Tag Archives: Short films

Film Festivals, Star Trek, Television

OUR STAR TREK FAN FILMS ARE AWARD WINNERS!

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SHOWRUNNER AWARD WINNERS!

I just thought I’d share some good news that both of the Star Trek fan films, I was involved in writing, have recently won some new awards in the first annual “Showrunner” Awards, an international festival for Star Trek fan films.

CHANCE ENCOUNTER (2017)

Chance Encounter has recently won some new awards in the first annual “Showrunner” Awards! An international festival for Star Trek fan films. The film was entered into various categories, each of which had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place available. The short film picked up the following:

Best Actress: Ayvianna Snow – 1st Place
Best Actor: Hayward Morse – 2nd Place
Best Direction: 3rd Place
Best Fan Film: 3rd Place

Congratulations to Ayvianna and Hayward! You can read about the awards here! And see the film here:

THE HOLY CORE (2019)

The second fan film was entered into various categories, each of which had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place available. The Holy Core picked up the following:

Best Direction: 1st place
Best Fan Film: 1st Place
Best Writing: 2nd Place
Best Editing: 2nd Place
Best Sound Design: 2nd Place
Best Costuming: 3rd Place

You can read about the awards here! And see the film here:

STAR TREK and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other “Star Trek” franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made film intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.

Articles, Cinema, Short films

EMERGING FILMMAKER’S NIGHT @ THE GARDEN CINEMA!

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EMERGING FILMMAKER’S NIGHT @ THE GARDEN CINEMA

As an emerging filmmaker for the last twenty years (and counting), I am always looking out for fresh presentations and potential collaboration in regard to film production. Most of all I love watching quality short films. Thus, I was thrilled to attend the ‘Best of EFN’ Screening and Networking Event on Friday 11th March 2022. Find out more about them here:

Website: https://www.efnfestival.org

Twitter: @EFNFilmFest

The event took place at The Garden Cinema in Covent Garden – a new fully independent art-house cinema in the heart of London. If you ever want a break from the standard multiplexes, then check out this stylish art-deco delight.

Their website is here: https://www.thegardencinema.co.uk/

Not only was it an incredible venue, but the night had an selection of some the best short films around. The line-up offered fine drinks, decent networking, a quality audience, a fun raffle, plus the finest shorts screened over the many great Emerging Film and Festival Nights.

SHORT FILM LINE UP

Films of Fury – Dir: Mila Araoz Ellis (2020) 12’57

The Sappho Project: fragment 147 Dir: Sari Katharyn (2021) 7’40

Moth Dir: Wai Ying Tiffany Tong (2020) 3′

Staying (Aros Mae) Dir: Zillah Bowes (2020) 19’23

Friends Online Dir: Samantha White (2019) 5’21

Vincent before Noon Dir: Guillaume Mainguet (2019) 17’

Crashing Waves Dir: Emma Gilbertson (2018) 3’39

Stationary Dir: Louis Chan (2019) 12’38

Single Dir: Ashley Eakin (2020) 14’09

All Stretched Out Dir: Alastair Train (2019) 3’33

—
EFN International Short Film Festival

Emerging Filmmakers Night (EFN) is a quarterly International Short Film Festival that showcases work by emerging talent.

EFN is a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) Qualifying Short Film Festival

W.https://www.efnfestival.org

E.info@efnfestival.org

Cinema, Film Festivals, Short films

THANKS TO UNRESTRICTED VIEW HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2020!

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THANKS TO UNRESTRICTED VIEW HORROR FILM FESTIVAL 2020!

Just a quick post to say thank you to the Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival for screening my short film You Have A New Follower (2020). They screened it online as part of their Little Terrors programme on Tuesday 27th October 2020. Loads of great shorts and features were screened in an amazing programme. Further, in this period of COVID-19, it is a testament to their talents and enthusiasm they continue to support independent filmmakers.

