On the 31st of October, 2019, the first annual Orpington Film Festival was held to considerable success, showcasing some top talent and a wide range of fantastic films and superb screenplays that demonstrated the power of youth filmmaking and youth talent that is both promising and optmistic for the future of film. With help from the BFI, 5 awards were given out: Best Film, Best Experimental Film, Best Screenplay, Best Performance and Best Cinematography.
The winner for Best Screenplay went to Sheep, written by John Bitcliffe, which is a moving short film about youth soldiers during the Second World War. Among other entries for this category was Becoming Now, a gripping short film about a teenager encountering various strangers in a path to come to terms with growing up.
Best Cinematography was given to a film called “The Last Hour”, also by John Bitcliffe, which was about a homosexual dancer attempting to come out before a dance audition and who engages in physical affection with another man in a party before it goes horribly wrong for the pair. Best Experimental film went to “Conjunction”, directed by Hugo Max, which was a brilliant experiment in colour, gray scale and the idea of having two ideas juxtaposing, contrasting and working alongside each other to create a new meaning. With unnerving music at the forefront, Conjunction was a brilliant example of how to use sound and image to create stunning results.
Best Film and Best Performance went to the same film. Adam Wright, the receipent of Best Film, directed a wonderful and heartwarming film called “The Drive”, which told the story of a man and his elderly father who suffered from dementia. The film showcases the idea of fading memory and used characteristics of 35mm film stock to show the memory sequences.
Overall, it was a resounding success and I look forward to possibly doing the event again with an even better attendance and more awards to be distributed!
BRANDON'S FILM AND TV REVIEWS 