26 May, 2013

Southport MovieMakers Awards Emerging Local Film-maker: Electron Trophy Winner - 2013

Southport MovieMakers is pleased to announce that this year’s winner of the Electron Trophy is Andy Harrison. The ELECTRON TROPHY is awarded each year by Southport MovieMakers for the best movie produced from its members during the course of the year.

The title of this year’s winning film is Goldfish. The idea for the film came quite simply from an original poem by the Greek poet Jim Ver, with whom Andy collaborated in making the film; Ver also wrote the music for the film.

The poem told of how goldfish lived their lives, i.e. in short bouts of time, having a very short memory, repeating experiences over and over. Andy concluded that the same applied to people suffering from illnesses such as dementia, in care homes, and there was a parallel between the two, “There is the parallel that whilst a goldfish is trapped in a bowl to swim in circles, a nursing home may work the same way for an old person, sort of like a never-ending loop. It seemed quite necessary that I mix the two together.”

Andy described this particular film as being “a departure from the things I have learnt and usually hone within my films. The poem required a film to be very restrained and subtle, which is far from my usual work. It is representative most of what I have learnt in directing actors on screen to create a character that is believable and emotive.”

Andy is one of the substantial group of young film-makers at Southport MovieMakers. However, for this production, the key character, played by Alan Beddows, is an elderly resident of care home. Andy acknowledged that he chose Alan for the role because they were on “very similar wavelengths”, adding that, “..it is always a good experience regardless of age.”

Although relatively prolific, Andy is very much learning with each successive project. What did he learn in making Goldfish? He confirmed his preference for “active filmmaking” rather than the somewhat subdued style of this project. Nevertheless, “....it is interesting to test out other genres and forms of filmmaking.” In terms of skills, his film-making has developed with regard to editing, “I have learnt that editing is very important to the pacing of a film, and is something I need to work on tightening up, putting the film’s pace before my own indulgence.”

Andy Harrison
Electron Trophy Winner - 2013

Interview with Andy Harrison


Alan Beddows
Key character in Goldfish


Andy's next project is a short film called “Black Out”, focusing on a man who suffers from an illness causing him to black-out and kill people, rendering his memory completely wiped when he wakes.

05 May, 2013

Premiere Evening


Club members have recently been involved in making new films, either as a Club Project or as individual’s productions. So that these films can have a significant viewing opportunity, we are planning a Premiere Evening on Thursday 16th May.

The films that will be presented on this evening are as follows:

JIM MORRIS:
Restoration of Rotten Row                    
Strolling in Sport                                        
Woad

MICKEY STEWART:
Professional Dust....
When the Sheriff's town is robbed, he relies on a man with no name to catch them.

MICHAEL ALLEY:
Circles

ARTHUR EMMETT:
Summertime and You
A father is asleep, dreaming of returning home late from work one Christmas Eve. He knows that his family is safe in bed. His wife has left him a note of things to do before he goes to bed.

ANDY HARRISON:
Einstein
A documentary about the life, times and eventual death of Albert Einstein.

LEWIS SIMPSON:
Choo Choo
Callum Hallthorne is one of You Tube's most revered and prolific train spottters, specialising in fulfilling the requests of other people. So when one request leads him to a non-steam train, he decides to find out who is setting him up and to set them right.

NIGEL MORAN:
Resident Evil: Hunk’s Story

SOUTHPORT MOVIEMAKERS:
One Night
An act of conspiracy following the chance meeting of two company reps needs to be unravelled.  


This Evening will also give us the opportunity to invite along family and friends, and those people who have provided us with venues. Wine and refreshments will be served after the films.


Day: Thursday 16 May
Time: 8 pm – 10.00 pm
Location: St James' Church Hall,
Lulworth Road, Southport, PR8 2BQ.