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Two takes in Gateshead
Wednesday 07th February, 2007
Two films funded through Northern Film & Media's Gateshead Short Film Competition are to be aired at a specially arranged private screening on 2 March 2007 at the Tyneside Cinema.
Smile by Alex Kinsey & Faker by Mark Chapman were selected from a strong field of entrants into Northern Film & Media's Gateshead Short Film Competition, run in partnership with Gateshead Borough Council.
Shot on location in Gateshead in the winter of 2006/2007 Mark Chapman's Faker was produced by Arpeggio Films whilst Alex Kinsey's Smile was produced by Dene Films.
Alex Kinsey said; 'These five minutes have proven to be the most time-consuming of my working life so far I think.’
‘This project was a totally open brief, which I’m not used to getting. I had a story in my mind already, but the stipulation that the film had to be set in Gateshead helped me to develop the story into something a bit more mysterious.’
Smile is the first film script Alex had written and the first time he’d directed.
It’s certainly a different kind of story. A young woman is driven to an appointment which she is obviously very scared about. The destination turns out to be the room at the top of the multi-storey car park in Gateshead town centre – also known as the ‘Get Carter car park’ which appeared in the 1970’s feature film. The girl enters the room at the top and is too scared to go in. A curt receptionist orders her to go in, where she comes face to face with her worst fear. Which is, as Alex explains; ‘A scary clown – believe it or not!
As Alex wrote the script and directed it himself he managed to stretch the budget further by putting his own fee back into the production budget. He produced the film with the help of local production company Dene Films and Transmission Post Production in Newcastle.
‘I received a lot of advice and support with the planning and completion of the whole project from Steve Salam and his team at Dene Films. It’s been a great experience for me, essentially a mentoring scheme keeping me on the right track – as it has been a very steep learning curve.’
Following on from the success of our Gateshead Romantic Comedy competition in 2005,Northern Film & Media, in partnership with Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, launched the 'Gateshead Short Film Competition' in the summer of 2006.
The competition aimed to provide an opportunity for two local film makers to produce an original short film set and made in Gateshead. The scheme was open to producers/production companies based in the North East region (Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham and Tees Valley).