The 2023 edition of Yarns, Stitch Editing's short film competition for unsigned directors, has now launched, with a brief titled The Ends, in a collaboration with acclaimed spoken word artist, poet and writer Miss Yankey.This year's Yarns asks entrants to think about the end of their short film first. Miss Yankey - one of the UK’s leading spoken word artists, known for her work on BBC Radio 1XTRA, BT Sport and BAFTA-winning show Life and Rhymes - has selected three excerpts of her poems for the brief, from which competitors will be asked to take their inspiration. Entrants will be asked to use the excerpts to create the ending of their film - in the form of dialogue, script direction or another creative idea. But how the story leads to that point is entirely up to them.On her involvement in this year's competition, Miss Yankey explains: "I paint pictures with words, and bring them to life with Spoken Word performance, with much of my work beginning as free writes written in response to prompts. Yarns have created a space for up-and-coming talent to do something remarkable, and to know that this year's prompts have been taken frommy work is an absolute honour."I am incredibly passionate about bringing Spoken Word into new spaces, so to have an opportunity to inspire filmmakers to create from the seeds of my poetry blows my mind. I cannot wait to see what comes from this year's talent!"Above: Spoken word artist Miss Yankey, who is collaborating with Stitch Editing's filmmaking competition Yarns this year To have an opportunity to inspire filmmakers to create from the seeds of my poetry blows my mind.Having returned with a bang last year after a two-year break due to the pandemic, Yarns will again look to uncover the country’s best unsigned directors - in association with Kodak and Sling Shot Intergalactic. The competition has regularly discovered new directing talent, by giving entrants the chance to create a professional short film - including last year's winner Emma Parkinson, who then signed with Blink Productions. “Without sounding super cheesy, Yarns quite literally changed my life," says Parkinson. "It enabled me to take some massive steps forward in my career as a director, and importantly, you get the means to actually make a film with some of the industrys best (and have fun in the process).”Owner of Stitch Editing, Leo King adds: “We’re so excited to launch our brief for Yarns this year and to be collaborating with Miss Yankey is a real privilege. We have long been fans of her work, so to be using her pieces as our brief is such an exciting new avenue for the competition. We had an amazing group of finalists last year, so we’re looking forward to continuing that momentum and uncovering the next generation of directing talent."Entrants have until 11:59pm on 5th May 2023 to submit their idea, in the form of a script, treatment and short video about themselves. Three finalists will be shortlisted, and Stitch will provide £2,000 funding, plus production and post-production support to make each film from concept to final edit. Finalists will be announced in June, following in-house judging from theentire Stitch team. An awards night will take place in November where the final three films will be screened and winner announced.The brief can be downloaded at ends.yarnsfilm.co.uk with further information about the competition available at yarnsfilm.co.uk.

As an alternative to the usual premiere of winners at the Cannes Film Festival, renowned Super 8mm competition Straight 8 is presenting the eight winners of their 2020 competition in a free global live stream on Wednesday June 24th.Announced last Friday, June 19th, the winners were chosen from the second highest number of entries - more than 200 - in the 21-year history of Straight 8, where entrants shoot a film on a single cartridge of Super 8mm film, and then submit their unprocessed cartridge to the competition.With entries coming from 26 countries this year, the eight winners were chosen by a panel including Katie Metcalfe​, shorts programmer, Sundance Film Festival and video commissioner, NOWNESS; J​oanna Duncombe,​ film programme manager, British Council; award-winning film editor J​ustine Wright​ (L​ast King of Scotland, Locke, Yardie​); Academy-Award nominated DoP ​Robbie Ryan​ (A​merican Honey, The Favourite, Marriage Story)​; and BAFTA, Grammy and Academy-Award winning director A​sif Kapadia​ (S​enna, Amy, Diego Maradona)​.The 45 minute show will showcase the 8 winning films and is packed with bonus content, including commentary from the judges and special guests, plus behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the filmmakers. The show takes place at 8pm BST on June 24th at www.straight8.net. The straight 8 2020 selection is as follows:● “​Crumbs​” (stop-frame animation) by Robot Chocolate / Gabriela Plačková & Robert Hloz. Prague, Czech Republic.