The 2018 Hurst Film Festival was without doubt the most successful in terms of the standard of the films made and the commitment shown by the houses to enthusiastically engage with the project.

A range of topics were covered by the writers and directors and the screenings at the Orion Cinema in Burgess Hill gave the whole event a touch of Hollywood glamour. The awards ceremony provided our judging panel with some tough decision making.

Mike Carter - and his team at MCN Productions - continue to inspire and work well alongside the student casts and crews. Here is Mike's assessment of this year’s entries:

Eagle - Mother Tongue

Will Kirkham’s Mother Tongue was a masterpiece of emotional tension. Set against the backdrop of war, it explored the tragic consequences of how language barriers and our preconceived notions of national stereotypes can restrict our ability to communicate. Essentially, it’s a film about regret. There were powerful performances from all four cast members, especially Angus Atkinson and Henry Bishop. Will’s direction was sharp and insightful, he thoroughly deserved the award for Best Director.

Pelican - MI Hurst

A terrific ensemble performance from the Pelican girls helped to create a thoroughly entertaining short film. Based on the hugely successful M.I. High TV series, it began with a groups of girls excusing themselves from class in order to receive instructions on their next mission.

Star - Love Island

Writers, Henry Sweetland and Ollie Smith, regularly attended the writing sessions on Wednesdays, and were keen to come up with a spoof of Star Island. Each week they encountered fresh problems: location, content, casting, etc. And so the idea began to take shape of a film depicting the process of coming up with a film. Witty performances from Tom Creswell and Tom Spurin helped create a highly amusing final product.

Phoenix - Sherlock Hurst

Sherlock Holmes has graced our TV and film screens on numerous occasions - so the characters and format are already well known to most of us. A beautifully insightful performance from Missy MacDonald (as well as Mr Matthews and his delightful children) helped to set up a well-paced and humorous film.

Red Cross

What worked so well about Red Cross’s film, Driven, was its frightening inevitability. We were probably all waiting - or hoping - for some fortuitous twist at the end, but the actual twist is that there isn’t one! And that’s what makes the message so powerful: don’t drink and drive!

Crescent - Toast

Toast, the deserving winner of the Best Film category this year, was based on a very simple concept: the seemingly insatiable desire to consume vast quantities of toast at break times. It succeeded because you don’t even have to know anything about Hurst to understand and appreciate it. Brilliant slow-motion sequences ensured that it was a visual delight as well as immense fun to make.

Woodard - Do you want to continue?

There are obvious dangers associated with over-indulging in video games, but when the content becomes violent, the consequences can be life-threatening. Nathanial Amewudah-Rivers set out to explore the fine balance between video games and reality. An added splash of visual humour helped to create a very absorbing and thought-provoking film.

Shield - The Silence

Just when does no mean no? Sometimes it’s a very fine line. Shield presented us with a short film which got us all thinking and asking pertinent questions. Katie Tuson’s direction was first class, and so was the extraordinarily mature response she gave - in front of the entire school - when the adjudication panel asked her to elaborate on what she hoped the film might achieve.

Chevron - It’s a trick!

Chevron’s offering this year, It’s a Trick, followed the perfect pattern for a short film. We see Jack being mercilessly bullied by his peers, so he sets out to get revenge - not in any physical way, but through magic. A great performance from Peter Nicholson ensured that we were on his side right from the start. And a delightfully cheeky ending rounded off a great house effort.

Fleur - Hunted

Fleur’s film, Hunted was based on a familiar detective-style format with uniform violation at its core. Clever writing, great performances and several amusing moments (together with the discovery of a ‘mole’ right at the end of the film) all helped to create a thoroughly entertaining short film.

Wolf - Prepare for the Worst

We all know what it’s like to discover that we’ve left an important assignment to the very last minute. The sense of panic is overwhelming! But when you have an amazing and committed bunch of friends to help you out, anything is possible. Well, almost anything. Wolf’s film, Prepare for the Worst, managed to combine that all too familiar feeling with plenty of fun and humour - and a delightfully crazy ending.

Martlet - Big Sister

We’re all familiar with the Big Brother format, and Martlet set out to bring that format to a school situation. What if the worst-behaved year-group faced eviction at the end of the day? The fact that the girls who were eventually evicted didn’t deserve their fate added a further dash of interest to the film.

Results

Best Actor: Angus Atkinson (Eagle) Best Supporting Actor: Tom Spurin (Star)

Best Actress: Freya Colonna (Fleur) Best Supporting Actress: Cally Callaghan (Wolf)

Best Director: Will Kirkham (Eagle) Best Film: Toast (Crescent)

Best Screenplay: The Silence (Shield) Best Shot: Tea & Toast (Chevron )

Best Ensemble: MI Hurst (Pelican) Sam Griffiths Award: Freddie Butler (Woodard)

Mike Carter Award: Eagle Film Crew’s Award: Shield

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