2.8 Days Later, an innovative film competition which challenged aspiring filmmakers to write, shoot and edit a short film in less than three days, has selected local talents Nathan Perkins and Jordan Strange as the winners of two prestigious awards.
The national competition was created in a collaboration between Everyman cinemas, production company Left Eye Blind and Trinity Leeds, the one million sq ft retail and leisure destination opening in spring 2013. Over the course of three days, 150 participants took up the challenge to make a short film lasting no longer than five minutes, over a period of 2.8 days at Left Eye Blind production studios in Leeds.
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Jordan said, “My team and I were quite surprised and thrilled when it was announced that we’d won The Media Choice Award, we were very proud of the film we had produced but there were so many impressive films in the running. I think 2.8 Days Later is a great experience for filmmakers, as it really challenges your creativity and forces you to deliver something special. As a post-graduate student of Film Production, I was surprised that I was able to experience aspects of filmmaking that were new to me. Working with such a tight schedule was a great way to test our limits and abilities as filmmakers. We would without a doubt do it all over again.”
Jordan and Nathan alongside fellow team members Ed Greenberg, Hattie Knight, Alex Vissaridis and Dan Catherall, were awarded the prize of Media Choice Award, as well as the prestigious Trinity Leeds Short Film Award. Their winning film, ‘Immersed’, was the story of a desperately lonely man whose uneventful life is interrupted by an extraordinary event, triggering a desire to turn his biggest desire into reality.
The Trinity Leeds Short Film Award was selected by a group of prestigious industry experts, including Barry Ryan of Warp Films, the studio behind the critically acclaimed This is England, Dead Man’s Shoes and Four Lions, influential film producer Howard Dawson, formerly of Film Lab North, Caroline Cooper Charles, Senior Talent Executive of Creative England, Sally Joynson, Chief Executive of Screen Yorkshire and Everyman Media Group CEO Andrew Myers.
‘Immersed’ was also awarded the Media Choice Award, selected by a panel of judges including Guardian writer and contributer to The Northerner Blog John Baron, Culture Vulture Editor Emma Bearman, Hope Lies Editor Adam Batty and TQS Magazine Editor Jamie McHale.
With these awards the team have been gifted with a package of tickets and prizes from Everyman Cinemas, a budget of £750 towards the team’s next film, three days of RED camera rental and a bespoke mentoring package. Jordan, Nathan and their team have also been offered the grand prize of having their film screened at Everyman venues across London, for a week, as a trailer to a major movie release.
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Nathan said, “I am thrilled to have won one award let alone two in the 2.8 Days Later competition. The competition was high so we’re genuinely surprised. Watching the final films you can see that each team had a great time making their unique answer to the theme ‘Reflection’. I definitely think that 2.8 Days Later is the perfect platform for youth talent to experiment with storytelling. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for the future work of the teams and individuals who we were competing with.”
