It’s time for your monthly feast of student and alumni highlights - and boy, do we have a meaty one for you! Continue reading to learn all about the inspiring stories behind their success. As always, if you have any exciting news you’d like to share, don’t hesitate to get in touch because we want to hear all about it! Don’t forget you can sign up to our alumni newsletter here to get the updates direct to your inbox.
Congratulations Samuel Jefferson, whose series Berlin ER won Best Drama Series at the German Television Awards! The series also won Best Cinematography Fiction (Tim Kuhn and Jieun Yi) and was nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Directing Fiction and Best Editing Fiction – an incredible achievement! Samuel is the creator and head writer of the series – an inspiring journey from screenwriting grad to creator of an award-winning TV show! Isn’t that what we all dream of? And to top it all off - Apple TV+ renewed Berlin ER for a second season. Huge well done! We love to see it.
Hats off to our brilliant alumni whose films have gone to BFI’s London Film Festival this year! We couldn’t be prouder - huge congratulations to you all!!
First up we have Calif Chong's debut feature, Hire Wire, wri-dir: Calif Chong, wri: Jackie Lam. script Supervisor: Shawn Zou, assistant editor: Ryan Ling, art director: Zhang Hui, costume designer: Quin Sotelo.
"I am so proud to have worked with many East-Asian talents on screen and off screen in this film, and to tell a British-Hong Kong immigrant story against the beautiful backdrop of North Yorkshire. This film is dedicated to (young) women whose identities, like mine, are shaped not only by gender and race, but also by class and cultural background. And most importantly, I want people to have a good time during and after watching the film." - Calif Chong
Next up is Rebecca Ozer's short Tumtum, wri-dir: Rebecca Ozer, art assistant: André Mâncio, Ram: Caleb Russell. "On the holiest day of the Jewish year, non-binary Alex’s values are challenged when they intersect with the fiery Jess."
We also have screenwriting alumnus Said Zagha whose film COYOTES. "When Israeli soldiers interrupt her commute home, a Palestinian doctor is forced down a desolate road and her future is thrown into disarray."
Victor Nauwynck and Shir Ariya's short Crab No. 7 comes in next, wri-dir: Victor Nauwynck & Shir Ariya, prod: Bea Ralston, Guy Lindley, Leo Villares, Victor Nauwynck, DoP: Tamás A. Méder, script supervisor: Hannah Marie Dooley, 1st AC: James Cockrell, gaffer: Yun Yang, editor + DIT: Ryan Ling. "A controlling mother interferes in her nine-year-old daughter’s audition in order to live out her own dreams."
Finally we have Jasmin Nunes' short Ackee and Saltfish, wri-dir-prod: Jasmin Nunes, co-prod: Victor Nauwynck & Leo Villares, DoP: Tamás A. Méder, gaffer: Leslie Y. Lin & Juri Ferri, spark: Andreea E Petricioiu & Dovydas Drakšas, colourist: Alex Grigoras. Shout-out to Victor Nauwynck and Tamás A. Méder who worked on BOTH Crab No. 7 and Ackee & Saltfish – you nailed it! "Hilda grows despondent as she fears her boys’ Caribbean identity is slipping away, anglicised by their new life in the UK."
As always it’s a real joy seeing so many LFS alumni from both Filmmaking and Screenwriting programmes smashing it together – well done!!
Congratulations to filmmaking alumnus Simon Helbling on the cinema release of his documentary series Game Over: The Downfall of Credit Suisse, which has become the best performing documentary of the year and ranks in the top 5 documentaries of the last decade in Switzerland. When shooting in the UK, Simon worked with former LFS friends Hamid Ahmadi (DP) and Pierluigi Campa (Gaffer). The story also took Simon to Mozambique where he worked with Ique Langa (AD). We love to see continued collabs among alumni! Simon and the team recently secured international distribution and won Best Series at die Seriale Festival.
The cinema release of the series had a sold out premiere and hit the 50,000 mark of cinema audience members. Huge well done! The full series is set to air on TV channels and streaming platforms worldwide by the end of the year. Keep an eye out!
“The downfall of Credit Suisse, even though it is a Swiss bank, played out on an international stage. I was impressed about how well the LFS network helped me in this production. It's a luxury to work with LFS trained filmmakers literally around the globe.” – Simon Helbling
Jesse Carfield's Sincerely, Ric had its world premiere in the feature documentary category of the Heartland Film Festival! “Decades after Ric Routledge revolutionized the dog show world, a forgotten storage unit unlocked the story he never told. Drawn from his own novel and raw footage, the film traces his rise, fall, and complex legacy. A found footage documentary about ambition, identity, and the urge to be remembered.” - Jesse Carfield
Well done Zoé Mahfouz on POTATO, POTAHTO reaching the Quarter-Finalists (Top 13%) at the 4th Edition of Your Script Produced. And further congrats to Zoé on FIFTY SHADES OF PEYTON being longlisted at the Funny Women Awards in the Comedy Writing category. We are delighted to see ongoing success from screenplays you worked at during your time at LFS!
Simón Mesa Soto's A Poet won the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard. A Poet has also been selected to represent Colombia at the Academy Awards for Best International Film! Bravo!
Excited to learn of another milestone reached by Emilia Cotella (wri-dir) and John Mathis (co-dir) for their film The Devil Whispered My Name which will be having its North American premiere in LA at the Chinese Theatre at Screamfest! Congrats! See what Deadline had to say about the film!
Photo credits (top to bottom)
Berlin ER, creators: Samuel Jefferson & Viktor Jakovleski
Hire Wire, wri-dir: Calif Chong
Tumtum, wri-dir: Rebecca Ozer, stills photographer: Declan Kelly
COYOTES, wri-dir: Said Zagha
Crab No. 7, wri-dir: Victor Nauwynck & Shir Ariya, stills photographers: Joe Collins & Tianyu Zhange
Ackee and Saltfish, wri-dir-prod: Jasmin Nunes
Game Over: The Downfall of Credit Suisse, wri-dir: Simon Helbling
Sincerely, Ric, wri-dir: Jesse Carfield
POTATO, POTAHTO & FIFTY SHADES OF PEYTON, wri: Zoé Mahfouz
A Poet, wri-dir: Simón Mesa Soto
The Devil Whispered My Name, wri-dir: Emilia Cotella