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Winberry Hill shows how one person's passion can change the way we see something. This no frills, no spills film told it from the heart.
David Sproxton, Aardman
Where are you from and what do you do as a living?
We live together in Todmorden, in West Yorkshire. I grew up in Accrington in Lancashire and David grew up in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire.
I work as a library assistant. David is a fishmonger, but we both think of ourselves as filmmakers really – it’s what we love.
He trained in animation at university, and I studied media.
Have you made films before?
David’s been making his own films since saving up and buying his own video camera two and a half years ago.
In 2007 he won the Ravenscroft award at the Meniscus Film festival for a film called Fuzzy Logic. The film’s a mix of animation and live action about a day in the life of a computer game character.
He also won a an award for a short documentary about re-homed battery chickens called Being the Change.
We sometimes film weddings and parties, which earns us a bit of cash and gives David a chance to improve his camera work and editing skills.
We’ve been a couple for almost eight years, and making films together for two. Our different skills and opinions on each project complement each other. Working as a team stops either of us from getting too self-indulgent.
What motivated you to make your film about Winberry Hill?
I grew up in Accrington. I picked berries with my mum as a child on a little hill just off the bypass.
We were supposed to be picking berries to make jam. Often though, I’d just munch on them and come home with purple fingers and not many berries.
The question ‘Which bit of the Earth are you a friend of?’ instantly made me think of Accrington. I wanted to break its image of a typical mill town.
As I say in the film, for most people this hill off the bypass isn’t a final destination – it’s just a blur at the side of the road as they drive on by.
If you take the time to come and look, you see a bit of Accrington that most people never get the chance to see. It’s not all terraced houses and mills – it’s different - full of wild flowers and butterflies, bumble bees and berries.
How was it making your film?
On the day we filmed it wasn’t as sunny as we’d hoped. But we went anyway, armed with our tripod and a flask of coffee.
David got some great shots of the contrast between the motorway and the greenery. After trying for ages, we got shots of a bumble bee, and a butterfly opening its wings.
We ended up with about 30 minutes of footage, which David edited down to one minute.
How do you feel about having won this award?
We are very pleased to have been awarded this prize by such respected judges and can’t wait to get started working with Friends of the Earth to make a film that will have a positive impact on the environment.
Winberry Hill was the 2008 Overall Winner
Last modified: November 2008