‘It’s been an immense privilege’ – Film wins four awards at two events on same night 

Award winners, pictured l-r, Sam Rogers, Susan and Billy Mail and Johnny Rolt. 

A heart-warming film from Shetland picked up four awards during two ceremonies held on the same night.

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story won three Royal Television Society West of England awards last night (Sunday) in Bristol. Meanwhile in London, the film picked up another at the Craft Baftas.

Billy Mail, whose unlikely relationship with Molly the otter is the fascinating subject of the film, said is had been a “super night”.

“It’s been an immense privilege to be on this journey with so many talented people and these awards are testament to the hard work and skill of the whole team,” he said.

“It all been completely unexpected but a lot of fun.”

The film features Billy and his wife Susan as well as their devoted sheepdog Jade who all found themselves welcoming a unique new member of the family when they found Molly in need of help after washing up on a jetty in Walls. 

It has received widespread critical acclaim and a 100 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The Royal Television Society West of England awards included “best editor”, which went to Sam Rogers, “flying futures”, which went to Jonny Rolt, who was a photographer on the film, and “best documentary” which went to the overall production.

The “best director” category of the Craft Baftas went to  Charlie Hamilton James who was cameraman and director for the film

Produced by Silverback Films the film world premiered at South by Southwest in Austin last year and has been streaming on Nat Geo since November.

It has already picked up multiple awards including the highly coveted Golden Panda for best overall production at the 2024 Wildscreen Panda Awards, as well as winning best producer/director and the Scripted Narrative Award.

Earlier this month it was nominated for a Bafta with the award to be decided on 11th May.