Who the fund was for
Helping young people to tell the stories that mattered most to them
The fund was for young people aged between 17 and 25 who had an interest in socially positive filmmaking. The fund was accessible to anyone from Hampshire.
The purpose of this film fund was to help young filmmakers in our local area. The idea was to give young people a voice, an opportunity to shout about and celebrate the things that mattered to them most and to engage them in filmmaking. With our goal as a social enterprise focusing on young people considering video production or media careers, we feel that this was an opportunity to take the leap and start that journey. For those who were already producing work, it would be an opportunity to work on a passion project and learn valuable skills without footing the bill.
Theme
Each year we set a different theme related to a social topic to help steer the direction of the films. This year we were looking for films based around the idea of ‘Community’. With everything that had happened during the pandemic we felt there was a great opportunity to highlight and celebrate our communities. This could have been a film about general community spirit, a specific culture or community that was important to the filmmaker or about a specific community group/organisation that the filmmaker wanted to shout about.
What we were looking for
- A treatment for a film of under 10 minutes in length
- Any medium – this could be live action, animation or stop-motion
- Any format – this could be either fiction or non-fiction
- Availability to produce their film between May 6th to July 8th 2022
What went into the treatment?
- An overview of their film idea, why they thought the story should be told and how they would make it.
- A breakdown of their budget to show if the idea was feasible. Considering the cost of locations, cast, props, music and/or equipment.
How it works
“There could only be one!”. The winner was chosen based on their idea, creativity and ability to appropriately budget for the project. As well as the Neck of the Woods Films teams, there was a panel of independent judges who voted on their favourite idea.
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Investment
A filmmaking budget of £1000 to create and produce their film with, covering the costs they laid out in their treatment.
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Mentorship
3 mentoring sessions with Neck of the Woods Films. This included a session for; introduction and ideas, development and logistics of the film and a review session of the first draft.
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Filmmaking literature
Helpful filmmaking literature. This varied depending on the winner’s interests and age.
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Award and certificate
The winner was presented with an award and certificate to recognise their hard work and achievement.
Lauren Parker with 'Hold Her Hand'
Hold Her Hand is a film about the way that women who have suffered domestic abuse help and lift each other up.
Lauren’s personal connection through her mum’s work, her passion for this story (and socially positive storytelling generally) and her determination to tell a story of positivity really won us over. Combined with an incredibly detailed treatment it was a complete package.
Anas Sfagsi and Joshua Fields with SO14
Anas and Joshua submitted a concept for a film called ‘SO14’. It’s a film about the rich cultures and communities that make up the city of Southampton and the idea that despite a seeming lack of connection, there is something that binds them together.
We were all blown away by how much detail they put into their pitch, the well thought out nature of their story and the proof of concept they included as part of it. We just felt that they instantly understood the theme of community and put that at the core of their film in a creative and interesting way.