If you didn’t know, Unrestricted View was set up in 1997 by Felicity & James Wren in order to produce exciting and innovative new theatre, comedy & film. In 1999 UV became the resident company at The Hen & Chickens Theatre and remains so to this day. UV was also resident company at Lowdown at The Albany on Great Portland Street 2003-2011 and The Vandella in Shepherds Bush in 2012. Subsequently, they continue to run the Unrestricted View Film Festival and a separate Horror Festival too. This year’s event ran online from 26-10-20 to 1st November 2020. Check out their website here.

Here is the brochure for the festival at this link.

uvhff20-brochure_compressed-1DownloadAs

YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER (2020)

You Have a New Follower (2020) is a psychological thriller/horror. The story concerns Astrid Nilsson, whose life begins to unravel when she is stalked by a mysterious hooded figure. It combines mystery, suspense and science fiction genres, while exploring themes of paranoia, anxiety and identity.

Directed by Tilde Jensen and Paul Laight

Written and produced by: Paul Laight

Cast: Tilde Jensen and Mitchell Fisher

 Please check out the TRAILER here:

Articles, Short films

FIX FILMS SHOWREEL (2005 – 2020)

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FIX FILMS SHOWREEL (2005 – 2020)

I’ve been busy trying to avoid the booze in the fridge most days, although I did fail miserably on Saturday. But I was kind of celebrating fifteen years of low budget short filmmaking. If you didn’t know my production company is called Fix Films Ltd. Here is my latest showreel video. It’s basically a look back at all the films we have made. Also, it’s a tribute to all of the talented people we have worked with.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/c/FixFilmsLtd

CREDITS & LINKS

Fix Films are a filmmaking collective. Since 2005 they have been involved in the creation of many, many short films and promos. They self-produce, write, direct, edit and score their own films to a very high standard despite the low budgets. They are true independent filmmakers.

This showreel features images, clips and music from most of our major short films productions.

Fix Films Ltd are:

Paul Laight, Gary O’Brien and all the amazing people we have worked with.

Music by:

James Wedlock – www.jameswedlock.com
The FireProofSkratchDuck
Pete Mercer

Please also check out our other sites:

http://www.fixfilms.co.uk/
http://startrekshortfilm.com/
https://thecinemafix.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/FixFilmsLtd https://www.youtube.com/user/FPSD

A FIX FILMS PRODUCTION © 2020

Film Festivals, Short films

YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER – SHORT FILM SCREENING – CINESHOTS – 3RD MARCH 2020

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YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER – CINESHOTS SCREENING

My latest short film You Have A New Follower (2020) was screened earlier this week at the wonderful CineShots film night. The venue was the Streatham Space Project and a great night was had by all.

CineShots aims to give up-and-coming London filmmakers a chance to screen their films, get the feedback from a live audience, engage in Q&A and network with like-minded people for potential collaborations or just to talk film.

The only criteria the film has to fulfil is that the filmmakers are London-based, the film hasn’t been finished more than 12 months before submission and is not longer than 15 minutes. Please check out their website here and the cool trailer of the event.

All six films were received with fine appreciation by a decent crowd of filmmakers, actors and audience members. It was so good to get a premiere for You Have A New Follower (2020) too and watch it with many of the crew members. Overall, I would certainly recommend CineShots to anyone interested in attending a positive film screening night.

I look forward and hope that I can get more screenings of my film at festivals in the UK and worldwide. I am very proud of the film as it has powerful suspense, plus memorable themes relating to identity and anxiety in an urban setting. You can watch the short film trailer here:

Cinema, Film Festivals, Short films

THANKS TO HORROR-ON-SEA 2020!

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THANKS TO HORROR-ON-SEA 2020!

HORROR-ON-SEA FILM FESTIVAL is an amazing gathering in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Every year horror filmmakers and fans flock to the Essex coastal town to satisfy their lust for all things horror.

The festival screens, over two weekends in January, some of the most gruesome, scariest, funniest and entertaining independent horror films you’ll ever find. For more information please check out their Facebook page here. And the website here.

