FROM SILVER AWARD TO SILVER SCREEN!
My short film script – ANNIE PANNIE - was marinading in the deep, dark recesses of my computer when I saw Film Expo South’s screenwriting competition for a five-minute script.
I spent the next few weeks fine-tuning it until I was satisfied that I had a quirky, contemporary portrayal of a troubled girl whose aim was to brutally avenge a series of dog abusers and whose best friend was a lookalike doll called Annie Pannie. I know … all a bit weird, eh?
I entered the competition and was delighted a month later to receive notification that it had made it through to the long list. Following close on its heels, I learned it had been short-listed and a month later I received an email congratulating me on winning the silver award!! How cool was that?! It’s always a huge kick to win an award, as writing can be a rather insular existence with very little feedback.
But what did the silver award even mean? I knew that the gold prize winner would have their script turned into a film, but what of silver?
Gillian Tully of Film Expo South didn’t leave me in suspense for long. She phoned to congratulate and inform me that Deanna Dewey, one of the judges and local filmmaker, loved the script for ANNIE PANNIE and would like to direct and produce it.
Having co-produced several short films myself, I knew how much money, time and effort goes into the making of these shorts, so I was delighted that ANNIE PANNIE would get to see the light of day (or dark of cinema!). There are very few competitions worldwide with awards that enable scripts to be produced, so it was an incredible prize to win.
What I didn’t know then, was that it would be filmed on the sunny Island of Tenerife. Pity my passport had recently expired!
Deanna and I discussed the style of the script, the actors and crew. And gradually over the course of the next few months, the doll was bought, the cast and crew were starting to form, and the location was taking shape.
The main actress, Georgia Henshaw, had already starred in another short film of mine BLUE ROOM, and I thought she’d be ideal for the main role. Deanna saw her showreel and agreed. Now, we needed to find an actor which proved far trickier especially when we received over 350 applications. Deanna whittled it down to a more manageable number and we agreed on the fab ‘baddie’ Nick Bartlett.
As the film was being shot in Tenerife, I was unable to help out on set, so I built a dedicated website – www.anniepannie.co.uk - and launched a couple of social media pages, furnishing them with Deanna and Terry’s ‘behind the scene’ stills.
Deanna sent me several initial edits of the film before I saw the actual preview screening for cast and crew on Saturday 15 Oct 2022 at The Harbour Lights Picture House in Southampton which turned out to be a great film and networking event.
The screening started with a beautifully, sensitive portrayal of Steve Langridge’s award-winning film – PLAYING AWAY – followed by our little film ANNIE PANNIE that smacked everyone across the chops with a delicious serving of over-the-top horror!
I’m always delighted to see my scripts make it to the screen and it was a pity that Deanna couldn’t be at the preview to enjoy all the plaudits.
We now start our festival season which is always exciting and I hope that ANNIE PANNIE gets selected for some strong global festivals.
I’d like to add a big thanks to Gillian Tully of Film Expo South for launching the competition and making this event happen. To Deanna Dewey and her husband Terry Wookey for taking ANNIE PANNIE to their hearts, to Georgia Henshaw and Nick Bartlett for giving it their acting all, to Mike Walters for his incredible score and all the other cast and crew who gave of their time and expertise to bring this little film to life! It was all very much appreciated.
By Carol Younghusband