Reformatted Watford Big Events animation up for award at international film festival

An animation that was first shown as part of the Big Events series by Watford Borough Council is up for a prestigious award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The seven-minute Homeward Bound feature was projected onto the outside of Jackson Jewellers in The Parade for people to watch for free over the course of four nights in January. Script-writer Sarah Woolner, who with two others won last year’s Best British Short Animation BAFTA for Sleeping with the Fishes, wrote Homeward Bound especially for Watford. She was brought to the town centre by Watford film-makers Shaun Clark and Kim Noce from Mew Lab – themselves nominated for a BAFTA for their past works. Homeward Bound has been reformatted and renamed The evening her mind jumped out of her head, and will be shown as part of the festival on Wednesday June 24. It will now go up against other animated British short films competing for the prestigious McLaren Award. The winner will be decided by the audience over the course of two days of screenings. The film is about a serious woman who lightens up during a train journey when her mind jumps out of her head and goes off to explore the countryside. The exciting and family-friendly animation took about five months to make. Elected Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill said: “This is great news for Watford. We are proud to support exciting, emerging home-grown talent from our own town, and enhance our image as a vibrant, family-friendly town.” Shaun said: “It’s good to have the council completely on board with creating all these Big Events in the town centre, which I think everyone’s benefitting from. I remember during the screening of Homeward Bound the town centre was absolutely packed with people enjoying the event and shopping and getting the most out of Watford itself.” Watford’s Big Events series is now in its second year. The cultural programme of events aims to maximise the use of The Parade event spaces, which have been massively improved by the Council for businesses, residents and visitors. Next up in the programme is The Big Festival, starting Saturday 20 June, where local will meet global as flagship arts festivals Watford Live and Imagine Watford come together. There will also be a weekend offering from Watford Colosseum during the 16-day festival of extraordinary live experiences, most of which will be free to attend. For more information – including the full list of what’s happening when, visit www.watfordbigevents.co.uk. The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings, running from Wednesday June 17. Established in 1947, it is the world’s oldest continually running film festival.