It's the last... CobraVision film... of the yeeeeeeear... (Sing to the tune of Christmas standby It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, but say CobraVision really fast to cram the extra syllable in.)

Your ears deceive you not - we've got our last monthly winner of the year, and it's Oliver Smith (no relation to John) for The Laundrette. (Watch for the 'In Flanders Fields' / John McCrae reference.)

Big congratulations to Oliver - who wins a Nintendo Wii - and big thanks again to everyone who entered and watched CobraVision this year. Once again, this is the last film of the year (you don't have to sing it this time), and it was, and has been, a corker. Thanks again to you all.

 


Look up. No, not at the ceiling.

See that nifty torn-paper-effect thingy? Read on...

Done? Bravo.

And bravo too for Ashley Davies, who as you now know - unless you're still staring at the ceiling - is our CobraVision winner for February. Ashley wins a Nintendo Wii, and the carpal tunnel syndrome that comes with it. Be sure to check out the winning film, Memoirs of a Geezer (innit).

Apologies for the delay in posting up Feb's winner - we'll try to be quicker for March, the grand finale month of this year's CobraVision.

 


So, let's make one thing perfectly clear.

Trevor Hardy does not have compromising photos of our judges. He isn't holding the CEO's pet rabbit hostage. He hasn't even baked us a cake.

And yet he's just won again, the lucky git. Which can only mean one thing. He must just be... well, a bit good, really.

And indeed he is, so congrats (again) to clever Trevor. His 50-second film Poor Daisy has just won him a a one-year Cineworld Unlimited Card and £100 in Cineworld vouchers.

So Trevor's off to the cinema to watch some films and get inspired for his next effort. Which might just win again.

Well, at least we'll get the rabbit back.

 


If you like atmospheric tales of mood music gone wrong - and honestly, who doesn't? - then you'll love The Room at the Top of the Stairs by Matt Compton.

The judges certainly did, and Matt will soon be walking around with that irritatingly smug "I've got a ruddy big TV at home" look on his face. Unattractive, sure, but he won't mind. Matt's won a Samsung Widescreen LCD TV monitor and a Samsung DVD player, and doesn't have to care what you think. More power to him. Matt, enjoy.

 


Celebratory CobraVision Christmas congratulations conveyed concerning - wait, what? No more of that.

Three cheers for Paul Makkar, our CobraVision winner for November. Paul's 50-second film, Man on the Bridge, delighted our esteemed judges, and they're rewarding him with a crazy, cool, corking, cracking - sorry - commendable and covetable Sony PSP bundle.

Fancy your chances at our December prize? Just get your 50-second film in to us by the end of the month and you'll be in with a chance to win.

You'll never know unless you try, so why not enter and "C" what happens.

(Honestly, you'd think we wrote this for a bet, wouldn't you?)

 


What can you say about a man like Trevor Hardy? He's just a bit bl**dy good, isn't he?

Needless to say, Trevor's latest film, Gran, is the winner of the CobraVision prize for October. Trevor is now the (hopefully proud) owner of a 16gb iPod Touch.

Congratulate him if you see him, provided he hasn't got his earphones in.

 


A bit belatedly (sorry), we have a great September winner for CobraVision.

For those of you who don't read headlines, whether it's the ALL CAPS, serif typefaces, !!!s or whatever, our lucky winner this month is Mike Robins for Misfortune. Mike put together a beautifully scripted 50-second film, and quite rightly walks off with a year's supply of Cobra Beer. Staggers, more like. It's probably quite heavy.

Big CobraVision congratulations to Mike on a great film. Keep 'em coming!

 


If you like guitars, war zones, time travel and a bit of silliness, you'll love David Wallington's Travelling Solo. Our judges certainly did, and David is the single-string-strumming winner of the CobraVision prize for August.

Huge congratulations to David, who is now the proud owner of an AppleTV system. Keep your 50-second shorts coming, and check back soon for the announcement of October's CobraVision prize.

