As always, we're excited to share more news about the outstanding achievements of our students and alumni. Continue reading for more information on their inspiring stories and see what they say about their journeys of making their dreams into a reality. Please get in touch if you have any news you’d like to share and sign up to our alumni newsletter here to get the updates direct to your inbox.
We’re delighted to share the incredible news of alumnus, Yanqi Chen, whose debut feature film, Day Tripper, won the Grand Prix in the 38th Fribourg International Film Festival and had its world premiere in the 39th Warsaw International Film Festival - congratulations! Watch the trailer here.
“After graduated from LFS in 2016, I went back to China to start conceiving this project. It took some time from the first draft to shooting, and we had to postpone the shooting for one year because of the pandemic. Actually, we finished the postproduction in 2022 but it took another year to get approval from the censorship. Finally, we had world premiere in Warsaw International Film Festival last year, and last week we won the Grand Prix in Fribourg. It was such a long journey but still a nice experience. Also, Day Tripper may have some more screenings in some European festivals this year, so the journey goes on.
“The jury found in Day Tripper by Chen Yanqi a wonderful chronicle of contemporary China, a country bristling with modernity yet paralyzed by its past. With his irony-laced, deliciously cynical debut feature, situated between the universe of Jacques Tati or a Roy Andersson, young Chinese director Chen Yanqi has, in our opinion, the makings of a great film auteur.”- Yanqi Chen
Well done and best of luck with the future screenings and endeavours of Day Tripper.
It's a pleasure to see that filmmaking alumnus, Zhannat Alshanova, had the screenplay of her next feature film, Present Perfect, selected for TIFF Writers' Studio and was awarded with the CHANEL fellowship. The project is in development with Film4, to be produced by Michelle Stein (The Fold).
“I am incredibly grateful to TIFF Writers' Studio for the opportunity to work on my next feature film project! It was so great to challenge the story from different angles and perspectives. I think TIFF and CHANEL are doing a great job of creating a space for writers to infuse each other's creative processes. We had such a safe and caring environment not to exchange ideas in the most fruitful way but also to move into the next stage of development.” - Zhannat Alshanova
Zhannat has also been selected to be a recipient of a CHANEL Women Creators’ Network grant, which is a year-long program that aims to advance the careers of TIFF Writers’ Studio alumnae. Best of luck and congratulations!
We’re proud to share the wonderful news of filmmaking alumnus, Babak Jalali, whose feature film, Fremont, recently won the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards 2024.
“Donya works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.”
Congratulations to Doddi El-Gabry, who since graduating last year has recently launched Cinebur, a new app where people can discover film screenings of award-winning independent films hosted at unique locations. The aim of the platform is to create new opportunities for impactful brands & venues to build community through cinema, while independent filmmakers & distributors can access a new untapped market.
Recently, Cinebur premiered the directorial debut from the polyvalent Belgian-Congolese artist BALOJI, alongside the film's theatrical release across the UK. Omen uses innovative imagery and storytelling to create a phantasmagoria of Africa and has been recognized by the Cannes Un Certain Regard NEW VOICE Prize while being selected as Belgium's Oscar-entry this year.
As an MAF student immersed in mid-high budget independent productions, Doddi was exposed to the numerous constraints surrounding these films' distribution.
Cinebur's novel approach is creating a new market for these films. By working directly with culturally impactful, independent filmmakers and distributors, Cinebur makes it possible for its community of partnered venues to host unique screenings of these films at their social spaces, including galleries, cafés, exhibition spaces, cocktail bars, roof-gardens and more diverse locations.
Incredibly exciting stuff! Be sure to download the Cinebur app to stay updated on upcoming screenings and events.
Congratulations to filmmaking alumnus, Kieron Hawkes, directed all six episodes of ITV's new major series, Red Eye, which aired in April. You can catch the series on ITV1 at 9pm on Sundays or you can stream it on ITVX.
"Directing all six parts of Red Eye was such a rewarding challenge. It gave me full authorship over the style, pace and flow of the storytelling. The show is cinematic and bold but at the centre has real characters. You never want the visual language, style and action to overshadow the plot and people. I feel we hit that balance.” - Kieron Hawkes
We’re delighted to share that filmmaking alumnus, Michelle Cho, has been selected for the CJ + TIFF K-Story Fund. “A new programme that aims to foster, support, and champion Korean Canadian and Korean American filmmakers looking to develop their first or second feature film.” Best of luck with it!
Congratulations to filmmaking alumnus, Antonio Sequeira, who was recently listed in Austin Film Festival's 25 Screenwriter's to Watch in 2024.
"It's a true privilege for my work to be recognized on the '25 Screenwriters to Watch' list by Moviemaker Magazine. This entire journey crafting our debut feature film has been nothing short of extraordinary— We had what we called "a small Portuguese film" but it grew exponentially once we released it, having now been shown and won awards around the world. My deepest thanks to the Austin Film Festival, which gave us the rockets we needed to boost this film, after winning the prestigious Audience Award. It’s an honor to be considered a rising star in such a vibrant industry, and I am eager to uphold this standard with my ongoing and future projects: Projects that I share and will continue sharing a creative collaboration with Anastasiia Vorotniuk, a fellow graduate from the London Film School. Very grateful to have met her at this university, who continues to believe in my vision and supporting my filmmaking path." - Antonio Sequeira
Equal congratulations are also due to filmmaking alumnus, Patrick Ireland (director), and screenwriting alumnus, Jessica Romagnoli (producer), whose film, Ill Fares The Land, was awarded Best Drama Short Film & Best Fantasy Short Film at the BIFA-qualifying Beeston Film Festival; and has won awards elsewhere at festivals, including Vero Beach Film Festival and Hastings Rocks Film Festival. Indie Shorts Mag named it the Best Short of 2023.
"We're so grateful for this award. It's a testament to the hard work, talent and artistry of our incredible cast and crew" - Jessica Romagnoli
"This is a film which tries to, unflinchingly, depict the unfortunate reality affecting many communities up and down Britain: and that is the re-emergence of fascism. We're glad the film and its message has been positively received by audiences" - Patrick Ireland
Ill Fares The Land is a fantasy-drama about a young boy who finds a mermaid washed up on the shores of his seaside home while his older brother is swept up in the rising tide of far-right nationalism. Watch the trailer here.
Photo credits (top to bottom)
Still from Fremont (writer-director: Babak Jalali, writer: Carolina Cavalli)
Poster of Day Tripper (writer-director: Yanqi Chen)
Image of Zhannat Alshanova at TIFF Writers' Studio
Still from Fremont (writer-director: Babak Jalali, writer: Carolina Cavalli)
Photo of Cinebur by Tianyi Qian, Doddi El-Gabry, Cinebur Ltd
Production photograph of Kieron Hawkes by Robert Viglasky
Still from Ill Fares The Land (writer-director: Patrick Ireland)