This year DVMISSION has teamed up with In Our Words, the year-long festival of literature and literacy running in the city curated by Portsmouth Creates. That means that for our 20th anniversary, we have a very unique set of obstructions for this year’s challenge.
Genre: Carry On Costume Drama
This can be any period notable for its elaborate fashion sensibility, from Rome to Flappers, it is up to you. Extra kudos will be given to films that are adaptations of classic literature or have a literary theme that resonates with the Portsmouth Year of Literature: In Our Words.
The lead character must be seen reading a book that features as a key narrative element of the film.
Teams can choose their own titles to match the period they choose. We are expecting lots of playful puns and witty allusions to well-known literature.
Choose one from the following lines of dialogue:
“The breaking of so great a thing should make a greater crack.”
“In time we hate that which we often fear.”
Winning teams from 2024 must include a ballroom scene (or equivalent, depending on your chosen period).
All films with more than one female character should aim to pass the Bechdell Test – if you are not sure what this is then take a look at this Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test
Remember to tag your behind-the-scenes social media with #DVMISSION25 if you want to be in the running for the Best Social Media Award.
We hope you will embrace the obstructions with the enthusiasm and wit that DVMISSION is known for. We expect to be sharing the winning and nominated films with In Our Words over the coming year which will get them widely seen.
So no smut!
Oh, ok, maybe just a little…
A note on references and homages to the Carry On film franchise: we love Carry On films but equally understand that some of the content has not aged well. We ask that in responding to the genre teams respect the rules around racism, misogyny, ableism, cultural appropriation and gender stereotyping.
For those of you too young to know here is a handy reference to the Carry On films franchise: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_(franchise)
And on the topic of Costume Drama here is a handy BFI guide: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/570755/index.html
