GUEST BLOG: Raworths staff talk film

With all of Raworths team living in the Harrogate District we are spoilt by the wide variety of artistic and cultural events available. So, as a local business, based in the town centre for over 120 years, it wasn’t a hard decision to make when we were asked if we would like to support Harrogate’s first Film Festival. 

Film is something that most of us have grown up with and for many of us it is an art form that conjures up fond memories, feelings and emotions as we leave the worries of our real lives behind us and escape into its fantasy world.

This very fact is one of the reasons Raworths is supporting the Independent Filmmakers Award – offering emerging artists an all-important voice. Giving budding creatives in the Harrogate and District area an opportunity to showcase their cinematographic skills, and who knows…we could be the first to see the next Peter Jackson or George Lucas!

We are thrilled to be part of this wonderful initiative that will benefit the whole community and in celebration of the Film Festival, and to get us all in the mood, we decided to ask some of Raworths staff to put aside their legal minds for five minutes and to talk film.

What is your all-time favourite film and why…? 

When asked what the team’s favourite films were, some of the more usual classics like Dances with Wolves, Pulp Fiction and Dirty Dancing were listed but there were some surprises too. Supercross the Movie - a classic mix of dirt bikes, racing and romance… of course! Or Life of Brian, the film that caused quite a stir when it was released, having been banned from many cinemas for its controversial humour!

Favourite line from a movie…

Next we asked staff what their favourite line from a film was, “Go ahead, make my day” from Dirty Harry and “I’m coming to get you” Murdoch, in Rambo 2, were some of the more macho choices, complimented nicely with some all-time classics “Here’s looking at you kid” from Casblanca and “After all, tomorrow is another day” from the 1950’s hit Gone with the Wind – adding a touch of class to the proceedings!

What is your go-to genre of film, romance/ action / horror/ drama/ comedy?

Interestingly the stereotypes didn’t ring true with Raworths staff and drama clocked in at first place amongst both men and women, followed closely by rom coms and comedy - horror didn’t feature at all, clearly we’re not as brave as we think we are! 

If you were a movie character who would you be? 

This gave us a great insight into our colleagues (and provided quite a few giggles) Sadly no-one was up for being George Clooney but we’re hoping we might get a glimpse of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City or Shirley Valentine, and if we’re really lucky Sean Connery (aka 007) might drop into the office for a cuppa.

If Harrogate were to be the setting for a film what genre would it be?

Finally, we asked our team if Harrogate was going to be the setting for a film what genre of film would it be? With its Agatha Christie heritage (the famous author vanished mysteriously for several days in the 1920’s but she was finally found in the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate), many people opted for crime or a ‘whodunit’ style film. Drama came a close second with one or two suggesting it might be a great location for a period drama. That’s something for the Harrogate Film Festival team to think about!

We hope you are going to enjoy the Independent Filmmakers Award as much as we are! Don’t forget to vote for your favourite for the “Audience Award”!