The Film London Jarman Award 2026

Featuring work from the four artists shortlisted for the prestigious 2026 Film London Jarman Award, the exhibition showcases the incredible diversity within the world of artists' filmmaking in the UK. The artists shortlisted this year are: Sadia Pineda Hameed, Ilona Sagar, Rhea Storr and Alia Syed. Inspired by visionary British filmmaker Derek Jarman, the Award recognises and supports artists working with the moving image. The shortlisted artists illustrate the spirit of inventiveness within moving image, highlighting the breadth of creativity and craftsmanship the medium has to offer, as well as its powerful ability to engage and provoke audiences. The Award comes with a £10,000 prize. The winner of the Film London Jarman Award will be announced on the 24 November 2026. The award is presented in partnership with the Whitechapel Gallery. Films Rhea Storr A Protest, a Celebration, a Mixed Message (2018), 12 mins Alia Syed The Dhaba – 1st Chapter: Mr Sharif and 2nd Chapter: Mr Bhari (2025), 30 mins Sadia Pineda Hameed Anak Where Did We Stay? (2026), 16 mins Ilona Sagar Other Actors (2025), 60 mins About the works Rhea Storr, A Protest, a Celebration, a Mixed Message (2018) Celebration is protest at Leeds West Indian Carnival. A look at forms of authority, A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message asks who is really performing. Following Mama Dread's, a troupe whose carnival theme is Caribbean immigration to the UK, we are asked to consider the visibility of black bodies, particularly in rural spaces. Sadia Pineda Hameed, Anak Where Did We Stay? (2026) Anak Where Did We Stay? is a multi-channel film that brings together The Box's home movie collection, the artist's own holiday footage and her family's archive. Rasheed Araeen's chakras, spouting waves, Beatlemania, a basking shark, hula dance, an Enoch Powell protest, tidal islands and seafoam floating into the air; the archives converge across time to tell the story of migration from one archipelago to another – the Philippines to the British Isles. Unfolding as a conversation between the artist and her mother, as if rewatching a home movie together, Anak Where Did We Stay? becomes a gathering site for personal and collective experiences of journeys. Alia Syed, The Dhaba - 1st Chapter: Mr Sharif and 2nd Chapter: Mr Bhari (2025) The Dhaba (roadside Cafe) is a poetic chronicle documenting the migration of two men to Glasgow. Arriving at different historic moments from the Indian subcontinent, their testimonies shed light on the effects of ever-changing British immigration legislation; the lived experience of the interviewees revealing the systematic obfuscations of colonialism and on-going racism. The Dhaba is part of Syed's larger The Ring in the Fish project, commissioned by CCA, Glasgow, which encompasses 16mm vignettes, photographs and audio interviews. The Ring in the Fish draws inspiration from the tale of St. Mungo—patron saint and founder of Glasgow—and the story of the fish and the ring, the title becoming a conduit for the transformative nature of both individual and collective narratives inviting an intimate exploration of journeys, separation, memory, and identity. The Dhaba veers away from traditional documentary forms, centring memory and the role imagination holds in migration. The work counterpoints workplace rhythms of communal kitchen work and the concentrated isolation of domestic piece work, with an equestrian statue of Lord Roberts, celebrating his role in putting down what the British call The Indian Mutiny and what Indians refer to as The First War of Independence in 1858, highlighting Syed's interest in architectures of the built environment, as a vessel for both personal and public memorialisation. Ilona Sagar, Other Actors (2025) Other Actors explores the links between bodies and buildings, health and architecture through the lens of Paimio Sanatorium Finland. Designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto and completed between 1929 and 1933, the sanatorium represents a radical shift in design for health. Conceived as an "instrument for healing" the Aaltos' proposed an architecture designed not for the verticality of the healthy body but for the horizontal perspective of the sick. At the time of filming, the sanatorium is at a significant moment in its transition from hospital to a new purpose. As restoration progresses, the film examines its status as a building in flux. The film was made in close collaboration with those who have lived and worked in Paimio Sanatorium, including former maintenance staff, workers at the furniture manufacturer Artek, and surviving architects of the Aaltos' design team, alongside theorists Beatriz Colomina, Heini Hakosalo, and Peter Stadius. Folding together historical research, professional and lived experience, Other Actors is informed by Aalto University School of Engineering, Kalasatama Undocumented Migrants Clinic and Tuberculosis Research Groups at Leicester University and Imperial College London. Through these intersecting perspectives, the film asks us to consider what we do with the architectural legacies of modernism that linger in our cultural imaginary, and how we can platform those hidden behind its visual facades. Please note, there is low lighting in this exhibition space. Seating in Assembly Room includes sofas, chairs with backs, stools, and beanbags.