Short film creators make it to fest finals

A Beacon Valley playwright and her partner were finalists in the Vlieks short film festival.

Playwright Chenal Kock, 25, who received a Kanna award for her work in 2017 and other accolades and creative director and videographer, Jeremeo Le Cordeur, 32, from Wellington, created a one-minute video called Spirit which made it into the finals in the short shorts category.

It was inspired by Beyonce’s song Spirit from the new The Lion King movie.

“I was really shocked and did not expect it,” Chenal said.

Their video will be screened at the next Vlieks festival in 2021.

The video was shot in Wellington on “a random field,” she said, adding that she had done her own make-up and used her late mother, Margaret Kock’s, material in their video, as her mother used to be a seamstress.

“There were lots of funny moments, and really good lighting with Jeremeo’s iPhone. This video meant that people got to see a different side of our creativity, something that has not really been recognised yet. Being recognised by the festival was the rewarding part,” she said.

Jeremeo said he was glad that this video in particular was chosen. While he had made many videos with Chenal, this was one of his favourites, he said.

“These videos are always a creative outlet for both of us. Often we don’t plan anything beforehand. We mostly allow ourselves to just be ourselves. It’s always interesting to see how the video turns out,” he said.

Michael Garbett, progamme manager and “Vrynge” co-ordinator at the Vrystaat Kunstefees, which hosted the film festival, said:

“The brilliant utilisation of the minimalist environment and stripping of dialogue enhanced every frame and had a visceral effect.

Spirit is definitely a piece that alludes to more and I hope to see this being developed even further. The creatives behind this are people to really look out for and support. Exciting times lie ahead in this industry.