Emma Parkinson's short film Dishes, Dishes, Dishes has won this year's Yarns film competition, beating three other films by unsigned directors to the crown, and accompanying cheque, in London on Wednesday evening (November 16th).

Parkinson's relatable comedy triumphed in an audience vote by the 300-strong audience who packed the Prince Charles Cinema in London's West End to watch the premiere of all four films - and saw host James King interview all the directors about their films. Parkinson was then crowned at the afterparty at the nearby Phoenix Arts Club, where the audience vote took place - the climax of the competition organised by Stitch Editing and music video and content division Homespun.  

The finalists and their films for this year were: Dinner At The Smyths, directed by Ash Hamilton & Bex
Conyngham-Hynes; It's Not You It’s Me, directed by Carys Thomas and Thorbjørn Kragh; Fly, directed by Naomi George); and Parkinson's Dishes, Dishes, Dishes.

The four films commissioned this year explored the brief ‘Myths’ - and invited entrants to work up a
story idea based on one of six classic Greek tales. The four finalists were then chosen from the entrants and given support to make their films. 

Each finalist also got to work with Homespun’s emerging talent when editing their shorts, with Luke Anderson working on the winning film. The other brilliant editors taking part in the process were Laura Reyes (Fly), Chris Hutchings (Dinner At The Smyths) and Laura Zvarikova (It’s Not You It’s Me).

Dishes, Dishes, Dishes tells the story of Kian, whose girlfriend Priya moves in with him for the first time. However, their honeymoon period comes to an abrupt end when Priya is revealed to be the world’s messiest housemate. 

Stink Films’ Keith McCarthy mentored Emma throughout the process, with everyone involved working hard to make the film in just four months. Long-standing Yarns sponsors Kodak provided the film for shooting, with partners Freefolk providing the post-production services and Lucy May Miles producing.

Emma comments: “I'm so grateful to have been part of Yarns' wonderful world this year. It's amazing
enough to get funding for a film, let alone having said film be shown alongside some incredible
filmmakers, let alone winning the competition. I have said thank you more over the last twenty-four
hours than I ever have in my life - THANK YOU!”

It was the first live screening and afterparty for Yarns since 2019, and Leo King, co-owner at Stitch Editing who organised Yarns, was delighted with the climax of this year's competition - an entirely not-for-profit initiative. 

Yarns also sees aspiring directors’ partner with some of the industry’s foremost talent to create their
film. Those involved in creating the films this year, through their time, expertise and sponsorship
are Kodak, Slingshot, Intergalactic, Rascal, Freefolk, nineteentwenty and TAG Collective Arts.

“After a two-year hiatus, we wanted this Yarns final to be one of our biggest yet, and it more than matched our expectations, with a fantastic turnout and a brilliant atmosphere too," commented King. "The directors produced some of our favourite shorts to come out of the competition, and any one of them could’ve taken home the top prize. Emma is a such worthy winner, and we can’t wait to see what she achieves in the
future.”

• Watch the four finalists of Yarns 2022 here