Ballyclare man scoops prestigious media accolade

Mark Huffam was announced as the winner of the RTS NI Judges Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to local television and film production.

Huffam has produced a number of television shows and films including Saving Private Ryan, Mamma Mia and the first series of Game of Thrones. Unfortunately, although Huffam planned to attend the awards in person, he had to send a video message as he was called back to film Christopher Plummer’s new scenes for the upcoming Ridley Scott thriller ‘All the Money in the World’.

Huffam said: “It’s great to see how Northern Ireland Film and Television is thriving in the current climate, largely down to a lot of self-motivated individuals and entrepreneurs who have helped grow the industry at a rapid rate.

“This couldn’t have been done without the support of Northern Ireland Screen and also local Government, who have been fantastic and very supportive, I’d quite like to see them back at work soon.”

The RTS NI Programme Awards 2017 are delivered in partnership with BBC Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen, Channel 4 and UTV, along with the headline sponsor this year Ka-Boom.

The winners were announced on November 16 at a glittering awards ceremony in The MAC Belfast, hosted by TV presenter Angela Scanlon with guest presenter Michael Smiley.

Sarah McCaffrey, Chair of the RTS NI Awards said: “Congratulations to all our winners who represent the best of the exceptional talent coming out of

Northern Ireland in recent years.

“And a special congratulations to Mark Huffam for winning the Judges’ Award. As a creative community, we are extremely proud of his achievements making some of the best television and film productions in the world which has helped to put Northern Ireland on the global map.”