Winners from this year’s Walthamstow International Film Festival were showcased during a special screening.

Filmmakers and cinema goers were able to watch prize-winning movies at Empire Walthamstow on Saturday (July 23) and Vestry House Museum on Sunday (July 24).

Silence, a Russian romantic drama set in a cinema directed by Elena Brodach, scooped the festival’s top prize.

Third place overall and winner of the documentary category was Kayayo, shot by Walthamstow director Carol Gyasi in Ghana.

The film follows the plight of young girls who carry heavy loads on their heads through nation’s capital, Accra. 

Audience members at the screening also got the chance to vote for their favourite film- and chose The Lost Bear, by 10-year-old Ruby Moore.

The story, which features Ruby and her sister Violet, follows the sad tale of a favourite toy spending a night in Higham Hill Park.

Now in its seventh year, the film festival aims to give both local and international amateur filmmakers with a low budget a platform for their work to be seen. 

One of the festival’s co-founders, Liza Fletcher, said: “Every year we are pleasantly surprised with the support we get from local film makers, from local schools and from film makers around the world. 

“We've already been approached to forge a link with a school in Egypt and have made more contacts with young people who want to progress in the world of film. 

“We want to use our contacts to help them. And there is nothing more satisfying than watching how the films of young people in the borough just get better and better, year after year."

Now in its seventh year, the film festival aims to give amateur filmmakers with a low budget a platform for their work to be seen. 

This year, 18 films were shortlisted into categories including animation, silent, experimental and documentary, with winners being announced on July 14.