Sykehouse Film and Writers' Festival
- May 19
- 3 min read
I'd decided on this relatively late in the day, but decide I did. I figured that this would be a good opportunity to not only mingle with my existing peers but make some new connects.
Anyhow.
I got to the Doncaster venue at around noon, so in pretty good time (unlike with Liverpool Horror Book Con last month) and had already seen some of the usual suspects in attendance: Dave Jeffery, Ben Unsworth, Jan Edwards and Peter Coleborn. I also finally met Benjamin Adams as well, where we talked genre and hustle, as you might expect. The foyer was small and packed as attendees went through registration, as did I, although some panels had already started. Most of the weekend, I had spent in the bar, chatting to the likes of the aforementioned Dave Jeffery, Ben Unsworth, Peter Coleborn, Jan Edwards, et al. This event being the baby of both Samantha Howe and David Howe who were understandably, busy overseeing the whole event and making that everything ran smoothly.
Those who know me well will know I'm a foodie. I'm not a snob about food at all - the same way I can enjoy a meal from a high-end restaurant is the same way that I can enjoy home-made Jamaican patties from the local market with baked beans. I say this now, because I need to call out the fajitas that the hotel bar would serve. Of course, the only downside was that they didn't have enough chicken. Of course, I asked nicely - and paid for extra - so they blessed me with such.
About halfway into the weekend, it had occurred to me that it was indeed the Sykehouse FILM and Writers Festival, and that I'd be remiss if I didn't actually check out some of the, well, film. The Saturday of this event had seen me attend panels that had the likes of Dave Jeffery, Jan Edwards et al. Also the likes of Antony Johnston. To see the latter on a later panel was key for me, since the networking approach had me intrigued about how my work could be adapted for the screen; big or small.
The Sunday was when I did pull my finger out and watch some of the film screenings. The first one, the name of which escapes me, was about an old suburban woman where her daughter would have her believe she's experiencing some form of dementia - which turns out to be untrue, as seemingly friendly folk grow furtive and frantic, and finally come after the old woman with guns. The second one is from fellow author Andrew Hook, whose short film Armadilloland is what a number of us 'usual suspects' attended. This is maybe not a film in the conventional sense, but a series of images strung together, with an almost noirish gumshoe narrative tying it all together. The film was met with rapturous applause, after which Adele Maddison engaged him for some Q&A; where the technical approach had me intrigued about how my work could be adapted for the screen; big or small.
The rest of the afternoon, for me, was spent lounging in the bar, with more fajitas, and Raven Dane calling out a genre author where some of the male characters, regardless of their lack of appeal, still managed to cop off with women that were highly appealing. I did my best not to laugh, but it was an uphill battle.
Lates Sunday afternoon gave way to the majority to glam up for the awards ceremony. Given that I didn't buy this in my ticket for the event (given , I killed time in my room - and got some much needed sleep - but swung by toward the end of the ceremony. I knew Dave Jeffery was in the running for an award, as was Benjamin Adams, who'd cross the Atlantic for this event. Good to see them both win, as did Andrew Hook for Armadilloland. I swung by at the end to catch a snippet of the glitz and glamour and congratulate them in person before headiong back to my room for the night. I had an early start in the morning, since I needed to get back into London for a face-to-face catch-up with Phantasmagoria Books boss Trevor Kennedy at noon. Despite service disruption on the Underground, I caught up with him in good time. As far as publication of the new book goes - especially getting into print in time for StokerCon - it's a tight window, but it's doable.
My biggest takeaway from the weekend was the benefit of having your prose in additional media, if only to demonstrate the idea(s). If it's executed well, even better.
One to ruminate on.
The article about the film and writers festival was interesting because it celebrated creativity and storytelling from different perspectives. Reading it reminded me of how much effort goes into producing meaningful creative work. During a busy semester when I wanted time to attend local arts events, I used aleks Class Help Service to stay organized with my studies. It showed me how important balance can be when exploring personal interests.