works. And Akiko Hirai: Mark of the Pot looks at how this Japanese artist left her home country for the UK and ended up becoming one of the world’s leading potters.
Finally, the story of Gross Encounters:
Anthony Gross’ Adventures in Art explores how, when Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940, artist Anthony Gross evacuated his family on one of the last ships to leave Bordeaux. He was appointed an official war artist and landed in Normandy with the Allied troops on D-Day, holding his materials aloft as he waded ashore. Gross was a war artist, a trailblazing animator and adventurer, which Lewis beautifully captures. Work like this is exciting, emotional and tells the tale behind the art - and its creator Jonny Lewis is a worthy winner.
What makes Lewis such a successful commercial filmmaker is that he produces sensitive documentary films which are stylish yet natural, and ultimately engage
with the audience. He creates intimate portraits of some of the most creative artists on the planet, shot on location in their own studios. It’s very obvious he has a love for people and telling their tales.
The films are not obvious sales pitches for the gallery which employs him – the Goldmark Gallery in Uppingham on the edge of Britain’s smallest county, Rutland.
It’s a long way from where he started, working as a postman in his native South Wales. “I carried on doing that part time for a few years while I was taking a documentary film course at Newport University,” he reveals. “I ended up in Swansea making videos for museums and galleries. When I saw this job, it sounded more my thing, doing documentary work. I moved here eight years ago!”
“I just like to tell good stories. The art is amazing – and seeing artists do their
thing is incredible. I love to tell how these people have struggled and become world famous,” he says.”
Watch a selection of the award winning films …