This year, London Film’s Jarman Award enters its 17th edition. Since its inception, this renowned prize has honoured the memory and legacy of pioneering British artist, activist and filmmaker Derek Jarman (1942-1994) by shining a light on ground-breaking artist filmmakers working in the UK. The £10,000 accolade has gone to a remarkable list of contemporary creatives, such as Heather Phillipson, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Charlotte Prodger and Elizabeth Price – all of whom went on to be shortlisted or win the Turner Prize. Today, the nominees for the 2024 prize have been announced. The shortlist includes: Larry Achiampong, Maeve Brennan, Melanie Manchot, Rosalind Nashashibi, Sin Wai Kin and Maryam Tafakory.
We are proud to see two winners of the Aesthetica Art Prize in the running for this incredible recognition. One such is filmmaker Maryam Tafakory, who, in 2019, won the Emerging Prize for her project I Have Sinned a Rapturous Sin (2018) and then took home the Main Prize this year with Nazarbazi [the play of glances] (2022). She now widens the scope of Nazarbazi by sharing a series of elegiac films that are collages of found-footage from post-Revolutionary Iranian cinema. Her work reveals how objects, words and glances have been used as substitutes for physical contact between men and women in Iranian film history.
Larry Achiampong won the Aesthetica Main Prize in 2023 with Wayfinder. His 2024 Jarman Award-nominated film is A Letter (2023). Here, we witness the story of a man facing sectioning. The unfolding narrative collapses time to reveal the impact of history, immigration and geographical separation on two brothers living in Britain and Ghana. It marries retro technology – such as a “hacked” Game Boy Camera – and storytelling to explore the concept of “Sanko-time.” Coined by Achiampong in 2017, the term relates to the Ghanaian Adinkra symbol and indigenous Akan word “Sankofa” – meaning to “go back and retrieve.”
The artists shortlisted for the 2024 Jarman Award create work that is characterised by a fluidity of style and commitment to radical and innovative ways of producing moving image art. They offer fresh perspectives on personal and political subjects. From projects that follow the nocturnal work of women to in-depth explorations of crime, censorship, family, gender and migration, this year’s line-up boasts an extraordinary display of creative skill and vision. Boundaries between reality and fiction, performance and authenticity are blurred, structure and time are collapsed and old and new technologies merge.
In the run-up to the winner announcement in November, audiences can explore their work through a nationwide touring programme, presented in partnership with a variety of cultural venues across the UK.
The Film London Jarman Award 2024 | Winner to be annouced late November in London
Image Credits:
- Sin Wai Kin, The Breaking Story (2022), film still. Commissioned by Sunpride Foundation and Tai Kwun Contemporary, Tai Kwun, Hong Kong. Courtesy the artist.
- Maeve Brennan, Jerusalem Pink (2015), film still. Commissioned by VIDEO WORKS, Ashkal Alwan.
- Larry Achiampong, A Pledge (2024), film still from 4k single channel video with stereo sound. © Larry-Achiampong. Courtesy of The Artist, LUX, DACS & Copperfield London. Commissioned by Stanley Picker Gallery and Kingston University.
- Maryam Tafakory, Mast del (2023), film still. Courtesy the artist
