The three award-winning films of the inaugural Jerwood Moving Image Prize all have something else in common: they are all closely associated with the Royal College of Art.

Sophie Clements, Johnny Kelly and the creative partnership of Rosie Pedlow and Joe King were each given £10,000 in the first ever major award in the UK for artists working in digital moving image.

According to the judges, the three winning films reflect the astonishing range and outstanding quality of the work currently being produced in this discipline. Taken together, the films present a snapshot of the cutting edge of contemporary practice in this emerging artform, and will establish their creators as leaders in their field.

• Sophie Clements’ Evensong was conceived as a piece of visual music, and in its delicate and sublime layering of sound and colour manages to fuse sensory experiences, and demonstrates the technical mastery of its maker. Sophie graduated from CA&D in 2005.

• Procrastination by Johnny Kelly is a vivid and funny account of putting things off, a human experience that anyone can relate to, and whose humour is derived from the sparkling interplay between the droll script and the dazzling visuals. Johnny graduated from Animation last year, in 2007, and Procrastination was his graduation film.

• Rosie Pedlow and Joe King’s work Sea Change comes from a very different filmmaking tradition, and is a beautiful portrait of a coastal community in a time of change. Joe is a graduate of the Animation MA, and is also Course Tutor within the department.

The Jerwood Moving Image Awards were established this year to support and promote the myriad disciplines that fall under the umbrella term ‘digital moving image', and to provide a platform for debating the present state and future prospects of the artform. Dedicated to imaginative and responsible funding with a particular remit to support talented artists in the early stages of their careers, the Jerwood Charitable Foundation also runs a number of prizes and awards across several disciplines and in particular in visual arts disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and applied arts. The Jerwood Moving Image Awards sits alongside these prizes and awards under the existing banner of Jerwood Visual Arts

Sir Christopher Frayling, Rector of the Royal College of Art, commented, ‘It’s fantastic news that the Jerwood Foundation has chosen to acknowledge moving image work in this way, and it’s equally fantastic that all three films to have been awarded the first Jerwood Moving Image Prize should have a very close association with the Royal College of Art. Moving Image work occupies a very special place at the College, with staff and students from across all creative disciplines choosing to engage with this versatile form of expression.’

Wayne McGregor of the Royal Ballet, who led the distinguished panel of judges, said of their experience: ‘artistic excellence was the only criteria that guided us, and the three winners admirably fulfil this requirement.’

Along with the five other finalists (who include another RCA Animation graduate, Laurie Hill, and current CA&D student Georgina Wu), the three winners can be seen in the finalists’ exhibition at the Jerwood Space until 20th March 2008. They are also available to view online at www.jerwoodmovingimage.org.uk, where they can also be downloaded. Twenty-two other shortlisted films can also be streamed online at the Jerwood Moving Image Awards website.

The Jerwood Moving Image Awards received more than 350 entries this year, and demonstrate the Jerwood Charitable Foundation’s commitment to endorsing new practices in contemporary art, offering funding and support for emerging artists working with new technologies.