London Breeze Film Festival held its first event since its launch in October at the beautiful Riverside Studios in Hammersmith on Wednesday evening.
The sold out ‘Shooting the Breeze’ screening was a showcase of five fantastic films made by exciting new UK voices. All the films recently screened at the 67th BFI London Film Festival including the winner of the Short Film Award, ‘The Archive: Queer Nigerians’ by Simisola Akande.
We were delighted to welcome some of the filmmakers to the Riverside Studios to join in a Q&A with event curator Madeleine Casey. Joining Madeleine on stage alongside Simisola were ‘Ratthum/Blood’ director Vathana Suganya-Suppiah with producer Daljinder Johal, and ‘Essex Girls’ director Yero Timi-Biu, who recently directed two episodes of Lenny Henry’s ‘Three Little Birds’ drama, currently to be seen on ITVX.
Our special guests told a rapt audience about their journeys into the film industry, how they came to make these remarkable films, as well as giving their best tips for getting your work noticed. They spoke eloquently and generously of the importance of team work and mentorship; saying yes to challenging projects; taking risks and digging deep, especially when those funding and filming deadlines are looming.
With director Joe Weiland’s ‘Gorka’ and director Sean Lyons’ ’Smoking Dolphins’ completing the programme, this really was an inspiring evening of film and fascinating discussion. The buzz in the foyer afterwards was electric.