Steven Langridge

I had the idea for 'PLAYING AWAY' around 10 years ago, whilst making a sandcastle on the beach at Weymouth. I feel I should point out that this wasn’t a solo build – I had tasked my son with both excavation and sand distribution. He later progressed to project managing his own builds, but that’s a different story.  As the castle took shape, I noticed an older couple just sat together, in silence, looking out to sea. They didn’t appear to exchange a single word throughout their lunch and, when finished, wandered off arm-in-arm. I still assume they were married and had been blissfully happy together for decades but, in retrospect, I guess I could’ve just witnessed a silent, non-violent, hostage situation. The castle crumbled shortly afterwards.

 At the time I’d been trying to write various ‘dialogue free’ short screenplays, but this was the one that I stuck with and continued to develop over the years, always with the intention of making it eventually. I wanted there to be a real reason for this outwardly content couple to be silent throughout the entire story, and so slowly developed the characters, their challenges, and the situation we find them in.

I entered the competition because I already knew of FILM EXPO SOUTH, having attended previous events, and due to the added incentive that the winning script would be produced. Having grown up in Poole and living now in Hampshire, it felt a perfect fit to submit a script that was also inspired by a trip to the Dorset coast.  

I’d been mainly working on documentaries for the past couple of years and hadn’t found much time to write. Submitting, ‘PLAYING AWAY’ was really a way to try and kickstart my writing again in the hope that I might make it through to the latter stages of the competition. To win the competition was mind-blowing, only to be replaced by a surreal feeling a few months later as I watched Aldo and June come to life, surrounded by an amazing crew, as they prepared to shoot the first scene in the amusement arcade.

The entire process has been inspirational from start to finish. I’ve watched extremely talented and committed people giving up their time, to produce and film a story that had lived in my head for the past ten years, and only came into being due to a badly built sandcastle.

'PLAYING AWAY' Poster

When we first approached EM Jayne Graphics to ask if she would like to design our film poster, it was lovely to see how pleased Emily was.  Emily did have reservations as she had never designed a film poster before but we assured her we would be there along the way to provide advice and feedback on each version of the poster.

A note from Emily...I am extremely pleased with the outcome and it was a pleasure to work on the FILM EXPO SOUTH winners short film project 'PLAYING AWAY'.  

Designed by EM Jayne Graphics / Photograph by Kirsty Langridge 

Starring Derek Griffiths 

as

ALDO

Derek has enjoyed a long and successful career with TV appearances on many familiar dramas including Coronation Street, Midsomer Murders, Silent Witness, Holby City and Casualty.  On stage, he’s featured in many productions including The Mousetrap, Driving Miss Daisy, Cat on a hot tin roof, Lucky Man, Twelfth Night for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Peter Pan, Beauty & the Beast, Miss Saigon and the Government Inspector at the Manchester Royal Exchange.  His feature films have included Run for your wife, Gallowwalkers and Fierce Creatures.

Starring Rowena Bentley 

as

JUNE

Rowena Bentley is an actress, known for Eat the Rich, Winterskin and The House of Violent Desire. 

Since covering a Post Graduate Acting course in 2013, Rowena Bentley’s acting career has gone from strength to strength.  Rowena has vast experience covering Stage, Feature Films, Commercials, Television, Internet, Stills Photography, Music Videos, Idents, Voice Overs and Short Films.

Beth Bidwell

Julian Southall

Joe Little

Viktor Ilic

Logan Young

A D Cooper

Director / Producer

Gillian Tully

Producer

Caroline Spence

Associate Producer

David Cawley

Director of Photography

Mandy Steele

Casting Director

James Atkins

Script Supervisor

Patryk Thomas

1st AD

Federico Pantaleoni

Gaffer

Paul Bird

Gaffer

Edward Swift

Assistant Cameraman

Jack White

Sound Recordist

Daniel Hanko

Boom Operator

Peter G Barnes

Set Design & Build

Charlie Forshaw

Hair & Make Up

Phoebe Smith

Wardrobe

Daniel E Hall

Production Assistant

Katie Morrison

Production Assistant

Simon Woodward

BTS & Stills Photographer

Emily Claydon

Marketing Materials

Kirsty Langridge

Stills Photographer

Ali Somerville-Jones

BSL Advisor

John Wood

Sound Designer & Mixer   

Matt Black

Composer

Gary Tobyn

Editor

Terry Wookey

Editor

Carol Younghusband

Carol has enjoyed writing in many mediums including film, TV, and theatre. Her eight short films include WHAT HAPPENED TO EVIE selected for 40 festivals and winner of 14 awards; NIGHT ARMOUR, selected for 25 festivals and winner of 11 awards.
 
