When a chance comes along to have your own short-film shown at the cinema in Northampton, you have to grab it theatrically with both hands!
A competition organised by the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 'Film Northants 2009' invited local filmmakers to enter a five minute video filmed on location in the county. There are prizes on offer, but the main draw is that the finalists have their film shown at a Northampton Cinema.
The competition opened in March, but we only found out in late June, leaving us a couple of months to write, film, edit and score the piece. With my brother, Anthony, a budding film-maker on board, we came up with a loose idea in a pub garden and got permission to shoot in the Northampton Central Library, where our short-film would begin. It was decided that I should play the lead role, mainly due to the lack of available actors in our address books! As it turns out, my performance has been compared to an early Marlon Bando (or was that Marlon Dingle?) ;)
Titled 'No Stone Unturned', our story follows a history student who finds a key in a forgotten library book, leading to a mysterious local discovery. We chose locations in Northampton, Towcester and Everdon and mainly filmed at weekends and the odd evening to get the footage complete using a relatively basic Canon MD101 camcorder. We pulled in offers to help with acting, costumes and music and the final piece came together in iMovie.
Our entry was submitted with just a day to spare. The judges spent a few days watching all entries and we were recently told we had made the short-list of eight films to be shown at the Vue Cinema, Northampton on September 22nd 2009! The results are now down to the public vote, so if you like the film, please take a moment to register your vote here.
Take a look at the film below - your comments are very welcome!
To watch the other entries and for details on how to vote for your favourite, visit the Chronicle & Echo Film Northants website.
Hopefully I can follow this post up with a winner's speech!
Matthew Dumont, Co-director 'No Stone Unturned'.