Heavy LFS presence at Aesthetica Short Film Festival

This November, LFS graduates will have five short films grace the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) in four categories: Drama, Comedy, Thriller and Experimental. Once screened, all the shorts will become eligible to be BAFTA nominated. 

DRAMA

ASFF describes the Drama category as shorts that will immerse the audience in complex emotional landscapes and unlikely circumstances that linger in the mind. BIRD SONGS FROM AMAZONIA  and MAST QALANDER are two shorts deemed to fit such a bill. The former, an LFS graduation film written and directed by Harry Bracho, follows a biologist from London who goes to Amazonia to study the local fauna. Three other scientists all advise her not to go near the Autana, a mountain regarded as sacred by the local tribes, but she goes anyway.

Photo Credit: Arash Fattahi (Bird Songs From Amazonia)

BIRD SONGS FROM AMAZONIA was shot entirely in the state of Amazonas in Venezuela with a mainly Venezuelan crew apart from a few LFS crew members and the lead actress, Sarine Sofair. BIRD SONGS FROM AMAZONIA will be joined in the Drama category by MAST QALANDAR. Having already won Best Student Film at the Manchester International Film Festival, writer and director Divij Roopchand delivers a funny and poignant story about identity and cultural origins set in India.

Photo Credit: Joao Paulo Garcia Silva (Mast Qalander)

Montek, a teenage Sikh boy, wants nothing more for his birthday than a new haircut.  If he tells his mother what he wants, then he won’t get it, but Montek cannot get his hands on a pair of scissors.  

COMEDY

Representing the LFS in the Comedy section, aimed at connecting people through laughter, is LOVEQUAKE.  Versatile filmmaker Stephen Glass, a recent graduate from the LFS, has written a story of lives converging and running in parallel, specifically those of a cave-dweller mourning the death of his beloved and a cave-diver separated from her boyfriend by an earthquake.

Photo Credit: Andrea Niada (Lovequake)

The comic-fantastical short previously had it’s premiere at the Los Angeles CineFest in January 2016.  For regular updates, follow LOVEQUAKE on Facebook.

EXPERIMENTAL

Produced by the London Film School’s current student Juliet Shardlow and marking the directorial debut of writer Julia Hart, the short yet intense drama EMMA, CHANGE THE LOCKS has been accepted into Experimental category of the ASFF. To be eligible for the category, shorts must push against conformity, stylistic boundaries and repetition of ideas, providing unique and futuristic visions for the art form.  

Photo Credit: Diana Olifirova (Emma, Change The Locks)

Featuring award-winning actress Olivia Williams as Emma, the film follows a woman whose decision to change the locks is an extreme one.  When a mysterious caller comes knocking, her resolve to stand by her decision is tested.

THRILLER

Almeido Gonçalo, recent LFS graduate and Writer/Producer of SEVERED GARDEN (2015) will screen at the YTR (Studio) and Yorkshire Museum on 3-6 November 2016. SEVERED GARDEN tells the story of Sophie, a police officer, who is about to give birth. On her hospital bed we journey through moments of her future life as a mother - a jigsaw dream of people and experiences yet to come.

ABOUT THE AESTHETICA SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Aesthetica is held every November in York and celebrates independent short film from around the world, showcasing over 300 international films from emerging and established filmmakers alike.  The programme also includes industry masterclasses, networking sessions and panel discussionsShow your support by ordering screening passes here.

Written by Ben Corbett