News
Jessop’s on a roll of film success
Published 21.04.08
Filmmaker Kate Jessop is celebrating after scooping a prestigious award for female filmmakers at the London Short Film Festival.
Kate Jessop’s latest film, ‘When The Telescope Came’, took the Femme De Fantastique prize for promoting a strong female voice.
‘When The Telescope Came’ was adapted from a poem by Diane Syder and centres around the magical tale of a woman who tries to stop the stars falling out of the sky and into her house. Originally commissioned for Comma Film, the short was premiered in October 2007 as part of The Manchester Literature Festival.
Kate, who works primarily with mixed media, animation, live action and has also directed music videos, commented: “It’s good for festivals to show support for emerging filmmakers, especially those who are in the minority - such as female filmmakers from the North West!” Shortly after winning the award, the film was given a special screening at an event marking International Women’s Day. The event was instigated by London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and drew an audience of 20,000 people.
Not content with her success in the UK, Kate has been stirring up international interest with another film, ‘Desires’. The film had its first outing outside of Manchester last year during the Birds Eye View festival, and has since been aired across 20 cities in the USA, touring with the ‘Women in Film and TV International Festival’.
Kate’s now looking to secure a distribution deal in North America, but despite this her feet still seem to be placed firmly on the ground. “It seems to take about a year for a film to really create a buzz,” she explained cautiously to CT. By that reckoning, and if her recent sucess is anything to go by, this time next year we’ll be hearing a great deal more of Kate and her work.
