The Risk Taker’s Survival Guide wins the Ramillas Sheffield Interactive Fund Award

Their film, ‘The Risk Taker’s Survival Guide’, has recently won the Interactive Fund Award from the angel investment company, Ramillas, at the prestigious Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

The project is funded by the REACT (Research and Enterprise in Arts and Creative Technology) Future Documentary Sandbox, a nationwide programme that seeks to bring storytelling, design and technology together to innovate and inspire audiences.

On Tuesday 11 June, five teams pitched their interactive projects to an international jury of experts and a public audience at Sheffield Town Hall. The jury praised ‘The Risk Taker’s Survival Guide’ for its combination of academic analysis with a light, humorous touch. The winners received a cheque for 3000 Euros and an ‘interactive’ trophy in stainless steel and hardwood designed by Madrid artist Alberto Carvajal.

Dr James Lyons comments, “I’m delighted at the documentary’s success at such a prestigious international event. It’s great news for us, and also for REACT. We’re launching the documentary later this year, and can’t wait to see the response.”

The interactive documentary takes the viewer on a journey to explore how they calculate risk in everyday situations. What we should be worried about and why forms the basis for the online documentary that uses academic research to reveal the ways in which we make decisive or quick choices. The film illustrates the tools used to come to a decision of whether to act and how to respond to situations which are perceived as involving risk.

Matt Golding adds, “This award is brilliant news for The Risk Takers Survival Guide. The project is about exploring what an “Interactive Documentary” can be, to tell stories and engage audiences in new and innovative ways, and we’re overjoyed that it captured the judges’ imaginations. We’ll be using the prize money to take the project to festivals and potential launch partners to get it out into the world”.

Further information about the project including a short interview with Dr Lyons and Matt Golding is available on the project website.