And the winner is...

I can finally reveal why I’m in Pittsburgh. 100 Faces had been selected as a finalist in the Robinson International Short Film Competition and I’d been invited to the city to find out whether or not we’d won.

There were three finalists: Noa, Matan and me. Our films couldn’t have been more different. Noa’s was a beautifully-acted drama, set in Tel Aviv, about a young, pregnant woman, and Matan’s Film was a documentary which included deeply-moving, highly-artistic sequences of animation. I felt very proud to be in the line-up.

On Monday night, we met the charming Robinson family over dinner. They’re the good folk whose generosity funds this important award. The hugely glamorous and dignified mother, Judy, looks very similar to Felicity Kendall and the daughter, Heather, whom I adored, had more than a whiff of Little Welsh Nathalie about her.

The films were shown in front of a large audience on a big screen, alongside four other films which had been entered for the awards and received a commendation. 100 Faces was last to be screened, and I got quite nervous waiting. My main concern was that the film might seem too “English” for an American audience. We’d made the somewhat eccentric decision therefore to play it out with subtitles and actually, I think the audience really appreciated being able to read along. Because it’s a musical film, the music levels in the piece can sometimes be a little engulfing, especially for older ears, so I think it was a good call. The audience seemed very moved and somewhat captivated.

I’m thrilled to announce that, for the first time in the award’s history, they decided to award a joint gold prize to all three films, so 100 Faces is now the proud co-winner of the Robinson’s International Short Film Competition. And I couldn’t be any more made up!

My acceptance speech went down very well. I talked about antisemitism and the great need for visibility within the Jewish community. Lots of people came up to me afterwards to thank me and tell me that my acceptance speech was “as good as the film itself.” I’m not quite sure what to make of that comment! It took me fifteen minutes to write the speech and the best part of a year to make the film! Perhaps I should just write speeches for a living - it’s a damn sight easier! A lot of the speech’s success, I’m certain, was due to my being British. Out here in Pittsburgh there aren’t a great many English people, so the accent’s an immediate winner. Whilst at breakfast this morning, one of the staff at the hotel ran up to me and said “I just want to tell you that your voice has made my day! You should be on the telly with a voice like that! It’s so jolly!” I wondered if she was mistaking me for Santa Claus, but took the compliment.

At the end of the night, just before having a little celebratory whiskey on East Carson Street, the lovely Kathryn, who’d brilliantly organised the whole event, drove us up Washington Hill to look down over the city at night. You get the most wonderful view up there. Twinkling lights stretch as far as the eye can see and then, pitch black and utterly still in the valley below, the river meanders away from its confluence, beginning its long journey into the Midwest. It’s rather romantic to think of the River Ohio flowing all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, through West Virginia, Cincinnati and into the great Mississippi. I remember crossing it when we did our road trip across America and thinking how impressive it looked.

I leave Pittsburgh genuinely thrilled to have had the opportunity to come here. It’s a stunningly beautiful city, one which has truly shaken off the collapse of its manufacturing industries, largely by embracing new technology, its pioneering spirit and, perhaps crucially, by honouring its roots.

As I head back to New York, I feel very content and am now excited to have a little holiday, hanging out with friends, and watching a bit of theatre maybe. Hurrah.