A surreal film about a man who becomes trapped inside his mobile phone has won a prestigious award for a young team from the University of Winchester.
The film, 25%, won the Judges Award (the top prize) at the Future BAFTA Winners Short Film Competition.
Entries from Film Production students at the Universities of Winchester, Portsmouth and Southampton Solent were screened at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth as part of the city’s Making Waves festival.
Director and editor Sam Preston, cinematographer Nathan Smith, sound recordist Jim Sandhu and co-producer Sonny Cobb received the trophy from film director Dan Pringle, one of the judges.
Sam explained that the film’s title had come from research which showed members of Gen Z spent between 25 and 30 per cent of their waking lives on their phones.
“It’s about an average Joe who doesn’t like his job and his only enjoyment comes from watching videos on his mobile phone until he becomes trapped inside it and starts to appear in the videos,” said Sam.
The judges described the eight-and-half minute film as “conceptually unique” and added “the themes you explored were distinctive and fresh”.
Sam co-wrote the film with his cousin Daniel T.J. Clarke and the lead actor Christian Harvey.
On the set of 25%
Winchester-born Sam, who lives near Whitchurch, said his influences for the film had been La Haine directed by Matthieu Kassovitz and David Fincher’s Fight Club.
25% was made for the team’s second year module, Directing Drama.
Fiona Poustie, Lecturer in Film Production at the University of Winchester, said: “It’s a really great film – an interesting insight into a young man’s experience of social media and how all encapsulating experience it is. It’s a very creative and ambitious piece of work.”
Publicity image for 25%
You can watch 25% when it is released on the team’s Instagram on May 2. Follow this link.
The University of Winchester had two films in the final of the competition. The other was Chameleon, made by Halle Thompson, Michael Clarke, Thea Haaland Johansen and Cam Leung. It tells the story of Maria who embarks on a new way of life in a bid to fit in with her friends.
Pictured top: The 25 per cent crew (Sonny Cob, Jim Sandhu, Nathan Smith and Sam Preston) at the awards ceremony flanked by Dan Pringle (far left) and Ben Cloud MD from Millstream Productions, the sponsor of the event (far right).
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