At the 10th Deaffest film and TV awards on Saturday night in Wolverhampton, a star-studded night of entertainment and awards saw three double award wins for UK-based filmmakers and series.
Bim Ajadi won Best Short Film and Best Director for his short Deliverance, while Ted Evans won both the Best Film award for his feature Retreat, and the Best Short Documentary award for Turn Up the Bass.
TV series Reunion had its own award double, winning Best Screenwriter for William Mager and Best Actor for Matthew Gurney.
All the other awards were won by international filmmakers, showing how, after years of British dominance, international films and talent have started to rise in prominence and quality to compete regularly with British work.
A list of all the awards:
Best Film: Retreat (directed by Ted Evans)
Best Director: Bim Ajadi for ‘Deliverance’
Best Actor: Matthew Gurney (Reunion)
Best Actress: Henrianna Jansen (Beyond Silence)
Best Documentary: ‘Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore’ (directed by Shoshannah Stern)
Best Screenwriter: presented to William Mager for ‘Reunion’
UK Short Film: presented to ‘Deliverance’ (directed by Bim Ajadi)
BInternational Short Film: ‘Serendipity by Sofia’ (directed by Audrey Sangla)
Best Short Documentary: presented to ‘Turn Up the Bass’ (directed by Ted Evans)
Best Artistic Short Film: ‘a love letter to the light’ (directed by MJ Kiego)
Best Cinematographer: Stanko Pavlica (Salt&Pepper)
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Posted on May 12, 2026 by Editor
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