Historic Joint Win for Prestigious Moving Image Award
In an unprecedented decision, the 2025 Film London Jarman award has been presented to two artists simultaneously. Onyeka Igwe and Morgan Quaintance have been named joint winners of the prestigious £10,000 prize, marking the first time in the award's history since its 2008 inception that the honour has been shared.
Exploring History Through Contemporary Film
Both London-born artists utilise archives as foundational materials for their work, though they approach history from distinct perspectives. Igwe, speaking from her studio in Somerset House - which she describes as formerly being the "national beehive" when it housed the Inland Revenue and General Register Office - creates films that examine resistance, dispossession and communal activism.
Her commended work, A Radical Duet, imagines a meeting between two Black female activists during the 1940s anticolonial movement in London. "I find the gaps in history," Igwe explains, "placing a speculative past in spaces left blank by archives, books and blue plaques."
Meanwhile, Quaintance's film Repetitions combines thirty years of personal history with footage of Black feminist activists from a century ago and contemporary workers' rights campaigners. His work explores how history surfaces in our consciousness in random, often illogical ways.
Manipulating Audience Experience Through Film
Quaintance openly discusses his interest in how film can actively manipulate viewers. "From a formal perspective, I was interested in how far you can loop something, and what that does to a viewer," he states. "Maybe I can push you into a hypnotic state. I can frustrate you, or make you have a sense of expectation, or push you towards boredom."
Both artists recognise film's unique power in contemporary art. "It's thriving, it's vibrant, and some of the best work is happening in this country," Quaintance affirms, while Igwe appreciates film's capacity to accommodate different forms, though she stresses the importance of understanding "why something is a film, as opposed to an article or a poem."
Future Projects and Shared Historical Passions
The prize money will support both artists' upcoming ventures. Quaintance is developing Available Light at Chelsea Space in London, a touring project examining modern urban living difficulties. Igwe plans an adaptation of a Doris Lessing novel and the next chapter of A Radical Duet.
Notably, both winners share a fascination with the English civil war and grassroots activism. Igwe recalls discovering in school that "people had these proto-communist ideas, they were thinking about alternative, radical ways of living that people are still thinking about today." Quaintance expresses ambition to "direct a drama on the English civil war" similar to Steve McQueen's Small Axe, tracing connections to contemporary issues.
Their joint win represents a significant moment for British moving image art, celebrating two distinct but complementary approaches to exploring history, memory and social consciousness through film.
