Into Film Festival Review Writing Competition winners announced

During last year's Into Film Festival, which took place throughout November 2016, we ran a Review Writing Competition asking attendees to review the films they had seen at the Festival. We received almost 2,500 entries across three categories, and had a very hard time selecting just three winners. But select them we did, and you can read the three winning reviews below.

Huge congratulations to:

• Ryuki, 6, who is home educated, for her winning review of Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie in the 5 - 11 category

• Aaron, 12, from Kingdown Secondary School in Wiltshire, for his winning review of Suffragette in the 14 - 16 category

• Sara, 16, from Kingsbury High School in London, for her review of Mustang in the 16 - 19 category.

Each of the three winners have received a selection of DVDs and £200 vouchers for their local cinema, so that they and their class can continue to use film and cinema to support their learning and cultural development. The Into Film Festival will be returning once again in November 2017, so stay tuned for details of that coming very soon. In the meantime, enjoy the winning reviews below.

Ryuki's review of Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie

I liked the new girl because she was kind to Charlie. I love Charlie too. He thought he is not good at anything but I thought he was brave and kind when his friend said to him "give up Charlie!" but he didn't, I thought it was a good thing to do!! I don't want to give up either! I want a dog like Snoopy! He is kind and funny! 

Aaron reviews Suffragette

I loved the film so much and I thought it was sad and an amazing drama. I learnt a lot about how women were treated and lived before the vote and how they were not respected like women are today, even though it's not perfect. I loved the actors and actresses, they fit their parts. Some parts were really upsetting, especially when Maud Watt's had her son taken away because of her husband after getting kicked out of her house. This showed it really was unfair in all aspects and how women deserved a say and how they weren't going to stop until they got their rights. When they got their rights, they changed the course of history, learning this all from the film! 

Sara reviews Mustang

In a progressive age where rights and liberties have become more available than ever, director Deniz Gamze Ergüven uncovers the dirty truth of female oppression. In the tragic drama, we see the lives of five young girls get dominated and ripped apart.

Combined with the tranquil scenery of rural Turkey, the calamitous lifestyle the girls are forced to endure suggests the extremity of the contrast between contemporary and conservative culture. We learn that in a world where we celebrate freedom, domination continues to prevail. The girls are forced to live traditional lifestyles as brainwashed wives-to-be after they are seen behaving 'shamefully' with male friends. The story is told mainly through the eyes of Lale, the youngest of the sisters. Her rebellious nature and loyalty makes her easy to adore. Despite being young and naïve, Lale appears most wise throughout the movie and the plot line begs to emphasise the natural innocence of the youth and the importance of preserving it. 

The grandmother that authorises the victimised treatment of the girls seems limited and troubled in her position. Many are quick to blame her for the pain her grandchildren suffer, but in a society where reputation defines your future, some would say she was acting out of love. 

The unanswered questions that trouble audiences seem entirely intended by the director and writer. The most distressing of scenes are left locked behind closed doors. But surely that, in essence defines female oppression as a whole? It is a subject that we leave behind closed doors, only encountering when it's too late. Take matters of female genital mutilation or the unmonitored rapes that persist daily; we shrug reality off until the statistics increase into monstrous figures.

Mustang teaches us that life is fragile and easily corrupted but with resistance and faith, walls can be broken down. The movie ends leaving the audience optimistic; gender equality may be far, but it is not out of reach.