Her short film THE TOUCH was one of three scripts awarded funding at the Berlinale Film Festival and subsequently directed by BBC's Simon Pitts, who also directed Carol's short film TEN GLORIOUS SECONDS. And her latest short film CHARLIE’S FREEDOM was shot in Bristol and is currently in post-production.
 
Carol has written several children’s theatre productions and been published by Samuel French. She was an additional writer on TV's Emmy award-winning SMACK THE PONY and worked alongside Avalon and Celador on two of her own TV comedy creations.

She has an MA in screenwriting (TV & Film) and is currently developing a TV Thriller Series THE TRUTH, a Comedy Drama 16 DITTO and has recently finalised a Children's novel SHADOW OF THE GAMES. 

www.carolyounghusband.com

'ANNIE PANNIE'

written by Carol Younghusband

I wish I knew where the idea for 'ANNIE PANNIE' came from, but unfortunately I don’t. And that’s not unusual for me. 

A flicker of an idea starts to form in my subconscious and I play around with it for several weeks until it starts to develop into something more coherent. I’d appreciate these ideas coming fully formed, but sadly they never do! 

What I love about ANNIE PANNIE', is that it’s my first quirky horror. I usually write sensitive, emotional films so this came as somewhat of a surprise to me. But I did enjoy my main character’s dark and unpredictable nature when I finished developing her. 

In my writing, I like to explore the circumstances into why people end up doing what they do. What has brought or driven them to this one crucial moment? And what was the event in their lives that ripples across time to inform who they are today. I hope this comes across in ANNIE PANNIE'.

I entered the FILM EXPO SOUTH competition because I had just finished the script, it was an organisation I very much respected and it had many judges onboard that I admired.

It’s always a huge thrill to have so many talented people work on your idea to bring it to life and I know how much work and effort has gone into the making of ANNIE PANNIE' so a big thank you to the Director, Deanna Dewey, and all the talented cast and crew.

I very much look forward to seeing the final production on the big screen and would like to thank Gillian Tully at FILM EXPO SOUTH for enabling this exciting opportunity. 

For more info about the film please visit: www.anniepannie.co.uk/

STARRING

Georgia Henshaw

as

Kikki

Georgia is a Welsh actress who started acting when she was just 11. She is best known for her lead roles on British television including THE ACE GANG, Rosie in ANGUS, THONGS and PERFECT SNOGGING, and JJ's love interest, Lara, in SKINS.

She also appeared as Cassie Claypole in TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS and starred in WATERLOO ROAD as difficult, down to earth student Madi Diamond. Most recently she has enjoyed key roles in CALL THE MIDWIFE, CASUALTY and DOCTORS. And it’s her voice you will currently hear on all the Moonpig ads.

STARRING

Nick Bartlett

as

Ryan

Nick Bartlett is a prolific actor who has appeared in several high budget movies including WORLD WAR Z, GANGS OF NEW YORK and GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

He has also featured in many TV shows across the years including EASTENDERS, CASUALTY, TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION and THE BILL to name but a few.  

In addition, he’s a much in demand live theatre actor and recently starred in productions including THE LADY IN THE VAN, ABIGAIL’S PARTY and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

Deanna Dewey

Director

Pol Camarero Just

Director of Photography

Steve McLean

Sound

John Cawley

Production Manager

Julia Perkova 

Make Up

Michael Walters

Compser

Terry Wookey 

Editor

Solca Renato

Special Effects

Christopher Trim 

Colourist

Ruanth Chrisley Thyssen

Sound Design

John Bruce

 Additionl FX & Graphics

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS

GOLD WINNER - Steven Langridge, 

SILVER AWARD - Carol Younghusband

BRONZE AWARD - Felicity Fair Thompson

WILD CARD  - Martyn Rowland

We would like to thank all the scriptwriters who entered the competition, the judges for giving up their time to read and provide comments on the scripts and to everyone who has supported the script writing competition, the crews, businesses and actors. without you the competition would not have moved from Script 2 Screen.

Arnaldo Stafa from AKI Studio London who offered the Wild Card to produce the 3^rd short film is currently in pre-production, planning to move into production in November this year.

Congratulations to Script Writer Martyn Rowland who was the winner of the Wild Card.

 We are currently working on the next competition and announcements will be made in the near future.

 Thank you from all the team at FILM EXPO SOUTH and the Dorset and Hampshire Film Offices.

Gillian Tully

CEO / Founder