This prestigious event recognises outstanding emerging talent in film and television across Northern Ireland, and we are incredibly proud to see so many of our graduates represented among this year’s nominees.

The winners will be announced at a special ceremony hosted by Emma Patterson at The Black Box in Belfast on Thursday 19 March 2026 at 7pm.

Drama Category

Uisce Beatha
Conleth Mallon, Tori McCoosh, Bethany Murray, Ronak Kapoor, Lauren Ayre and Adam Cunningham

Dead Air
Jamie Lyons – Director
Luke Toal – Writer
Christopher Cairns – Producer
Daniel Gardner – Director of Photography
Sean Devine – Production Design
Ben Byrne – Editor
Jay McGregor – Sound Design & Original Score

Two of a Kind
Lucy James – Producer
Hannah Young – Director of Photography
James Cuskeran – Writer
Conor Brannigan – Director

Actual Short Film Category

Perfect Match
Matthew Martin, Ella O’Neill, Jude Campbell, Ava Kelly and Aimee Crossey

A Breath of Fresh Air
Arwen Fegan – Co-director
Matthew Wilson – Co-director

Belfast 60 Past 60’s
Andrew Atkinson, Jude Campbell and Max McDonnell

Being shortlisted for the RTS NI Student Television Awards is a significant achievement and a testament to the dedication of our alumni.

Madeline Whiteside, Chair of the RTS NI Student Awards, added: 

“These awards shine a spotlight on the next generation of content creators. Winning an RTS NI Student Award is a powerful career boost, and our winners go on to compete at the national RTS Student Awards in London. Last year Queen’s University Belfast student Philip Denvir took home the ‘Postgraduate Factual – Short Form’ Award at the prestigious national ceremony, highlighting the exceptional calibre of creative content being created in Northern Ireland’s colleges.”

We wish all of our nominees the very best of luck and look forward to celebrating their continued success.

More information can be found here:

https://rts.org.uk/events/royal-television-society-northern-ireland-reveals-32-nominees-2026-student-awards