A TEENAGER has come out on top after her short film was chosen as the winner out of dozens of young people across north Essex. 

Eva Jones, who is studying Film Studies at The Sixth Form College in Colchester, received the award after competing with a large number of other young filmmakers from Colchester and Tendring.

The Young Lives Short Film Competition, sponsored by Anglian Community Trust, invited young people between 11 and 21 to submit videos about their experiences as young people.

Eva, 18, from Colchester, created a fictional film, called Mirror You, Mirror Me, set at a party, to reflect the mental anguish young people experience when they feel anxious, trapped in their own heads and isolated from their friends.

She said: “The film is all about doubting yourself and feeling disconnected from the people around you. In response to that, you end up mirroring what they do to fit in, and therefore leave behind your true self.

“The inspiration came from my own experiences. I wanted to express this confusing and troubling internal struggle I have often felt previously in social situations – focusing on anxiety and masking - in a clear and tangible way. I hope people will recognise these feelings, which remain unspoken in our minds usually, and understand when this happens to them, or other people.

“People need to be kind and patient, and recognise that someone could be experiencing the same anxieties as them, but in a completely different way.”

Following the success of winning the competition, Eva has been invited to submit her film to the Colchester Independent Short Film Festival, which will take place at the Curzon cinema between 17-18 May.

Eva first found out she was the winner during the Underdog Crew Annual Awards ceremony held at the Colchester Arts Centre recently, when her film was played, alongside seven other shortlisted productions from other filmmakers.

These films were produced by young people from local institutions in North East Essex, such as The Colchester Institute and The Sixth Form College Colchester.

Other inspirational young people also received awards at the event for their achievements in filmmaking.

Many of these submissions focused on a wide range of controversial subjects important to young people, including loneliness, eating disorders, living with a loved one who has dementia and self-harm.

Michael Pollington, the Chair of ACT, which funds local charitable projects, was delighted to award the first prize to Eva, with his fellow Trustees.

He said people in the audience were blown away by her film.

“All of the films played on the night were very inspiring and moved many people to tears," he said.

"But what stood out for us was the overall quality of this production from Eva. It was shot incredibly well, with beautiful cinematography. It was also scripted skilfully and the acting was of a very high level too.

“But at the heart of the film was the power of the story. Within a very small space of time, Eva was able to help us understand how lonely a young person can feel sometimes, even when on the surface they seem to be surrounded by lots of close friends."

“She took us underneath her mask and helped us to understand how she really feels, even though others would normally think she was O.K.”

Eva said winning the competition has given her a huge boost in confidence.

She said: “I was full of joy, pride and shock. Seeing my film on the big screen for the first time made me feel hungry to make more. It was fantastic to see my film received live in front of about 200 people at the Colchester Arts Centre. I feel immense gratitude to ACT for offering this prize.

“Experiences like this make me feel supported and celebrated. It’s a feeling I will bottle and cherish forever, and keep chasing. It has motivated me to make even more projects.”

“I also already have my sights set on spending the £300 prize money on my first proper high-quality camera.”

Since winning the competition, filmmaker DB Morgan, who runs Underdog Crew Studios, has invited her to get involved in filmmaking with him too.

As well as making more movie projects, she aims to apply to universities to study a BA filmmaking degree, and she would like to become a full-time Director in the future.

For students looking to follow in the footsteps of Eva and study the Film Studies course at The Sixth Form College Colchester, you can find out more about it here: http://tinyurl.com/filmstudieatsixthform

To watch Eva’s film, and a number of other films that were shortlisted for the competition, you can see them here: https://angliancommunitytrust.org/actfilmcompetitionentries/

To find out more about how you can watch films at the Colchester Independent Short Film Festival, visit: https://filmfreeway.com/ColchesterIndieShortFilmFestival