Featuring filmmakers from the UK and Europe, as well as home-grown talent from the island, the Isle of Man Film Festival was brought to a fine finale with the international short film competition.
Isle of Man Film Festival celebrates cinema
The films were open to a public screening last Sunday morning, at the Broadway Cinema at the Villa Marina, before the judges, led by the festival’s special guest, BBC & Observer chief film critic Mark Kermode, himself a big fan of short filmmaking, decided which should be crowned winner in each category. Mark presented the awards.
The highly experienced filmmaker Temujin Doran, won Best Documentary for ‘North’, and the special commendation prize for ‘Adventures Of A Cardboard Box’, while Seb Solberg won the Best Comedy award for ‘Modern Man’.
The highly talented island-based filmmaker, Brook Wassall, won the ‘Island Life’ award, for his film compilation, ‘Postcards from 2013’. Featuring stunning scenery, beautifully composed scenarios and a highly emotive soundtrack, ‘Postcards’ is a fine advertisement for the talent Brook has to offer.
Audience Vote Award was won by Spencer Brown for ‘The Boy with a Camera For A Face’.
The prize for Best Short Drama went to debut film-maker Gail Hackston, for her 10 minute film, ‘Cancer Hair’, which also went onto to be voted ‘Best In The Fest’. The short piece managed to pack an amazing amount of emotion and pathos into a small period of time, and was capped by a beautifully delivered finale. It rightly drew praises from all judges and audience alike.
‘I’m absolutely overwhelmed that my film has been named Best Of The Fest,’ said Gail after being presented the award by Mark Kermode. ‘The Isle of man Film Festival is becoming one of those points in the calendar that you have to attend, and winning this award is a major validation as a filmmaker, so I’m just overwhelmed, and really excited by it.’
‘It means a lot to me,’ said Brook Wassall, holding his trophy. ‘I’m basically just a guy behind a camera, and I documented my year along the way. I feel very privileged to be here winning this award.’
The short film competition is an important part of the festival, and one that Mark Kermode believes points the way forward for the film industry.
‘I think that all of the films that we saw here today could have won something and I think that it’s great that there are so many terrific entries,’ he said after the awards ceremony. ‘It was lovely just now doing the short films here, because particularly I have a fondness for short films anyway. That’s really where the next generation of film makers come through, from producing short films.’