News

Somerset Film presents
Forward Motion > Festival of Film and Television
Thursday, Friday & Saturday | 3, 4 & 5 December 2009


Thursday 3 December

YPFC Festival | Screenings from 10am > 12pm entry FREE

A jam-packed programme of some of the best short films by young film-makers working in Somerset presented in one-hour screenings. Hosted by the Young People’s Film Council, who will be on hand to give information about the organisation and it’s work across the county. If you’re under 25 and would like to submit a short film for inclusion in the Festival, send it on DVD by 20 November. Include your name, running time, a brief synopsis and a few lines on why it was made.


Scribble Space | Installation 9am > 9pm entry FREE

International artist John Dummett explores the notion of stewardship in relation to green sites in Bridgwater in his latest work in an empty shop in Bridgwater’s High Street. ‘11, High Street’, previously known locally as Lisa’s Wool Shop, will contain an ‘inventory’ of neglected spaces, presented as large format digital photographs annotated with text and video footage of the sites. The photographs will be used as a writing surface to record how we understand and value urban green spaces. This installation is the result of a Reveal visual artist and digital media bursary.


Friday 4 December

Junction | 7pm – 10pm entry FREE

The Christmas edition of our regular networking event - an evening of music, short films, good company, Christmas cheer and much more. Come along and find out what's happening in film in Somerset and celebrate everything you have accomplished this year. If you have a short film you wish to show please get in touch. Our programme will include Somerset Film productions ‘Smashed’, written and directed by Peter Snelling plus a first look at this year’s Digital Short ‘Night/Day’, written and directed by Deb Richardson.


Saturday 5 December

I-Screen | 10am – 4pm entry FREE

A chance to see some fantastic archive footage of Bridgwater in John Lee’s I-Scream van, an ice-cream van lovingly converted into a mini-cinema. This unique mobile venue will be at Cornhill, Bridgwater, just a short walk from the Engine Room.

The Forum | 10am – 5.45pm entry £1 per session

Our regular programme of speakers and hands-on sessions takes place throughout the day in the main studio at the Engine Room.

We-Features | 10am

Want to know how to move from making shorts into features, how to raise funds and the crucial things to spend it on? Interested in live action or animation? Whilst the film community prepares itself for i-features, some local filmmakers have already been making groundbreaking features. Our exciting panel of speakers have a wealth of experience for you to plunder including:

Guy de Beaujeu - Fluidity Films
Writer/Producer of feature Living in Hope and award-winning short film Shopping for Love, currently in pre-production for a feature to be shot in Devon next summer

David Buchanan - Succulent Films
Writer/Director of The Last Babacus, an extraordinary debut feature made on a budget of just £2k and shot in the Mendip Hills

Derek Hayes - Director, Designer, Artist and Animator
From pop videos with Madonna to the development department at Aardman features, Derek’s creativity and credits are astonishing.

Christian Martin - Parasol Pictures
Bristol-based co-writer and producer of the multi award-winning ‘Shank’, Christian has over 15 years experience in the film industry during which time he has developed studio projects and produced films in the UK, South Africa and the USA.


Script to Screen | 12.15pm

This hands-on masterclass for writer/directors is a chance for you to workshop a short scene with actors and camera op, guided by an experienced director. We will ask participants to prepare a one-page script based on one of two scenarios. Contact us for further details on how.

David Sproxton, Aardman | 3.15pm

David Sproxton is the co-founder and Managing Director of Aardman. Together with co-founder Peter Lord, he has overseen the company's growth from a two-man partnership into one of the pre-eminent animation houses in the industry. David will talk about his work as producer, director and cinematographer as well as forthcoming Aardman projects such as the Tate Movie.

Special Screening: Last Babacus | 4.30pm

They were fresh-faced and innocent. They were carefree and indolent. They were free-range ingredients.

Welcome to a Technicolor never land, whose innocent young inhabitants love to sing and eat cake – all day, every day. But a chance encounter with the majestic 'Babacus’ prompts questions about what’s really going on. Who is feeding the kids? And why are there no old people?

A chance to enjoy David Buchanan’s feature-length epic musical created on a budget of less than £2k and shot in the Mendip Hills - a marvellous example of creativity over cash. 

For more information please contact Siobhan Wilson 01278 433187