Teesdale-based coming-of-age film to be premiered in Barnard Castle

A FEATURE film set in and around Barnard Castle will be screened for the first time at The Witham this month.
Produced by Ambitious Motion Pictures, Verve is a coming of age tale written and directed by Teesdale filmmaker Oliver Smith with support from Teesdale Action Partnership, The Turrets Youth Theatre and The Mewhort Trust.
It is on at The Witham on Wednesday, October 26, 7.30pm. Mr Smith said: “I’ve been trying to get this film made ever since I left college in 2006. “I’ve always wanted to make a guerrilla feature – it was at the top of my bucket-list, but it took a while to find the right people to help make it a reality.”
Mr Smith produced the film alongside his partner, Libby Harding, and enlisted members of the dale’s youth theatre for the lead roles.
“I had built up a relationship with the cast over several years through The Turrets and The Castle Players, and a young people’s filmmaking club called Amplify which I set up in 2013. It occurred to me that they were slowly aging into these roles so I dug out the screenplay and started to rewrite it for them in 2014”.
The 30-day shoot was undertaken by a crew of just two people, with the help and generosity of residents and businesses providing locations such as The Bowes Museum, Maxwells DIY, Nest Cafe, The Pizza Cottage and Teesdale School.
“We feel a huge debt of gratitude to the many friends and strangers who contributed time, spaces and props to the production for little or no money. People were very curious about the project and incredibly obliging, though I’m not sure they always knew what they were letting themselves in for,” Mr Smith said.
The film stars Sean Mitchell, 19, Ella Blackburn, 17, Owen Carter, 18, Elliot Bevan, 18, and Katherine Harding, 18.
“Not everything has made it into the final cut, but at 80 minutes the film is fun and breezy, and hopefully reflects well on young people in the dale. I’d encourage everyone to come to this screening as there may not be another chance to see the film until summer 2017 due to film festival exhibition rules”.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session, moderated by James Grieves from Leafhouse films, and all proceeds from the event will contribute towards a professional sound mix and festival entry fees. The film contains infrequent strong language and should be considered a 15 certificate. Tickets are £10 and available from www.ambitiousmotionpictures.com/tickets using the password: amp16. They can also be purchased over the counter from the Witham box office.