Edinburgh Napier graduate takes home two awards at Scottish student television showcase
Date posted
6 March 2017
10:41
Last updated
19 August 2021
An Edinburgh Napier TV graduate has had his work recognised after winning a pair of prestigious Student Television Awards.
Rising film director Eric Romero received both the Comedy & Entertainment and Drama Category awards at the recent Royal Television Society (RTS) Scotland Student Television Awards in Glasgow.
His films – Native Immigration, a mockumentary about a shocking new phenomenon, and Lethe, a tragic suspense drama about a young amnesiac woman called Eve, took home both awards respectively at the event which celebrates the best in student television from across Scotland.
No stranger to success already in his short career, Eric’s films have claimed critical success at a host of film festivals across the world. He also received the Clement’s Family prize for TV production during his time studying at Edinburgh Napier. He graduated from the University in 2016.
He said: “I’m really happy – I simply didn’t expect to win both awards. For me, this is a great end to the festival circuits for Native Immigration and a promising start to the festival circuit for Lethe. Winning this gives me hope that the latter can do well in the coming months, which would be just reward for the work and effort that went into its production.”
A number of scenes from Eric’s upcoming Lethe production were filmed at Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill campus within its specialist Simulation and Clinical Skills Centre. His relationship with the University is one he is keen to continue, despite his time at Edinburgh Napier having now drawn to a close.
He added: “The University has been a big part of my success so far. Lethe was quite an ambitious project and I was always asking my lecturers for help – they were always happy to do so. From my lecturers in Alistair Scott, Kirsten Macleod, James Blake and Rachel Dungar, to the tech department with Ben Thompson, the experience there is fantastic. The Board of Trustees was also incredibly helpful with some extra funding for both films, without which we simply wouldn’t have been able to make them as we intended.”
Native Immigration was filmed and produced during Eric’s third year at Edinburgh Napier. He received funding from the University's Student Grant Initiative - which is entirely supported by Edinburgh Napier alumni - to help make the film a reality. It has since won a plethora of awards including Best Short Film at both the U-Special International Campus Film Festival in New Delhi and at the Cinema City Film Festival in Serbia. He also received the Best Director award at the Outlaw Film Festival in Missouri.
Lethe is currently being considered for a number of film festivals throughout Europe and will be made available to watch online later on this year.
Edinburgh Napier offers a wide range of acting for stage and screen, film and TV-orientated courses as part of its School of Arts and Creative Industries. It is also a partner in Screen Academy Scotland, a collaboration between the University and Edinburgh College of Art which is dedicated to fostering the future of film makers.
Photo of Eric Romero courtesy of Paul Reich.
Watch Native Immigration here:
Watch a teaser for Lethe here: