South Shields born brothers win UK's biggest award for film
Posted on Sun, 7 Dec 2008
David and Keith Lynch, two film-making brothers born in South Shields, were amongst the team who won £250,000 this week-end at 'The Big Pitch' dubbed "the X-Factor of Film" - an innovative Skillset supported competitive training programme - that attracted over 200 applications from the UK’s most exciting up-and-coming filmmakers when it was launched as part of Northern Lights Film Festival 2007.
David and Keith, along with producer Simon Thomas and director Brad Watson, joined four other finalists at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art with a final 15 minutes in which to sell their feature film, Different Shades of Graham.
A panel of industry experts including Clare Binns (Programming Director at City Screen), Brian Gordon (Director of The Northern Lights Film Festival) and Denise Parkinson, (Head of Film at Bauer Media) gave their verdicts but it has also been up to voting public to help decide who wins the £250,000 prize by voting for their favourite film online at www.the-big-pitch.com.
The evening - which was the closing gala of NLFF 08, was hosted by one of the most influential UK film cirtics, and Chair of The Critics Circle, Jason Solomons, who introduced the four finalists:
- Blackout, a dark neo-noir thriller directed by award-winning short film director Derek Boyes
- Different Shades of Graham, a non-linear psychological thriller where David T. Lynch, Keith Lynch and Brad Watson will share the directorial duties and each direct one of the three acts
- Til Jihad Do Us Part, a romantic comedy written by Shai Hussain that tells the story of Meena and her growing suspicions that her new fiancé may be a terrorist
- The Brightness, a satirical-comedy set in 2012 on the eve of the apocalypse, written and directed by Gary Reich
It was a tightly run contest, but Different Shades of Graham received the most votes and has won production finance from Moxie Makers for their film (minimum £150,000) together with a post-production deal with Molinare, guaranteed UK distribution with Soda Makers and international sales representation with Moxiehouse Entertainment.
The film will receive its red-carpet Gala Premiere as part of the Northern Lights Film Festival in 2009 all of which brings the total award to a staggering £250,000!
The Big Pitch forms part of NewcastleGateshead’s world-class programme of festivals and events in 2008 managed by culture10.
