Short Film Competition 2019 - Winners Announced

By Michael Wood Head of Performance

People sitting on red seats in a dimly lit cinema, facing a blurry screen in the background.

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We would like to say a huge and sincere thank you to everyone that joined us for our Awards Ceremony last night at the Aviva Digital Garage in Hoxton.

This was the second year of the Performance Short Film Competition and we received over 240 submissions this time around. The originality and quality of the submissions made finalising a shortlist of 30 entries very challenging – and the judging panel had the even more difficult task of deciding on their final four.

The prize packages this year included £1,500 towards your next production, script clearance from Reviewed & Cleared, kit hire packages from New Day Pictures and Pro-Motion – and, for one lucky winner, post-production services from Goldcrest.

Head of Performance – and host of last night’s event – Michael Wood commented, “The competition is all about helping more films get produced and hopefully the four winners will now find it easier to get their next project made!”

The winning films this year are as follows:

A woman stands in a dimly lit kitchen with baby bottles and a labeled container in front of her.

EARLY DAYS

Release: 2018; Director: Nessa Wrafter; Screenplay: Nessa Wrafter; Music composed by: Gareth Averill; Producer: Clancie Brennan; Executive Producers: Indira Varma, Tom Rudolph, Kate Magowan, Nessa Wrafter; Cinematography: Sara Deane;

Early Days is a short drama about a new mother, Kate, (played by Maimie McCoy). In the days following her return from the hospital, she’s rocked by finding her world altered beyond recognition. Her partner Steve, (played by Adrian Bower), is aware of her precarious mental state — but his delight at their newborn makes it hard for them to connect. Though Kate knows she’s lucky to have become a mother, and her instincts toward her baby are fiercely protective, post-natal trauma and hallucinations make the world increasingly hard to bear. Can anything pull her back to reality — before it’s too late?”

Early Days recently won the award for Best Irish Short, at the Irish Film London Awards 2018.

Early Days also won the additional Post-Production prize awarded by Goldcrest Post Production.

A woman in a floral dress and a man in a dark suit pose indoors with wooden walls in the background.

QUEEN OF DIAMONDS

Release: 2019; Directors: Vincent Kamp & Naeem Mahmood; Writer: Vincent Kamp; Submitted via Festival Formula;

Two petty thieves masquerade behind their day jobs of barman and hostess at high-stakes poker games. Their lives are put at peril when a professional thief lures them into an audacious plot to rob an international diamond trader.

A person sits in a car, looking pensively out the window. The image features the text

STATIONARY

Release: 2019; Director: Louis Chan; Producer: Jonathan Caicedo Galindo; Writer: Louis Chan;

Over the course of one afternoon, reunion soon turns intervention when Jimmy confronts Che, his former drug-dealing partner-in-crime.

A soldier in camouflage uniform runs with a gun in front of a graffiti-covered wall.

GAME OVER

Release: 2018; Director: Adam Jenkins; Producer: David Kline; Writers: Adam Jenkins & David Kline; Submitted via Festival Formula;

Two soldiers check a deserted military facility when a sniper targets them. One is killed and the other flees, pursued by the sniper. Heading for safety he is stopped by an unexpected visitor, as he falls into the sniper’s crosshairs.

We would also like to express our thanks and gratitude to the following:

The filmmakers behind the 234 submissions we received this year
Aviva Insurance Limited
Aviva Digital Garage
Reviewed & Cleared Limited
New Day Pictures Limited
Pro-Motion Hire Limited
Goldcrest Post Production Facilities Limited

Film & Media Insurance

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