A Salford University student who taught himself the art of filmmaking and worked three jobs to pay for his venture has won a prestigious award.
Naqqash Khalid, aged 22 and from Prestwich, won the Best Young Filmmaker category in the Starburst Film Awards, held in Manchester, for his short film Parts.
The film has now been selected to be shown at the Open Art Film Festival in Dusseldorf, Germany in October, and Naqqash will announce a short tour of showings later in the year.
The five minute film, which Naqqash describes as a mixture of fantasy and reality, follows the story of a struggling young actor who gets knocked back at every turn – until his agent comes up with an intriguing plan for him.
The self-taught filmmaker wrote, directed and produced Parts, and worked three jobs to fund the film, rigorously rehearsing the action as his tight budget meant he only had access to the cameras and crew for 12 hours.
Naqqash is currently studying a PhD at the University of Salford in how film can represent literary interiority – or a character’s inner character and thoughts – after studying a BA in English literature.
He said: “In the end there was one final street scene which we had to film in one take. It was one of the most stressful – but also rewarding – times of my life.
“It’s a surreal experience – seeing your film with an audience of strangers means you get to see your work in a new way. The award means a lot to me because as a self-taught director I’m just figuring this all out as I go along, learning on the job. I hope the award will provide me with a bit of a springboard for my next project, as I’m in the early stages of developing my first feature film.”
