The Chronicle & Echo contest, which was launched in March, was a huge success and attracted a large audience to the red-carpet screening on Monday night.

The competition, run in conjunction with Vue Cinema, at Sol Central, Northampton, was open to anyone and the only remit was to make a short film of no more than five minutes.

Out of the 30 entries, a panel of judges selected eight finalists who all had their films screened at Vue on a digital projector with full surround sound.

The winners, chosen following a month-long public vote, were then announced and awarded trophies and cinema passes by Chron editor, David Summers.

This was followed by a reception, in the L8 bar, in Sol Central, where the film-makers got to meet people working in the film and arts industry.

Features editor Lily Canter, who co-ordinated the competition, said: "It was a brilliant night and a great showcase for all the exceptional talent in the county.

"This year was a bit of an experiment but we were overwhelmed by the response and quality of films.

"It is great to see people young and old getting enthusiastic about film and being creative. Everyone who took part should be applauded.

"However I am really pleased that the public voted Confined as their favourite as it is an extremely professional film, yet was made on a shoe-string by non-professionals. It is an excellent example of what can be done with the right vision and technique.

"Due to the popularity of the contest in its pilot year we now hope to make it an annual event and next year it will be even bigger and better.
"I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part, to Vue Cinema for their support and the L8 bar for hosting our reception."

Winner: Confined
Directed by Dean Twaites
Dean said: "We are obviously really pleased to have won. The quality of all the films was really high and there was a really good range, so we really didn't think we would win.
"I think we would have been pleased to lose to Lemon Man, because that was brilliant.
"We had a lot of fun making the film because we had a great team to work with, and I think people probably liked it because it had quite a professional feel. It looked good on the big screen.
"It's great to support a film competition like this, because it really encourages people to get creative.
"We were happy Clipston School were third because you could tell the kids all got really into it, and that's really what it should be about.
"We'd definitely enter again so bring on next year. We want to retain the championship."

Second: Northampton: A Personal View
Directed by Nick Welch
Nick said: "I loved going out and producing this film on my own, and hopefully people liked it because it didn't focus too much on the negative side of Northampton.
"There are a lot of positive aspects to the town that sometimes get overlooked, which I think the film showed off.
"The quality and range of the films were very good, so it was difficult to tell who was going to get into the final three, and even while I was watching them all I couldn't tell who would get picked.
"I think it's really important for people to support a local event like this. The range of films that were entered shows how much talent there is in Northampton."

Third: Goodbye Samantha Green
By Clipston School
Helen Pearson, Clipston Primary School film club leader, said: "The children are thrilled and it's a reward for all their hard work. They learnt a lot about teamwork while they were making the film and had fun as well. I'm not sure why our film was chosen, but I think the outtakes were quite popular. It's a very nice surprise.
"I don't think I'll have any choice about entering the school next year because the children are all very keen, especially now they're going home with a gong."


To view all the entries and comment on them click here.