Ghost Street wins top award at international fesitival
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A spooky ghost film aimed at making teenagers think twice about road safety has crossed the Atlantic and won an international award for Best Short Film.
Ghost Street, a 10 minute short film made entirely in Tyneside, has picked up the Silver Award for Best Short Film at the New York Festivals Best of Film and Television Awards. This international award was presented at a red carpet bash in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.
NYF is one of the biggest film, television and radio festivals of its kind and attracts entries from 65 countries worldwide. Ghost Street was the only short film from Europe to be shortlisted for the Best Short Film category.
In the film, a series of spooky victims of road accidents haunt a quiet suburban street; a zombie skateboarder, an 80s throwback and a young mum-to-be with eternal morning sickness provide words of warning to the lead character, Tabby. Too focussed with her mp3 player, Facebook and boys, the ‘ghosts of road-accidents-past’ attempt to warn Tabby from becoming the street’s latest victim.
The film was commissioned by Newcastle City Council’s Road Safety Team and Safe Newcastle and produced by Newcastle-based Dene Films. The educational film targets 12 – 16 year olds and was showed around schools in the North East region before being rolled out nationally. Requests from around the country to show the film have reached 1100 and rising.
Cheryl Ford, Newcastle City Council’s Road Safety Services Officer, said: “Ghost Street just continues to win award after award. I am thrilled at the success of Ghost Street. The film is doing exactly what it was meant to do, reaching to the imagination of the teenagers, giving a cautionary tale and getting them to think about their behaviour when around roads.”
“Winning the award is a testament to the imagination and hard work put into Ghost Street by all those involved. Dene Films did a marvellous job of producing a film that is engaging and memorable.”
Chris Chapman from Dene Films attended the ceremony to accept the award, “This is the first time that Dene Films has made a submission to NYF, so you can imagine our delight to be awarded Silver for Ghost Street. The film was so much fun to work on and we are thrilled to be able to put Ghost Street on an international platform.”
David Embleton, Head of Highway Network and Traffic Management for the city council, said: “It was only a matter of time before Ghost Street achieved international recognition. As well as being a very professional production, the film is a proven and effective tool in helping young people think about their actions on and around roads. City Council departments worked in partnership to commission Ghost Street and ensured that the film would be a valuable education resource to be used in schools across Newcastle and one that engages a very difficult audience to reach.”
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