Now go watch some films.

 


We've mentioned previously that we were awa' doon Edinburgh way last month for the 61st Edinburgh International Film Festival. In addition to representing Cobra, which was the Official Beer of the EIFF for the third year running, we were there to celebrate the launch of the latest Make Your Mark in Film project.

Image My Imprisoned Heart is a film project with a difference - several differences, actually. For one thing, it was filmed by 10 teams of young filmmakers, each shooting a five-minute episode. For another, it was filmed in locations across the UK, so the backdrops to the scenes kept changing. In one episode, the protagonist is in a rather swank studio. The next, it's a cow shed. Ah, the beauty of creativity.

It's a very charming film, and soon you'll have the opportunity to watch the 10 episodes and vote on them at LOVEFiLM. We'll let you know when it goes live.

In the meantime, huge congratulations to all the filmmakers involved in the project. You outdid yourselves, and we hope you're rightly proud of the end result.

For more information, courtesy of the lads and lasses at the Colman Getty Consultancy, click here. Just joking. Here.

 


Three, four, even five cheers for Andy Gibson, our CobraVision winner for July. Andy's film, Focus-pocus, is a right charmer, and a worthy winner of the PlayStation 3.

If you haven't checked in lately, have a look at some of the recent additions to the Movies section and get your ratings and (friendly) feedback in. And keep your films coming - there's a whole lot more to win, and you can get your 50-second films shown on ITV4. Before you know it you'll be as famous as, oh, William Shatner. Or maybe not, but you won't know until you try.

 


Time to put your hands together (to clap, but you can pray if you feel like it, or karate-chop something) for CobraVision's June winners. If you've checked out the Movies section lately, you'll know we're working to a high standard here, but in the end there could only be two.

William Garratt (Dessert Disaster) and Kerrie McKinnon (Rainbow) are our lucky winners, and they'll be venturing northward to see their films shown at the 61st Edinburgh International Film Festival later this month. A bunch of yahoos from Cobra are also going along for the debut of Make Your Mark in Film's new collaborative project, My Imprisoned Heart, and the screening of the CobraVision winners.

Big congratulations to William and Kerrie. It's going to be a blast.

And we might, just might, get some drinks in.

 


Well, four extremely talented filmmakers, if you must know. The 2nd Annual CobraVision Awards were held on 4th June at the fabulous BFI Southbank, and amid all the stars, filmmakers, friends and hangers-on, we gave away the prizes for the very best films of the last year of CobraVision. Read on or check out the photo gallery.

ImageImageImageImage

 


For those of you hoping to head off to Scotland for the 61st Edinburgh International Film Festival - either as one of CobraVision's June winners or under your own steam - keep an eye out for a very special film called My Imprisoned Heart.

The film is the work of 10 teams of filmmakers working in 10 locations, and all from one script. Each team shoots a five-minute episode, but if it sounds like another Gigli or Waterworld in the making, well, fear not. It's a product of the Make Your Mark campaign's Make Your Mark in Film competition, which was created to encourage budding filmmakers to make their ideas happen through their interest in film. CobraVision is a proud supporter, along with key players like the UK Film Council, Lord Puttnam (Oscar winner for Chariots of Fire) and the Raindance Film Festival.

In a twist worthy of The Apprentice, the teams will have access to a shooting kit and main cast but no additional budget for filming. They'll need to use their entrepreneurial / bargaining / begging skills to source the other resources required to get their episode finished, although death threats are discouraged.

Image Image


Shooting began in Liverpool in April, with the remaining episodes being shot in different regions around the UK. The final 50-minute marvel, based on an original screenplay by competition-winner Judy Upton, will air at the EIFF this August.

Congratulations to all the teams working on the project, and to the Make Your Mark campaign for a brilliant idea. You, as we've already said, can get to Edinburgh courtesy of CobraVision, so send your June films in!  
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