Morecambe, Ian McKellan and me: mature student's award-winning video puts him up with there the greats

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Topping the bill alongside theatrical royalty is the stuff of dreams for even the most aspiring and optimistic creative student.

But that was Seb Morgan’s reality when he scooped Best Director, Super Short Film, at the New York Film and Cinematography Awards 2024 – amongst the stellar cast of winners was none other than Sir Ian McKellan.

More impressive still, was that Seb was still celebrating the triumph of his film, Called Morecambe, the previous day at the Milan Independent Awards Film Festival for Best Original Score. Not bad going for this mature student who helped to create and submit the work as part of his university course!

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“It was slightly unexpected, because you're just getting on with your MA and suddenly you get this, a first prize in Milan and then the next day Best Director in New York and I'm like, what?,” said Seb, from Kendal, who is currently studying for an MA in Film and Television at Falmouth University. “You see Ian McKellan on the list and think, ‘Okay, this is serious now’.”

Seb Morgan.Seb Morgan.
Seb Morgan.

For the uninitiated, Morecambe is a beautifully scripted homage to the town’s past and present, that also packs a big musical punch. For Seb and fellow course students who put it together, the town of Morecambe couldn’t have been more welcoming.

“The community was really, really helpful and generous with us,” he said. “We were two guys from Reading and one from Cumbria and we just landed on them. Everybody was really happy and open and they liked the film.”

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Fulbright scholar, Seb’s achievements (Morecambe appears on several other shortlists, too) are perhaps the pinnacle of a career that to date has been both varied as well as creative. He is an accomplished musician, vintage car/military vehicle repairer/martial arts instructor and talented linguist.

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Seb Morgan in his studio.Seb Morgan in his studio.
Seb Morgan in his studio.

Poignantly, it was the passing of his father-in-law who was also his business partner at the start of last year that was a catalyst for a switch in direction from vehicle refurbishment – and thus the discovery of new talents.

He said: “I was left with this gap of what to do with my life and that's when I saw the MA come up.

“And I have found in this past year that I'm really good at directing, I can get a group together, I have a very clear idea in my mind of what they want. And when I see someone put a camera up, I'll just say, ‘Look, that background doesn't work’, I can see it.

"That has worked very well with Morecambe which we have filmed four-and-a-half hours of footage for. So I'm thinking of editing a longer video – more like a feature documentary. I really love making music and performing but... But I found this new thing in my life, which is directing and writing as well.”

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Seb Morgan’s film, called Morecambe, scooped Best Director, Super Short Film, at the New York Film and Cinematography Awards 2024.Seb Morgan’s film, called Morecambe, scooped Best Director, Super Short Film, at the New York Film and Cinematography Awards 2024.
Seb Morgan’s film, called Morecambe, scooped Best Director, Super Short Film, at the New York Film and Cinematography Awards 2024.

Seb is positively brimming with ideas and stories to share and some more work is already in the pipeline – so it looks like Morecambe is just the beginning!

You can watch the short film, Morecambe, at the top of this article.

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