Top award for new work from Horsham film-maker

Angel Fleet is proving to be a huge hit with American audiences and film professionals. The short, which was filmed around West Sussex, has received the Best Score - Short Film award at LA’s Golden State Film Festival. Angel Fleet’s award-winning music theme was composed by Moritz Schmittat, performed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, and supported by the Big Notes Choir, Horsham, directed by Mark Bradbury. Additional music and performances were provided by the Glenn Miller Orchestra UK, directed by Ray McVay, with a solo performance by Darcy Jacobs.

As Tristan explains, the film honours air crews lost over the years. Made “in memory of all the lost aviators”, the film is called Angel Fleet, the fleet in the sky that aircrew are said to join when they die. Tristan made the piece through his film company Fact Not Fiction Films which he started in 2006 when he had to stop flying due to ill health. 24 and a half minutes in length, the piece is also helping raise awareness of The Sally B, the last remaining airworthy B-17 Flying Fortress in Europe. Tristan filmed throughout the summer before last, shooting in and around Horsham and also in Portsmouth at a UK Glenn Miller Orchestra concert.

“It's a short film, and the story is that this family have lost the husband who was a test pilot who has died in an accident. The mum sets up a charity to look after families that have lost aircrew. They have two daughters and the youngest daughter is struggling to come to terms with the loss of their dad. The film is the journey of this family. It particularly remembers those who were lost during the war but I also know a lot of pilots and cabin crew that are no longer with us and this will be my tribute to these people. I'm very, very pleased with the way it has come out. It has been a dream to make a film that pays homage to all the last aircrew and also to highlight the history of RAF Coolham. And this is also the third film that I've done with young Darcy Jacobs (from Bexhill).

“It was a very ambitious project. It's involved Farlington School again as we did with our first film and they were incredible. We also involved a lot of old military aircraft. There are a lot of high-end production values. It ended up costing about £50,000 to make. When we started to make the film we decided to use the Glenn Miller band in the UK but we discovered very late on that they didn't have the composition rights so it cost us a huge amount of money to sort that but I'm really pleased with the result.

“Since I watched the film The Battle of Britain in a cinema as a young boy, I knew I wanted to be a pilot. When I was 17, I learnt to fly and ever since it’s been an amazing journey. I have had the great honour to meet some amazing pilots, engineers and cabin crew over the decades.”