THE NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS TO LONDON!

14th February 2025

The Newport Beach Film Festival made its return to London to celebrate the best and brightest in the UK and Ireland creative industries, with a star-studded ceremony at Raffles London at The OWO hotel.

The evening was hosted by Edith Bowman and Cat Deeley, and featured speeches by Gary Sherwin, President and CEO of Visit Newport Beach, Gregg Schwenk, Founder and CEO of Newport Film Festival, Mayor of Newport Beach Joe Stapleton, and producer and Managing Director of Character 7 Anna Higgs.

The highest accolade of the evening – the prestigious Icon Award – was presented to Sir Stephen Fry, in recognition of his remarkable contribution to the UK and Ireland entertainment industries, with a long and varied career spanning more than 25 years. In accepting the honour, Fry said that he “grew up hopeless at everything and mocked at school” but spoke about the “extraordinary” power of storytelling. He praised the strength of talent honoured this year, commenting: “to see the talent coming up on this stage… the wit and fire and diversity of these young people… I hope in 20 to 30 years, they will win one of these Icon awards”.

Emma Corrin (Nosferatu, Deadpool & Wolverine), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist) and Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters) were each honoured as an Artist of Distinction, in recognition of their extensive portfolios of high-calibre work, which have all helped to shape the creative landscape of the UK and Ireland. In her acceptance speech, Sharon Horgan commented: “I took this year off writing to live a little and get inspired and genuinely I’ve been so inspired by everyone who has been honoured tonight […] From the most ambitious to those made on a shoestring, it makes me work harder. Your work is brilliant.”

Ambika Mod (One Day) was recognised in the Spotlight category – a new award for 2025, which recognises talent who are at a pivotal moment in their career, following an outstanding contribution to a particularly talked about project. In her acceptance speech, Mod said: “One Day has been the gift that keeps on giving. I want to see more brown women on TV – I hope this is the start of that”. In attendance alongside Mod in this category were Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer), Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist) and Will Sharpe (A Real Pain).

This year’s Breakout honourees were Adam Pearson (A Different Man), Joe Locke (Heartstopper), Marisa Abela (Back to Black) and Mia Threapleton (The Buccaneers). As he accepted his award, Adam Pearson commented “I am acutely aware that I am so lucky to do what I do, and I am acutely aware that I need to use my platform to throw a ladder down to prospective talent coming up. I want to separate disability and inability – storytelling is all about risk.”

Variety’s 10 Brits to Watch for 2025 were also honoured at the event, a list which celebrates talent from across the entertainment industry who are about to have a significant breakthrough moment. This year the list included Abigail Thorn, Ava Wong-Davies, Erin Kellyman, Mia Tharia, Michelle de Swarte, Nabhaan Rizwan, Rich Peppiatt, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Varada Sethu and Xander Parish.

A range of other notable names from across the industry were in attendance, wanting to show their support for this year’s exceptional honourees. Among the guests were previous honouree Ripley Parker (Everything Now), Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee, musician Poppy Ajudha, activist and model Munroe Bergdorf, and actors Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones), Harriet Cains (Bridgerton), Tobie Donovan and Kizzy Edgell (Heartstopper), Lauryn Ajufo (Boiling Point) and Jonny Weldon (One Day). Also in attendance were BECTU Deputy General Secretary Philippa Childs, Royal Foundation CEO Amanda Berry, Creative Access CEO Mel Rodrigues, as well as Neal Street Productions’ co-founder Dame Pippa Harris.

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