The Hollywood bug hit Salford last Tuesday, with budding young filmmakers and celebrities attending the prestigious Clapperboard Awards Ceremony, hosted at The Lowry.
Two local schools, Harrop Fold and St. Ambrose Barlow R.C High school were among other groups from the Greater Manchester area tackling issues of hate crime, alcohol and drug misuse through the medium of film.
None other than Crissy Rock, Benidorm actress, hosted the ceremony; with this year's jury including Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Shameless actors. Even Peter Salmon, Director of BBC North popped by to see the talent that the northwest has to offer.
The short film, 34 Miles by St Ambrose Barlow, tackled the problem of bullying within schools, while Harrop Fold created a film called Hard Knocks. This tackled the issues of segregation within schools, using humour and drama to make the point it was attempting to portray. Both films were gritty, making a real impact on the problem they were trying to tackle, and even creating a few gasps from the audience.
Louise Readman, a teacher from St Ambrose Barlow, said: "We have worked with The Clapperboard project now for the past four years and the young people that have got involved have absolutely loved every aspect of it. They have worked with a scriptwriter; they have done some camera work. They have grown in confidence and self esteem throughout the whole project."
This year's jury included award-winning writers, Frank Cottrell-Boyce (24 Hour Party People, Millions), Paul Abbott (State of Play, Shameless), actors Tina Malone (Shameless) and Andrew Lancel (The Bill, Coronation Street) plus two of Clapperboard's Active Citizens Panel, Corrin Allen and Bradley Thompson.
Both St Ambrose Barlow and Harrop Fold scooped awards on the night, with St Ambrose Barlow picking up Best Supporting Actress and Harrop Fold winning Best Actor.
The singing talents of Stella Mpinga from Harrop Fold wowed everyone into complete silence and awe, proving it was not just the films that flourished with talent.
Shameless actor and Celebrity Big Brother star, Tina Malone, said: "It is great to see how Clapperboard manages to capture the young participant's vision in preparing them for this brilliant short filmmaking project. Not only do they learn about what goes on in front of a camera, but more importantly what goes on behind a camera and I'm delighted to be on this year's Jury."
It was the seventh year of the Clapperboard project, for which the groups involved worked with local production companies and professional writers to develop their media productions.
Organiser and Director, Maureen Sinclair, said: "I'm overwhelmed at the calibre of support we have…we couldn't achieve what we do without presenters, jury members and the participation of our young, extremely talented, film-makers."
The project is non-profit making and relies totally on partnerships, funding and sponsorship. If you are interested in sponsoring the scheme, contact Maureen Sinclair at info@clapperboarduk.com
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
(3).jpeg)
.png)
(1).JPG)
