Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: November 2012

A series of stories in which the real world is often surprising ...

No Playground For Little Cowboys - Carl Rock
Incredible Bodies - Carolina Vasquez
Vaughan Wylliams, Agent of LOVCRAFT: Episode 4 - Paul Hunt
Post Mortem - Catherine Linstrum

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: October 2012

In which your imagination can be a force for redemption or ruin ...

Alcohol Can Ruin Your Life - Mohammed Addarani
Fist Of The First Man: Hold On - Stephen Hanks
Failed Olympic Bid - Tom Betts
The Colour Of Her Eyes - Graham Neale

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: September 2012

In which lone heroes are tested by strange circumstances and inhuman antagonists ...

Gnome - Anne-Marie Margerison
Trail of Crimson - Victoria Annabelle Rodway
Mr Dog - Simon Stratton
Men Parts 1 to 3 - Made By Ernest
Echo Lounge: Carpe Diem - Clare Sturges
A Very Important Call - AJ
The End Has No End - AJ

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: August 2012

Last Monday we screened the submissions to our recent 48-hour challenge, which took place during Chapter's recent Festival of Failure. Here are the results of the contest:

BEST FILM
Win / Lose Situation
by Karl Ventura

BEST ACTOR / BEST SCREENPLAY
Last-Minute Hitch
by Manmade Platypus

THE DAVID LYNCH AWARD FOR TERRIFYING BUT HANDSOMELY-PHOTOGRAPHED WOODS-BASED ODDITY
Goliath
by Kristian Brunker, Angelo C, Charlie Canning-Jones and Aruna Faucus.

BEST ACTRESS / THE ICE CUBE AWARD FOR ENGAGING WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
Inner Demons
by Angharad Evans, Dominique Fester, Jo Langhelt.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY / BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Meltdown
by T. Oben and B. Oben

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE / BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Things Go Badly Wrong
by Ben Evans

THE MORPH AWARD FOR BEST ART DIRECTION
The Big One
by Matt Kidd, Nick Titley and Owen Richards

THE KATHERINE JENKINS AWARD FOR SERVICES TO CARDIFF
Nil Nil
by Mohammed Addarani

BEST STUNTS
Broken Record
by Sam Greenslade

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: July 2012

Tiny Cuts: Love Run Free - AJ
One Saturday - Phillip Escott
Going Nowhere - Jody Tozer
Wake Up Daniel - Sophia McDonald
The Beloved - Rick Davies
Aldebaran - Christine Davies
Cardiff Love Story - Tom Gatley
Cadwaladers: Take Some Time Out - AJ

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: June 2012

Awfully Deep - Daniel Florêncio
The Message - Brian Manton
Future Of The Left: I Am The Least Of Your Problems - Tom Betts & Ellen Waddell

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: May 2012

All You Can Eat - Silva Huws
Fairtrade City - Silva Huws
Beezy Ft. Yung Jay: That Crack - Jalil Brown
Greyness - Secret Chapter team

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: April 2012

Spatchcock News - Paul Allen
My NCN - Clare Sturges
Amsterdam Heavy trailer - Rik Sinkeldam
Win Money Make Film promo
Bart The Baboon - Primate Handshake
The Usual Suspects (Abridged)
Japan, Quickly - Tom Betts & Anne Siegel

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: March 2012

Outpost 2 trailer - Richard Messenger
Sex Work & Me trailer - Clare Sturges
End - Tom Gatley
Small Hours - Adam Batchelor
Winding Down - Mei Lewis

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: February 2012

Night Of The Living Dead: Resurrection teaser - James Plumb
Extreme Artists - Anona Evans
Cate Le Bon: Fold The Cloth - Ryan Owen Eddleston
Wake Up - Philip Escott

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: January 2012

Wireboy promo - Jason Marsh
One Word - James Cuff
See Stories Differently - James Cuff
Cut Ribbons: White Horses - Tom Betts

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: December 2011

On A Knife Edge - Tamas Tatai
Adventures In The Skin Trade - Joe Towns
Caravan Sight - Rachel Dax
Britannia - Joanna Quinn & Les Mills
Nadger - Catherine Linstrum
A Sweet Feeling In The Heart - Darren J Coles
Off The Pitch - Sion Mali

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: November 2011 (K U T O S I S Special)

1. #asongtostartarecordwith - Ellen Waddell
2. Salton Sea - Lt Meat
3. Shadows - Lt Meat
4. Skin - Tom Betts
5. Battle Lake - Graham Neale
6. House Sounds - Craig Jacobsen & Cassandra Sechler (Dreams for Dead Cats)
7. Devo - Ross Southard
8. Islands vs Oceans I - Matt Brown
9. Lights To Lead Us - Jason Marsh, Samuel Fletcher, Cassandra Sechler
10. Miniatures - Skint Student Productions
11. Island vs Oceans II - Matt Brown
12. Breeders - David Roberts & Nic Britz
13. Moon - James Docherty

