Sweet Maddie Stone, directed and co-written by Brady Hood and produced by Jake Riley-Hunte, has come top of a poll of ODEON cinema goers who attended the ‘Best Short Films of the Year’ competition on January 17th. The programme of seven NFTS students’ short films premiered at 16 ODEON cinemas across the UK to showcase the next generation of talented filmmakers. The films included Sweet Maddie Stone; Present; Ferris and the Fancy Pigeon; The Alan Dimension; A Love Story; Fishwitch and Patriot. Audiences were asked to get involved and ‘watch, judge and decide’ to pick their favourite film.
The result was incredibly close with only a handful of votes separating the seven films in the programme.
The winning filmmakers will receive five 12 month Limitless memberships, enabling them to see all the films they want, as often as they like at ODEON cinemas.
Brady Hood, director of Sweet Maddie Stone says: “This is a huge honour; I’d like to thank ODEON for running such a fantastic event and for giving this opportunity and exposure to some very special short films. It was an amazing selection and I’m truly humbled to share the big screen with them and at an ODEON cinema!! I’d also like to thank everyone who voted for Maddie, she’s had a tough old life but she’ll be buzzing with this, as are the whole team. We make films for people and it’s a very special feeling to know that we connected so much that you even took the time to vote for us. We can’t wait to use the ODEON Limitless memberships and continue to learn from the masters of cinema at ODEON. We sincerely hope that the future NFTS graduates will get this amazing opportunity also and be premiered at ODEON next year.
Andy Edge, Commercial Director (UK & Ireland) at ODEON says: “We are incredibly pleased with the attendance of the ‘Best Short Films of the Year’ competition and the enthusiasm of the audience who voted in their droves. It is testament to the quality of the films that the voting was so close; we would like to congratulate Brady and his team and wish all the filmmakers success for their future careers.”
Audience reaction was incredibly positive with typical responses including:
“Brilliant evening, great to see such a high standard of work coming from the film school.”
“They were all outstanding- it is very difficult to pick just one as they all had different strengths - well done to all involved.”
“Fantastic selection. Really enjoyed them.”
The competition is part of a partnership between the NFTS and ODEON, which has become the School’s first platinum cinema sponsor. ODEON is working with the school’s Board, tutors and students to support the school in a wide variety of new initiatives including an annual student scholarship.
For more information, please visit www.nfts.co.uk and to find out about ODEON’s Limitless gift membership, please visit http://www.odeon.co.uk/limitless/
About the films:
Sweet Maddie Stone (Fiction: Director/ Co-writer, Brady Hood; Producer, Jake Riley-Hunte)
15-year-old Maddie Stone rules her school yard under the protection of her family name. But after discovering her notorious father has been arrested, she has to make his bail money or lose the yard. The more Maddie fights, the more her world spirals out of control – and the closer she gets to becoming the man she’s trying to save.
Fishwitch (Animation: Director, Adrienne Dowling; Producer, Helene Sifre)
Tooega is a witch who ekes out an isolated existence on an iceberg. It’s a miserable lot, and in Tootega’s case, misery hates company! Derek is a merman – more fish than man really – who spends his days joyously rollicking around the ocean, oblivious to the fact that his dreadful singing is the very reason he remains friendless. Fishwitch is the story of what happens when these two unlikely characters come together…
Ferris & The Fancy Pigeon (Documentary: Director/ Writer, James Gardner; Producer, Helene Sifre)
When Ferris, a teenage boy with a passion for fancy pigeons, leaves school, his father finds him a job at the local factory. Ferris goes along with his father’s plan until the day the school bully he thought he’d left behind confronts him. Ferris abandons his post and the punishment his father exercises forces Ferris to finally face up to some difficult home truths.
A Love Story (Animation: Director, Anushka Naanayakkara, Producer, Khaled Gad)
Two creatures fall in love, weaving a colourful world together. But when darkness threatens to consume one of them, the other must fight to stay together, or risk being torn apart.
Present (Fiction: Director & Co-Writer, Meg Campbell; Producer Ser En Low)
With her sister slowly succumbing to early-onset Alzheimer’s, Beth struggles to balance her responsibilities as a carer and a mother, whilst dealing with her own fear of developing the genetic disease.
The Alan Dimension (Animation: Director & Co-writer, Jac Clinch; Producer, Millie Marsh)
The divine gift of precognition has been bestowed to a human. That human…is Alan. But Alan’s gift isn’t all it’s cracked up to be - he can barely foresee what’s for breakfast. And now the only person on earth who understands Alan is packing her bags to leave – Wendy has had enough of being married to ‘mankind’s next step in cognitive evolution’. Will Alan realise in time that seeing the future has blinded him to his present?
Patriot (Fiction: Director/ Writer, Eva Riley; Producer, Michelangelo Fano)
Hannah loves her Dad and always wants to be seen next to him. But during the preparations for an anti-immigration protest at her house she is pushed out, being seen as too young. Hannah meets a teenage Romany boy and does her best to push him away but the boy won’t leave her alone, leading to consequences which turn her world upside down.