● “​A Portrait”​ (documentary) by Carlotta Beck Peccoz. London, UK.● “​Moving Forward​” (satirical comedy) by Ben Slotover. London, UK.● “​OK Commuter”​ (hand-drawn animation) by Ben Walden. Hove, UK.● “​Fly Home​” (comedy-drama) by Joshua Kerr. Newcastle, UK.● “​Daily Life​” (stop-frame animation) by Eugen Stemmle. Aumhüle, Germany.● “​Total Control”​ (comedy) by David Ross. Fort St John, Canada.● “​Oasis”​ (drama) by Kyle Camerer and Greg Hatton. Santa Monica, USA. (Filmed on location in Hawaii)Straight 8 Founder​,​ Ed Sayers comments:​ “Making a short film in the straight 8 way is an incredible challenge for filmmakers. Being allowed one roll of Super 8mm film, with only in-camera editing, and no post-production, means that directors need to be smart: to plan amazingly well and then adapt on the spot when things inevitably change. This year’s selection is superb and because of everything going on in the world, we’ve also adapted and we now have the joy of sharing the films to the whole world at once.”All the Straight 8 2020 films were made before the Covid-19 crisis. By contrast, the more recent Straight 8 Shootout competition - where creative companies compete by straight 8 rules for charity - were made under strict lockdown conditions. Those films will now also be revealed live online at www.straight8.net on June 25th at 2pm. And the Top 25 films from the Straight 8 2020 competition will be shown at 8pm on June 26th.

Homespun Yarns has just launched for 2020, with a new, one-off format necessitated by the pandemic crisis: G.O.A.T. Rather than commissioning new films to be made in the coming months, as normal, the filmmaking competition run by editing company Stitch has been reimagined to look back through its back catalogue of entries to find the G.O.A.T. - Greatest Of All Time.During June, people can view the films made under the Homespun Yarns scheme in the past six years, and vote for their favourites. The Yarns films in the back catalogue have have been split into four categories: documentary, comedy, fantasy and drama. These categories will be released weekly for voting on the Homespun Yarns website.Voting will be open until July 3rd. The winner of each category will be announced and out of those four winners, the one with the most votes will be the G.O.A.T. Set up in 2014, the entirely not-for-profit initiative conceived and funded by Stitch has consistently identified the next wave of directing talent and given 22 finalists a unique platform to turn their treatments into fully formed short films.“When we realised that Homespun Yarns wouldn’t be possible this year we were thinking of how we could keep the initiative going in a pandemic safe way," says Stitch owner Tim Hardy. "We liked the idea of a retrospective as an interesting way to celebrate the achievements of everyone who has been involved in the films since we started. From this we came up with G.O.A.T., the perfect way to keep the competition element alive as well as the initiative itself.”Yarns has also had support from other companies within the industry who collaborate with, and help the filmmakers with their time, expertise and sponsorship. Kodak, The Panavision Group, Wave Music, Universal Music, Globe, Decca Records, Slingshot, Nineteen Twenty, Freefolk and Big Buoy have all been crucial in the success of the competition as well as the individual films.“We are incredibly lucky to have the very best in the business on board with Yarns," says Stitch owner Leo King. "Our partners are all involved from the pre-production stages to advise our directors and guide them through their areas of excellence. This has also allowed everyone involved to to establish contacts at the beginning of their careers that they have been able to build on for their future filmmaking.”• For more information follow @homespunyarns.tv on instagram. Regular content will be posted during the voting period. Watch the trailer, watch the films, and vote for the G.O.A.T., at www.homespunyarns.tv.

