Whether speeding through the bustling streets of Lagos on a motorcycle taxi or drifting down serene Jamaican waterways, the nominees for this year’s Film London Jarman Award invite audiences on evocative journeys that traverse continents and histories. The shortlist, announced for the 2025 prize, includes six British artists whose work with moving images captures an extraordinary breadth of experience and geography, from the rugged Algerian Hoggar mountains to the Falmouth lagoon in Jamaica and the urban landscape of east London’s M11 link road. Each film offers a unique lens on place, memory, and identity, contributing to a diverse and dynamic portrait of contemporary British art.

Among the nominees is Onyeka Igwe, a British-Nigerian artist whose 2022 film The Miracle on George Green channels the spirit of protest. The film takes its inspiration from the 1993 demonstrations in Wanstead that sought to prevent the felling of a 250-year-old sweet chestnut tree during the controversial construction of the M11 link road. This protest, one of the most publicised road protests in London during the 1990s, saw local residents and wider activists rally against what they saw as environmental destruction and loss of community heritage. Igwe’s work expands this narrative, beginning with letters written by schoolchildren to the tree, and weaving a broader exploration of radical protests reaching back to the 17th century. This intertwining of personal and political histories reveals the enduring power of place and collective memory.

Another film on the shortlist, Machine Boys (2024) by Karimah Ashadu, zooms in on the energetic and hazardous subculture of motorcycle taxi riders in Lagos, Nigeria. Through candid interviews and intimate portrayals, the film delves into the riders’ perspectives on death, rebellion, and the vibrant street life that surrounds them, immersing viewers in a world of revving engines and swirling dust. Meanwhile, Morgan Quaintance’s Available Light (2024) juxtaposes the experiences of renters in two global cities, Tokyo and London, using interviews to probe what “home” means amid the shifting landscapes of urban living. This theme of home and belonging resonates deeply in an age marked by migration and housing crises.

The Scottish filmmaker George Finlay Ramsay offers a strikingly different but equally intense experience in Flesh, Wax and Glass II: The Age of the Son (2024). Set in Calabria, southern Italy, the film follows a grieving lorry driver as he performs a raw and bloody ritual during Holy Week. This work blends grief, tradition, and spectacle, providing a visceral meditation on loss and cultural memory. Across the shortlist, these films combine personal narratives with broader social and political contexts, highlighting the extraordinary capacity of moving image art to convey complex human experiences.

Hope Strickland’s a river holds a perfect memory (2024) transports audiences along waterways from Jamaica’s Martha Brae River to the Falmouth lagoon, inviting reflection on ancestral memory and identity through intimate conversations. The artist duo Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah’s And still, it remains (2023) visits the Algerian village of Mertoutek, confronting the lingering consequences of French nuclear tests during the final years of the Algerian war in the 1960s. This exploration of historical trauma in a remote setting underscores how legacies of violence persist long after conflicts are formally ended.

The Film London Jarman Award, now in its 18th year, remains a significant platform for recognising innovation and experimentation among British artists working with moving images. Named after influential filmmaker Derek Jarman, the award has a history of highlighting emerging talent that often goes on to achieve wider acclaim, including past nominees and winners who later featured in or won the Turner Prize. Maryam Tafakory, the 2024 award winner, returns this year as a jury member. She praised the 2025 shortlist as “a powerful reflection of the richness and diversity of moving image practice in the UK today,” applauding the nominees’ distinct voices and their ability to push boundaries in form and storytelling.

The winner of this year’s £10,000 prize will be announced in late November at a ceremony in London. Leading up to that, the shortlisted films will tour cultural venues across the UK and be showcased in an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery from 18 November to 14 December 2025, offering audiences nationwide the chance to engage with some of the most compelling and innovative contemporary art in moving images.

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Source: Noah Wire Services