TWO Bradford directors are toasting a stunning success this week, after beating projects starring the likes of Idris Elba and Michael Caine to win the Best British Film award at the National Film Awards.
Scott Elliott and Sid Sadowskyj, from Baildon and Shipley respectively, picked up the gong for their debut film, the semi-autobiographical feature, Scott and Sid.
In a double celebration, Charlotte Milchard's performance in the film saw her pick up the Best Supporting Actress crown.
The film is now set for a US release later in the year.
Mr Elliott was unable to attend Wednesday's glamorous awards ceremony in London, with meetings about the filmmakers' future projects taking priority.
However, he was able to share in the incredible experience thanks to the power of technology and his best mate.
Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus, Mr Elliott laughed: "I got an excited FaceTime from Sid and the crew backstage after we'd won our award.
"Sid was sat next to Idris Elba during the ceremony and they both FaceTimed me in my meeting before it was even announced.
"Idris actually won the Best Drama and Best Director awards and he referred to us in one of his speeches.
"Everyone in the room turned to look at Sid, wondering who on earth he was."
Mr Elliott admitted that the team had put in plenty of effort to secure an award, but that the pay-off had been more than worth it.
He said: "We probably spent about £8,000 on a social media campaign to try and get people to vote for us.
"We were actually hoping to win the Best Drama award as we didn't think we'd have a chance of getting Best British Film.
"To win in a category that had over 2.8m votes is just fantastic though. It must have caught people's attention because I'd already done 11 interviews today (Thursday) before you called."
Where do Mr Elliott and Mr Sadowskyj go next?
As reported in the Telegraph & Argus last month, the Bradford duo are looking ahead to an ambitious project called TrueCineLive©, an immersive live cinema experience due to begin next year.
It is set to take place in stadiums up and down the country, including at Valley Parade, with Bradford City's former chairman and interim chief executive Julian Rhodes one of the project's chief shareholders.
The change in artistic direction came about after the two directors suffered major piracy infringements with Scott and Sid, leaving them unwilling to do any more films.
Mr Elliott said TrueCineLive© was still very much on the table, but that last night's success may have caused a slight rethink.
He enthused: "We still definitely want to do TrueCineLive© but we have so many offers and options on the table after last night and we're going to get more.
"I know we said we wouldn't go back to making films, but after this, never say never."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here