On Campus News

Joseph Barratt, the Festival Director of the Screen Stockport Film Festival, talks about its history and plans for the future. The festival aims to support young and independent filmmakers, both inside and the UK and internationally. Having created the Stockport Film Festival at the age of eighteen, Barratt shows what can be accomplished with enthusiasm, dedication and perseverance. Can you tell me a little bit about the history of the Screen Stockport Film Festival?

I decided to create Screen Stockport Film Festival back in 2011. There wasn�t really a place in my town where young filmmakers could have their short films shown in front of an audience, so I decided to get to work and start a film festival to do exactly that.

The idea of starting, organizing and running a film festival from scratch was quite a daunting prospect, especially as I was only eighteen years old at the time, but I knew that I could make it happen if I put all my energy and enthusiasm behind it.

The vision I had for Screen Stockport was a film festival which was inclusive and accessible yet professional and inspirational. It would not only be a place for young filmmakers to show their short films, but also for independent filmmakers who, like many independent filmmakers in this country, find it hard to engage with many of the established major film festivals.

I was overwhelmed with the interest Screen Stockport received in its first year; it wasn�t only local people who wanted to get involved, but people on a national and international level too. After I received all the submissions, I was able to put together a program of short films which was of an incredibly high standard.

On the day of our first festival it was fantastic to see local, national and international short films bring the whole community together. I got such a buzz from doing it and quickly realized how important it was to keep on expanding the festival and support more filmmakers each year.

In our second year we managed to grow even more by taking the festival to The Plaza Super Cinema, an original 1930s art-deco venue right in the heart of the town center. We managed to show even more short films and support even more young and independent filmmakers, running the festival over two full days.

The theme for the festival was �Music and Film� and �The Art of the Music Video�, and we were luckily enough to have director Mat Whitecross come along and talk to us. He shared with us how he went from being a young filmmaker to directing music themed films like �Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll� and �Spike Island�.

I chaired the discussion, which also included digital entrepreneur Andy Wood, and asked Mat how he managed to forge a strong directorial partnership with Michael Winterbottom, one of the most respected contemporary British filmmakers. Mat went on to talk about winning the �Best Director� award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009 with Michael Winterbottom, for their film �The Shock Doctrine�, and his experiences directing music videos for Coldplay, Take That and The Rolling Stones.

You can see highlights from that talk, as well as a whole array of interviews with filmmakers and creatives, on our Screen Stockport website.

On our student day alone last year we had over 600+ students in attendance. We got a very positive response from all the young filmmakers who were involved, as they saw their short films projected onto a 50ft cinema screen in front of a packed out auditorium.

For all the young filmmakers who were there but didn�t have a short film showing, it was a chance for them to be inspired by the films on show. Many went away with ideas to create short films and be a part of next year�s festival.

From creating Screen Stockport, I�ve found that there really is wide range of promising filmmaking talent in this country that gets largely ignored or unsupported by most of the major, traditional film festivals.

As impressive and glamorous as major film festivals are, it�s important to have opportunities at every level in order to help nurture the next generation of filmmaking talent. Only then will we see a truly successful British film industry emerge, born out of the chances young filmmakers get to express themselves at places like Screen Stockport.

I�m delighted to say that Screen Stockport is fast becoming one of the leading independent film festivals in the UK for young filmmakers, connecting new, creative talent to experienced industry professionals.

Who can submit to the student short film category? Are there any restrictions based on country or age?

There are some restrictions; firstly the short film has to be under 10 minutes. Secondly, if you are a student filmmaker from outside the UK you will only be eligible to enter the �International Short Film� category.

If you�re a student filmmaker from inside the UK then you should enter either the �Student (Under 18) Short Film� or �Student (18+) Short Film� category, depending on your age. Both these categories are free to enter; however, the International Short Film category costs a small submission fee.

Is there anything particular you look for in submissions?

We have a saying at Screen Stockport, we always look for reasons to screen short films rather than reasons not to screen short films. We�ve had all sorts of films screen at the festival, ranging from traditional narrative to experimental short films.

Personally, I look out for films which are strong visually but also resonate with me emotionally. They might make me laugh, cry, or even think about the concepts and issues on show.

One thing to bear is mind is the length of your short film. My advice to any young filmmaker would be, don�t be over indulgent. There�s nothing worse than watching a film that�s ten minutes long that could just have easily been five minutes long.

Go back to your short film, re-watch it and try to think of ways to make it slicker and sharper. One of the best short films we�ve had play at Screen Stockport was only two minutes long, it just shows you that every second counts.

What do you hope the festival will accomplish this year?

I�m always looking at ways to make the festival bigger and better, whether that�s more short films shown, more filmmakers supported, or more filmmaking professionals involved.

Our focus this year is on �The Art of the Documentary� so we�re focusing on different styles of documentary filmmaking and the challenges documentary filmmakers face, from the inception of their initial idea to the delivery of their final film.

We�ll be exploring the work of some of my favorite documentary filmmakers, mainly those who belong to the �Les Nouvelles �gotistes� movement, people like Michael Moore, Nick Broomfield, Jon Ronson and Louis Theroux.
But before we get on to this year�s main festival, we�ve also got some smaller festival events planned.

In May we�re putting on an event called �The Smiths On Screen� which will feature a discussion on The Smiths' cultural influences from film, television and literature.

It will be thirty years to the day since the release of The Smith's debut single Hand In Glove, which was actually recorded in Stockport at Strawberry Recording Studios.

We�ll be celebrating that momentous day by screening one of Morrissey's favorite films �A Taste of Honey�, written by Shelagh Delaney, which was an inspiration for the lyrics of Hand In Glove and other Smiths' songs.

One of Screen Stockport�s main aims is to reflect Stockport�s rich cultural history to the town�s large population of young people. Stockport had a major part to play in the cultural development of Manchester and its music scene and we hope this event will go some way towards reflecting that.

What is your favorite part about working on the festival?

My favorite part has to be standing at the back of a pitch black auditorium watching all the short films screen throughout the day.

It�s great to get up on stage, introduce each section and talk to professionals in the industry, but nothing beats seeing the faces of filmmakers as they watch their short films projected onto the cinema screen.

It�s what makes doing Screen Stockport so worthwhile.

Resources:

Screen Stockport Film Festival