SHOWCOMOTION STEAMS TO RECORD ATTENDANCE
Showcomotion’s tenth anniversary festival has come to an end and I’m delighted that we can report record attendances. There were 7728 attendances at the festival in 2008, a massive increase of 36% from 2007.
In 2007 the festival expanded from 10 to 15 days so we could programme more screenings and I’m pleased to say that the expansion was successful and has led to a growth in audience numbers.
Mark Walsh, the Supervising Animator on the Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille, was a special guest of the festival. At our Special 10th Anniversary Talk, Mark spoke about the work of Pixar Animation Studios.
The festival’s Opening Night Gala kicked off in style with the premiere of Kung Fu Panda. This much anticipated animation was screened in Sheffield on the same night as the London premiere. Then in the following 15 days, we screened a total of 175 films from around the world including 97 films made by young people. There were 13 features and 162 shorts from 22 countries. The festival ran this year from 26 June – 10 July at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield.
SHOWCOMOTION CHILDREN’S MEDIA CONFERENCE
From 2-4 July, Sheffield hosted the Showcomotion Children’s Media Conference, which isthe UK’s premier event for the children's media and entertainment industries. 384 delegates attended and Ed Vaizey MP, Shadow Minister for Culture and Broadcasting gave the Opening Keynote Speech.
Participants included Claire Armitstead, Literary Editor, The Guardian; Michael Cairns, MD Disney Channel UK; Charles Cecil, MD Revolution Software; Andrew Chitty MD Illumina Digital; Richard Deverell, Controller BBC Children’s; Boel Ferguson, MD UK and Nordic, Jetix Europe; Richard Hollis, Head of UK Licensing, BBC Worldwide; Sophie Patrikios, Director of Lego Consumer Services; Emma Tennant, Controller ITV3 and CITV.
THE STEEL CITY GLOBE AWARDS 2008
Blue Peter presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star, Gethin Jones, and top TV comedian Lenny Henry surprised young filmmakers from Sheffield schools when they appeared by video link to congratulate the winners at the Steel City Globe Awards evening. They attracted 250 films made by over 800 pupils across the city and the awards were presented by the Lord Mayor. Youngsters had been making the 2 minute films throughout the year and their efforts were celebrated and rewarded at the ‘Oscars’ style ceremony. The winners of the 5 categories were Royd Nursery Infant, Deepcar St Johns Junior, Arbourthorne Primary, Greenlands Junior and Birley Community College.
UNICEF UK YOUNG FILM MAKER AWARD
The UNICEF UK Young Film Maker Award is for young film makers up to and including 18 years old. The Joint Winners are Past-Caring by Zoe Kyriakou (age 14), Usman Zaman (age 13) & Aiden Troughton (age 12) and Wrecked by Oscar Forshaw Swift (age 17). Special Mentions go to Cube Xtra Movie: Friendship made by Sheffield based Iman Hussain & Jodie Hobson (age 14) and Flash-Back by Cèlia Rozalén & Emili Taroncher (age 16).
UNICEF UK SHORT FILM AWARD
The UNICEF UK Short Film Award is for professional film makers. The winner in this section is Doggie by Simone Van Dusseldorp and Special Mentions go to Felix by Andreas Utta and Goldfish by Joe Wein.
UNICEF UK AUDIENCE AWARD
The UNICEF UK Audience Award is for the best film from both categories voted by the audience. The winner is Doggie and Special Mentions go to Goldfish and Past-Caring.
Kathy Loizou
Director, Showcomotion Young People’s Film Festival & Showcomotion Children’s Media Conference