BOURNEMOUTH graduates are celebrating after a film they worked on won big at the BAFTAs.

As reported in the Daily Echo, around 10 alumni of Arts University Bournemouth and 40 from Bournemouth University’s National Centre for Computer Animation worked on Alfonso Cuarón’s blockbuster space thriller, Gravity.

At the glittering ceremony on Sunday night, Cuarón won best director, while the movie took outstanding British film.

It also won gongs for original music, cinematography, sound and special visual effects, having been nominated in 11 categories.

Work on the film was led by world-leading visual effects company, Framestore.

Much of the film is photo-real CGI, with the only real elements often just Sandra Bullock and George Clooney’s faces.

Graduates from the universities were recruited by Framestore to work on the paint, roto and tracking for the film at Framestore’s satellite VFX studio, based in the Enterprise Pavilion at the Bournemouth campus.

AUB graduate Lars Erik Eriksen, who worked as a paint and roto artist on the film, said: “It was the steepest learning curve I’ve ever had and such an amazing opportunity to be working on a Hollywood movie right on the AUB campus.”

BU graduate Sam Salek, who completed the MA in Digital Effects at the NCCA in 2010, worked as a compositor on the film.

“When we started working on it, we all felt that we were working on something very special, yet no-one really anticipated the phenomenon it became,” he said.

Sofronis Efstathiou, framework leader for postgraduate visual effects and animation courses at BU, said: “It’s fantastic to see Gravity enjoying such success at the BAFTAs, and we’re really proud of the part that Bournemouth has played in the film’s creation.”

It is not the first time that NCCA alumni have had their work recognised with high-profile awards.

More than 50 graduates and former BU academics worked on the Oscar-winning visual effects for Avatar, while MA Visual Effects graduate Andy Lockley won an Oscar in 2011 for his work on the special effects for Inception.

Gravity has also been nominated for a number of prestigious awards – including best picture and best visual effects – at this year’s Oscars.