News Hollywood Comes To Horsham 15.09.2025

A crew of Collyer’s students recently took an active role at the Horsham Film Festival Awards Ceremony at the Everyman Theatre, Horsham. The event, run by Silvertip Films, gave the students the perfect opportunity to take on professional roles, in a real-world, media assignment, allowing them to apply their talents and gain experience in the professional field of creative arts.

Since its creation in 2019, the Horsham Film Festival has run an awards night every year, celebrating talent, both young and old, from the local area to further afield. This year, the films were split into five categories: Best Documentary, Best Animation, Best Comedy, and Best Drama. When the winning nominations were screened, it was clear that this year’s entries were brimming with talent, from a comedy film following a crazed murderer with a death-certificate collecting hobby (‘Death is Only the Beginning’ – Best over 18 comedy), to a heartfelt romance, exploring the complexities of grief (‘The Perspective of Meaning’ – Best Student in your district). The other winners made the audience cry buckets and laugh out loud, it truly was a night to remember! Best Student in Your District winner, Luca Corless, reflected: “It was an amazing evening with some eye-opening films on show. I cherished the opportunity to meet experts in the film industry”.

Throughout the evening, the Collyer’s production team conducted, filmed and, photographed interviews with sponsors, judges, and award-winners, created and posted live updates of the festival on social media, and filmed and photographed promotional footage for the festival’s website. Despite not getting a chance to sit in on the awards ceremony and watch the screenings of this year’s nominees, the eight-person team was rushed off their feet, setting up professional equipment for filming and photography, interviewing winners after they claimed their well-earnt prizes, and, of course, stuffing their faces with the Everyman’s delicious popcorn in between! One of the interviewers, Stephanie Do Carmo Gomes, had a wonderful experience: “The night was awesome and I’m really thankful that Geoff Cockwill, a director and producer at Silvertip Films, gave us the opportunity to help out. Learning about the thought process behind so many of the films was fascinating and I can’t wait for next year!”.