Film London’s Best of Borough Film Awards (BoBs) took place at a prestigious ceremony at BAFTA last night. BoBs patron and award-winning director, Gurinder Chadha, presented Hackney film-maker Alex Taylor with the Jury Award for Kids Might Fly, and Gary Grant from Enfield the Audience Award for Daisy’s Last Stand. Both film-making teams received a cash prize of £2,000 each for producing the best shorts produced through this year’s London Borough Film Fund Challenge (LBFFC).
The Audience Award was selected by members of the public who viewed and voted for their favourite film on the Film London website. Over 4,000 people voted this year and Daisy’s Last Stand was a clear winner with almost a quarter of the votes. A directorial debut from Grant, the film is a touching and funny story about Daisy who refuses to be beaten by Alzheimer’s disease.
The Jury Award was decided by a panel of film industry experts. The Jury, made up of Helen Dewitt, Producer of The Times BFI London Film Festival, Ed Fletcher, co-director of Soda Pictures, Philip Ilson from Halloween Short Film Festival and Nadia
Denton from Black Filmmaker Magazine, selected Kids Might Fly because they thought “the film had great energy, originality and audacity”. They went on to say “Alex Taylor’s short is genre defying, unpredictable and moving”.
The winning titles were selected from 13 shortlisted films, all made through Film London’s LBFFC, a short film-making scheme open to all residents of the participating boroughs. Working in partnership with the capital’s local authorities the aim of the fund is to discover grassroots talent, stimulate local film-making, develop new skills and bring the work to a wider audience.
Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London said: “Through short films, film-makers are able to hone their talents and creativity, develop their skills and often launch illustrious careers. The London boroughs’ continued support of new film-makers must be applauded. Together we are helping to create and encourage the industry’s stars of tomorrow and with every passing year we continue to add to an extensive list of success stories of film-makers who started their career with this fund. I’d like the thank the Mayor of London and the London Development Agency for their ongoing support of the LBFFC, one of the UK’s biggest and best short film schemes.”
Film-maker bios
Alex Taylor, director of Kids Might Fly and winner of the BoBs 2009 Jury Award
Alex was born in the UK and read Archaeology and film at Southampton University. Based in east London, he was shortlisted for Kevin Spacey’s Old Vic New Voices Theatre award in 2009, and as a composer was nominated for best original music by national theatre connections for his scoreto Bridge to the Stars (2007). His first short film script was chosen for Film London’s New Pathways Film Fund and was shot by BAFTA nominated DOP Liam Landoli.
Gary Grant, director of Daisy’s Last Stand and winner of the BoBs 2009 Audience Award
As an actor Gary Grant has been a regular feature on British television since appearing as ‘Ty’ in ‘Hollyoaks’ in 2000, various television roles were to follow including his two year stint as DC Paul Riley in ITV’s ‘The Bill’, other credits include eleven films and his role as ‘Silver’ in the premier run of Jim Cartwright’s acclaimed play ‘Hard Fruit’ at The Royal Court. Gary makes his directorial debut with Daisy’s Last Stand.
The Shortlist for the BoBs 2009
A Guide To Lovemaking – An elderly couple attempt to revitalise their love life in this sparkling story of romance, devotion, and water sports. Directed by Christian Hayes from the LB of Lewisham, 5mins.
The Blurring in Between – Rhys, a 30 year old paranoid schizophrenic, is released from a mental institution after six months. But can he readjust to the real world? Directed by Jimmy Swindells from the LB of Islington, 11mins.
Bubbling Under – Will is unemployed and desperate. At a job interview from hell, we begin to see the cracks in his perception of reality. Directed by Matt Compton from the LB of Redbridge, 8mins.
Daisy’s Last Stand – Daisy knows that she’s got Alzheimer’s, but will not stay at home waiting to die. It’s Saturday night and she’s going out. Directed by Gary Grant from the LB of Enfield, 15mins.
Finding Sol – Sol and Mia used to fly around the world in their imaginary plane until life suddenly took them on separate paths. Now grown-up Mia wants to revisit the past. Directed by Stella Scott from the LB of Camden, 11mins.
Fresh Off The Boat – A teenager joins his mother and siblings from Nigeria but struggles to adapt to an alien way of life in the directorial debut of Kidulthood star Femi Oyeniran. Directed by Femi Oyeniran from the LB of Havering, 14mins.
Kids Might Fly – A young homeless girl is taken into care. Set in an urban wilderness, the film is an offbeat and touching portrait of young people in East London. Directed by Alex Taylor from the LB of Hackney, 6mins.
Milk Watch – An all-singing, all-crime-stopping musical about milkmen on a mission. Directed by Michael Taylor from the LB of Newham, 6mins.
Molly & Plum – A troublesome youth meets his match when doing community service in a care home. An impromptu road trip in a stolen van leads the duo to some surprising places. Directed by Rupert Raby from the LB of Wandsworth, 14mins.
The Moth Catcher – A cybernetic nymph sits in her moth-catching machine waiting for prey in this visually stunning film, which incorporates live action puppetry and uses all recycled materials. Directed by Miguel Guzman & Iyvone Khoo from the LB of Haringey, 9mins.
Mrs Birks’ Sunday Roast – A Japanese food writer blends her passion for British food with the memories that accompany each dish, in this touching documentary, a labour of love with all the trimmings. Directed by Kyoko Miyake from the LB of Tower Hamlets, 6mins.
Still Life – Krishna, a young Sri Lankan Londoner, is hell bent on earning ‘respect’ in this time-fractured drama which offers an imaginative take on gang culture. Directed by Nelson & Kuvera Sivalingham from the LB of Barking and Dagenham, 14mins.
Transit – In transit in a London airport, a young boy stumbles across the path of a desperate man and finds a message that he cannot ignore. Directed by Chris Roche from the LB of Westminster, 7mins.
View and cast your vote at www.filmlondon.org.uk/bobs. Voting closes on Monday 29 June.