Hansel of Film at The Black Box

Last night as part of the Olympic Festival and the Belfast Film Festival, 'Hansel of Film' came to the Black Box. Basically a bunch of short films are going on a relay, being carried by real people from Shetland to Southampton and back again, making 24 stops along the way. One of those stops was Belfast. Being curated by film critic Mark Kermode and film historian Prof. Linda Ruth Williams, who were both present last night, you knew you were in good hands (however large and flappy they may be).

We started with seven short films made by people living in the Shetland Islands and they had some brilliant (and bonkers) films! There was a four minute documentary about the UK's northern most bus shelter "Unst Bus Shelter" (which never showed a bus), one about a female polish murderer "Vycky" and a great one from a bunch of kids that featured a physical battle between two opposing armies that represented the decision process that goes on when one has to decide between juice and cola "Battle of the Juices". The films were all great quality and thoroughly entertaining, showing that creativity can come from anywhere and isn't restricted to the big thinkers in capital cities.

Next up we had seven films from Wotton-Under-Edge. These were screened in Belfast because their own local screening encountered difficulties and couldn't proceed, so we got to see them instead. Featuring a lot of films made by youngsters and with Olympic and other funding, these also were a joy to watch. My highlight being the laugh out loud history of the stick figure we see in warning signs, "Remembering Formby" was beautifully animated by Susan Elliot and her team. It was a great twist on something we see on a daily basis but never really think about. Also thrilling, was a film made by 13-17 year olds about how the Olympics is represented in their small village: "Olympic Village" was well shot, edited and wonderfully executed.

The last segment was devoted to short films from Belfast. They cited a lack of response to their call for submissions for the comp, so they had to pad it out with other quality shorts to make up the allotted half an hour. However, some great animation from students at the University of Ulster represented Belfast fully and showed what great things are being taught in our own city. The best of these being "Labyrinth of Language" a rich, funny and meticulously animated short about a boy lost in a maze. The highlight of this section was from London and the This is it collective. "Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared" was the perfect way to finish off the evening.

Original, hilarious and a little bit  twisted, it had the whole audience laughing and gob-smacked in equal measure. As we all sat there with our jaws a little bit open at the end and trying to get the song used out of our heads (green is not a creative colour) Mark and Linda thanked us for coming. They then welcomed some of the local film makers on stage for a round of applause before handing over the film canister to the next runner to be taken to Bo'Ness just outside of Edinburgh. The runner was actually going to cycle and having been born in Belfast and now living in Bo'Ness seemed the perfect choice to do it, until he revealed that he hadn't cycled more than 1 mile in the last 5 years! Good luck Bo'Nes and enjoy the Hansel of Film.