TAKING THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT BY STORM: Kent Film Graduate Anna Cottrill Takes Inspiration From Picasso With Latest Film STARRY EYED

Anna is 22 and from Kent, she has dyspraxia and was recently diagnosed with ADHD

Kent film graduate, Anna Cottrill is starting this year on a high note as her latest release, Starry Eyed, takes the film festival circuit by storm! 

Starry Eyed has already seen major success, receiving an ‘Honourable Mention’ from the Hollywood Gold Awards, as well as making the ‘Official Selection’ at the New York Movie Awards, Golden Short Film Awards, and Florence Film Awards.

The short film, which follows Olivia, a cynical adult who, after finding an old aspirational diary from her childhood, is transported back to the mind of her 10-year-old self, is available to watch now.

Anna, from West Malling in Kent, is just 22 and graduated last October from a Practical Filmmaking degree at MetFilm School, Ealing. 

Anna has dyspraxia and was recently diagnosed with ADHD. 

She revealed that the inspiration for Starry Eyed came from a quote by Picasso, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." This sparked an emotional reaction in her and led her to develop the story. Anna also shared that the theme of childhood is something that inspires her to her core and is a theme that she enjoys exploring in her work.

Anna shared that one of the biggest challenges in making the film was creating the set, which was based on a child's diary, but she wanted it to feel grounded in reality. To achieve this, the set was painted onto canvas in a simple cartoon style.

One of Anna’s earlier films, Teach Me is a documentary to focusing on children with special educational needs’ feelings, because Anna explained “At this stage in their life, their experiences are key to their development.” 

She added “The British school system is made for a neurotypical student and while the steps forward are about reforming the way we educate to include children with special education needs, I wanted the documentary to give the audience a chance do something that isn’t generally done right, listening to the children themselves. 

Rallying for change is important, but how often do we take away the statistics of ‘x or y many kids have this and need that’ and really humanise those affected? 

You know, it is very difficult to be diagnosed with ADHD as a girl. This is for a mixture of reasons, but some childhood symptoms are excused as, ‘just being a chatty girl…’

So, I thought about what experiences I had in my life that I wish I could change, and what stuck out to me were the different experiences I had at school. I had learning difficulties and was labelled a ‘difficult student’. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to be ‘good’. 

At my primary school, you had to have good enough handwriting to get a ‘pen licence’ which meant you were allowed to write in pen. I wasn’t diagnosed with dyspraxia or ADHD at that age, and I had very messy handwriting. Everyone around me was allowed to use a pen, I was stuck with pencil. While this seems a minor thing, at that age your whole world is school, and so it was the first time I started to feel not only different, but... ‘less than’. 

While I do credit a lot of my positive traits to having learning difficulties, I do feel bad for my younger self who had to put in so much extra effort to just ‘get by’.  

I watched Trainspotting when I was about 16, I loved the way that all the elements of the film came together to put the audience into a character’s world or experience and that’s when I knew I really wanted to make good films.

I think as a director I want to explore more factual content in a similar style to Teach Me and also take similar themes into the fiction films I make. Childhood is such an interesting topic and one I really want to explore in all my work in some way.”

With both Teach Me and Starry Eyed already receiving critical acclaim, it's clear that Cottrill is one to watch in the world of filmmaking. Her advice for students considering a film degree is to "Do it! It’s hard work, it’s stressful, but it’s so worth it. The film industry is not easy to break into, but if you’re passionate enough, you’ll find a way. And if you’re not sure, then take a gap year – go and work in a different industry for a bit, but don’t give up on your dream."

As the UCAS deadline approaches (Jan 25th), this is the perfect time for students to consider a film degree and follow in the footsteps of Anna, who has proven that passion, hard work and determination can lead to film festival success.