'Benjamin's Magical Kitchen Birds' is our latest of Film of the Month

We are delighted to reveal our latest Film of the Month winner Benjamin's Magical Kitchen Birds, a playful short film by animator Benjamin, from Barnes.

Benjamin's Magical Kitchen Birds (engaging for all ages) is a distinctive animation that invites the audience to imagine everyday kitchen items as birds.

We caught up with Benjamin to find out more about his filmmaking process.

How long have you been making films?

I have been making little films for 2 years.

Where did the idea for Benjamin's Magical Kitchen Birds come from?

I said I wanted to make a silly bird film after the last Into Film Awards. I go birdwatching a lot. A cork screw in the kitchen looked like a bird so I started looking for other strange birds.

How did you make your film?

I took photos and traced over them. My grandad helped me scan them into Inkscape. I coloured them and drew wings, legs and beaks. When animating I mostly used left and right arrow keys to move the birds. I saved a picture of each move and put them together in iMovie. I used Garage Band to make the music.

What was your experience like making this animation?

I enjoy making films but it takes a long time!

Are there any films or filmmakers who influence you?

I really enjoyed the Into Film Festival, seeing all the other films. 

Benjamin's film will now be showcased to over 300,000 film club members online and all of our Film of the Month films are now on the Into Film YouTube channel, they have also secured a £100 Amazon voucher to help further develop their filmmaking. Think you could win Film of the Month? Find out more about how you can enter our ongoing Film of the Month competition.

If you've been inspired by Benjamin's Magical Kitchen Birds then make sure to check out the following films:

• Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971) U, 95 mins, 5-14
  The story of Charlie Bucket, a little boy with no money and a good heart, who dreams wistfully of being able to buy the candy that other children enjoy.
• Shaun The Sheep Movie (2015) U, 82 mins, 5-11
  Twenty years after his first appearance, Wallace and Gromit's cheeky sidekick finally gets his own big screen adventure in this delightful comedy from British animation studio Aardman.
• Pixar Shorts Volume 1: Luxo Jr. (1986) U, 2 mins, 7-14
  A desk lamp watches his son playing with a ball hoping he will settle down…until he finds an even bigger ball to play with.
• Lottie Reiniger: The Fairy Tale Films (1961) PG, 192 mins, 5+
  A charming series of fairy tale short films made by Lottie Reiniger in her distinctive silhouette animation style.