Potting shed sows seeds for film idea

IT seems that a potting shed in Ilkley is just as good a place to make a film as Hollywood.

For this is where a team of Yorkshire film-makers helped piece together The Astronomer's Sun, a stunning animated short that has been nominated for a prestigious British Animation Award.

The film, funded by Screen Yorkshire along with Channel 4 and the UK Film Council, has been shortlisted in the Public Choice category for Best Short Film and is being shown at a special screening at the National Media Museum tomorrow.

The Astronomer's Sun tells the story of a young man, accompanied by a mysterious mechanical bear, who visits an abandoned observatory to confront memories of his past and follow his father on a journey into the unknown. This journey focuses on relationships and what it is to be human, using frame by frame animation with stop motion puppets – the same technique used in Fantastic Mr Fox, Coraline and Wallace and Gromit.

Written and directed by Simon Cartwright and Jessica Cope, the film was produced by Duchy Parade Films, based in Harrogate, and is about to be taken on a tour of 27 venues across the UK with the other shortlisted films.

The Astronomer's Sun was made under the 4mations Digital Shorts Scheme, which supports emerging animators and directors and David Bunting, one of the film's producers, says the project was created in Yorkshire. "The Astronomer's Sun was made in Yorkshire, it was edited here, it was scripted here, the music was made by an up-and-coming Leeds band and the sound mixing was done in Skipton, so it's all been done here."

Duchy Parade Films became involved early on, providing the two young directors with access to a professional editing team, including Emmy award-winning sound designer Dave Aston. "We got involved with them very early on when the story was still a concept and saw it right the way through the animation process," explains Bunting. "There aren't many opportunities to make short, independent films like this, which is why this is so fantastic and it's great to be able to take the film to every major city in the country so that members of the public can come and see it."

Director Simon Cartwright agrees: "The Astronomer's Sun started off very small, the initial concept being to make a stop motion film from reclaimed and scrap materials to keep costs to a minimum. Our hope has always been that anyone who watches this film will find something to take away with them and that each time they watch it they'll see something new."

Bunting says the fact that the film, aimed more at adults than children, has been nominated for a national award vindicates all the hard work. "The British Animation Awards is a collection of the best new films that have been made, so to be included among those is a real honour."

The awards are held every two years and this year's winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in April, at the British Film Institute. Bunting says the awards, along with financial support from Channel 4 and the UK Film Council is crucial for the future of small, independent film-makers in the UK. "The software involved in making animation is coming down in price which means that smaller companies are able to compete, but at the same time animation short film production is a bit of an endangered breed which is why opportunities like this are so important. There is a wealth of film-making talent in the UK and it's important we continue to support that. It's been a pleasure to work on The Astronomer's Sun because to able to shepherd wonderful talent like Simon and Jess is a real privilege."

The Astronomer's Sun is being screened tomorrow in the Cubby Broccoli Cinema at The National Media Museum at 4.15pm. From noon the film's directors, Simon Cartwright and Jessica Cope, will be in the museum's Animation Gallery where an exhibition of sets and models from the film are on display.