A strange movie about a man who becomes trapped within his cell phone has received a prestigious award for a young team from the University of Winchester.  At the Future BAFTA Winners Short Film Competition, the winning film, Twenty-Five Percent, received the Judges Award, the highest honor. 
 

As part of the Making Waves festivities in the city of Portsmouth, film director Dan Pringle, one of the judges, presented the award to director and editor Sam Preston, cinematographer Nathan Smith, sound recordist Jim Sandhu, and co-producer Sonny Cobb.  Sam said the title of the movie came from studies indicating Gen Z members spend between 25 and 30 percent of their waking life on their phones. “It’s about average Joe, who does not like his job, and his only enjoyment comes from watching videos on his mobile phone until he grows trapped inside it and starts to appear in the videos,” said Sam.  

The judges described the eight-and-a-half-minute movie as "philosophically unique," and they added, "The themes you explored were unique and fresh." Sam co-wrote the movie with star actor Christian Harvey and cousin Daniel T.J. Clarke.

Winchester-born Sam, who lives close to Whitchurch, said his inspirations for the film were La Haine, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, and David Fincher's Fight Club.  Made for the team's second-year module, Directing Drama, 25%. 

Lecturer in the video, The Manufacturing Process at the University of Winchester, Fiona Poustie, remarked, "It's a very fantastic video - an intriguing look at a young man's encounter with social networks as well as the all-engrossing experience it is. It is a highly ambitious and inventive effort.