Sunrise Studios in Lowestoft has been named the winner of the Positive Impact in the Community award, sponsored by Lovell, at the EADT Business Awards 2023.
A finalist in multiple categories at this year’s awards, Sunrise Studios is a community production company that has made great strides since being launched in 2021.
The organisation was established by filmmaker Joshua Freemantle when he was just 18, within the regional charity Access Community Trust.
Run by young people for young people, Sunrise Studios offers media production services for a range of local organisations, including visual/audio content creation, photography, events, media campaigns, and website development.
All profits generated from Sunrise’s work are reinvested to provide opportunities within media production, music, and the arts for under-25s. It also delivered Lowestoft’s inaugural Film Festival in 2022, providing a platform for undiscovered talent from Suffolk and further afield, and it has recently held music therapy sessions to help boost participants’ self-esteem through music.
The judges were blown away by the “incredible” achievements that Josh has made with the “very limited resources he has and at the age he is”.
They added that “if you are looking for your impact commensurate to the number of resources, in communities across Suffolk, Sunrise is on another level.”
Emma Ratzer MBE, CEO of Access Community Trust, said: “I can’t explain what this award means to me, because we’ve won awards here before but we’ve never won it for an individual project.
“Joshua deserves this,” she added. “He’s part of our organisation but he absolutely drives this project.”
When asked what makes him so passionate about Suffolk, founder Joshua Freemantle said: “It’s where I grew up. It’s where I live.
“Nearly three years ago, Access opened doors to me and let me do what I love, and I happened to be able to make money out of that and enjoy every day and support even more young people along the way.”
Original Story Source: EADT – East Anglian Daily Times