The annual 2 Days Later Horror Short Film Competition reached its climax this
weekend with the shortlisted screenings and awards ceremony taking place at the Theatre Royal Margate, Addington Street. The second oldest Georgian theatre in the country is home to a ghost or two of its own and the venue provided a magnificent backdrop to Kent’s biggest – and scariest – horror film event.
Last year’s Best Film winner The Soldier by Nottingham based Shaun Roberts-Smith has just got a national cinema release with Showcase Cinema as a pre-feature of their season of horror films.
“It’s amazing that a film made for especially for our competition in just two days, is now on the big screen across the country. It shows the quality of the films entries that this competition generates.” says festival Co-director Mick Etherton
Over 300 Filmmakers and public from around the country packed out the historic Georgian building all day long to watch no less than 37 scary movies, of ten minutes or less, in entertaining and very diverse matinee and evening performances.
Since July 2008, entrants from across Europe have been downloading a brief from the competition website and then taking up the challenge to make a their mini-horror masterpieces in under 48hrs that had to feature three items from a given list as part of their film productions.
With over 250 requests for the competition brief, 60 films were made for the competition:
37 film entries were accepted in time for screening. Of which;
22 films were from the Screen South Region,
17 films were produced in Kent
6 films were made in Thanet.
Digital Video Magazine ranked The 2 Days Later Short Film Competition in the top five film events in the UK for new filmmakers. It took on festival status in 2006 with the addition of free filmmaking workshops and events.
The event is supported by Thanet District Council, Kent County Council and Screen South funding, and is hosted by Beeping Bush Ltd, an arts and digital media company located at the Community Pharmacy Gallery in Margate’s Old Town,
The organisers have also successfully launched a sister event in April 2008, 2 Days Laughter, (www.2dayslaughter.co.uk) a 48hr Comedy Film Shorts Festival.
2 Days Later co-Director, Mick Etherton, said: “There was a fantastic atmosphere here on tonight and it was great to see so many previous filmmakers return with their new films.17 of the 37 films were made in Kent and we also had films made for the competition, from Wales, Scotland, and even Switzerland; and they all actually came over to Thanet for the event! The imaginatively diverse film styles made it very difficult for the judges to agree on clear winners as the standard was so high.”
“The filmmakers really got into the ‘spirit’ of the event.” says 2 Days Later co-Director, Mick Etherton. “The audience experienced a very diverse and innovative programme this year. We had everything from Zombie slaying Vikings, to Hammer House homage of The Spanish Inquisition, set in the rolling hills of Switzerland, and spoken in Latin! Physiological thriller chases and comedy killer ukulele players, to haunting computer animations, that had them all cowering in the aisles with fright and laughter! Over 300 people came along to taste the atmosphere and take a fright!”
The judging panel – which included the film screenwriter of Severance James Moran, Chief Executive of Screen South Jo Nolan, and Philip Ilson, the Short Film Programmer at Curzon Soho and co-director of The Halloween Film Festival, eventually decided that the film that raised the biggest scare and won Best Film was On Ice, a chilling tale of young woman who wakes in a desolate industrial unit from an abduction, to find herself next in-line to be an unwilling live organ donor. Director Alistair Crow’s Northfeet team of Filmmakers went on to scoop Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Actress with a terrifying barefoot running performance by Rozi Owen. They won a week’s full Cine-style Camera Kit hire from London sponsors VMI High Definition & Broadcast.
“We are amazed we did so well, I didn’t think we would win anything when we saw the quality of other films shown tonight” said director Alistair Crow
Alison Dilnutt from Screen South and Judge Panelist Mike Shaw presented the top prizes at the 2 Days Later Awards Ceremony to a boisterous crowd
Blood Relative by Herne Bay’s Russel Gomm was nominated for Best Special Visual Effects but was narrowly beaten by Canterbury based Nicholas Silk, with a popular animation Life, which was also nominated in five other film categories by the Judging Panel. A student team from Chatham House Film Club, directed by 17 year old Adam Lawson from Broadstairs, won an Honourable Mention award for their exceptionally well produced entry My Ex-Girlfriend, about a zombie girl kept locked in a bedroom, out of love and ‘arms way!
A Honourable Mention award also went to a Swiss filmmaking group from Grandvaux, for their film multi-lingual medieval masterpiece Double Trouble.
The very witty documentary satire I talked with a Zombie , was a judges favourite, winning Best Screenplay, Best Editor and Best Actor, played and directed by Tom Bellhouse making his journey from North London very worthwhile indeed.
Broadstairs based Samuel Pearce was nominated for Best Cinematography with Thicker than Water, about a student returning from his world- wide travels to discover that little brother has been up to no good at home.
A stirring performance in The Last Supper, directed by Alexander Hinks-Edwards from Hythe was enough to get Lois Hinx nominated as Best Actress.
Best Sound and Best Popular Shortlist Film, as voted by the audience, went to The Ukulele Killer by Dom Currie from Ashstead, Surrey. An archive footage comic mélange about a widow-killing musician’s singing catchphrase “What’s it all about eh!”
The audience voted All Hallows Supper, by from James Thomas of Ramsgate, as their favourite Best Popular Matinee Film, a chilling family portrayal of vampire child abductions. Both Best Popular Films won a selection of filmmaking courses with competition sponsor’s Insight Education in film, video and screen media.
Students from Sound Minds in London clinched Best Student Film with Peter Dexter's claustaphobic film Booth D76 that also saw a gripping performance from Robert McLanachan who was nominated for Best Actor.
Best Fancy Dress on the night went to the London based filmmakers of Strawberry, whose delectable film was also nominated for a Best Actor performance
The theatre fright-night ended with the audience and filmmakers’ afterparty at The Westcoast Bar, Mansion Street, Margate, to the sounds of the Funk’n’ Soul resident band The Westcoast Allstars.
Click here to see the full film category result winners.
Click here to download a pdf document of all the showlistings
for the day and evening screenings.
Competition contact:
Mick Etherton/Chris Cordwell, Beeping Bush Productions
Telephone: 01843 223800
BACK TO TOP
BACK TO NEWS ARTICLES 2008
BACK TO NEWS
BACK TO HOME
