HERE Film Festival Commissions 2017
We are pleased to announce that from a very strong field of entries, we have selected our commissions for 2017.
So tough was the competition that we have awarded five commissions in this round. The successful filmmakers are:
Title: Magic Trick
Set in the North London suburbs Magic Trick is a dark drama about a mother and her children navigating a tragic incident.
Writer/directors Paul Holbrook (photo) & Sam Dawe…
Paul and Sam have experienced encouraging festival success with their body of work to date Their film writing reached the final stages of the BBC Writer’s Room scheme and they were selected for the Creative England Talent Module 2016.
Title: Sunday Worship
A lonely septuagenarian struggles to conceal his ailing health from his doting wife, finding solace watching a local football team, his levels of fandom start to border on obsession.
Writer/director Charlotte Regan
Charlotte is a London-born filmmaker who started by creating rap videos for local artists when she was 15 and has gone on to create over 200 music promos. She recently took her first step into scripted content with short film Standby, which received its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
Title: Letters
A documentary using real letters from young man in prison. Against a backdrop of normal life in the suburbs, he talks through his insecurities, what he misses the most, his desires for the future and his regrets about what has past.
Ben Steiner Writer / Director (pictured)
Writer/actor Eli Silverman
Producer Dan Dixon
Multi award winning writer/director, Ben’s latest short film, supernatural Noir, The Stomach, has been highly praised for its originality and deft combining of genres; and sees Ben honing the ‘kitchen sink horror’ style that’s been his trademark for over a decade.
Title: Clankerman
A documentary team follows Terry Lothian, sole employee of the secret government department in charge of ‘urban ambience’, as he administers single gloves on railings and misspelt abusive graffiti to the area around Palmers Green. While Terry bemoans the affects that austerity cutbacks are having on the department, his behaviour becomes increasingly unhinged.
Production team: (From left to right) Douglas Cox, Kate Herron, Briony Redman
Title: Smear
Smear is a satire exploring the unnecessary fear and embarassment women have about smear tests. “The percentage of women tested at least once in the last five years is lowest in London” (Enfield Independent) meaning many women in North London are putting their health at risk. This film explores the issue in an original and funny way to open up a discussion about a current female problem.
We are partnering once again with Short Sighted Cinema for our third ‘HERE’ film festival. The festival aims to reflect and celebrate the diversity of interests, people and places in North London.
The five filmmakers will be awarded £500 each to produce a short film based in, or featuring, Talkies’ area of London. Creativity and storytelling is at the heart of the festival and the commission was open to all styles and forms of filmmaking including comedy, drama, animation and original documentary. The films will explore elements of suburban life, embracing locality while expressing individual artistry. There is mentorship available from six award winning film makers and last year’s winners. Each is available to coach and hone the skills of others and all live locally, including Marc Isaacs and Ian Barnes.
The commission was open to all filmmakers, of any style or experience, including groups who wish to collaborate.
The commission is now closed for 2017. But if you might be interested for future commissions, see the brief below for more information. Also check out the Q&A links on this page.