Harrogate film wins top award at Everyman cinema

The independently-run festival has been running its fourth annual filmmakers’ competition with submissions from more than 50 countries across 13 different awards.

The international short film competition ran across ten different genres, including drama and comedy, with fantasy, romance and silent new categories for 2020.

Former Ashville College student Lewis Robinson, scooped the Audience Choice Award at Everyman cinema in Harrogate in a competition that has worldwide reach.

His moving, socially-aware drama about overcoming the perils of drugs, Addiction, shot on location in Harrogate, was voted for by the audiences that attend the festival across the two days of the short film competition at Everyman Cinema and was mainly made up of a Harrogate cast and crew.

Lewis Robinson, director of Addiction and Audience Choice Award winner, said: “I am extremely proud to have won the Audience Choice Award at the Harrogate Film Festival.

"It was an incredible honour to share the film with an audience on the big screen at Everyman, and it means a lot to hear the positive reaction this award represents”

The Harrogate Film Festival runs until this Sunday, March 15 taking place in ten venues across the town.

Yesterday saw it has host an in-person appearance at Wesley Centre by British filmmaking legend Ken Loach and a screening of his most recent movie Sorry We Missed You.

The event will end this Sunday night with a glittering event starring larger than life and charismatic British actor, Brian Blessed in person at the Royal Hall.

Nearer to hand, in another coup for Harrogate Film Festival, BAFTA-winning music film director, Tony Palmer will be in a Q&A with the Harrogate Advertiser's Graham Chalmers and Harrogate Film Society this Thursday night in a sold out event featuring rare footage of The Beatles.

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Adam Chandler, managing director of the festival said: “Holding our fourth straight filmmakers’ competition with ten screenings was amazing.

"We welcomed filmmakers from across the globe and it was pleasure having everyone.

"For a local filmmaker to win our Audience Choice Award is a massive hat off to Lewis and something Harrogate should be very proud with our town creative and digital sectors thriving.”

Special Delivery, a silent film from London filmmaker Rob Hackett, about a postman getting his own special delivery, won Best Film of the Festival – along with Best Silent.

Other award winners came as far as from France, the United States and Spain with over twenty filmmakers attending the Festival from outside of the region.

Emma Keehan, from Milwaukee, USA, took hope the Critics Choice Award, selected by the Festival’s judging panel made up of filmmakers, animators and sponsors for her short Fantasy, Ouroboros.

Leeds Beckett University had student journalists and filmmakers attend the festival over the weekend, filmmaker Q/A’s and a short film of the weekend will be released soon.

Further details at www.harrogatefilm.co.uk

About Harrogate Film Festival

Harrogate Film Festival is now in its fourth year.

The Festival has grown from a three-day event to a ten-day event for 2020.

Leeds Beckett Universities Northern Film School is the official education partner of the Festival.

Its ambition is to be one of the most loved and successful film festivals.

A mix of local businesses and volunteers run the festival.

Nearly 4,000 people have attended the film festival over its three years and overall the event has reached nearly one million people.

Harrogate Film Festival is a member of Cinema for All and Film Hub North.

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