A Mouthful of Petrol

Filmmaking Challenge

We are delighted to present our Filmmaking Challenge for a 2nd year to inspire, engage and celebrate local filmmakers from Folkestone, Hythe and Romney Marsh. We encouraged all levels of filmmakers to pick up a camera this summer and make a documentary.

Working in partnership with Klip Films and Screen South, we devised the competition to encourage seasoned and budding filmmakers to come up with ideas in the documentary form based on the local environment, stories and communities in Kent.

The competition was open to both professional and community filmmakers and was an opportunity to have some fun with the form or try out something new.

RULES

Films must be:

  • Documentary genre
  • Maximum 5 minutes duration
  • Made between 15th May and 16th September 2024
  • Shot within Kent, England
  • Made by a filmmaker/team based within Folkestone, Hythe & Romney Marsh
  • Filmmakers must own rights to all footage and music, and have all other necessary consents and permissions

Prizes

We are awarded three prizes this year and shortlisted films were screened as part of the Documentary Festival Industry Day.

  • BEST FILM - voted by the jury - "The Sunflower Storyteller"
  • BEST ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS FILM - "Impermanence"
  • BEST FILM - voted by the Industry Day audience - "The Original Chinese Elvis"

The three winning films were announced and screened at the Closing Gala at this year’s festival. The winners received a voucher for £1000 worth of free film shooting and post-production equipment hire from Screen South including cameras, sound equipment and editing suite.

Our 2024 Jury Members

Founder of Doc Hearts, Andy Mundy-Castle is known for directing and producing high end content that authentically represents diverse communities with immediacy, sophistication and scale. With over 15 years of experience in the industry. Ex BBC staff Mundy-Castle is the owner and creator of the formats Go Green With The Grimwades, Multi award nominated Reu & Harpers Wonderworld, The Black Lesbian Handbook, Britains Abandoned Playgrounds and the BAFTA award-winning film White Nanny Black Child (Audience Award Winner FDF 2024)

Jessi Gutch is a BIFA-nominated writer, award-winning director and creative producer at her own company, Fig Films. Living with incurable ovarian cancer, Jessi proudly identifies as a disabled filmmaker and tells stories that sit between fact and fiction, between dream and reality. She was a selected artist in residence at Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage for 2024, and is an alumni of numerous industry talent schemes, including BFI NETWORK @ LFF 2021, Edinburgh Talent Lab 2022, Film London’s Production Finance Market’s New Talent Strand 2022 and Sheffield Doc/Fest Focus: Filmmaker Talent 2022.

Shanida Scotland is an award-winning commissioning editor and executive producer, working within documentary film and audio. Shanida is Head of Film at Doc Society. Before Doc Society, Shanida was Commissioning Editor at The Guardian and worked long term at STORYVILLE, the BBC’s multi award-winning flagship international documentary strand. Shanida developed the ongoing series AFTERWORDS, an award-winning audio documentary series that puts the ideas of great writers into dialogue with contemporary writers, academics and activists, for Falling Tree Productions and BBC Radio 3 and 4.

Philip Ilson co-founded London Short Film Festival in 2004. He was the short film programmer for the BFI London Film Festival between 2006 and 2022, and has worked as a freelance programmer, including at the East End Film Festival (London), Cork Film Festival (Ireland), and the Branchage Festival (Jersey), Latitude music festival, and at Curzon Soho Cinema.

Image Credit: (L-R) Peter Blach (Klip Films), Charlie Phillips (FDF), Oliver Pratt, John Howard, Jo Nolan (Screen South)

Oliver Pratt is a Folkestone based filmmaker and animator who won the first FDF filmmaking Challenge for his film John and the Ossuary. His second short film Intensive was shown at various festivals, BBC Ideas and the 2022 W.H.O Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix in the Health Emergency Category.

Networking and Collaboration

Our hope is for you to connect with other filmmakers. If you seek help, need crew or have questions, we invite you to become a member of our Facebook Group where you can connect and network with other filmmakers in Folkestone, Hythe & Romney Marsh. You will need a Facebook account to become a member.

Film Submissions from 2023

Watch the submissions from last year here to see the range of films and filmmakers who took part.

“Filmmaking Challenge gave me the opportunity to show the real story I wanted to tell. This was a chance to make a film that delved into a subject matter that I had not previously explored as well as develop my craft.” Oliver Pratt, John and the Ossuary, Best Film Filmmaking Challenge 2023

FAQ

Q: Are the credits counted as part of the 5 min duration?

A: No, the maximum duration of the “story” must be under 5 minutes. The End Credits are allowed to run for 30 seconds on top of the 5 minutes. Opening Titles and sequences are, however, included in the 5 minutes. 

Q: What music can I use?

A: You can use composed music but you must have written permission from the composer to use their music. This is easiest if you know the composer. If music has been released by a record label it is often very difficult to obtain the rights and it will most likely be expensive. We suggest teaming up with a composer or musician, or using free library music, which you may be able to find online, but make sure to check the terms of use very carefully.

Q: Can I use archive material that I have shot prior to the competition’s timescale?

A: You are allowed to use a reasonable amount of archive pictures and footage so long as you own the rights to use them and it is clear that the documentary at large was made during the challenge timescale.

Q: Do I need to be a professional filmmaker to take part?

A: No, the Filmmaking Challenge is open to both professional and non-professional community filmmakers and we welcome a range of stories, experiences and expertise.

Contact

If you have any questions, contact info@screensouth.org