About Me
The very first 2 Days Laughter Short Film Competition Screenings and Awards, which took place at Margate’s Theatre Royal on Saturday 5th April, was voted a resounding success.
Filmmakers from around the country packed out the historic Georgian building to watch no less than 26 funny films, of five minutes or less, in an entertaining and very diverse matinee and evening performance. The venue is provided courtesy of Thanet District Council.
2 Days Laughter Co-director, Mick Etherton, says: “There was a fantastic atmosphere on Saturday and it was great to see so many previous 2 Days Later Horror Competition filmmakers now making comedies. 12 of the 26 films were from Kent and the wonderfully diverse styles made it very difficult for the judges to agree on clear winners as the standard was so high".
The judging panel – which included Ramsgate-born actress Brenda Blethyn, Time Out Magazine’s Comedy Editor, Tim Arthur, comedian turned academic, Dr Oliver Double of the University of Kent, and promoter of live comedy in Kent, Richard Coughlan – eventually decided that the film that raised the biggest laughs was Going Postal, about a young man waiting for a post-card from his girlfriend. Winning directors, Will Hitchins & Tom Brookes, were particularly delighted as they had travelled all the way from Diptford in Devon. They won a selection of filmmaking courses with Insight Education. They also triumphed in the Best Student Film category, making this the first short in a ‘2 Days’ event to pick up both awards. Ben Sutton, of Worthing, with 5 Minute Call were the runners-up along with Christina Atesh and Matthew Sutton, of Sandwich, with Big Memories Wow!
Also closer to home, Margate’s Martin Solomon took the Best Stand-Up Comedy prize with a tour de force performance delivered straight to camera, while the audience voted the energetic Welcome to Margate, complete with it’s Tracey Emin references, as their favourite film of the day. This popular choice was directed by Gareth Fairlie of Herne Bay. [Box] Fresh, a spoof on Youth TV from Dan Thompson of Hartley in Kent, was also one of the day’s big winners. It was awarded Best Editor and was a runner-up in a number of other categories, including Best Director, losing out only to Lewisham’s Matt Mitchell, whose Super Lucky Kitten Fist, a hilarious take on the martial arts genre, also picked up Best Cinematography and Best Sound.
Other winners included Dominic Currie, Surrey, as Best Actor for Wise Guise and Amy Sutton, Worthing, for 5 Minute Call. Facebook Friends, from Islington’s Keeley Lawrence, won the Best Screenplay award and a place for its writer, Jo Romero, on a Raindance 2-day Comedy Writing course with Dave Cohen, one of the founders of the famous ‘Comedy Store’ and former writer of ‘Not the Nine O’Clock News’.
Presiding over events was Gary Colman, stand-up comedian and a founder of Electric Mouse Comedy, who host live comedy events at 18 events around the UK and run comedy writing workshops. They have been proud sponsors of 2 Days Laughter throughout the event.
Comedian, writer, broadcaster and 2 Days Laughter judge, Jon Holmes presented the prizes, along with Jo Nolan, Chief Executive of Screen South, the regional branch of the UK Film Council and the funders of 2 Days Laughter. No stranger to controversy, Mr Holmes – who co-created TV’s Dead Ringers and has written for such names as Stephen Fry and Graham Norton – treated the audience to an awards ceremony delivered in his own energetic and inimitable style, with much audience participation. The Radio 2, 4 & 6 presenter is not for the faint-hearted but his razor sharp wit and delivery ensured the evening ended with the audience in the highest of spirits and looking forward to what proved to be a most enjoyabe after party at the Front Bar in Margate, with music provided by that popular Kent duo, The Dualers.
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FULL RESULTS
BEST STAND-UP
MARTIN SOLOMON
Martin Solomon
Margate, Kent
BEST STUDENT ENTRY
GOING POSTAL
Will Hitchins & Tom Brookes
Diptford, Devon
BEST AUDIENCE VOTE
MATINEE SCREENING
LAUGHING AT SOMETHING SERIOUS
Amy Butterworth & Sadie Wilde
Leytonstone, London
BEST AUDIENCE VOTE
SHORTLIST SCREENING
WELCOME TO MARGATE
Gareth Fairlie
Herne Bay, Kent
BEST FEMALE ACTOR
5 MINUTE CALL
Amy Sutton
Worthing, West Sussex
BEST MALE ACTOR
WISE GUISE
Dominic Currie
Ashtead, Surrey
BEST SOUND
SUPER LUCKY KITTEN FIST
Matt Mitchell
Lewisham, London
BEST EDITOR
[BOX] FRESH
Dan Thompson
Hartley, Kent
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
SUPER LUCKY KITTEN FIST
Matt Mitchell
Lewisham, London
BEST SCREENPLAY
FACEBOOK FRIENDS
Jo Romero
Islington, London
BEST DIRECTOR
SUPER LUCKY KITTEN FIST
Matt Mitchell
Lewisham, London
BEST SHORT FILM/COMEDY SKETCH
GOING POSTAL
Will Hitchins & Tom Brookes
Diptford, Devon
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COMIC GENIUS REQUIRED!
Have you got a comic idea that you would love to show to a cinema audience?
From the team who brought you the '2 Days Later' 48hr Horror Shorts Competition - Beeping Bush Productions & Close-Up Film - we now invite you to join us for '2 Days Laughter'.
We are looking for films or sketches, stand-up or improvisation routines, of no more than 5 minutes in length, which will be judged by a carefully selected panel of industry professionals. The best will be screened at the Awards ceremony on Saturday 5th April, 2007, at the Theatre Royal in Margate, with opportunties for further exhibition and distribution.
Filmmakers, comedians and writers are invited to access the full brief from www.2dayslaughter.co.uk . Entry is free. Entrants may take time to develop their script but the actual shoot and edit must take place over just 48hrs.
The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday 21st March.
Working in partnership with Electric Mouse Comedy and supported by the UK Film Council and Screen South.
The judging panel includes:
Tim Arthur – comedy critic, Time Out Magazine
Brenda Blethyn - the multi-award winning actress, the star of such films as ‘Secrets & Lies’, ‘Little Voice’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice’.
Richard Coughlan – stand-up comedian
Oliver Double - Lecturer in Comedy, University of Kent, and the author of ‘Getting the Joke – the Art of Stand-up Comedy’ and ‘Stand-up – On Being a Comedian’.
Jon Holmes - writer, comedian, broadcaster; the recipient of five sony awards for comedy and the co-creator of the hit comedy series 'Dead Ringers'.
John McGhie – Director of Programmes, Kent TV
Pratibha Parmar – multi-award winning filmmaker, the director of the hit British feature ‘Nina’s Heavenly Delights’.
Mike Shaw - film correspondent, KM What's On magazine and editor of The Void
www.2dayslaughter.co.uk www.beepingbush.co.uk www.close-upfilm.com www.2dayslater.co.uk
