Ben Borley's Two Short Nights award for best bursary film for his movie Until The Dawn
It’s always exciting attending film festivals but last night’s Two Short Nights premiere had a special buzz about it. Not only was it celebrating the talented filmmakers of the South West but it also marked the 10th anniversary of the festival. A little bird whispered to me before entering the screening, that this year’s entrees were particularly strong and I was delighted when that whisper proved to be true.
The South West clearly has a multitude of very talented filmmakers and the general quality of the filmmaking across the board, exceeded my expectations. It was an evening of pint-size delights. Anyway, the shorts on offer included POEMA, Cops and Joggers, Until The Dawn, The Grobler, QuietGuy11, Dog-Collar Criminal and Men, Loos and Number Twos.
The film which took the top prize (best bursary film) didn’t surprise me. It was a very deserving win for Benjamin Borley’s beautifully shot, black and white short, Until The Dawn. A film about the lengths we’re prepared to go to for ‘true love’, a film about obsession, a man who appears to have the perfect life (and wife) but falls in love with ‘the woman of his dreams’. It featured music from Van Manticore and Sound Gallery’s Justin Graham worked on the sound edit.
It also didn’t hurt that the film featured a fittingly beautiful muse in the form of actress, Naomi Burgess, but knowing how to shoot said beauty is the real trick and that’s what Borley masterfully achieves with his film. It was clearly the best film, in a particularly strong line up.
