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THE WHAT VIDEO AND CAMCORDER USER TOP TEN AMATEUR VIDEOS 1989

A compilation tape of the 10 winners first screened on April 21, 1990, at the National Film Theatre, London. After this inaugural year, the Competition was held under the banner of the British Amateur Video Awards (BAVA).

1. FORGIVE AND FORGET
John McKenzie (London)
Gone are the days, it seems, of bank robberies with sawn-off shotguns. In this taut thriller - in which the director also plays the lead role - the latest tools of the criminal's trade are a computer, a telephone and a 35mm camera with a long telephoto lens. Having an ex-girlfriend (Sabine Azner) on the bank's switchboard is also useful! Guitar music composed and played by Cass Gilbert.
Top Ten Video 1989

Story
20.mins


2. THE THING FROM BENEATH THE BED!!
Chris Jones (Lancashire)
Around midnight, the mysterious thing that lurks beneath the bed jumps out and goes darting round the house in a state of high excitement. We see everything from the creature's viewpoint, hearing it but never seeing it. (It's the director's own voice supplying its gurgles, by the way.) This made history as the first-ever video to win the top amateur prize in the IAC's annual International Competition.
Also available on 16mm as a transfer to film.
IAC Daily Mail Trophy, Best Video Award, Best Editing Award, Best Sound Award 1989; Top Ten Video 1989

Humour
4.mins


3. THE SHAPE
Ian Gamble (Surrey)
A science-fiction drama about the ultimate in machines turning the tables on its human creator, a mad professor. It's a tour-de-force of technical trickery and a well-constructed yarn in the genre of science-fiction cartoon strip, with a neat twist in its tail (or even its tale).
IAC International Award, Best Sound Award 1990; Top Ten Video 1989

Science Fiction
17.mins


4. THE ZOO DILEMMA
Joseph Phillips (Surrey)
A passionate, yet restrained, condemnation of the way animals are treated in zoos all over the world. The producer is a zoologist whose main interest is environmental and wildlife movie-making.
Top Ten Video 1989

Documentary
/Message
12.mins


5. THE BECKONING
St. Cuthbert's High School Video Club (Newcastle-on-Tyne)
This is a dramatised account of what happens to five lifeboat volunteers. They are seen in their everyday lives and then responding to the coastguard's 'call', showing, as ever, disregard for personal safety to help sailors in distress. Staff members Frank Hodges and David Peffer were responsible for this very moving school video, in which more than 80 boys, aged between 11 and 18, took part. With acknowledgements to the Tynemouth Lifeboat crew for their assistance.
IAC International Award 1990; Top Ten Video 1989

Dramatised
Documentary
10.mins


6. A MOMENT IN TIME
Wessex Films (University of Southampton)
This starts with a series of strange preparations taking place. . . A black cat is drinking milk from the breakfast table; a man with a long, pointed moustache selects a jacket from his wardrobe; a bucket is filled with water. At the last moment all becomes clear as the various elements are brought together suddenly to create a famous image. Directed by Cressida Fforde.
Top Ten Video 1989

Visual
b&w
4.mins


7. BROTHERS IN ARMS
Jan and Andrew Suchacki (South Yorkshire)
Set in France in the muddy bottom of a shell-hole on the Somme during the First World War, with flashbacks to the day in a small Yorkshire village when two brothers (played by the two brothers who produced the video) join the army to answer the call.
Top Ten Video 1989

Story
20.mins


8. PICTURE SHOW
John Straiton (Canada)
A visual interpretation of how the Rorschach Test (well known to psychiatrists) may be seen by patients as fantastic and often sexy images rather than just a series of folded inkblots, thus revealing the state of their subconscious minds. Famous for his award-winning animated films over the years such as Eurynome, Horseplay and 'M.M.' - Myth, Myth , this was John's first venture into video.
UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
Top Ten Video 1989

Animation
7.mins


9. CARIBBEAN SAFARI
Leandro Blanco (Madrid)
An untitled study of the wildlife to be found on and around a Caribbean beach during one day, dawn to dusk. Exquisitely beautiful, even breathtaking, pictures are matched to music and effects, but not a single word of commentary breaks the spell. The producer, who has spent many years in New York, is an airline pilot for Iberia and now lives in Spain. The loves of his life are travel (not surprisingly), music and film.
Top Ten Video 1989

Visual
14.mins


10. SPECIAL DELIVERY
Tooshka Productions
Gradually a horrific story unfolds, yet none of the events described is ever seen. They are related as a monologue to camera by the principal character involved (Veronica Needa). A compelling, indeed riveting, piece of work, brilliantly performed and with startlingly effective direction by the author, Andrew Sykes. Produced by Daniel James.
Top Ten Video, Best Entry 1989

Story
20.mins


Total running time 128 mins.

Not available for hire at present.


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