NO SHORTAGE OF SHORT FILMS IN PORTSMOUTH!
THE GUIDE AWARD for THE BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM, in association with Portsmouth Film Society and hosted by Making Waves International Film Festival, presents six short films by local filmmakers.
With a £200 cash prize and a one-day RAINDANCE SATURDAY FILM SCHOOL on offer as a prize for the GUIDE AWARD BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM the competition has been tough and the judges at PORTSMOUTH FILM SOCIETY struggled to make a final shortlist. In the end, a decision was made though the judges told us that “in the end, it came down to subtle details, we had to watch the films, again and again, to be able to make a final decision”.
Now all six shortlisted films are online for a public vote!
This online competition will give you the opportunity to select the best film and the winner will be presented with their prize and trophy in January 2020 at THE GUIDE AWARDS, the celebration of local arts and culture hosted by THE NEWS.
On Monday 25th November, MAKING WAVES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL hosted a screening of local, national and international films at the Wedgewood Rooms. While awards for Best National Film, Best International Film, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Young Filmmaker were presented on the night. The GUIDE AWARD BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM category were screened for the first time, prior to the launch of an online public vote on the 25th November.
The GUIDE AWARD BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM in association with PORTSMOUTH FILM SOCIETY selected the following films for the online competition:
Director: Jon Small
A delivery driver attempts to post a parcel. The door is left wide open. Anybody could just walk in.
Director: Caleb Johnston
Mila and Joseph, after months of intermittent tension, disagreements and broken promises, agree to make one last attempt at repairing their relationship for the kids.
Director: Annabel Bryant & Shenali Karunatilake
Asiri is weighed down with guilt, after the loss of his dearest wife, struggling to accept his current situation only sees one way out. Is all hope lost?
Director: Tim Faraday
Following a trench explosion, a mortally wounded young Private talks about the futility of war with his veteran Sergeant, who assures him that he will not die in vain.
Director: Harvey Coombes
When stripper Penelope realises, she’s not earning enough money she is made an offer by her boss which might just finally set her free.
Director: Dominic Grose
A woman eagerly awaits someone in her house. Yet her hopeful expectations are met by a horrific reality.
The online competition will give local people the opportunity to select the best film and the winner will be presented with their prize and trophy in January 2020 at THE GUIDE AWARDS, the celebration of local arts and culture hosted by THE NEWS.
The partnership behind the GUIDE AWARD BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM came about after local filmmaker’s got together to collaborate on just one local short film competition for 2019. They explained, “it just seemed crazy that we were all doing the same thing, that we would be better off working together”. After a year of networking and negotiation, the three respective groups got together to launch a new format for the GUIDE AWARD BEST LOCAL SHORT FILM. They told us “this is all about the creative community coming together, supporting each other and championing Portsmouth as a creative city”.
Run in association with Portsmouth Film Society who have put up a cash prize of £200, organiser Aysegul Epengin told us “that after running Shorts Cuts short film competition for 11 years it made sense to pool resources and collaborate. It means we have more marketing, more support from the community and a more focused competition”. The competition itself will be run under the aegis of the MAKING WAVES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL which has now dedicated its short film category to support this new award. Trash Arts founder Sam Masson-Bell wanted “get everything under one umbrella so that we could take the short film competition to the next stage of its development, more films, better films and an amazing screening”.
Meanwhile, the Monday 25th November screening at the Wedgewood Rooms represented the best of independent filmmaking from the Solent region (including Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth), across the UK and Internationally. The festival, organised by Trash Arts, has attracted over 80 short films this year, “the films just get better year by year and there is no shortage of entries, it’s really exciting to be able to host something like this in Portsmouth” says organiser Sam Mason-Bell.
Many of the filmmakers were present to see their films screened in Southsea at The Wedgewood Rooms, and to see who the audience awarded the prize for the Best Film. In 2018, there were over 150 people watching the films and organisers were delighted by an even bigger audience this year.