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: October 2011

World of Acting - Clare Sturges
Behind The Seaman - Adam Grierson
Sharon Van Etten: Live In Tokyo - Tom Norton
Pubic Menace - Clipbored
Foreign Indignitaries - Clipbored

Previously at Chapter MovieMaker: September 2011

Martha's Land - Malcolm Boorer
Little Voices - Chris McFall
Ecomemoriam - Malcolm Boorer
The Interview - Justin / Josh

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: exciting opportunities

It's time to play the music; it's time to light the lights … After a suitably muppety intro film (timed to coincide with Chapter's Jim Henson season), the evening began with the end of an epic quest: the concluding episodes of The Sacred Chalice from friends of friends of MovieMaker Ninja Sex Party. Jon Ratigan returned with his long-tinkered-with drama Fixer, and was followed by Spring, a music video for Tiger Please by 'Gingenious' Ben Smith . Then we took time out for the much-anticipated Advertisement Broke from Dan Portillo. Finally, local art-punk heroes Kutosis presented the video for their new single Shadows and launched a contest to make a bunch more promos for their forthcoming album. Watch this space for the results.

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: personal quests

After an unusually ominous intro film, Ben Reed opened the floodgates with Blue Harbour, a home-made music video for The Wave Pictures. The prodigious Efa Blosse-Mason proved herself a Real filmmaker, and was swiftly followed by James Plumb's Final Girl (both the trailer and the Virgin Media Shorts cut of the film). Then we got a look at The Real Thing, a stripped-down farce from Emma Teck. Kate Broadhurst gave us Growing Space, an animated depiction of real-life experiences, and Reka Falka Roberts documented what it was like living Life in the Shadow of Secret Police. Next came Alex Sambrook's Unnatural Selection, where Massai rocked a chicken shed with gusto, and after weeks of teasing, the audience finally got to see The Audition, Clare Sturges' deadly debut. The room was then conquered by Ninja Sex Party and their search for The Sacred Chalice, thanks to Maf Lewis. To end the night we got Chemmie, another fine music video for Joan As Policewoman from loveable misanthrope Ben Reed.

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: short-term loners

Originally inspired by the recent glut of movies based on comic strips, this month's intro film had somehow mutated into a Grange Hill tribute by the night of the screening. With that out of the way, Claire Sturges unveiled the full trailer for her film The Audition after last month's tease. Next came Syrius, from the sci-fi superteam of Rhiannon Tate, Ben Sawin, James Haskin, Gafyn Holt, Martin Izzard and Steven Brown. We saw wild things in the woods during The Day I Lost My Voice, a music video for Sweet Baboo by Ryan Owen, which preceded Dig, a short drama excavated from the personal archives of director Ioan Thomas. International Man of Mystery Malcolm Boorer's latest travelogue came to us from the Brazilian city of Recife - where will he go next? Ryan Owen returned from training with Undegpedwar, a track(ing shot) by Y Niwl. The audience were then treated to a tantalising glimpse of Woyzeck, an epic undertaking by Ip Wischin and the students of IfIF International Film School Vienna. After a musical portrait of Ivan Moult from On-Par Productions came the unsettling Score, scripted by MovieMaker's own Simon Howells and executed by the Unrelated Films team. Leyla Pope smuggled in some gangster fashion with Crooks Like Us, before the ever-prolific Ryan Owen provided a natural end to the evening with Jonny's You Was Me. It had horses in it.

Flashback: an article about Chapter MovieMaker

The lovely people behind hack/flash asked me to write a guest blog about the secret history of the MovieMaker screenings. It's right here for your perusal.

Last time at Chapter MovieMaker: cinematic history

This month's francophone intro got things off to a breathless start, and was shortly followed by the first sneak peek of the evening: a teaser trailer for The Audition from Clare Sturges. Then it was time for the feature attraction: Wales' first public screening of William Haggar's film Revenge for a hundred years, enthusiastically introduced and narrated by his great-grandson and biographer Peter Yorke. Next came another startling discovery from the archives: AJ's unholy union of Pray for Rain by Preacher and White Zombie, starring Bela Lugosi. Tensions rose with Red Letter, an expertly-shot piece of history from Edilberto Restino (courtesy of our friends at the WOW Film Festival) and the evening ended with a terrifying teaser for the appropriately-titled Final Girl, coming soon from James Plumb.