Homespun, the music video and content arm of Stitch Editing, have announced the three finalists for their sixth annual film competition, Homespun Yarns, and, for the first time, mentor pairings with an established director for each finalist, to guide them through the whole filmmaking process.Amelia Dimoldenberg, best known as the host of YouTube hit Chicken Shop Date, will make her directing debut in the Yarns competition, being mentored by six-time BAFTA nominee and two-time BAFTA winner Declan Lowney (Another Film Company); Jamie Gyngell, who recently directed the zom-com themed video for Beach Baby's Human Remains, is mentored by Keith McCarthy (Stink Films), who’s string of awards include BAFTA, D&AD, British Arrows and Cannes Lions; and Catherine Humble and Claire Norowzian, an academic and in-house creative respectively, will be making their first film for the Yarns competition, being mentored by Georgi Banks-Davies (Skunk), whose film, Garfield, played at the 2018 Sundance film festival and most recent short, The Fight, premiered at Palm Springs Film Festival. This year’s brief, in association with Kodak, titled “1000 words”, invited entrants to work up a story idea based on a single image that had to be central to their concept. The image was provided to Homespun Yarns by photographer Josh Kern through Kodak, and as a result, the competitoin attracted a record number of entries to the competition - more than double on previous years. A shortlist of nine met the Homespun panel and impressed them with their interpretation of the brief as well as their pitches. Homespun, EP Alice Clarke says the overall standard of entries was extremely high, making the job of choosing the three finalists even more difficult than previously. "As usual we had our work cut out but even more so this year given the staggering amount of entries," she commented. "We have three very special finalists and we’re looking forward to seeing how their films develop – especially with this year’s added bonus of three outstanding director mentors for them to work with.” The Homespun Yarns finalists for 2019 are:Amelia Dimoldenberg - director mentor: Declan Lowney (Another Film Company)Over the past five years, since debuting Chicken Shop Date, as a student side-project, Amelia has fronted shows for Channel 4, ITV, VICE and Copa 90. Throughout her entirely self-funded video series (26 million streams spanning 30+ episodes), she’s shared chicken nuggets and chips with some of entertainment’s heaviest hitters including Santan Dave, Wiley and Big Narstie. Amelia is now looking to explore the other side of the camera with her Yarn’s film as her directing debut.Jamie Gyngell - director mentor: Keith McCarthy (Stink Films)Jamie began his directing life making club promos and comedy sketches, which are probably still lurking somewhere on the internet. His film Big Dog, a grounded supernatural horror, was funded by Film London’s 'London Calling’ scheme, while Behind The Filter, a bleak view into the lonely lives of instagram influencers - made with Phoebe Walsh - is in development with Big Talk. His latest short, a contained horror called Listen To Your Mother, is shooting this Autumn.Catherine Humble & Claire Norowzian - director mentor: Georgi Banks-Davies (Skunk)Catherine Humble is a visiting lecturer in English and Creative Writing at Kingston University, and has a PhD on Raymond Carver. She has published numerous essays on American literature, film, and psychoanalysis, and is a longstanding arts journalist for several publications, including the TLS, the Telegraph, Prospect, and the Independent. As well as editing fiction and non-fiction, she has published poetry and short stories, and is keen to make the move into filmmaking. Claire Norowzian is an in house creative who started her career in broadcasting at MTV followed by Nickelodeon, where she began writing and directing promos and went on to win two children’s BAFTAs.The entirely not for profit initiative has consistently identified the next wave of directing talent, providing finalists with a unique platform to turn their treatments into fully formed short films with the support of the industry’s foremost talent.As well as the support from the mentors, the Yarns finalists will also benefit from a whole host of experts, including; Kodak, The Panavision Group, Wave, Performance Film & Media Insurance, Freefolk, Big Buoy and 1920.The awards night will take place on November 21st where the final three films will be screened and winner announced.

