Northampton’s first film festival closed with an awards night at Royal & Derngate and a message of hope from Alan Moore.
Alan was among the judges at the festival and has just completed shooting his first feature film in Northampton.
He said: “I would say the standard is across the board incredible having just taken part in a film making exercise I have a good understanding of what it takes to get even a few minutes of film together. The standard across all of these entries has been stunning.
“This is something that Northampton needs right now. With the county in the state that it is, it is about time that we recognise the incredible creative energy that this town has always had.
“Arguably what has gotten us into our current parlous condition is a complete failure of the imagination and the only thing that can get us out of that situation is the power of the imagination. And judging by the film entries that I have seen Northampton should be okay.”
The awards night rounded off two weeks of film related events organised by Screen Northants around the theme Coming of Age.
In addition to Best Northampton Film and Best Northamptonshire Film there was a category first films and a 48 hour film challenge in which entrants were challenged to create something in two days inspired by the Alan Moore quote: I don’t think any of us grew up into the world we were hoping for or expecting.
Festival judge, and director of Alan Moore’s movie The Show, Mitch Jenkins, said: “For me anyone who can be bothered to get off their arse and make a film deserves an award, it is one of the most daunting projects you can ever undertake and anyone who does it deserves an award.”
Festival Film Doctor Rebekah Louisa Smith, who specialises in movie distribution, said: “I was really impressed with the quality of the films. You never know what you are going to get with a first film festival, everything I came in to judge showed true emerging talent. This is going to keep getting bigger and bigger, especially with the support they have already got. Screen Northants I am very impressed by, I don’t know the area very well but there is a lot of talent and creativity.”
Eighty seven films were entered for judging in the festival, including 16 for the 48 hour film making challenge.
To find out how you can be a part of film making in Northamptonshire go to www.screennorthants.co.uk
The results:
Northampton Best Film Winner: Ioyln, producer Joseph Tapp lives in Northampton
Coming of Age Best Film Winner: My Friend Frank, Joel Caborn wrote and directed it while at Northampton University
Runner up: Prey, Giant Dwarf a Northampton based company
Northamptonshire Best Film winners:
Hangover Food, director Ross McGowan grew up in the county
Keeping K’iche, director Ashley Williams grew up in Northamptonshire
Runner up: Troubled Waters, director/writer Gemma Norton is based in the county
48 Hour Film Challenge
Connor Maclean won with a charming tale of two stuffed penguins holidaying in Northampton
