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Film-maker Phil aims for Cannes

MArie Burchill and Beth Abbitt
17/ 4/2008

AN AWARD-winning film-maker who learned his craft on the streets of south Manchester looks set to take his latest offering to the Cannes film festival.

Ten years ago Phil Hawkins, 23, featured in the Reporter as he directed a horror film at his school, Oakwood High.

And now the talented director – who lives on Brantingham Road in Whalley Range – is set to hob-nob with the film industry’s top players when he takes his first feature-length film – The Butterfly Tattoo – to one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.

Each year the Cannes jury pick between 15 to 20 film independent films and invite the director to attend the festival. Phil has made it on to the final shortlist and the jury are expected to make their decision by the end of the month.

Phil first began making short films on the streets surrounding his family home on Fog Lane in Burnage when he was just 13-years-old. He has spent the last year-and-a-half shooting and directing this latest film – which is 101 minutes long.

Phil said: "I have always been enthusiastic about making films and used to borrow neighbour’s cameras to shoot my short films when I was younger, as no one in my family had one.

"At the time I didn’t know anybody who made films, so it was a great experience to go through the process of teaching myself the craft of film-making.

"I used to base my films all around south Manchester, particularly in Burnage and Chorlton. My friends would play the film characters and I would shoot scenes in their homes or gardens." Although The Butterfly Tattoo – based on Philip Pullman’s tragic love story – was filmed on location in Oxford, Phil says he can’t wait to get a Manchester-based film under his belt.

The former Oakwood High School pupil said: "I’d love to shoot a big movie in Manchester that’s not just a gangster film or a costume drama. It’s just a case of finding the right project."

Phil made this latest film on a micro-budget of just £185,000 alongside Dynamic Entertainment – a Dutch production company that promotes young film-makers. Phil first caught their eye after he won the best director award at the Independent New York Film Festival in 2006 for his short film ‘The Women of Troy’ – which was filmed using students from Phil’s former college, Xaverian.

As well as Cannes, Phil is hoping that the film will be shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival and Cine Vegas – a Las Vegas-based festival.

And with his wealth of experience there should be no stopping him – as the 23-year-old has also worked with hit director Stephen Spielberg. Phil worked with Spielberg when he appeared on an American reality TV show – called ‘On The Lot’ – based around a group of film-makers attempting to make it big in the industry.