well, that's all folks for another year... :( it's sad but we will all be having a good rest after straining our eyes with all those films! The closing gala saw BAFTA shorts hit the big screen but, even more exciting, all the workshop footage and animations that the young people created showcased! And what a fine collection of plasticine it was! The jury results were also announced, with the winner of the older jury being 'Starring Maja' and the younger jury choosing 'Orps The Movie' as their top film. Check out our website in the next few days to see which film won your audience vote as the best film!

It's been an amazing few weeks and we've had some great chances to meet people from the industry (producers from Japan, a director from India and some of the Harry Potter cast to name a few) which has given everyone an idea of what it takes to make the finished product which we see in cinemas.
A big thanks to Hyde Park Picture House for letting us use the best independent cinema in Leeds as our venue and Martin, Debbie, Rose and Lucy who organised the festival!

And it's over and out until next Easter... peacex

The festival is now in full swing... it started with a blast, a sell-out opening gala with the author of 'How to Train your Dragon' introducing the film. It was a bit hectic but the fish were prepared! Some people said it was their best ever cinema experience ever! The workshops are also on the go and are, as always, very popular. I;ve just been on the young reporters workshop where we got the chance to interview festival directors and young people about their festival experiences. (But this is not exclusively a festival thing; visit lslive.co.uk to find out how you can get involved in other projects they are running).
Very exciting however was the networking event this morning which took place at Hyde Park Cinema. Young people form 'Future Film' in London and the director of the young people's film festival in Dundee called 'Discovery' also came. We shared our experiences of running film festivals and are planning to develop a working network of young people who are involved in these types of projects or want to get their films into other festivals. Although it's on;y at the facebook page, we are planning to meet again in August and set up a website, as well as spread the word to other young people about our idea and organise quarterly meetings ... it's all go go go and looking up for young people's place in the film industry!

A last word... I'm, setting off to see Chocolate Underground and meet the producers who have come all the way from Tokyo!

peacex