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It is fair to say that the ninth annual Hurst Film Festival has been the most unusual so far in that we are still awaiting its conclusion. That said the time, effort and dedication put in by the writers, directors and actors for this year’s entries has been second to none.

We are, as ever, indebted to Mike Carter and the MCN Productions team who enable our students to access the world of filmmaking in a very real sense. Having spent the Michaelmas term working with Mike on the concepts and script writing, the Lent term saw each of the houses given a four-hour filming slot using various locations around the campus in all manner of different settings and scenarios.

With the final edits completed we were all set for the traditional judges screening followed by the whole school awards ceremony which rounds off the Lent term. As this was not possible in the current climate, both the judging and the screening were delivered remotely. True to the Hurst community spirit, more than 1000 viewers took to their sofas and were treated to a superb selection of short films – huge credit must be paid to all of the students and staff involved.

As we continue with a remote learning environment we will be releasing the nominations gradually over the course of the term and will cling to a hope of being together again before the end of the Summer for the awards ceremony.

Next year will see a decade of filmmaking at Hurst and if the 2020 entries are anything to go by we can expect great things.

Luke Gasper, Director of Drama