The work of our young filmmakers was celebrated on December 13th at Harrodian’s annual Film Festival. Students, parents and aspiring directors gathered at the school theatre when short films by Senior and Sixth Form students were shown on the new hi-tech big screen and prizes were awarded for the best films by a distinguished trio of judges (pictured below with Mr Hooke), consisting of director and screenwriter Carlo Nero, (left) legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave and vlogger, activist and Harrodian alumnus, Finn Harries, (right),
The range of character and genres tackled in the prizewinning films reflected the diversity of the work on show at the festival as a whole. Joint overall winners were Contrariwise (above), Sixth Former Zac’s witty comedy about a pair of mismatched twin brothers and 14-year old Conrad’s hard-hitting documentary short focusing on state terrorism. The runners up were Ella’s sensitively observed film about a budding romance and Neha’s animated commentary on the Me Too movement (below). Winners Neha, Conrad, Zac and Ella are pictured above. To watch their films, follow the links below.
So how did the event – now relaunched in a new Oscars-style set up – go down with Harrodians? Sixth Former Louis, who entered a film this year found it inspiring: ‘Seeing all the different films from a variety of genres makes me want to make a completely different film next year,’ he said.
Harrodian Head of Media Studies, Mr Cullis, (pictured above, right with prizewinning filmmaker Zac) was also delighted with the event: ‘This year we had to shortlist from over 30 films so the quality was fantastic,’ he said. ‘The festival has become a really valuable way to introduce students into film, improving their imagination and creativity as well as their practical film production skills.’
Follow the links below to watch the Harrodian Film Festival winners and runners up
2018 Winner - Zac: Contrariwise,
2018 Winner - Conrad: Cover Up