Ctrl.Alt.Shift

The Ctrl.Alt.Shift short film competition launched in November 2008 and by the deadline of 31st January 2009 we had nearly 100 treatments to sift through.

The massive judging panel consisting of Riz Ahmed (Shifty, Road To Guantanamo, Brits), Adam Deacon (Adulthood, Dubplate Drama), Andy Noble (Warp Films),  Amplify, Ctrl.Alt.Shift, Little White Lies, Clash and LIVE had to fight it out to get their favourites through!

The judging panel chose four winners (our fifth and final entry was chosen by the British public via our People’s Choice voting system) who have been offered the opportunity to be mentored by filmmakers Noel Clarke, Shynola, Saam Farahmand, Kinga Burza, Jim Therapleton and Paul Andrew Williams plus soundtrack’s to their films provided courtesy of Metronomy, Shy Child, Chipmunk, The Thirst, Young Knives and Jesca Hoop.

Summaries of the winning treatments are as follows:

Ben Newman – War School

Opting for a short based around war + peace, Ben Newman, has come up with one of the most popular entries, gaining praise across the board by looking to re-create a military training camp for child soldiers in a British school. It was described by Riz Ahmed as “a great idea, simple, communicating a direct message.”

Fern Berresford – Man Made

This two-minute short, based around gender + power tackles the treatment of women as property and the lack of self worth and identity women feel due to lack of education and the gender inequalities prevalent in many societies.

Joe Patrick – HIV: The Musical

The main aim of Patrick’s film is to expose the ridiculous attitudes towards HIV and Aids. A series of video blogs posted by a young playwright, James McKenzie, whose artistic integrity is being challenged by the ignorance of a film company determined to hijack his script.

Tim Travers Hawkins – A Thousand Voices

A verbose and politically correct bureaucrat gives a lecture to a group of teenagers on the merits of the UK”s efficient and humane asylum system, whilst meanwhile, in the same building, detainees, imprisoned indefinitely in  different !Removal Centres” across the UK, leave messages in vain on an abandoned telephone answering machine in the ministry basement. Their messages detail the horror of the life that they have escaped due to conflict.

Alexandra Monro + Sheila Menon – No Way Through

This short film will highlight mobility restrictions imposed by governments (especially countries in war zones) that limit access to health care, thus violating their right to the fundamental human right of medical care.