Wirral International Film Festival is fast approaching

Aug 13 2008 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

THE submissions deadline for Wirral International Film Festival is fast approaching and budding amateurs are being urged to send their entries in.

Eight months have passed since the News announced the autumn event, and since then everything from horror shorts to feature documentaries have found their way into the hands of organisers, Alan Veste and Phil Bimpson.

Alan said: “It’s been going great.

“We’ve had quite a lot of stuff sent in to us and it’s very varied, all different genres.

“We’re looking at hopefully having Birkenhead Town Hall and making it a big event with searchlights and everything, like in Hollywood.”

The pair, who together run Vesbim Productions and have decades of experience in film and theatre, will soon be travelling over to Wirral’s twin town, Latina in Italy.

Contacts in their film industry have been made and content will be brought over from the town, just south of Rome.

The week long event is due to take place in November and the deadline for submissions is September 30, less than two months away.

Films can be old or new but must have a Wirral link, having either been produced here or elsewhere by someone from Wirral.

Alan told the News: “We’re sticking to what we said about the different categories.

“They will be voted on by judges and we’ll be giving awards out on the last night.

“We’re hoping there will be a winner from each category and then an overall winner of the whole event.

Alan is encouraging budding film-makers to “not be shy” about submitting their content, which could fall into any one of a broad spectrum of genres.

Films can range from feature length to a three minute short, and could be anything from horror to documentary or comedy to animation.

Alan added: “We want to make a stamp on Wirral.

“We think it’s worth doing a big event, something people can enjoy - like Cannes.”

To submit your work, offer sponsorship or just find out more, visit www.vesbim.co.uk, email vesbim@yahoo.co.uk or call Alan on 07890455258