Every month, Sparks Film School awards a new Film of the Month award to a production made by students.
This December, our judges have chosen a brand new film production to celebrate. Every month, our judges assess films from across all Sparks Film School crews and select one as their Film of the Month.
December 2025:
Congratulations to the crews behind A&E Absolutely Exhausted by Sparks Film School Cardiff West
To round off an amazing year of films, this month’s Film of The Month Award goes to filmmakers from Sparks Film School Cardiff West for their comedy film A&E Absolutely Exhausted.
Congratulations to all the filmmakers involved! The film was created by young filmmakers from Studio 4 during their weekly filmmaking classes.
From the Judges…
A&E Absolutely Exhausted is a great film which highlights the trials and tribulations of the staff working on an A&E ward. The film follows as a receptionist and a doctor exchange stories from their chaotic shifts, trying to see who had the worse day.
The film is a really fun and light hearted film, despite its more serious setting of a hospital, the crew have managed to find real comedy at the chaos of the setting. Featuring tired and rushed staff, angry patients, and general over the top escapades, the team have created a good old fun romp of a film here.
Our judging panel were very impressed by the crew’s very imaginative and creative use of their location. The crew have managed to implement some amazing set dressing skills and set design here.
They have transformed the venue and presented a convincing hospital setting in each shot, with such good attention to design detail. Our panel particularly enjoyed the cafeteria scene, with the slow reveal of the staff member behind the metal pane.
Throughout, there is some really great work here in bringing the audience into the world of the characters.
Our panel loved the use of comedy in this film. The crew clearly wanted to create a film with an element of sketch comedy, which is incredibly difficult to do, and it feels like they largely succeeded.
From the quick cuts between the doctor and the receptionist arguing over who has had the worse day, to the fun snappy flashbacks to their stories, such as a prank call or someone getting their hand stuck in a kettle.
The film has a light tone throughout, and through the comedic elements, the setting really comes to life.
Finally the crew have clearly used their camera skills and knowledge of different film techniques really well here. They flip between great steady cam moments and wider shots for bigger group scenes, to slightly more ‘mockumentary’ style free flowing camera movement in other scenes. There is a lot of versatility in the camera work and everything feels purposeful and stylistic, in addition to it being funny too. The crew have created a dynamic and entertaining visual language here in this film.
Overall our panel were very impressed with the crew’s work on A&E Absolutely Exhausted. It’s a very fun film with some fantastic detail, from the camera work, to the finely tuned comedy and use of location. It’s a film that really plays to the crew’s strengths and a very deserving winner of our last Film Of The Month Award for 2025!
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 >>>
