Picturehouse Cinemas unveils the winner of its Short Film Competition for Members

Sep. 29, 2016

Picturehouse Cinemas, in partnership with McCann London, is putting fledgling film talent on the big screen as it announces the winner of its film competition for Picturehouse Cinema Members – a contest that gave all Members the opportunity to write a short film to run in the ‘super-gold’ spot before each full-length feature.

The competition, which launched in January, was devised by McCann London as part of a brief to promote the value of the cinema group’s Membership scheme. It had an overwhelmingly positive response, with over 400 original story treatments submitted on the theme of ‘belonging’.

The winning film is We Rise, the brainchild of Rosie Baldwin, a Member of The Ritzy Cinema in Brixton. The film is a short documentary about a rock band from Eastbourne, East Sussex, called Delta Seven. It tells the uplifting story of how seven individuals with special needs have come together to express themselves through music and challenge stereotypes.

The Picturehouse Members’ Film Competition was judged by industry luminaries, including the award-winning director of Senna and Amy, Asif Kapadia; the legendary producer of Skyfall and Spectre, Barbara Broccoli; Ben Roberts, the director of the BFI Film Fund; Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice; and TV presenter Edith Bowman.

The prize for winning the competition was to have We Rise professionally produced and shown on all Picturehouse cinema screens to millions of people throughout the year.  

We Rise premiered at Picturehouse Central on Tuesday 27th September and, from Friday 30^th September, will be shown in Picturehouse cinemas across the UK. The two-and-a-half-minute short was produced and shot by McCann London and Craft London.

The competition was a key part of McCann’s repositioning of the Picturehouse Cinemas brand under the motto ‘Our Members Make Us’.

The Picturehouse Members’ Film Competition judging panel comprised the following: Asif Kapadia (director, Senna, Amy), Barbara Broccoli (producer, Skyfall, Spectre), Danny Perkins (CEO of StudioCanal), Ben Roberts (Director of BFI Film Fund), Kate Gardiner (Head of Fox Searchlight), Tim Bevan (producer, The Theory Of Everything, Les Miserables), Tessa Ross (producer, Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years A Slave), Clare Binns (Director of Programming and Acquisitions, Picturehouse), Gurinder Chadha (director, Bride & Prejudice, Bend It Like Beckham), Edith Bowman (presenter) and Charles Gant (Film Editor, Heat), Laurence Thomson (Chief Creative Officer, McCann London).

Winner Rosie Baldwin said: “It's been an amazing opportunity to make a film I'm very passionate about. For it to be shown in cinemas nationwide is an incredible platform, not only for me as a filmmaker but also for the band, who really deserve the chance to show everyone just how great they are.” 

Sara Frain, Group Marketing Director at Picturehouse said: “At Picturehouse we were truly wowed by the breadth of talent, passion and energy exhibited by our Members through their amazing submissions. Picking the winner was clearly a difficult task for the judges. But what a winner. We are thrilled with Rosie Baldwin’s film and can’t wait to share it with cinema audiences around the country.  There’s no better way to demonstrate how ‘Our Members Make Us’.” 

Laurence Thomson, competition judge and McCann London Chief Creative Officer, said: “When we set out to give a filmmaker a platform, we had no idea where it would lead. So we’re delighted to have uncovered Rosie Baldwin and We Rise – and truly humbled to now be in a position to help some musicians overcome barriers and get their creative voices heard.”

Mike Oughton, McCann Creative Director added: “Having had the pleasure of reading all 400+ submissions, I can say that the standard was incredibly high. It was a huge honour to have helped inspire so much creativity.”