If you’re a documentary filmmaker and you fancy a quick shot at fame on Channel 4, there’s a new competition being launched next month with your name on it.

To celebrate the release of Guy Maddin‘s My Winnipeg, Channel 4 are looking for UK filmmakers to make a three minute documentary about your home town.  The winning films will screen both on Channel 4 and at the Branchage Film Festival.  You could even win a holiday to Winnipeg!

The competition kicks off on the 1st July, check out the competition home page for more details, and to set yourself a reminder.

To get you in the mood, here’s the trailer for My Winnipeg.

Think I might have a go myself…

Had seriously good idea for a film that I think I make on a reasonable budget.

It’s a sci-fi feature, not a million miles from Alien or Solaris. A classic monster in the house movie. It’s set on the moon, about 25 years from now.

Twas on the evening of last Bank Holiday Monday and I was reading on the Universe Today web site about how you can send your name to the moon (which I did) and **poof** the film just popped into my head, pretty much complete.

There it was, the Big Fish, in all it’s glory, jumped out of the river by itself and flapping about on the grassy bank, waiting for me to pick it up.

So since then I’ve been working the few contacts I have – with feelers heading into the set building dept at Shepperton for provisional set costings, along with chasing my friend Simon in Sheffield about doing the exteriors as CG and Daz for the music.

My initial plan, apart from to write the script, is to hopefully edit together a visual pitch and tout that about, see if I can attract some investment. I’m hoping I can use Simon’s exteriors and get Ben and Ken and perhaps Keith and John if they’re about to record some voiceovers, to give a sense of the vibe of the film. Daz is already working on the music…

So now I’m doing my research, been re-watching loads of Sci-fi films, 2001 (mind-numbingly good), Mission to Mars (mind-numbingly poo), Alien (glorious), BladeRunner (great, but I still don’t think it’s that good a story) and so on… plus I’m reading up loads on funding, which is fascinating stuff.

As serendipity would have it, I’d been wanting to find out some facts and figures about previous sci-fi efforts to get an idea of how well they do in the market, but hadn’t quite got round to it. I sat down this evening with half a mind to do something about it, glanced at todays Shooting People Screenwriters bulletin to see Andy had put a link up to The Numbers, which has told me everything I need to know, and then some. Cheer’s Andy (again)! (although side note to the designers of the numbers web site – sort out the look and feel – it’s awful!)

So there we go. I’m going to make a film. With a Red Camera. I have no money yet, but it’s out there, just got to get cracking and track it down. Anyone want to come along for the ride?