One super 8 cartridge no editing film challenge straight 8 has opened its doors to the straight 8 shootout challenge - a 2019 charity ​shootout​ format for all creative companies around the globe, where the accepted entries and resulting films will be screened for the first time ever at an event at the Cannes Film Festival in June.A maximum of 20 companies can register for the event to make a film and registration is open now, with entry of films open from April 1st 2019. More info can be found at www.straight8.net/shootout. The straight 8 shootout challenge is to make a 2.5 minute short film created entirely in-camera on just one cartridge of Super 8mm film. Every shot is taken in story order, with no opportunity for re-takes or editing. Any visual effects, colouring and titling must be done the old-fashioned way: as part of the shoot, with the camera. Super 8 doesn’t record sound, so soundtracks are made ‘blind’ and must be original.Entrants send their exposed but un-developed film cartridges to straight 8 partners Cinelab London who process and scan the films. straight 8 then lines up each soundtrack with the first frame of each film. It’s that ‘simple’.And then the first time anyone sees even their own work - no matter how or if it came out - is at the premiere in a huge cinema in Cannes in June, packed with an audience of their peers and competitors. A live vote at the cinema immediately follows the screening and winning companies donate prize money to the charities of their choice, as well as taking home a recycled camera trophy made by shootout sponsors, Machine Shop.Because every film is shown at the premiere, 20 is the maximum number of companies that may enter. To have a chance to enter, interested companies must register on the straight 8 site ASAP. This year a special 21st entry is being donated by straight 8 to British Arrows Doorways, which finds and engages with young people from all backgrounds and connects them with the advertising industry. So be careful who you’re up against.straight 8 is celebrating its 20th birthday this year. Since launching shootout in 2016 with APA London, its success has been proven at Cannes, Ciclope and Adfest and most recently the first straight 8 shootout online with a live online premiere broadcast where entering companies in USA, Canada, Argentina, London, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tokyo saw their work at 2pm GMT, which was 6am PST and 11pm in Tokyo.Many top companies from around the world have now risen to straight 8’s shootout challenge. See some of the companies who’ve entered and some of the charities who’ve benefited to date, at straight8.net/shootoutThe 2019 competition will premiere at 11am on June 20th at the Arcades Cinema, Cannes. Tickets are already available at straight8.net/shootout. A welcome breakfast for entering teams and ticket-holders will be held from 10am at the cinema - hosted by Madam Films, a long time supporter and first time sponsor of straight 8 shootout. And in partnership with charity cycle ride The FireFlies Tour, £5 from every ticket sold for the premiere will go towards their fundraising for Bloodwise.

straight 8 is back for its 20th anniversary year, with a few remaining places to go to fill the full compliment of entries to the 2019 competition.straight 8 is a global film competition that invites anyone anywhere to make a short film on one cartridge of Super 8mm film, editing only with each pull of their camera’s trigger. No post-production, no grading, no fiddling or fixing is permitted. The soundtrack is created without having seen the film and must be original. Each film’s maximum length is 3 minute 20 seconds - dictated by the 50 feet / 15 metres of celluloid film in that one Super 8mm cartridge.The first time successful entrants see even their own work is at one of straight 8’s packed and riotous premieres. Since 2003, the best entries are screened at straight 8 premieres at Cannes Film Festival, again without anyone seeing their work first. 2019 marks the 20th anniversary year of straight 8 and their 14th Cannes premiere.The jury for straight 8 2019 includes, for their fourth and third year respectively; Academy and BAFTA-award winning director Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna, The Warrior), and editor Justine Wright (Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void, Locke, Yardie).New to the jury this year are DoP Robbie Ryan (The Favourite, American Honey, I, Daniel Blake, Slow West, and numerous music videos) and actor/screenwriter Steve Oram (Sightseers, Sally4Ever, The End of the F***ing World) who has also been involved as a director/actor in numerous classic straight 8 films previously.Since launching only to their current community, over 100 of 150 available places have already been taken, by filmmakers on 5 continents in 17 countries.There is no theme set. Filmmakers from all backgrounds and levels of experience, including first-timers, are encouraged to embrace the level playing field that straight 8 represents. Newcomers are encouraged.straight 8 2019 is open now until all the places are taken. Entry is only available on the straight 8 website.Ed Sayers, straight 8 founder, comments: “It’s hard to believe that it’ll be 20 years this May since we screened the first 22 straight 8 films, in a packed West End cinema in London. The efforts people have gone to to make memorable cinema, with such ridiculous restriction, continues to be mind-boggling and the growing selection of films inspire ever more waves of filmmakers willing to give it a crack. The family grows, and the door is always open.”Asif Kapadia comments: “I started shooting on super 8 and 16mm. What I love about straight 8 is it reminds you that film is precious; every frame, every second is valuable. Shooting without a screen, no sound, no playback, no way to delete mistakes, encourages you to think before you shoot and to trust your gut instincts. ​This is how the masters like Hitchcock and Scorsese started. That’s what I love about straight 8, it’s the magic of Cinema, in its purest form.”