European Film Awards: Emmerson Sutton Young Juror 2020 Experience

My name is Emmerson Sutton and I am a young reporter for the BBC in London.  I attend Trinity Church of England Secondary School in Lee. For the second consecutive year I have been fortunate enough to be amongst a panel of teenage European judges who watch three films and critique them.  This event spans forty five countries and gives the opportunity for young people who are interested in the film industry to watch, learn, enjoy and review.  Collectively we ultimately decide who will win the coveted statuette. As with most things this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic we could not convene at our secret salubrious location in London. We were all given online instructions which worked well but recreating the same venue ambience was impossible. Last year I  announced votes for the United Kingdom. It was a pleasure to be from the London Borough of Lewisham and to have the duty of revealing my countries preferences. The three films that we watched were Rocca changes the world. My extraordinary summer with Tess and my brother chases dinosaurs. In my opinion all of the films were fantastic but being a juror you have to have skills of critical thinking, honesty, an integral piece of mind, analytical style, you need to look at music, direction, location and acting, you have to look at all of the components that make a movie outstanding and a worthy winner . A strong storyline is also the key to success.

Rocca changes the world is an amazing movie which features a young girl who is courageous, brave and has such a deep intrepid spirit, she is completely fearless and we watch her adventures throughout the movie, she brings into play so many of the social issues that currently exist in the world, she is a great citizen of the planet and we could all learn so much from her.

My extraordinary summer with Tess this was a good movie there are many twists and turns and also captures attitudes to relationships very well.  I really liked the film and it gave me another genre of film option to watch again.  

My brother cases dinosaurs was a very encouraging film and it gave me another important subject matter of life to evaluate.  I really enjoyed learning and watching it.

I would like to announce that all films are now available for you to watch at leisure for yourselves.


This is now my second year of working on the European Film Awards with the BFI.  Next year will be the last year that I meet the  eligibility criteria, I really hope to score a hat-trick.

Each year I attend many events that nurture, develop and offer exposure into so many cultural fields. I would like to reaffirm my commitment to encouraging children and their families to get early access which widen their participation and hopefully enable them to have  additional opportunities that may change their lives in a very positive way.

Thanks again Corinna,  Once again you helped us all to analyse   films whilst making a significant European contribution based upon what we saw. When this is all over maybe we can meet up for a celebratory meal at Wagamama?

THE WINNER 2020 WAS MY BROTHER CHASES DINOSAURS