It has been just over a week since LBFF 2024 ended, so now that we have all had time to process, it is the perfect time to look back and remind ourselves of it all and celebrate the festival’s success. This year’s London Breeze Film Festival- its 9th overall, and first since rebranding and expanding from Barnes Film Festival in October last year – was bigger and better than ever, with 725 film submissions, and six venues across London screening a diverse selection of independent short and feature films from around the world.
I came aboard in early September as an operations assistant to help with the run-up to the festival. I was immediately welcomed to the team and entrusted with some exciting tasks including: writing descriptions for each of the shorts programmes and choosing their order of play for the screenings, designing the certificates to be presented to the Children & Youth Showcase filmmakers, adding many of the films and their information to the website for the online viewing hub, helping to curate the feature film events, communications, and even teaching an animation workshop.
Wednesday evening was abuzz with anticipation for the start of Breeze- the Opening Gala screening of ‘In Camera’- plus a Q&A with director Naqqash Khalid and actress Josie Walker- at Riverside Studios, which was the main hub for the festival this year. It was the perfect way to kick off the festival, and the first marker for months of hard work coming to fruition.
Thursday was Industry Day in Riverside Studios’ River Room, with a packed itinerary of panel discussions, a pitching event presented by SMASH Media, and networking drinks. Meanwhile in the gallery area, RCA students exhibited their Spatial Storytelling work- immersive stories told in virtual spaces. The artistry and innovation on display here was impressive.
We were proud to host the UK premiere of Iranian filmmaker Oktay Baraheni’s ‘The Old Bachelor’ on Friday evening at Riverside Studios- a stand-out moment of the festival for me. Iranian music welcomed guests into the screen, and the 3h12m epic family saga played to a rapt audience.
Over the weekend I was at the beautiful Garden Cinema for the morning screenings of Kensuke’s Kingdom. After Saturday’s screening, we were lucky enough to be joined by the directors of the film, Kirk Hendry and Neil Boyle, for a Q&A session. The children asked brilliant and insightful questions, and it was lovely to see them all so engaged with the film. Kirk and Neil kindly stayed afterwards to talk to the children and sign posters for them. After Sunday morning’s screening I taught a 30-minute animation workshop, showing the children how to create a bouncing ball animation using a flip book. Seeing them use their creativity and imaginations to embellish what I had shown them and produce their own versions of the exercise was a rewarding moment.
In the afternoon I was able to catch the Around the Globe and IMPACT shorts programmes at All Is Joy Studios in Soho. It was a thrill to be able to watch these stunning films on a big screen alongside some of the filmmakers, and to have the chance to talk to them about their work afterwards. Renowned explorer and writer Neville Shulman CBE was the host of the panel after the IMPACT shorts, for a discussion on sustainability in the film industry.
One of my many highlights of the festival was Saturday evening’s London Premiere of ‘Between the Lights.’ We decorated the room with fairy lights, candles (battery powered of course), and a mini Christmas tree by the red carpet. Champagne and sweets were served to guests, while Christmas music played in the background. We wanted to set the mood for the film- a supernatural romance set at Christmas- and create a sense of occasion for the film’s London premiere. Lead programmer and festival coordinator Madeleine Casey hosted a fantastic Q&A with director and producer Michael and David Groom and the two leads of the film, Inès De Clercq and Samuel Edward-Cook. It was a magical evening overall.
We ended the festival on a high with Sunday evening’s Closing Gala screening of ‘Snow Leopard,’ a film with breathtaking cinematography and performances. The awards ceremony was a celebration of the filmmakers who had poured their heart and soul into their projects, and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate with them all.
Many of the audience members throughout the festival were friends and family of the filmmakers, people who work in the film industry, as well as people who just love independent film, which is testament to the inclusive and supportive environment that Breeze fosters. I also discovered that some of the selected filmmakers had met and become close friends through the festival, which I was so pleased to hear, because one of Breeze’s main goals is to create a sense of community and bring filmmakers together.
By the end, I felt a mixture of relief that the festival had been a success and sadness that it was over, as I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of being part of it.
