South West Filmathon: The Sequel | wealth of filmmaking talent

Drama, horror, humour, animation, social comment, sci-fi and the birth of a new superhero… kinda, there’s so much talent, skill and creative chutzpah in the South West. Just take a look at the rundown of films at the South West Filmathon: The Sequel.

The creative confines of The Sequel – new films running at under 7 minutes – offered a different filmmaking challenge to the first lockdown Filmathon. But what a wealth of rich filmmaking talent! Fittingly for a summer night’s screening, these films are hot, hot, hot. 🔥🔥🔥 They will make you stop, look, listen, think and smile.

Here’s a programme of the South West Filmathon screening at the solar-powered cinema Studio 74 at Exeter Phoenix, part of the Reasons To Create festival.

Hidden Nowhere (7mins) – Director. Grace Fox
A woman, dressed in pyjamas and claiming to be a time traveller from the future, appears in the middle of a farmers field. With her, she has a mysterious, powerful and rather temperamental box. The box, unbeknownst to the farmer, houses the source to immense power – a time machine.

Pork Chopped (3mins) – Director. Suzie Topolska
A pig’s ordinary day is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of an ex-lover.

97% (2mins) – Director. Zoe Jones
This was a film I made in March of 2021, in response to the Sarah Everard case, as well as the Guardian statistic that stated:

“Among Women aged 18-24, 97% said they had been sexually harassed.”

This was the turning point where I decided to start using my art to express my frustration, rage and anger, into something that I hope a lot of people can use to express how they feel.

Ready (2mins) – Director. Lois Norman
Ready – A Queer micro love story.

Sometimes life gets in the way and you miss each other: and yourself.

The Boy & The Balloon (7mins) – Director. Lucas James
A supermarket employee’s mundane routine life is interrupted by an annoying child.

Caught on Tape (3mins) Director. Radi Nikolov
When you want to find out if you talk in your sleep but there is something else in the flat.

Catcalling: What’s your story? – Hannah Lingard (5mins)
Catcalling and public street harassment against women and girls can be found in almost every corner of our world. In the U.K., 85% of women aged 18 to 24 years old have experienced sexual harassment in public
spaces.

The Big Top (1min) Director. Cleo Parker
Pongolee ‘Pong’ the Pangolin and her assistant Shelley the snail are back on tour with their circus and will present their newest trick that will blow you away.

The Walk (7mins) Director. Joe Lander
Three boys try to complete their D of E expedition, but everything seems to be going wrong for them…

Window To Myself (4mins) Director. Sam Beamish
A young man is haunted by a familiar face during a walk in the countryside.
Window to Myself explores the themes of change and isolation.

Tides (5mins) – Director. Amber Amare
Tides is a true life interaction between the filmmaker and her partner when she locked herself in the bathroom. When the world is overwhelming, how can the words of someone else, help ease you?

Will You…? (2mins) – Director. Justin Carter
A marriage proposal goes wrong in this Chaplin-esque homage to silent comedy films of the 1920s/30s.

Public Enemy (7mins) – Director. Lydia Jenkins
When the local corner shop’s “NO UNATTENDED SCHOOL CHILDREN” policy prevents gangster-wannabe Robyn from buying sweets, she looks to her mobster idols as inspiration for something else sweet: revenge.

Judges: Lee Morgan – editor D&CFilm; Dan Bullock – Critical Popcorn; Minna Gibbs-Nicholls – Production Designer/Art Director; Angela Piccini – Associate Professor in Fine Art (University of Plymouth; Tommy Gillard – filmmaker.