You would think that an artist who paints canvases of an imaginary circus dynasty and a comic book obsessed film maker would make an unlikely pair to found a film festival, but that is exactly what happened in September last year. Myself (the artist) and my friend Alix Taylor had just made our first foray into collaborating together. The finishing touches were being put on our short film Righting, a mockumentary about a signage enthusiast who secretly replaces missing letters on shop fronts, and Alix and I wondered what our next step would be. After very scant research into screening options we decided we might as well go the whole hog and start our own annual film festival and so Greenhorn Short Film Festival was born.
greenhorn ['gri:n,ho:n]
n
1. A newcomer, especially one who is unfamiliar with the ways of a place or group
2. An inexperienced person, esp one who is extremely gullible
We decided that we wanted Greenhorn to provide a platform for new or ‘greenhorn’ film makers like ourselves. Greenhorn would showcase the best upcoming film making talent, allowing film makers to screen and discuss their work in a friendly and enthusiastic atmosphere. Basically it would be a utopian space for allowing filmmakers and their shorts to flourish. David Byrne, artistic director of The New Diorama Theatre, agreed to give us his theatre free for a day. The Almeida Theatre let us have their projection screen and we were away.
Greenhorn 2011, though I say it myself, was a fantastic success. Houses were full for both screenings and the film makers and audience alike had a jolly good time. With September fast approaching and submissions for this year’s festival now open everything is hotting up for Greenhorn 2012. This year’s festival will include a screenwriting workshop, one on one script consultations and a panel discussion about the function of film festivals as well as screenings of selected Short films. It promises to be yet another fabulous festival, it would be super to see you there.
To buy tickets go to http://www.newdiorama.com/whats-on-at-new-diorama.aspx?id=107