I would personally like to thank Horror-on-Sea for screening my short psychological thriller, TOLERANCE (2019). It was a great crowd who seemed to enjoy the film last Sunday night. You can see the film by clicking on link below. Also, please subscribe to the YouTube channel by clicking here.

Lastly, a big shout out to Paul Cotgrove and his army of assistants who make the festival such a success. Also, congratulations to all the filmmakers who commit to making their horror films so bloody entertaining. Many of these films are self-funded and produced so well done to them.

This was my third visit to Horror-on-Sea Film Festival and this year I stayed for two nights. That enabled me to watch even more short and feature horror films. Here is a list of films I watched with promotional links (where possible). They were all really entertaining with horror, comedy, fear, sex and gore all combining to wonderful effect. There were many, many more films shown too so I recommend you go next year as it’s back in 2021!

HORROR-ON-SEA 2020 – FILMS WATCHED

The Dead Ones (Short) – Director: Stefan Georgiou – Link

The Front Door (Short) – Director: Andrew Rutter – Link

Pandamonium (Feature) – Director: MJ Dixon – Link

Long Pig (Short) – Directors: Sam and Tom Connelly

One Touch (Short) – Director: Stephen Lancefield – Link

Inner Ghosts (Feature) – Director: Paulo Leite – Link

Deep Shock (Short) – Director: Davide Mellini

Bleed (Short) – Director: Andre Harrison – Link

The Lost Reel / Idle Hands (both shorts) – Director: Simon Cluett

We Wait in the Woods (Feature) – Director: Joe Duncombe – Link

No Strings (Short) – Director: Pablo Raybould – Link

The Barge People (Feature) – Director: Charlie Steeds – Link

Cinema, Short films

YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER (2020) – SHORT FILM UPDATE

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YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER (2020) – SHORT FILM UPDATE

Last year I wrote and filmed a new short film called You Have a New Follower (2020). It is now completed and it is now being prepared for submission to film festivals. Here are the details, credits and a trailer to watch.

Please also feel free to SUBSCRIBE HERE to my YouTube channel which has all my short films on. Or check out the WEBSITE HERE.

YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER (2020) – TRAILER

YOU HAVE A NEW FOLLOWER (2020) – DETAILS

TAGLINE

“Watch your back…”

PREMISE

Astrid Nilsson’s life begins to unravel when she is stalked by a mysterious hooded figure.

ABOUT

You Have a New Follower (2020) is the latest short film from Paul Laight and Fix Films. It was shot in London and combines mystery, suspense and science fiction genres with dramatic effect. It’s a short, low-budget film which seeks to explore themes of paranoia, anxiety, and identity within the thriller genre.

MAIN CAST

ASTRID NILSSON – Tilde Jensen
DAVID MARKER – Mitchell Fisher

CREDITS AND CREW

DIRECTED BY: Paul Laight and Tilde Jensen
WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY: Paul Laight
CAMERA: Petros Gioumpasis
LIGHTING: Sakis Gioumpasis
SOUND: Marina Fusella
EDITORS: Oliver McGuirk, Petros Gioumpasis
COMPOSER: James Wedlock
SOUND DESIGN: Simos Lazaridis
LOCATION MANAGER: Melissa Zajk
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Lue Henner

A FIX FILMS PRODUCTION © 2020

Film Festivals, Short films

TOLERANCE (2019) – MY SHORT FILM WINS FESTIVAL AWARD

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TOLERANCE (2019) – MY SHORT FILM WINS FESTIVAL AWARD

Just a quick post to say that my short film Tolerance (2019) won best short film at the 2019 UK Offline Webfest. It’s a great independent film festival with the awards held at the Etcetera Theatre in London. As a low budget filmmaker it’s great to get screenings for my films, and while I am not a massive fan of competitions or awards, it was also fantastic to be acknowledged. If you haven’t seen the film you can watch it at the link below.

