A controversial short-film, made by two LCC BA (Hons) Animation students, has won second prize at the ‘No Ifs No Buts’ anti-Heathrow film competition backed by MP Zac Goldsmith.
Kevin Jarin and Jake Green’s animated submission ‘Say NO’ depicts a jumbo jet crashing into a street of houses. Kevin explains “the film acts as a metaphor for the way in which the third runway would ruin the lives of people who live nearby” however others have taken the film more literally. The video has been attacked as “in appalling taste” by pro-Heathrow campaign group ‘Back Heathrow’, made up of businesses, residents and unions.
Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith disagrees, explaining “the film is an animated metaphor for the devastation airport expansion would cause in West London, and that was blindingly obvious to the eight hundred–strong audience at Richmond Theatre, who voted for it. This Heathrow-funded lobby group has deliberately misinterpreted it, and is being disingenuous, as ever.”
Whilst the competition clearly deals with a controversial topic, Kevin and Jake are grateful to have had their film, which took six weeks to make, shared so widely, “we were thrilled by the responses from the judges on the night and also the support of the audience, we didn’t expect to get into the top fifteen let alone top three.”
Their animation came second in the competition, which featured celebrity judges Hugh Grant, Holly Willoughby and Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel. Their £3000 prize will come in handy for Jake, who is doing an MA next year, and Kevin who plans to carry on animating free-lance.
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