Young Grantham filmmaker wins award in the My Hero International Film Festival

A young filmmaker from Grantham has won an award for her documentary.

Maddie Barnes has won the Overcoming Obstacles Award in the My Hero International Film Festival.

The award is for her documentary Secondary Strobe, which follows Libby Gotta, a member of the Great British Deaf Swimming Club and her pursuit of a world championship qualification, whilst tackling a lack of funding and recognition.

Maddie, who has been creating films for over five years, said the process of making the film was “incredibly hard”.

She added: “You would be surprised at how hard it is to shoot within a swimming pool, but this was also the most rewarding part of our film shoot.

“We spent only three hours with Libby in the pool in Christchurch within which time we had to secure all of the underwater imagery.

“This was only possible due to our incredible team of ADs, producers, camera and lighting team and sound.

“Making this film gave me the chance to learn sign language to be able to work with Libby when she was in the water, as when in the water she would have her implants out.

“Shooting at Loughborough was also incredibly rewarding and allowed us to grow as a crew and also connect with the GBDSC.”

Maddie studied at the BFI Film Academy in Lincoln as they offered her a “lifeline into the world of filmmaking”.

With a background of competitive swimming, Maddie has seen people she knows - who appeared in her first documentary - go on to compete for Great Britain in the sport.

However, in this second documentary she wanted to explore the “journalistic world of documentary”.

She added: “I learnt about the GBDSC who became a big focus for me, learning about the club and how they support their athletes was a big driving factor.

“As they receive no funding, the club members themselves must run solely on donations and this is key to why the club is like it is - they welcome you in with open arms and allow you to become a part of them.

“This is what I think is the importance of the film - the determination and desire to succeed in an environment that actively doesn’t support it.”

The My Hero Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing films celebrating the power of human spirit.

It provides a platform for filmmakers to share inspirational stories.