Film of the Month Award: Sparks Film School celebrates a new film from the imaginative filmmaking talents of its students every month.
Each month, a film production made by Sparks Film School crew members is chosen by our panel of judges and celebrated as the winners of the Film of the Month Award.
August 2025: Congratulations to the crews behind Beyond The Glass from Sparks Film School Kensington
For August we are celebrating one of Sparks most recent films made as part of our summer shoots over the holidays. The winner of Film of The Month in August is Beyond The Glass in Sparks Kensington!
The film was created by their very talented filmmakers in Studio 4 (ages 11-14) as part of a summer camp earlier this summer.
‘Beyond The Glass is a mysterious and unique thriller film with a twist of the supernatural! As a group of friends go away to a countryside retreat for a birthday party, they soon start to become possessed by their evil mirror reflections from an ancient curse!
From the Judges…
Firstly, our judges wanted to commend the crew on their use of story structure in the film. The film starts with an arresting shot of one of our characters screaming and her friend falling to the floor, seemingly from the end of the film.
We then get to meet the characters at the beginning before the curse and the tonal shift is great. The film transitions from light and fun and comedic, to its more tense and thrilling atmosphere as the film goes on. Really well done crew!
The film has a really great scene towards the end that the panel really enjoyed too. The group start to run from the two evil friends and the sequence flits back and forth between the group running and the evil friends slowly giving chase with cursed mirrors at the ready!
The friends take shelter in a room and try to undo the curse. This scene was a really great finale to the film with some great acting performances from the group. Great work!
Finally, our panel really enjoyed the twist ending in which one of the characters who helped undo the curse, was actually possessed the whole time herself.
The film ends where it begins, with our hero screaming and swinging at her now possessed friend. Really great twist and a great use of a cyclical narrative structure. Very impressive!
Overall ‘Beyond The Glass’ is a great thriller film that highlights some really impressive filmmaking and story telling from our young filmmakers. Well done to the crew for being Augusts Film of The Month!
About Sparks Film School’s Film of the Month
The Sparks Film of the Month Award shines a spotlight on a new film each month from the imaginative filmmaking talents of Sparks Film School students.
Each month, a film production made by Sparks Film School crew members is chosen as Film of the Month.
Our panel of judges – assembled from our team of filmmaking instructors – look at submissions from across Sparks Film Schools nationally and choose one film that they think stands out as an impressive piece of filmmaking.
They assess based on each film’s impact on screen and explore all its little details to uncover all the things we love about each film chosen.
Film of the Month: Selection Criteria
To be selected as Sparks Film of the Month, a film production needs to be…
Original:
We look for originality and imagination above all else when choosing the winner of Film of the Month. We looks for films that surprise us, offer some inventiveness and challenge convention.
Interesting:
To be chosen as Film of the Month, a production needs to be interesting. We want to see what happens next; we want to learn more about the characters. We should be invested in watching until the very end.
Well Made:
We need to be appreciate the technicality in how a film has been made for it to be awarded Film of the Month. It should feature a clear storyline, be well shot, well acted, well edited and put together.
Made by Students of Sparks Film School:
Film of the Month can be awarded to any film production made by students at any Sparks Film School across the UK. It can be made independently or during film school sessions.
About Sparks Film School’s Filmmaking Courses
Sparks Film School offers filmmaking, animation and photography workshops for ages 5-18, including term time classes and holiday camps.
We offer free taster classes and there are lots of opportunities to get involved. You can find out more about our filmmaking courses here >>>
