Silent carnivals, kabaddi players and home videos: Jarman award shortlist announced

Only four artist film-makers have been selected by the jury this year, for bringing their ‘deeply grounded lived experience’ to stories of migration, family and disaster

Whether taking inspiration from an 18th-century portrait or a radical 1960s radio documentary, the nominees for this year’s Film London Jarman awards have looked to the past in order to create visions of the future.

The shortlist for the £10,000 prize, which recognises British artists making groundbreaking work with moving images, has been streamlined to just four artists for the 2026 edition: Sadia Pineda Hameed, Ilona Sagar, Rhea Storr and Alia Syed. Yet the subjects tackled by these artist film-makers are as wide as ever, encompassing carnival ritual, asbestos poisoning and the traditional South Asian sport kabaddi.
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