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Vicar Wins National Prize for 60second Film Revealing the True Meaning...

A film-mad vicar from Macclesfield and his parishioners have won first prize in a national competition backed by the Archbishop of York to make a 60-second film celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

The Rev Taffy Davies and other budding film-makers from St James'ss Church, Macclesfield won with their dark and atmospheric story of a carpenter who fells a Christmas tree and, rather than decorating it, decides to make a carving from it his local church'ss nativity scene.

Judges for the TrueMeaning competition, launched this August by church insurer Ecclesiastical Insurance, were deeply impressed by the stylish yet stark presentation and the powerful message behind the film, The Gift of a Carpenter.

The Rev Taffy Davies had the idea for the film and also makes a brief appearance; local park ranger Ian Coppack stars in the piece; and Phil Wattis directed and shot the film.

The Rev Taffy Davis said: We wanted to make a simple but interesting film. We didn'st want to knock Christmas or patronise people. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience of making the film; it really stimulated us to think about the true meaning to Christmas.

Visit www.ecclesiastical.com/winner to view an interview with the winners, explaining how they found their inspiration.

The TrueMeaning Competition

The winning entry was chosen from over 100 films submitted in a national competition organised by Church insurer Ecclesiastical. The competition challenged anyone to submit a one-minute long video clip using a mobile phone, web camera or video camera. The winners were announced at an Oscar style presentation ceremony held at Old Trafford in Manchester on Friday 21 November.

John Coates, one of the competition'ss judges and Church Insurance Manager at Ecclesiastical, said: Our competition'ss aim was to find a video which put a powerful spotlight on the true meaning of Christmas. The winning videos prove that you don'st need complicated plots, large casts, impressive sets or expensive camera equipment to make a really good film. A good idea and a camcorder is all you need to spread an important message.

Visit http://www.truemeaning.co.uk/videos/48-the-gift-of-a-carpenter to view the winning film.

The competition is backed by the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu. He said: It'ss your film. It'ss your story. It'ss your chance to express your thoughts. Dr John Sentamu has recorded a message to celebrate the winners. You can view his video here: http://www.truemeaning.co.uk/pages/johnsfilm/.

The 10 finalists were judged by a panel including Peter Ball, Head of Youth Ministry for the Church of England, and film-maker Dominic Green. To encourage the maximum number of entries video clips were judged on creativity and content rather than technical prowess. Entries featured plays, monologues, songs, spoofs, interviews, game shows, poems, raps and animation.

The three winners also win tickets to the Christian Festival Greenbelt held in Cheltenham and merchandise signed by Christian band thebandwithnoname.

The finalists and winners:

>    1st - 'sThe Gift of a Carpenter's, St James Church, Macclesfield, Cheshire

>    2nd - 'sPass It On's, St Erkenwald'ss Church, Barking, Essex

>    3rd - 's60 Songs in 60 Seconds's, St Mary Magdalene, Belmont, County Durham

>    'sSigns in the Dark's, Halifax Central Church, Halifax, West Yorkshire

>    'sThe Present's, New Life Christian Fellowship, Beccles

>     'sWhat is Costs's, St Augustine'ss Church, Gillingham, Kent

>    'sWithout This's, St Matthew'ss Church, Stretford, Manchester

>    'sA Saving That Lasts's, St Michael'ss Church youth Group, Southfields, London

>    'sChristmas is What You Make It's, All Saints Youth Group, Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne

>    'sChristmas is Brilliant's, St Michael 's38; All Angels, Bramcote, Nottinghamshire

About Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical is a specialist insurer of charities, schools, the care sector, churches and historic buildings.

Founded in 1887 to provide insurance for the Anglican Church, it now offers a wide range of commercial insurances, as well as home, travel and wedding insurance, selling through brokers and direct.

Ecclesiastical also provides a range of financial services through IFAs and direct, including a range of ethically screened investment funds.

Ecclesiastical Insurance has been running an annual competition for churches since 2002.

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