Director Martina Amati and producer James Bolton, the film-making team behind the Film London-supported short film I Do Air, left the Royal Opera House auditorium last night proudly clutching the BAFTA award for Best Short Film.

I Do Air is the visually powerful story of a girl who conquers her fears by discovering an exciting underwater world. The seven-minute film was produced in 2008 through PULSE, Film London’s funding scheme for digital shorts. PULSE was launched in 2002 in partnership with the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund with the ambition to produce a new generation of film-makers who use digital technology creatively to tell stories in groundbreaking ways. BAFTA’s recognition of I Do Air reinforces the scheme’s success in nurturing London-based talent with a distinctive voice.

The short screened at The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival in the popular London Calling strand and enjoyed its international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, which closed yesterday.

Amati and Bolton’s work beat a strong array of contenders to the coveted BAFTA, including the winner of last year’s Virgin Media Shorts, Mixtape, and Jade, which was awarded the Silver Bear at last year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Despite a strong Hollywood presence, several of this year’s BAFTA statuettes were picked up by British talent. Putting up a particularly strong united front in the acting category, Colin Firth and Londoner Carey Mulligan were named Best Actor and Actress respectively. The academy members also overlooked James Cameron’s box office CGI actioner, Avatar, in favour of independent production The Hurt Locker. The runaway winner bagged six awards in total,  including Best Film and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow – the first time a woman director has won a BAFTA.

Although Film London alumnus Eran Creevy, director of Shifty, lost to Duncan Jones’s Moon in the Outstanding Debut category, Havering-shot Fish Tank was named Outstanding British Film and The Young Victoria, with two wins - best costume design and hair & make-up - was the most recognised London-shot film of the night.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards, presented by Jonathan Ross, was broadcast on BBC1 last night, Visit the BAFTA website for the full list of nominees and winners.