Popcorn at the ready! The first Barnes Film Festival launches this month. Sophie Farrah meets film fanatic and festival founder Sam Cullis
Forget Sundance, forget Cannes – the red carpet is about to be rolled out for the Barnes Film Festival, making its debut appearance this month. Taking place across four local venues this three-day film bonanza boasts an action-packed schedule of screenings, industry workshops, expert Q&As and more; and promises to inspire and entertain both film-makers and film lovers alike.
The man responsible for bringing the lights, camera and action to SW13 is local teacher Sam Cullis, who has clearly been passionate about film from a young age.
“When I was younger my brother and I used to record ourselves re-enacting all of our favourite films using our parents’ video camera” laughs Sam. “I think the tapes still exist somewhere. Never to be found – hopefully!”
Fast forward 20 years or so and Sam is now Head of Media Studies at the Harrodian School in Barnes, and founder of the enormously popular Barnes Film Academy – a local film-making school for young screenwriters, actors and cinematographers aged between eight and 15.
“I normally teach GCSEs and A-Levels, but I realised that there was a real buzz for film-making at an even younger age,” explains Sam “so I set up the Barnes Film Academy in 2012 for students who didn’t want to do the sport camps and the other camps that were out there. I didn’t know what the uptake would be – it was a bit of a punt really, but within a week I was totally oversubscribed. I had about 30 kids, all tearing round Barnes common with cameras – it was brilliant!”
The popularity of the Barnes Film Academy continued to grow, so much so that it now runs courses over most of the school holidays, enabling its young students to experience the entire film-making process from start to finish.
“We’ve made a total of 10 films now” Sam proudly tells me, “and the kids work so hard on them and I thought – how do we get these films to a wider audience?
I applied to some film festivals but quickly realised that it’s a really hard process to actually get your film shown! So that’s when I started thinking about setting up a new film festival in Barnes.”
And so, the Barnes Film Festival was born.
“There’s a literature festival, a food festival, but no film festival!” exclaims Sam, “and there are so many people involved in the film and media industries living in Barnes, Richmond and nearby – I really hoped that it would be a good fit.”
Boy, was he right – local support has been plentiful and thanks to a few well-known names the event is already firmly on the film festival map. Star of Julie and Julia, The Hunger Games and The Devil Wears Prada (to name just a few), Emmy award-winning actor and director Stanley Tucci is a patron of the festival.
Having lived in Barnes for several years The Lovely Bones actor has said in the past that he loves the area due to “its proximity to the river, its beautiful duck pond and the nearby Wetland Centre” – which is handy considering that the brand new screening room at the Barnes Wetland Centre is one of the festival’s four venues, along with the OSO Arts Centre, Rose House and the Olympic Studios. Another notable Patron is young British actor George MacKay, who starred in the 2014 film Pride and also grew up in Barnes.
“We’ve also got a team of about 10-15 fantastic volunteers!” Sam is quick to add. “They are all passionate about film and about bringing film to the area, and they are helping to set up the festival for free. They all deserve a prize!”
Speaking of prizes – surely no film festival would be complete without a bit of healthy competition? At the Barnes Film Festival the challenge is aimed at aspiring young film-makers, aged 25 and under. Entries will be judged by a panel of leading industry professionals and all short-listed films will be screened during the festival, with winners announced at the closing night gala.
There’s an impressive hoard of prizes up for grabs, including a state of camera and sound equipment, money-can’t-buy industry experiences and the chance to have your short film screened at the prestigious BFI on the South Bank.
“There is definitely a focus on encouraging the next generation of film-makers,” explains Sam. “Young people really need the opportunity to be able to make a film and show it to an audience”
A chance for us to see the next Steven Spielberg in the making, perhaps?
Boundless creativity is proactively encouraged, although each film entered to the competition should be linked to the festival’s overall theme, which for its inaugural year is ‘green’.
“The environment is very important to me and to many young people, too, so we’re trying to encourage students to think about the world around them and to consider making films that aren’t just for entertainment purposes, but films that carry a deeper meaning or a message”
The festival’s thought-provoking theme is also evident in the line-up of award-winning, professionally made films that will be shown over the course of the weekend. Already confirmed is a fascinating documentary that looks at the impact of the fashion industry on the environment called The True Cost, followed by a Q&A with the film’s producer and fashion writer Lucy Siegle.
Another one to look out for is Cowspiracy – the critically acclaimed film recently championed by Leonardo DiCaprio about the similarly detrimental effects of the meat industry – food for thought, quite literally.
And when you’ve run out of popcorn there’s also a plethora of workshops on offer, including animation, make-up for film, casting tips, scriptwriting and much more; and whilst there is plenty to see and do Sam also hopes that the festival will also provide some valuable networking for aspiring film-makers.
“It’s important for young people to have that opportunity – whatever kind of background they come from,” Sam enthuses.
“Yes, the festival is based in Barnes, but I would like anybody from any area or background to come. You don’t have to know anyone in the industry – you can just be a young person who loves film, or even a pensioner who loves film! If you’re interested in film then please come along!”
The Barnes Film Festival opens on Friday September 2 at the London Wetland Centre. For more information visit barnesfilmfestival.com
Check out our Theatre + Arts Section for great local theatre stories like our interview with former Loose Women presenter Jane McGowan ahead of her new show – Making Memories
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