Three London Film School (LFS) students, along with tutor Richard Kwietniowski, represented London Film School with a showcase of their graduation films at the Sarajevo Film Festival this August.
Kwietniowski was also a member of the jury in the student film competition. Zeidan screened her graduation film ‘Three Centimetres’, which won the Teddy Award for Best Short Film and screened as part of the Generation 14plus competition at this year’s Berlinale. The one-take film was shot on a Ferris wheel with Beirut as its backdrop and follows three girls as they attempt to cheer up their friend after a breakup.
The festival took place from 10 to 17 August in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Founded in 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo with the aim of helping to reconstruct civil society and retain the cosmopolitan spirit of the city, it is now the premier film festival in southeast Europe and one of the largest in all of Europe.
Recent MA Filmmaking graduates Tom Rowe, Lara Zeidan and Hamid Ahmadi’s grad films screened alongside an introduction and a Q&A chaired by Richard Kwietniowski. Zeidan also took part in Sarajevo's Film Festival gathering on the red carpet in front of Sarajevo's National Theatre in a show of support for the 5050x2020 Charter, which Sarajevo director Mirsad Purivatra signed as well as Cannes and Locarno Film Festivals. Speaking to Variety, Mathilde Henrot, Kinoscope’s co-programmer, said: “In many countries, half of the film school graduates are women and they manage to direct great films. And we have the chance to watch those films and are happy to be able to show them.”
Full Article about LFS' Showcase: https://lfs.org.uk/content/london-film-school-host-showcase-sarajevo-film-festival
About Sarajevo Film Festival
Towards the end of the four-year siege of Sarajevo, in 1995, Obala Art Centar initiated the Sarajevo Film Festival with the aim of helping to reconstruct civil society and retain the cosmopolitan spirit of the city. Today, two decades later, the Sarajevo Film Festival is the leading film festival in the region, recognized by both film professionals and the wider audience. The Sarajevo Film Festival is an international film festival with a special focus on the region of South-East Europe (Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey), shining an international spotlight on films, talent and future projects from the region. High quality programming, a strong industry segment, an educational and networking platform for young filmmakers and thus generated presence of the international film industry, film authors and media representatives alongside a paying audience of over 100,000, confirm its status as the leading film festival in the region, recognised by both professionals and the wider audiences. In an emerging territory of more than 140 million inhabitants, Sarajevo Film Festival serves as a common platform for film businesses from all over the region, setting the future standards in festival organisation, film promotion and presentation in South-East Europe.
Photo Credit (Top): Richard Kwietniowski, l-r Tom Rowe, Lara Zeidan, Hamid Ahmadi
Photo Credit (Middle): Hamid Ahmadi, Lara Zeidan on the Sarajevo red carpet gathering in support of 5050x2020
Photo Credit (Bottom): 'Three Centimetres' by Lara Zeidan, DP: Pierfrancesco Cioffi