Each month, a new film production made by Sparks Film School students is awarded the Film of the Month award…
Our panel of judges watch and assess film entries from filmmakers across all Sparks Film School crews and select one standout entry to win the Film of the Month.
Film of the Month – July 2026:
Congratulations to the filmmakers behind Ghoul School from film students at Sparks Film School Cardiff West
This summer, the spotlight shines over to students at Sparks Film School Cardiff West, who have won Film of The Month for July 2026! The talented crew members have taken home the prize with their absolutely brilliant and haunting short film, Ghoul School.
This fantastic film was produced by crew members last year as part of the Camera Games, where students spent the term exploring the mind-bending mechanics of special effects, genre defining techniques, and how to tell great dramatic stories flashbacks on screen. The filmmakers clearly took this complex challenge and ran with it, turning a spooky school mystery into a visual FX masterpiece!
What is Ghoul School About?
Whispers in the quiet library. Chairs that shift when no one’s looking. Something is definitely not right at Ghoul School! When a brave group of friends steps into a strange and haunted academy, they quickly realise they are not alone…
As eerie encounters mount, only one crucial clue remains: the headmaster’s mysterious pair of glasses. Could looking through these special lenses be the key to uncovering what really lurks in the shadows?
Why It Won: 3 Things Our Film of the Month Panel Loved About Ghoul School
1. Mind-Bending Special Effects
From the moment the mystery begins to unfold, the Cardiff crew showed off incredible visual flair. The highlight for our panel was the ingenious use of the headmaster’s glasses to reveal the ghost children hidden around the school. The seamless transitions between the physical world and the spectral realm were brilliantly executed, making the audience gasp every time the glasses were put on!
Did you know? Visual Special Effects (VFX) in post-production allow filmmakers to alter reality or bring impossible elements to life. By using green screens, layered compositing, or clever match-cuts, directors can make supernatural characters (like ghosts) appear and disappear seamlessly on screen.
2. Masterful Flashback Storytelling
The narrative pacing in Ghoul School took a huge leap forward during the unexpected plane flashback. The post-production crew used a striking shift to crisp black-and-white visuals, paired with punchy editing choices, to instantly transport us back in time. It was a stylish, highly effective way to deliver backstory without slowing down the pace.
Did you know? A flashback is an editing technique that takes the narrative back in time to reveal crucial backstory or context. Directors often use colour grading (such as switching to black-and-white or sepia tones) or visual transitions (like blurs or quick cuts) to signal to the audience that they’ve stepped into a memory.
3. Dynamic & Creative Cinematography
The camera work throughout the film was great, but the sequences around the school’s ornate staircase was a standout moment for our panel. The crew experimented with ambitious camera angles, most notably a dramatic worm’s-eye view looking straight up as the gang descended the stairs. This clever framing amplified the scale of the eerie building and heightened the sense of danger.
Final Verdict: Well Done to the Makers of Ghoul School!
Ghoul School is a wonderfully creative, technical, and atmospheric movie that had our entire panel on the edge of their seats. The crew members should be immensely proud of how they pushed their filmmaking skills into new visual territories.
Huge congratulations to everyone involved from Sparks Film School Cardiff West for winning this months Film of The Month Award!
About Sparks Film School’s Film of the Month Award
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 as Film of the Month 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.
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 >>>
