With a turn-up that left people sitting on chairs, tables and the floor, while others stood craning their necks for the best view, you could instantly tell that Ctrl.Alt.Shift’s five short films: 1,000 Voices, War School, HIV: The Musical, Man Made and No Way Through were winners in every right. As Chantelle Fiddy, Ctrl.Alt.Shift editor, put it, “It’s hard to believe that we’ve come this far from November 2008, when we first got over a 100 treatment entries for this short film competition.”

       
  
Each film stood out in its own unique way, sending out earth-shaking messages about war and peace, gender and power, and HIV and stigma. The screenings were followed by a Q&A with Fern Berresford (Man Made),  Ben Newman (War School), Andy Noble (producer, Extraordinary Rendition), Heydon Prowse (Don’t Panic), and Fiddy – a session that got the winners of the competition talking about their passion for the issues they made their films on, the whole process from writing a script to filming, and how these films will raise awareness and create action among the next generation.

 
And of course, after we were left with the message of each film still playing on our minds, everyone did a little bit of their own rain dance to the sounds of MPHO and a bangin’ DJ set by Matchstick (who can be found working for Warner music by day).

  
 
All in all Ctrl.Alt.Shift pulled off an event that proved, once again, that being an activist isn’t only about holding up a placard, but that we can, and are, using our creativity to make a noise about issues happening in the world.
 
Check out the five films on our website and spread the word.
 
Words: Yumna Martin
Photos: James Prosho & Matthew Gonzalez-Noda