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Horsham Film Festival 2021

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Horsham based video production company, Silvertip Films are bringing the Horsham Film Festival back for its third year, with the cleverly named the Horsham Film Festival 2021!

After a fantastic debut in 2019 as part of the Horsham District Year of Culture and an equally fantastic follow up in 2020, they are looking forward to seeing your films and celebrating them in 2021!

The Horsham Film Festival celebrates not only local, West Sussex based talent but also looks further afield to celebrate films from all over the UK.They want to see films from everyone - whether you are a filmmaker who has already won awards at other film festivals or a first-time filmmaker looking to start developing your skills.

The Horsham Film Festival is THE event to enter because their judging criteria doesn't exclude filmmakers by being based around equipment quality or technical expertise. They want to see and experience good stories first and foremost. Of course they will consider shots, editing, acting and so on as part of the judging process but your film will not be penalised if you have shot it on your phone rather than Blackmagic gear!

The Festival hosts 4 categories for both over 18s and under 18s, each with their own prizes and awards:

• Best Drama - move them, thrill them or maybe even scare them - this is the category for storytelling at its best. It's open to interpretation so give them something we don't expect!
• Best Documentary – tell them about the people, places and stories that matter to you. Bring them to life on screen.
• Best Animation - they love animation whether its hand drawn, stop motion or computer generated. Make it out of paper, plasticine or pixels - whatever you want!
• Best Comedy – they want to see the funniest, wackiest, most off the wall entries to make them laugh!

The event also hosts a special category with its own marking criteria, the ‘Your District Award’. This is for film makers that have used the Horsham District in their entries, whether it’s use of the local environment, local actors or something that links the entry to our home district! One can enter a film into both a standard category and the 'Your Horsham District Award’ if the entry criteria is met.

The Festival will be holding its traditional Awards Night at The Capitol in Horsham, on February 11th 2021 – like previous years, this promises to be a great night of short films, networking, entertainment, awards, prizes and more! The Awards Night will be hosted by a name familiar to West Sussex residents - Nicola Hume – former Heart FM breakfast presenter and Horsham panto favourite.

Silvertip Films Director Geoff Cockwill said of the festival…

“We are really excited to be running the Horsham Film Festival again for 2021. Each year we have been blown away by the quality of the films entered and the enthusiasm for the event from those who have entered and come along to the Awards Night. We can’t wait to see what the 2021 Festival brings us!”

Nick Mowat, General Manager of The Capitol Theatre said:

“We are delighted to be partnering with Silvertip Films for the Horsham Film Festival 2021. We have a brand-new projector in our theatre and I can’t wait to see the winning films screened on it in February next year.”Nicola Hume, Awards Night Host and Judge said:

“So pleased to be back with the Horsham Film Festival team again. This year I’m judging and hosting! After seeing the level of creativity last year, I can’t wait to see what’s sent in this year. It’s gonna be fab!”

So - show Silvertip your stories, show them your world, show them your imagination and make sure you enter for this year’s event! Submissions open via FilmFreeway from July 3 2020 and close on December 18 2020. Shortlisted films will be revealed in January 2021.

Head over to Filmfreeway - www.filmfreeway.com/horshamdistrictfilmfestival - to submit your film.

Go to www.silvertipfilms.co.uk to find out more including details on prizes.

By Gavin Hewins

Published July 16, 2020, 8 p.m.