The Evolution of a Young U.K. Filmmaker

Ivill Productions is a modest operation. But in just a few short years, Cornwall high school student Chris Ivill has gone from uploading to YouTube to sharing his work at a major local film festival.

It started in 2011 with Space Shuttle Olympus, Ivill's micro-bedroom take on films like Apollo 13. The best part is watching the then 13-year-old perform triple on-camera duty as Houston mission control, a space shuttle pilot and a BBC-TV news anchor.



In 2012, it was on to the canvas of the World Wars. For Britain at War, Ivill shot in part at Cornwall's local Flambards Britain in the Blitz attraction. And for The Beginning of the End, he conjured up a war room, a fearsome fake mustache and some pretty good German accents:

A couple of weeks ago, I was set a History project, in which I had to write a scene from a 1920s style German film. My History teacher was so impressed with what I wrote, he asked me to film it, and so I did, and now I am uploading it to YouTube. This short film is set in Germany, 1918, at the end of the First World War, with five minutes of outtakes at the end. Once again I would just like to thank all of my mates involved! This the fifth film from Ivill Productions, with hopefully many more to follow!

Finally, this fall, Ivill's 40-minute modern-day Sherlock Holmes film Young Sherlock was completed and screened in the Young Filmmakers section at last month's 2013 Cornwall Film Festival. Along the way, Ivill banked his first set of press clippings, all at the age of 15 while preparing for some critical exams at Helston Community College.



In shooting a critical Holmes scene at the Helston Railway, Ivill helped attraction operator Barbara Barnes realize her own cinematic dream:

Ever since we started building the railway there has been a dream that one day we would have a film crew wanting to use it, and so we would follow in the footsteps of all the other great heritage railways. Well it’s happened earlier than we expected...

Our train crew had their first taste of being directed in a film, and had to make sure the train movements followed Christopher’s instructions.

Will we be reading about Ivill in future years, for longer-running films? Almost certainly.

[Ivill Productions]