Bolton saw its first ever film festival this week. Brainchild of film-maker Adrian Barber and his partner Zoe Rothwell, the inaugural Bolton Film Festival was hosted by the The Light Cinema on 20th and 21st September. A total of 56 films, made by animators, community groups, independent film-makers and students were screened and the wide range of genres included comedy, documentary, drama and experimental work.
The quality and diversity of the films should ensure that Bolton’s Film Festival will, like the town’s Food & Drink Festival, grow exponentially in the coming years, further enhancing Bolton’s developing reputation as an important centre for cultural events.
Winners in each of the categories were:
Best Community Short – “Anxiety – Ellis’s Story” by Gino Evans
Created and produced by Mr One Million, a social enterprise that delivers arts and media projects with unemployed young people from Bolton
Best North West Short – “Rabbit Punch” by Keith Farrell
Based on a true story, this is a redemption tale about a teenage refugee from the Congo who came to Manchester and endures trauma in his search for a new life.
Best UK Short – “Edith” by Christian Cooke and Mini Productions
Jake tries to cope with life in the months after the death of his wife, Edith.
Best Student Film (Sixth Form / College) “The Tale of Little Red” directed by Ash Podda
A girl enters a mystical and scary world while reading a book. Based on “Red Riding Hood”
Best Student Film (BA / Undergraduate) “Stalemate” directed by Kieran Stringfellow
Liz attempts to recover a cheerless family Christmas holiday with a board game.
Best Student Film (MA / Postgraduate) “The Family Portrait” directed by Kelly Holmes
An intense Victorian drama about life, death, duty and taking responsibility.
Best Animation – “A Love Story” directed by Anushka Naanayakkara
Exploring the theme of relationships, this extraordinary and powerful 2017 BAFTA winning animation is a tale about love faced with darkness.
Best Comedy – “The Kidnapping of Richard Franco” directed by Dan Clark
A young married couple try to solve their problems by kidnapping a ‘has-been’ movie star.
Best International Short – “The Devil is in the Detail” by Fabien Gorgeart
A doctor discovers the extraordinary reason why Alexina, a trainee teacher in a French convent school, suffers from unbearable pains.
Best Documentary – “Gina” directed Wendell Cooke & Jeremy Macey
A cruel genetic illness has left Gina bed-bound for years. A story about the right to choose how and when life ends.
Film for Change – “The Silent Child” directed by Chris Overton
Written by Rachel Shenton and produced by Bolton-born Julie Foy, this remarkable story about a profoundly deaf child born to hearing parents was inspired by real life events.