A British Turk has seen his work recognised at a global awards ceremony in France. A short film for the Barclays Armed Forces Campaign directed by Serkan Nihat won a Silver Dolphin at this year’s Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.

The international competition is open to film producers, clients, agencies, and TV channels. This year there were over 2,000 entries.

Serkan Nihat (pictured above, far left) was part of the Taylor Made Media team that produced the award-winning video for Barclays UK. The as yet unreleased clip promotes the bank’s products and special offers to military personnel. It was entered into the highly competitive Social Media & Short Videos category, narrowly missing out on the top Gold prize.

He attended the red carpet affair held at the plush Palm Beach Casino in Cannes on 27 September to receive his first Silver Dolphin.

Held annually, the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards, “honours the world’s finest corporate films, online media productions and documentaries in one of the most important film centres.”

Who is Serkan Nihat?

Serkan Nihat is a filmmaker with nearly two decades of experience in the British television & film industry. His work has involved many critically acclaimed drama productions, including Taboo, Broadchurch, Call the Midwife, Spooks and Grantchester. He has also directed numerous fashion films and music promos, as well as corporate films for mega brands such as John Lewis, Virgin and Unilever.

Of Turkish Cypriot origin, 41-year-old Serkan was born and raised in Edmonton, North London, where he still lives. His introduction to cinema was from the Yeşilçam era of Turkish cinema and the Neo-Realist films of Europe and Hollywood.

Having made the transition from editor to director, his first short film Serial Suicides featured at the 2005 London Turkish Film Festival, while his recent short Footprints On The Moon, a short fly-on-the-wall documentary capturing the Bayram traditions of British Turkish Cypriot family, debuted at the 2016 East End film Festival. He was also part of the directing team for feature film The Smoke (2014) starring Matt Di Angelo and Alan Ford.

Serkan is currently working on his first feature film, about a budding Turkish Cypriot footballer from Tottenham, which he hopes to start shooting in 2019.