We're thrilled to once again highlight the excellent achievements of our students, graduates, and alumni. Read on to learn about their inspiring success stories. If you have any exciting news to share, we'd love to hear from you! You can sign up to our alumni newsletter here to get the updates direct to your inbox.
Let's kick things off with a brilliant example of LFS cross-programme success, where grads and students from MA Filmmaking, MA Screenwriting and MA International Film Business have joined forces to create cinematic magic!
It’s a real pleasure to see graduates and current students from all three programmes working together. MAF student, Abdul Ahad Naushad, has been in Qatar shooting his grad film, Mulberry, with MAIFB graduate, Stanley Matthews, who is now based there. The script for the film was written by MAS student, Basma Mohamed, after hearing her pitch her work at an end of term wrap event. To top it off, the film is being co-produced by another MAF student, Tashin Singh.
Well done and best of luck with the shoot! We can’t wait to see the film.
A huge congratulations to Jonathan Rhodes who has been selected by Screen Daily as one of their Future Leaders 2025. The Future Leaders showcase spotlights the rising professionals in a key sector of the international film industry — this year, Screen is focusing on the young executives making a name for themselves in sales and acquisitions. Jonathan is now working as International Sales Manager at Cornerstone Films. You can read more about Jonathan’s selection here.
We’re delighted to share that Antonio Sequeira’s film, Autumn (A Minha Casinha), will have its UK theatrical premiere at The Rio Cinema in Dalston on Tue 17 June. At the screening there will be a Q&A with Antonio and Anastasiia Vorotniuk (DP and co-producer) who is also an alumni of the School. Other LFS alumni on the crew were Giulia Mazzochi (Production Designer), Daniel Christophersen (Assistant Director), and Matteo Zenini (Steadicam Operator). Congratulations to you all – brilliant work!
Antonio would love to catch up with other LFSers at the event. If interested, book here.
Autumn will have its digital release on 2 June across platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Sky Store, Rakuten TV and Google Play.
"After my time at LFS, I felt an incredible surge of energy and motivation to take my skills to the next level. It was time to move beyond short films and TV series and step into the world of theatrical feature films. Autumn was the result of that drive... It became not just a film, but a manifestation of everything I had learned, all the risks I was willing to take, and the belief that storytelling—done with passion and authenticity—has the power to connect with people and bring them out of their homes into the cinemas." - Antonio Sequeira
Congratulations to filmmaking alumna, Mireia Graell Vivancos, who produced the film, The Fury, which will screen at SXSW London in the Official Competition. You can catch The Fury at Curzon Hoxton on Mon 2 June and Rich Mix on Wed 4 June. Well done and best of luck!
Congrats to filmmaking alumna, Jing Zhao, whose short film How to be a ghost in Bangkok? will be having its world premiere at New Directors New Films Festival and will be competing in the Silver Lynx short Experimental Competition. Incredibly impressive work as Jing made the film completely independently (working all the roles!) on a zero budget. Huge well done and best of luck!
We've got some more Cannes news too! Learning to Breathe Under Water, written by screenwriting alumnus, Richard Brabin, has been included in British Council and British Film Institute’s annual Great 8 online showcase. Featuring films from first-time or early career filmmakers, the films will be screened online exclusively to buyers and festival programmers in Cannes as well as be available to distributers at the market. Huge congratulations! Read all about it here.
Grad Film Highlights
We’re proud to share that grad film, Car, was longlisted for the BAFTA Student Awards, which is a significant achievement and congratulations to the team! (Wri-Dir-Editor: Kun Sun, DOP: Leslie Lin, Co-Producer: Winifred Wang, Producer: Lauren Liu, Prod Design: Maxine Ma).
Three films are shortlisted for the Young Directors Award 2025; The Bull, (Dir: Victor Nauwynk) Saving Art (Dir: Remi Moses) and Hold...Please! (Dir: Asa Gartland).
Congratulations to The Big Pygmy for winning the Best Cinematography award at last edition of the Female Characters Film Fest (Serbia). (Writer-Director, Producer and Editor: Tom Chambers, DOP: Yanxiang Qiu). This festival was founded by our very own alumna Mimi Vlaovic from MAF0918, congrats!
A Little Bit of Glitter screened UK South Asian FF at BFI Southbank and also at Kashish Film Festival in Mumbai (India). Writer-Director: Siddhart Menon, Production Designer: Zhiqi Wang, Editor: Christine Arnold, DOP: Ravenna Tran.
Over the pond in Canada angelic comedy, Divine Intervention, screen at popular Inside Out Film Festival. Co-Creator-Dir: Ravenna Tran, Writer: Rebecca Ozer, Prod: Aditya Jain, Megha Bhaduri, Nathan M. Legger, Prod. Manager: Tony Barroso, Editor: Ryan Ling.
Also in Canada Saving Art continues a wonderful festival run, screening at Voices With Impact (Canada). Writer-Director-Editor: Remi Moses, Prod: Victor Nauwynck, DoP: Pui Man Leung, Prod Designer: Anastasiya Mykhaylova, Art Director: Elitsa Marielle.
Coming of age sibling drama, Arcade, screened at Fastnet Film Festival (Ireland). Writer-Director: Ruari Chambers, Producer: Hollye Swinehart, Assistant Director: Victor Nauwynck, Cinematographer: Pui Man Leung.
Congratulations to Memories of Zhi for winning the award for Best Narrative Short at Reality Bytes Independent Student Film Festival. Director: Mingxin Li, Director of Photography: Yanxiang Qiu, Assistant Director: Ting Tu.
Venezia Shorts will be screening the film 16. Writer-Director: Ryan Kochberg, DoP: Ryan Kochberg, Assistant Dir: Thomas Derbyshire.
Sharks in Colwyn Bay was selected for Focus Wales Film Festival. Writer-Director: Jonathan Williams, Producer: Siddharth Menon, DoP: Maxwell Cutting, Production Designer: Ben Packwood, Editor: Tom Chambers
Settle had its premiere at the last edition of the Sunderland Film Festival (UK). Writer-Director: Voy Bach, Producer: Jack Cameron, DOP: Moritz Lips.
Broken Hearts will be screened at the next edition Romford Film Festival (UK). Writer-Director: Julie Magnaudet, Prod: Nathan Legger, DoP: Bo Giesen, Editor: Ryan Ling.
Photo credits (top to bottom)
2 BTS shots of Mulberry by Tashin Singh
BTS shot of Autumn (A Minha Casinha), wri-dir: Antonio Sequeira
The Fury, wri-dir: Gemma Blasco