Film set in Hastings scoops multiple awards

The movie, called Mother & Wild, which was made by Mark Forbes, won the Best Film Made in Hastings award at Hastings Rocks International Film Festival.

Mark’s debut feature film also won best feature at the 4th Dimension Independent Film Festival and Swedish International Film Festival.

He said: “For Mother & Wild, I explored real-life characters in my own life and I found real life to be sad and tragic, having experienced cancer within my own family.

"I wrote Mother & Wild in later years after my stepfather died in 2011. The main character, Rita, who is the mother tries to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Saffron, who had cancer for two years. Rita's anguish turns to sympathy and she helps Saffron through a difficult time, without ever revealing what she discovered years ago about her mother.

“Mother & Wild is set in London and in Hastings. The film is dedicated to the actress Sally Mates, who plays the role of Suzy in the allotment scenes whom I was very close to. We had worked closely together for many years on my earlier short films. I consider Sally's performance in Mother & Wild one of her best posthumous roles.

“I've been making films for more than 23 years and I believe in my work as a writer, director and cinematographer.”

Mark’s film also won at the Vegas Movie Awards, Cult Movies International Film Festival, London Director Awards, EdiPlay International Film Festival and Lens Fame International Film Festival where the cast and crew gained 10 awards. The Magma Movie awards nominated Mother & Wild for six nominations and the Lonely Wolf International Film Festival London as a finalist last month.

Mark's other film, the award-winning Memories of Mortlake, has been screened in almost 40 film festivals and has won eight awards for Best Short Documentary. Erwin W. Wyrsch: The Photo Journalist appeared in 17 film festivals and was nominated for a Unofex Swiss Film Award and won best short documentary at the Swedish international Film Festival.Mark exclusively films his documentaries completely by himself using Panasonic Lumix GH cameras.