TOLERANCE (2019)

“What’s your poison?”

Tolerance is a story of obsession, addiction, revenge and murder. It concerns a dinner “date” which takes a twisted turn. Inspired by narratives like those of Hitchcock, Tales of the Unexpected and Inside No. 9, it explores the damage toxic relationships can cause. It is both a thriller and a very dark comedy.

CAST & CREW

Written and directed by Paul Laight
Starring: Georgia Kerr and Patrick Tolan
Sound: Marina Fusella
Camera: Edward Lomas
Lighting: Kato Murphy
Make-up: Camille Nava
Music: James Wedlock
Editor: Jodie Williams
Set Designer: Melissa Zajk

Website: www.fixfilms.co.uk

A Fix Films Production © 2019

New Releases, Short films

TOLERANCE (2019) – FIX FILMS SHORT FILM – ONLINE RELEASE

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TOLERANCE (2019)

Last year I wrote, produced and directed my second short film called Tolerance. Post-production was carried out and completed including artwork and the music. It was finished earlier this year and I am now releasing the film online here.

SCREENINGS

TOLERANCE premiered at the Unrestricted View Film Festival, London in April 2019. Also, it was nominated for best art direction award at http://www.uvff.co.uk.

Also screened at:

Fix Films Ltd Film Night, London, March 2019
UK Monthly Online Film Festival, April 2019
Lift-Off Online Sessions, Pinewood Studios, April 2019
Direct Monthly Online Festival, April 2019

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PITCH

Tolerance is a story of obsession, revenge and murder. It concerns a dinner “date” which takes a murderous turn. Inspired by narratives by Hitchcock Presents, Tales of the Unexpected and Inside No. 9, it suspensefully examines both personal and societal issues when a relationship breaks down.

On the surface it is essentially a suspensful thriller and dark comedy. However, within the subtext I attempt to examine the harm people inflict on each other with their relationship choices. Lastly, with the recent #MeToo furore that correctly highlighted the horrendous toxicity of human behaviour, I wanted to consider wider concerns of gender politics.

CAST AND CREDITS

Written and directed by: Paul Laight
Starring: Georgia Kerr and Patrick Tolan
Sound: Marina Fusella
Camera: Edward Lomas
Lighting: Kato Murphy
Make-Up: Camille Nava
Music: James Wedlock
Editor: Jodie Williams
Set Designer: Melissa Zajk

Running Time: 13 minutes – 52 seconds

Website: http://www.fixfilms.co.uk

A Fix Films Production © 2019

Articles, Reviews, Short films

SHORT SIGHTED CINEMA 2019 – BRITISH SHORT FILM PROGRAMME REVIEW

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THE SHORTEST NIGHTS – 2019

On Sunday the 30th June 2019 I did two of my favourite things. I took a long walk through the city of London and watched loads of short films.

London is obviously a very busy city and hive of activity during the week. However, on a Sunday it, despite there still being traffic, is way more peaceful. Well, especially from eight in the morning until around lunchtime. Indeed, until I got to the tourist trap that is Westminster it had been a pleasure to walk down the Thames Embankment and through the city of London.

I set out to walk from Clapham to Hackney and my destination was the Yard Theatre, Hackney. I made the walk of around ten miles in good time and the event was The Shortest Nights 2019 – Short Film Festival.

Details can be found here:

https://shortsightedcinema.com/

The Shortest Nights is an annual celebration of British short film. They bring you five cutting-edge programmes across a range of themes and genres featuring new works from emerging British filmmakers.

The people running the event are so enthusiastic and put on a great array of different British short film productions. Overall, there were thirty-nine short films and I watched all of them. It was a great day and I was especially impressed by the: comedies, horrors, documentaries, dramas, animation and art-house films on show.

There were low-to-high budget short films of brilliant quality and the programmes were broken down into five categories. So, if you ever get a chance to go to their film events I recommend it to all filmmakers and film fans alike.