Smirnoff announce Reel Talent Award

Free to enter competition has top prize of £10,000 - entry deadline April 22

by Amber Wilkinson

Music event giant The Smirnoff Experience has joined forces with collaborative art complex The Hospital to give aspiring filmmakers the chance to develop their skills and networks by producing a five-minute film.

According to the press release: "In keeping with The Hospital’s cultural and musical vision, and the musical integrity of Smirnoff Experience, each entry should have a genuine musical heartbeat. Screenplays must be clearly original in demonstrating how music shapes and inspires the story and will be judged by a selection panel including the writer and director, Asif Kapadia and musician and composer, Rob Playford."

Director Michael Winterbottom says: “This is a marvellous opportunity for new filmmakers to gain exposure and experience."

The competition is free to enter and offers three top prizes worth more than £10,000 each. The deadline for entries is April 22 and the three winning teams of writer/directors and producers will be invited to attend an intensive residential script development course run by leading filmmakers’ organization The Script Factory, before being granted a budget to produce their short films.

One-to-one mentoring by writers, directors and composers as well as use of The Hospital’s studios and other production facilities will all form part of the prize. Award winning production house Intrepido will also provide support throughout the programme.

The three short films will premiere at VIP events at The Hospital in Covent Garden and be offered international distribution agreements by Shorts International, the worldwide distribution arm of Britshorts. One winning film will also be entered into a series of prestigious international film festivals.

For further information and an entry form visit www.reeltalentaward.co.uk

Share this with others on...
News

Inviting curiosity Ildikó Enyedi on the value of science, perception, discovery and Silent Friend

Streaming Spotlight: the rites of Spring We shine our Beltane spotlight on films in which the old ways linger

Fighting fit for a debut feature Valéry Carnoy talks toxic masculinity, memory, confidence and Belgian 'soft-power'

Collective power We look ahead at the programme of this year's Folk Film Gathering

Writing hidden messages Arnaud Desplechin on guilt, melodrama, feeling haunted, and Two Pianos

Clever crafting with Idiots Chris Barfoot on his six-camera set up and three-day shoot of his debut feature

More news and features

We're bringing you news and reviews from the San Francisco Independent Film Festival and Queer East.



We're looking forward to Cannes.



We've recently brought you coverage of Visions du Réel, Fantaspoa, Overlook, BFI Flare and SXSW, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest from the spring events:


Cannes 16 titles added to line-up


Cannes Announces full jury


Cannes Directors' Fortnight selection


Cannes Payal Kapadia heads Critics' Week jury