THU 24 OCT 14:30. HEART’S DESIRE (88m)
These eight films each feature protagonists who wish for something: to pursue a passion, justice for a lost loved one, physical and emotional healing, the truth, a happy family, and for their deepest desires to come true. The programme includes three animations, a documentary, and four live action fictions, making it a varied selection of films that will keep audience members on their toes. But the common thread of wish fulfilment- of wanting something to be fixed or changed- ties them all together. Keep tissues at the ready for What We Wished We Could Be (dir. Luke Shelley), a love story that brings to light the contaminated blood scandal that took place in the UK from the 1970s to the early 1990s and is a moving tribute to those affected by it. Also on the programme is supernatural thriller Lost Ones, the latest short from award-winning director Andrew McVicar, and producer Jack Tarling, whose previous work includes God’s Own Country and Kneecap. The film presents us with themes of grief and mortality and asks universally relatable questions on the afterlife and how to move forward after loss.
Heart’s Desire Dir. Loren Alleyne. UK 2023. 4 min. Language: English
Lost Ones Dir. Andrew McVicar. UK 2024. 13 min. Language: English
What We Wished We Could Be Dir. Luke Shelley. UK 2024. 21 min. Language: English
Finding Home Dir. Lester Jones. Australia 2023. 11 min. Language: English
Tiff Dir. Sebastian Canning. UK 2024. 4 min. Language: No dialogue
Ladybug Dir. Daniela Schrier Kafshi. US 2024. 19 min. Language: English
Bunnyhood Dir. Mansi Maheshwari. UK 2024. 9 min. Language: English
Root Note Dir Guy Larsen. UK 2023. 7 min. Language: English
THU 24 OCT 18:30: HERSTORY (88)
This is a diverse set of eight films centred on women, all from differing backgrounds and places in the world. Telling stories of women navigating male-dominated spaces, exploring themes of cultural identity and coming-of-age, celebrating the uplifting power of sisterhood, and raising taboo but critical issues around fertility and reproductive health, these films are eye-opening and prove the need for women’s voices to be heard. The programme asks what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal society- especially in cultures that limit their agency and independence. Of note is the award-winning Blood (dir. Vathana Suganya Suppiah), which premiered at the BFI LFF last year, and is a heartfelt and important film about expectations of women, the stigma that often comes with being childless, and the taboo surrounding menstruation in Tamil culture. Another one to look out for is Marion, which brings us into the world of the first female bull-jumper in France and stars Caroline Noguès-Larbère- about whom the film was written- in her first acting role. Directed by Finn Constantine and Joe Weiland, whose debut film Gorka was nominated for a BAFTA, and with Sienna Miller and Cate Blanchette as executive producers, Marion has been optioned for a feature length film.
Under the Blue Dir. Linda Ludwig, James Curle. UK 2024. 15 min. Language: English
Blood Dir. Vathana Suganya Suppiah. Australia 2023. 10 min. Language: English, Tamil with English subtitles
Marion Dir. Joe Weiland, Finn Constantine. UK 2024. 13 min. Language: French with English subtitles
Mrs. Iran’s Husband Dir. Marjan Khosravi. Iran 2023. 27 min. Language: Persian with English subtitles
I’m Not So Sure About This Dir. Christy Sherrell. US 2024. 7 min. Language English
Hair Dir. Wendy Mateo. US 2023. 6 min. Language: English, Spanish with English subtitles
Lichtblick- Glimmer of Hope Dir. Sophia Tamaro. Germany 2023. 5 min. Language: Bulgarian, English, German, Persian, Romanian, Tigrinya, Ukrainian with English subtitles
Liminal Roots Dir. Aliyah Harfoot. UK 2024. 4 min. Language: No Dialogue
FRI 25 OCT 14:30 LABOUR OF LOVE (89m)
At the core of these seven short films is the desire to do something meaningful or fulfilling in some way through one’s work. Whether that is a man undertaking the laborious mission of painting his late wife’s studio layer by layer to process his grief and to honour her work, a social worker attempting to guide a troubled boy onto a better path, or a filmmaker asking people to discuss their concerns and hopes for the way the world will end, each of the films in this programme are linked. Creativity, artistry, and imagination are on display here, for example in Moving Parts (dir. Christian Søgaard), labour of love is not only part of the story but is reflected in the medium of the film itself, as stop-motion animation is a painstaking process. Paint, The Hanging Man and How to Build a Life each show the importance of art in helping people to process and heal from trauma. How to Build a Life (dir. Matthew Reese) is a life-affirming and impactful documentary about the director’s brother, Louis, who has Asperger’s (now officially known as Autism Spectrum Disorder) and has persevered through intense bullying with the help of his dog and a creative outlet: Lego. Perfectly encapsulating the title of this programme is Delivery (dir. Ben Lankester), which follows a nurse during an intense and challenging shift on the maternity ward as she cares for two patients in crisis. With powerful performances, Delivery is a testament to the dedication of nurses despite unfair conditions and portrays the strenuous and often tragic side of childbirth.
Delivery Dir. Ben Lankester. UK 2024. 25 min. Language: English
Paint Dir. Corran Gourlay. UK 2024. 10 min. Language: English
Collision Dir. Amirhossein Mohseni. Iran 2022. 15 min. Language: Persian with English subtitles
Moving Parts Dir. Hugo Docking. UK 2024. 3 min. Language: English
The Hanging Man Dir. Christian Søgaard. Norway 2024. 19 min. Language: Norwegian with English subtitles
How the World Is Going to End Dir. Vladislav Motorichev. UK 2024. 7 min. Language: English
How to Build a Life Dir. Matthew Reese. UK 2023. 10 min. Language: English
FRI 25 OCT 18:30 SEE ME (88m)
This programme contains six short films that offer a wide range of stories each from the perspective of people wanting to be seen- either by a friend, a family member, or society. Here you will find a film about a woman who made a deal that gave her fame and fortune without considering the consequences, an animation about a mother and her family dealing with the loss of her baby, and a documentary about a group of people who have found a community with each other in virtual reality. See Me also includes the UK Premiere of Voyager (dir. Pablo Pagán), an atmospheric and haunting film about loneliness and wanting to connect with others but not knowing how, that will be relatable to many viewers. You will also have the chance to see the London Premiere of Blind Spot from director Soph Webberly and starring the multi-talented Ben Bailey Smith (AKA Doc Brown): a raw, unflinchingly honest, and funny depiction of a father-daughter dynamic as they grumpily drive around the city together after both of their evenings have abruptly ended.
The Choice Dir. Paul Hendy. UK 2023. 13 min. Language: English
Voyager Dir. Pablo Pagán. Spain 2023. 20 min. Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Blind Spot Dir. Soph Webberley. UK 2022. 13 min. Language: English
Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground Dir. César Oyarzabal. US 2024. 22 min. Language: English
That Night Dir. Emma Miranda Moore. UK 2024. 14 min. Language: English
For Isaak. Dir. Rebecca Lidwina Wilson Jacobs, Richard Graham Jacobs. UK 2023. 6 min. Language: English
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