"Who am I?” is theme of Sussex film-making competition

Alan Cross, from the Film Makers, said: “We're looking for creative individuals of all ages, passionate about storytelling to explore this theme through the art of film. Whether you're a seasoned filmmaker with serious kit or a total newbie with a smart phone, showcase your creative skills and explore your identity. Winners will be selected on: storytelling, technical ability, interpretation of the theme, emotion and entertainment value, with an audience showcase autumn event to show the films on the big screen at Ferring Village Hall.”

There is no restriction on genre or style: “Put your own unique film perspective on the theme of self- discovery and show us your story. More details on www.southdownsfilmmakers.org.uk. “Films should be a maximum of ten minutes in length, shot in full HD, 1920x1080 pixels, in landscape format, using the 16x9 ratio. Entries can be submitted via the website where you can find full details of how to upload your work. The deadline is provisionally September 29.

“To be honest, it’s really being done in an attempt to promote the club and bring more people through our doors as the club is literally dying off with more and more members passing away and fewer and fewer people to pay the subs and support the club. We recently went from 50 members pre-pandemic to about 20 now. It’s become quite an elderly group who have hung on to the concept of meeting physically where younger film-makers do their own thing on YouTube and TikTok etc so we really want to try and appeal to a younger crowd in an attempt to keep the club going into the future as there is so much benefit from actually meeting people in the flesh and making projects together. I’m keen to reach out to a younger audience. The theme is Who Am I? as we thought it would be good to get members of the public to explore their identity and go on a journey of self-discovery through the art of film – and it might also produce some emotional content on screen, which is always more interesting.”

“The pandemic certainly hasn't helped us with numbers. We've lost a few members to that but it's also that we're an elderly group. The group has been going since 1989 and most people in the group are in their 70s. There is a younger member but we need a few more people in their 20s or 30s or 40s or whatever. I moved to Worthing in 2015 and I went along just because thought I'd give it a go. They are making more documentary films, My Trip To Madrid, that kind of thing and I'm just trying to push the club more in the direction of making more narrative films. I would guess the heyday for the club was in the 90s and we just want to push it forward. We're thinking of ways that we could reach out to the public and attract the attention of people in their teens or 20s or 30s or 40s just so that we could broaden the age range of our membership. We have not decided yet what the prizes will be that we will offer but we would be hoping to do a screening of the films.”