Films made by Norton College media students are to be shown as part of Sheffield's prestigious Showcomotion film festival.

The Showcomotion Young People's Film Festival celebrates its tenth anniversary at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield last night and runs to July 12.

Seventy-six students studying for the BTEC National Diploma Level 3 in Media Production and the OCR Extended National Diploma in Media are taking part.

Aileen Burgess, Lecturer in Media, said: "The screening of students' films highlights the talent of young people studying for media qualifications at Norton College.

"It also provides an opportunity to show their work to a wider audience."

Students' entries include Life is a Lottery, a five-minute short based on a young couple with money problems.

Trying to find a way out of their money worries, the husband secretly gambles and becomes addicted.

In the fairytale world people triumph, rising from rags to riches.

Keep Your Hair On is an action film for young women. This short movie is billed as giving an insight into what really matters most to the teenage girls today.

Four young girls who have a love of make-up, hair, music, film, gossip and Johnny Depp are all traumatised when their straighteners break.

The girls have to go on a mission to get hold of the new Special Edition Pink Diamante straighteners for the sake of their hair.

However, without any money they have to go to extreme lengths to obtain them including using their most prized possessions as their tools.

The variety of films shown includes video production shorts and some stop motion animation work which involves creating a creating a storyline and bringing it to life using a variety of materials including modelling clay, balsa wood and card.

Aileen added: "It can take 20 weeks of preparation and nine hours of animation time to produce the final 45-second result."

Younger film fans can join in the family fun weekend tomorrow and next week with face painting, arts and crafts and model making and see Thomas & Friends, Bob The Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Pingu and Shaun The Sheep on the big screen.

Around 100 films made by young people are being screened at the festival. Festival Director Kathy Loizou said: "Schools, colleges and youth groups have been working all year on their films and this is a rare opportunity and a proud moment for kids to see their own work on the big screen and to show them to their friends and family."

Mark Walsh, Supervising Animator on the Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille will talk about the work of Pixar Animation Studios - Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles on July 2 at 7pm.


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