Graduate filmmaker shortlisted for two awards at international film festival

A filmmaker inspired by his own family relationships has been shortlisted for two awards at the inaugural Essex International Film Festival.

Marty Pritchard, who graduated from the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies in 2023 with a degree in film studies, will compete for the Best Essex film and Best Student film awards at the Festival’s closing ceremony on 30 March.

His short film, Roadside Funeral, which he wrote and directed, follows two feuding brothers as they escort their mother’s coffin across country to her funeral.

The film, which was part-funded by the University’s Click crowdfunding initiative, was filmed on the road between Colchester and Marty’s hometown, Buntingford in Hertfordshire.

Speaking about the film, Marty said: “It was a very personal project for me, inspired by amalgamating and fictionalising several relationships in my life. The family dynamics of the film were heavily based on my relationship with my mother and brother but sensationalised to try and say something personal about the triviality of grief.”

Marty made the film independently with the help of fellow Essex student Dominic McCurrie, finding his own actors and tackling a number of challenges including organising location permissions, building props, and shooting and editing in all weathers.

“It is probably the most challenging thing I've ever done as it completely consumed my life for quite some time,” he said.

Marty, who cites Stanley Kubrick and Akira Kurosawa as his two all-time favourite directors, was inspired to make films from a young age.

“I remember always borrowing the family camcorder and creating little shorts with my friends. My desire to film probably stems from having my own DVD player as a kid but not many DVDs. I'd rewatch the 'behind the scenes' and 'extras' of the same few films over and over to the point where I knew I had to create films for myself.”

He hopes the new Essex International Film Festival, which offers masterclasses and networking as well as screenings and awards, will boost young filmmakers and inspire others to pick up a camera.

“Short films are so hard to get seen by the right people and it is opportunities like these that offer a chance for newer filmmakers to progress their careers. I hope that local film students will recognise the chance on their doorstep and be inspired to get more projects out into the public eye,” he said.

The Essex International Film Festival is the first county-wide film festival in the UK.