News
coming in from the fair city of York of the dawning of
a new one-day local screen festival, organised by York-based
Daybreak Productions. It is to be held at York City Screen
on May 8th.
Whilst not universally seen as a centre of film and TV
production, the York area has a surprising number of organisations
active in this field, some professional, some amateur.
The idea is to showcase local work and provide space for
promotional and informative stalls, with talks and workshops
as part of the programme. The festival takes over Screen
Two at York’s City Screen for this, with editing
displays set up by Daybreak in the cinema’s basement
and stalls and information points located at various points
throughout the cinema.
The event s intended to be an open-access, pleasant way
to discover what is going on in film, TV and video within
a ten-mile radius of York, with the atmosphere lightened
by music and drinks promotions in City Screen’s convivial
café bar.
Daybreak are running the event in association with City
Screen. A local casting agency and film and tv course
opportunities are signed up so far, with David Sumner,
head of new York TV, giving a talk about his work. Other
speakers are still to be confirmed, but they include some
well-known local "names", who will be talking
from viewpoints both behind, and in front of, the camera.
One of the films showcased will be Daybreak’s latest
short Sweet Talking. It is a tale of love, lust
and the mobile ‘phone, which takes a look at the
important part played by mobiles in modern youth culture.
It is a fast-paced comedy, with a soundtrack provided
by York bands and musicians. Sweet Talking is produced
by Dawn O’Doherty and directed by Anton Short.
The idea started during the making of Sweet Talking, when
Daybreak was thinking of how to promote the film and realised
that there was a lack of local opportunity. York is not
the only community in Britain where creative talent has
no outlet, but it has the advantage of a group of people
determined to do something about it. Being practical,
not being able to find a local festival they decided to
create one. Other filmmakers, please take note.
Publicity appeals about the York project brought in an
outstanding response, with offers from volunteers who
thought it sounded interesting and wanted to help. More
detailed planning followed and the York Daybreak Festival
is the result.
Entry response has been very good so far, but with a closing
date of April 24 there is still time for any last minute
entries. There are no restrictions on type, but length
must be no greater than 23-24minutes and films must have
been made within a ten-mile radius of the city or be about
York itself. Any company wanting to set up a free promotional
stall is welcome to get in touch, as are sponsors for
the event.
York is one of the most beautiful of historic cities in
the country and a pleasant place to visit at any time.
A local film festival, putting local creative talent before
the public is an excellent way to celebrate the city and
its film culture and could be a model for other UK film
communities to follow. The organisers hope the festival
will become a regular annual feature in the York calendar.
Let’s hope so.
Full contact details are:
email: daybreaking@hotmail.com
Dawn O'Doherty 07900 436103
Imogen Slater 07711 778087
Daybreak Productions, The Fishergate Centre, 4 Fishergate,
York YO10 4FB http://www.daybreakproductions.co.uk
(coming soon!)
For email updates about the festival, please send a message
to Imogen at
daybreakingnews@aol.com.
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News
coming in from the fair city of York of the dawning of
a new one-day local screen festival, organised by York-based
Daybreak Productions. It is to be held at York City Screen
on May 8th.