In brief: Jersey filmmaker Philip Clyde-Smith has had his horror short film A Hand to Hold selected for the 19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York. The film blends horror with Irish comedy to explore grief, death and toxic relationships. It is due to be screened at Williamsburg Cinemas on 8 October.
A Jersey Horror Story Heads to Brooklyn
It is not every day that a piece of Jersey-made cinema makes it onto a New York screen, but Philip Clyde-Smith has managed exactly that. His short film A Hand to Hold has been selected for the 19th Annual Bushwick Film Festival, one of Brooklyn’s most established showcases for independent cinema, with a screening scheduled at Williamsburg Cinemas on Thursday 8 October.
The premise is, to put it mildly, not one for the faint-hearted. The film follows Moira, an elderly Irish woman whose recently deceased husband Patrick refuses, quite literally, to let go of her hand. As the situation grows increasingly grotesque, a cast of would-be helpers descends on the couple: their daughter, a local doctor, a farmer, a priest and, for good measure, a Satanist. Their interventions, the Jersey Evening Post reports, lead to horrific consequences. So much for community support.
Dark Comedy with a Serious Heart
Despite its macabre setup, A Hand to Hold is described as blending horror with Irish comedy, using the darkly humorous story to explore themes of grief, death and toxic relationships. It is a combination that has clearly resonated with festival selectors, and it demonstrates that serious emotional territory can be navigated through unconventional, even outrageous, storytelling.
The Bushwick Film Festival was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing a platform for independent cinema and emerging storytellers. It now attracts more than 1,000 film submissions each year from more than 60 countries, with around 5,000 people attending screenings and events across Brooklyn. Its programme spans independent features, documentaries and short films, alongside panels, screenplay readings and industry events. Getting selected from that field is no small achievement for any filmmaker, let alone one working out of a small island in the English Channel.
What It Means for Jersey’s Creative Scene
For Jersey, this is a welcome reminder that the island produces creative talent capable of competing on an international stage. The film’s selection represents an international showcase for Mr Clyde-Smith’s work, as the Jersey Evening Post notes, and puts Jersey-made content in front of filmmakers, audiences and industry professionals from around the world.
Independent filmmaking is rarely a well-funded pursuit, and the journey from a Jersey concept to a Brooklyn screen involves considerable determination. That A Hand to Hold has made it this far, chosen from submissions spanning more than 60 countries, speaks well of the quality of the work and the ambition behind it.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
