Sefton Short Film Festival - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

S²F², the Sefton Short Film Festival is an independent film festival based in Sefton, Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

to the North of Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. The festival first began in 2005.

This annual event runs for 2 days in October and exhibits a number of short films, spread over 12 hours of screenings. The 2007 Sefton Short Film Festival exhibited 65 films and attracted submissions and guests from across the world.

The festival was originally established in 2005 by Ann Monks. It is intended not only to be a place where new filmmakers can have a chance to have their work seen by a larger audience, but also as a way to get more people interested in short films as a medium.

The festival has also funded local filmmakers by organising film production courses. These course cover all aspects of film making, from initial visualisation and script writing, through planning and shooting including camera work and sound recording, down to final editing and post production techniques.

The festival has been supported by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Frank Cottrell Boyce

-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...

, writer of Millions

Millions

Millions is a 2004 British comedy-drama film, directed by Academy Award–winning director Danny Boyle, and starring Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon, and James Nesbitt. The screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce adapted his novel while the film was in the process of being made...

and 24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...

, Sally Bankes from Little Britain

Little Britain

Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...

and Opiate Of The People Films.

Submissions for the S²F² short film festival are welcomed from around the world and are usually accepted from April.

Winners

S2F2 2008

Best Film of 2008
Tomorrow's Forecast

Writer, Director: David Hewitt

Producer: Mani Sohanpal

Cast: James Miller

Best Foreign Film of 2008
Porque Hay Cosas Que Nunca Se Oluidant (Because There Are Things You Never Forget)

Director, Writer: Lucas Figueroa

Producer: LMF

Cast: Fabio Cannavaro, Amedeo Carboni, Emiliana Olmedo

Best Animation of 2008
1977

Director, Writer: Peque Varela

Producer: Gain Humphries

Best Sefton Themed Film of 2008
Giri

Director: Mags Scholes

Writer: Alan Fleet

Producer: Darren Horne

Cast: Terry Ezra, Terry O'Neil, Debbie Howard.

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S2F2 2007

1st Prize: Fetch

Writer, Director: Dana Dorian

Producer: Sam McCarthy

Animator:- Steve Townrow

2nd Prize: My Mum The Wrestler

Writer, Director: Mark Withers

Producer: Martina Goodman

Cast: Martina Goodman, Paige Goodman

3rd Prize: I Met The Walrus

Writer, Director: Josh Raskin

Producer: Jerry Levitan

Animators: Alex Kurina, James Braithwaite, Josh Raskin

Best Sefton Themed Film at S2F2 2007 awarded to: Boxing Clever

Director, Producer: Tim Brunsden

Cast: Members of the North Mersey Sporting Club

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S2F2 2006

1st Prize: Stripped

Writer, Director and Producer: Mark Jackson

Cast: Ashlie Walker

2nd Prize: I Slide

Writer, Director and Producer: Alex Buckley

Cast: Demetrios Soarakis, Tori Jones, Tania Pusins, Philip Bland

3rd Prize: Lost Tickets

Writer, Director and Producer: Clare Wilmshurst

Cast: Robert Pheby, Daryl Webster

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S2F2 2005

1st Prize: The Strand

Writer: Paul Goetzee

Director and Producer: Hal Lever

2nd Prize: The Quest

Writer, Director and Producer: Students of St.Vincents, Harold Magnay and Watergate Schools - joint project.

Cast: Students of the schools.

3rd Prize: Bar to Bar

Writer: Michael Mackie, Mike Forshaw

Director: Mike Forshaw

Producer: Jozef Brady

Cast: Andrew Cameron, Andy Moran, Marc Cowpland

Closure

Due to financial constraints, a decision was made to not hold the festival in 2009.

In April 2010 the festival was closed down for good. A statement on the festival's website read:

"We are extremely sorry to announce that S2F2 has now ceased to operate and can no longer accept films at neither this time nor the foreseeable future!

We have striven hard during this past year, to overcome numerous difficulties, in order to once again be in a position to offer the North West one of the best Film Festivals of recent years. Alas it has not proved possible and we are forced to close S2F2 down."

Winners

Closure

See also