Triple triumph for film-maker
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By Hayley Robinson
A film about the trials of children in
foster care won three awards at a US film festival.
Hell’s Pavement, written by Keith
Gorman, of School Lane, Borden, was nominated for Best Feature film
at the four-day Beloit International Film Festival in
Wisconsin.
But it did better than anyone
expected when Mr Gorman and his team walked away with The Josh
Burton Award of Excellence – the equivalent of the Palm d’Or Award
at Cannes – the Ken Hendrick People’s Award, which is voted for by
the festival’s audiences, and the emerging filmmaker’s grant of
$2,000.
The film, which tells the story of
an 11-year-old girl removed from the care of her mother, generated
enormous interest among foster parents and social workers from more
than 30 countries when it was first screened at the World Fostering
Conference in Dublin last year. And, after an overwhelming demand
to allow a wider audience to see the film, it was shown at The Lexi
Cinema in London last November.
Mr Gorman, who invested £500,000 of
his own money in the film, said: "It’s wildly exciting. There were
140 films shown at the festival and we walked away on the first day
with not only the grant but also the Josh Burton Award which is a
big award.
"Then we received the people’s
award on the last day. People were given score cards to rate each
film they saw and we came out on top!"
Mr Gorman was joined by his mum
Brigidin, his wife Claire, actor Connor Byrne and the director Andy
Kemp.
They met the festival’s main
sponsor, film producer Diane Hendrick, who has worked on films such
as Braveheart.
He said: "Diane spent time with us
chatting about the film so that was a big thrill.
"Hell’s Pavement is my first film.
I’ve already got one in the pipeline but I’m not going to talk
about it at the moment."
To view a trailer of the film visit
www.hellspavement.com
Monday, March 01 2010
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