Homespun Yarns Spins Out Competition Winners

Four UK storytellers were given the chance to transform their stories into short films thanks to the Homespun Yarns competition.

Currently in its second year, the competition was set up last year by Stitch editing and is back due to popular demand.

This year’s theme Remember that idea you had? encouraged participants to submit a brief for a chance to realise their idea with a £1,500 budget and gain experience working alongside a Homespun expert.

“The quality of the pitches and ideas this year was incredible,” says Homespun producer Alice Clarke. “Despite, in some cases, a very limited experience in film making.”

Freelance producer Caroline Hicks (above) won the judge’s vote as she secured the winning entry for her short film Vanya (below), about an Eastern European minicab driver. Hicks won £500 and the film is now being circulated on the film festival circuit.

Inspired by her own experience with an unlicensed driver, Hicks imagined the driver’s quest for love by and created a romantic comedy using her home surroundings.

The three runners-up included Chris Thomas, Rupert Cresswell and Florence Winter Hill, who were all able to get their ideas realised also.

Thomas’ Cropped (below) was inspired by the feature film Signs and Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends, merging comedy and sci-fi. The spot focusses on a tour-guide, who leads a group into the English countryside to see the crop circles. However, after their car breaks down, the guide's previous suspicions of alien activity are quickly quashed.

Charlie Cloudhead, directed by MPC Creative director Cresswell, explores one man’s struggle to hide his emotions and conveys his endless pursuit of happiness.

The cloud above Charlie’s head was made from papier mache and cotton wool and hung from a wire to literally follow him around on set. The film is currently being entered into film festivals, so only the trailer is available, below.

Final runner-up was sixth former Florence Winter Hill, who created My Beloved Monster (below) about childhood and explored the relationship between animals and children. Stitch co-founder and editor Tim Hardy lent his skills on the project.