Filmmaking Challenge
facilitated by screen south & klip films in partnership with folkestone documentary festival
Folkestone Documentary Festival Filmmaking Challenge is a Kent-based film competition designed to inspire creativity, collaboration, and environmental awareness in Folkestone, Hythe, & Romney Marsh.
Three categories are available to win – ‘Best Film’ as voted by the jury, ‘Best Film’ as voted by the Industry Day audience, and ‘Best Environmental Film’. Winners in each category compete to win access to film and post-production gear worth £1000, an opportunity to be mentored during the creation of their next film, and a screening of their winning entry at the Folkestone Documentary Film Festival from October 17th to 20th, 2024.
The competition is open to filmmakers of all experience levels – from beginner to professional – based in the Folkestone, Hythe, & Romney Marsh area. The jury will be looking for imaginative ideas and interpretations of form rather than perfect technique or professional-grade filmography.
Films must be no more than 5 minutes’ duration (plus a maximum 30 seconds of end credits), shot in Kent, and filmed in entirety between 15th May and 16th September 2024 (some archive footage may be permitted, provided the filmmaker has ownership and/or full permission).
Find out more via the Folkestone Documentary Festival website here.
Unfortunately, the deadline for submissions for the 2024 Filmmaking Challenge has now passed - but watch this space for future opportunities...
Check out the FDFFC 2023 entries below.
WINNER OF BEST FILM
John and the Ossuary by Oliver Pratt &
Susanna Howard
88-year-old John Howard has a love of life and all things in it. This seems counterintuitive to his volunteer job as a steward in the ossuary at St. Leonard’s Church in Hythe. This little-known crypt has ‘the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient human skulls and bones in Britain’. Filmed in a couple of hours between shifts, this short film shows John in the ossuary as he reflects on the place, its contents, and a little on his role.
WINNER OF BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM
& WINNER OF THE AUDIENCE AWARD
The Spiral Society by Joni Lambert
Joni Lambert is 8 years old and moved to Folkestone two years ago. The film follows her in her quest to protect the snails that surround her home. She also shares her message of love for snails with friends and strangers alike via her invite-only snail fan club, The Spiral Society. Will you pass the test and join the club?
RUNNER-UP FOR BEST FILM
I Belong Here by Josta Hopps
Josta Hopps is a musician and filmmaker from Sierra Leone who came to the UK to embrace a new home. The film explores his journey as he finds a new community, looking at the footprints of the past, the current, the future.
RUNNER-UP FOR BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM
Human Nature by Anna Braithwaite
In ‘Human Nature’ we meet charming amateur gardener, Agnes L’Hostis, who reveals her attitudes to the climate crisis and recycling, husbands, their tools and the moths that eat her box. We explore her unique garden under the cover of night, where snails devour the vegetation and succulents look like crowns bejewelled with glittering drops of rain. This delightful encounter leaves us questioning our own conflicting desires to assert control over nature or to let anarchy reign.
RUNNER-UP FOR BEST ENVIRONMENTAL FILM
Untidy, Glorious, Buzzing by Helen Lindon
A conversation about Climate Change, Activism, Grief and Wild Gardening.
Whispers of Hope: A Folkestone Tale
by Andrey Tolochko
This poetic and visually captivating film explores the depths of human emotions and the transformative power of place and connection. Set against the backdrop of the picturesque coastal town of Folkestone during the height of summer, the film follows a couple – a man and a woman – as they navigate their inner worlds while immersed in the beauty of their surroundings.
Cruffin Party at Sea
by Kirsty Hogben
Two friends set out on an experiment to see if they can eat pastries at sea. It starts with a test run of custard creams in a Tupperware. Then their ambitions get bigger. They invite 10 friends to join them at a birthday celebration. The group attempts to swim out to sea with a big batch of Cruffins… but the weather makes it a bit trickier this time. Will they light the birthday candles? Will everyone make it back to shore? Will the Cruffins survive?
Eyes Turned Skyward
by Christian Azzola
Eyes Turned Skyward chronicles the formation of The Dover and Folkestone Hang Gliding Club and features a first hand account from one of the clubs founder members, Damon Robinson, who shares his recollections of flying and the early days of getting the club off the ground.
Folkestone Fishing
by Hudson Mowl
An insight into modern fishing in Folkestone and the surrounding today, the techniques adopted, history and challenges. Interviewing fishermen both current and retired.
Fruit, Flowers, Fungi, Foliage
by Amber Baker
We are given the chance to join Jeremy on an early morning walk through the Kent countryside. Pushing the boundaries of how a documentary should look and sound, we soon discover the joys of what our local environment has to offer and how compelling the world of foraging can be.
International Peace Day
by Admire Ncube
A film about the International Peace Day with the Sudanese community in Folkestone.
Blue Moon Moments
by Anthony Powell
This film touches upon how everyday moments in nature, happen so randomly and are instantly gone. But with the gift of film we can capture, revisit, change, enhance, and share such passing things. (And of course, at times totally falsify events.). All images are where I was randomly visiting or passing, i.e. nowhere deliberate or set up for filming. But above all the emphasis of ‘Blue Moon Moments,’ is on the everyday wonder and beauty of our part of Kent.
Contact us
For questions, comments, or anything else you might need, contact Screen South at 01303 259777 (Mon – Fri, 9:30am – 5pm) or email info@screensouth.org
