Film lovers gathered at Ventnor Arts Club last night (Thursday) to find out which budding young filmmaker would triumph in the Picture the Music competition.
This year, the film comp saw the introduction of The Peter Cramp Awards, dedicated to the memory of one of the founders of Ventnor Film Society, and all-round uber cool guy, Peter Cramp, who sadly passed away last year.
Picture the Music
The Awards were split into two categories, under-18s and 18 to 25-year-olds.
Those entering had the summer to create a music video based on one of five tracks submitted by Isle of Wight musicians via Platform One – the Island’s music college.
The finalists
Darcy Homan, who won the under-18 category, set her video — shot mostly on Ventnor beach — to Back and Forth by Cara Goodrem.
The 18-25 winner, Ruben Chiverton, set his beautifully atmospheric film to Alter by Jack Stockman.
Runners up, Erin Avey and Mollie-Louise Scriver, both used Retromania by The Optimists.
Esteemed judging panel
The judging panel included Paul Webster (Film Producer), Jeremy Gawade (Executive Producer and Consultant), Peter Ewbank (Ventnor Film Soc), Megan Stisted (Brave Island) and Stephen Izatt (Ventnor Arts Club and founder of Thinkfarm branding agency).
Paul’s accolades include setting up the LA office for Working Title Films, being Head of Production for Miramax Films, creating FilmFour for Channel4 in the late 1990s, and receiving an Academy Award nomination for his part in the 2007 film, Atonement, so he knows a thing or two about making films.
He explained how exceptionally tough the judges found it to choose the finalists, as all the entries were of an incredibly high quality.
Along with Jeremy and Jasper — Peter’s grandson — the awards were presented once the four films had been screened. All films were met with huge applause from the audience and each one could have been a worthy winner.
Prizes for all
The young filmmakers didn’t go home empty handed. Darcy will receive £400 to spend on filmmaking equipment, whilst Ruben will receive £850 to spend in the same way.
The two runners up received a year’s subscription to Ventnor Arts Club, where they’ll be able to watch a fantastic range of inspiring independent films from around the world every week.
A talented bunch of filmmakers
Stephen Izatt closed the Awards ceremony by thanking all the filmmakers who entered the competition. Special thanks was given to Megan from Brave Island, whose efforts in co-ordinating the judges, entries, etc were marked with a bottle of Champagne.
He said,
“We had four very worthy finalists and the best outcome would be to see you all come together to collaborate.
“I hope you all pursue the art of filmmaking because you all really have a talent for it.”
Next year there are plans to introduce an over 25s category.
Prize Sponsors
Extra thanks were also given to the financial sponsors of the competition: Paul Webster, Jeremy Gawade, Ben Rouse, Ventnor Film Society, Ventnor Arts Club and Distinctive Designs.
If you’d like to join the list of sponsors get in touch with Stephen Izatt at Ventnor Arts Club by emailing [email protected]
