Hats off to our students, grads and alumni for more brilliant wins! We're thrilled to share their inspiring stories, continue reading for all the details on some of their recent achievements. As always, if you have any exciting news you'd like to share, don't hesitate to get in touch - 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.
Let's kick things off with screenwriting alumnus Said Zagha. His film COYOTES was selected for the Orizzonti Short Films International Competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival! Written and directed by Said, COYOTES is a Palestinian film co-produced with France, Jordan and the UK. It is the first Palestine-set short film ever in the Venice official lineup. A superb achievement - congratulations!
“We made this as a scream in the dark at a moment of unspeakable suffering in Palestine. We’re grateful to be part of the world’s oldest film festival and look forward to sharing the film with the world.” – Said Zagha
Congratulations to Emilia Cotella and John Mathis, whose debut horror film, The Devil Whispered My Name, is set to premiere in Argentina this August at Terror Córdoba Film Festival! Emilia wrote The Devil Whispered My Name while completing her master’s in Screenwriting. She then co-directed the film with her fellow screenwriting graduate (and husband!), John. We love to see it!
"Making The Devil Whispered My Name has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of our careers so far. We feel incredibly fortunate to have attended the MA Screenwriting program at LFS, where the idea for our feature film was born. We both entered the program with experience in production but were eager to refine our skills as writers. Under Sophia’s leadership, and with the guidance of our tutors, we were able to sharpen our craft while enjoying the creative freedom to write something deeply personal. Emilia wrote The Devil Whispered My Name under the mentorship of her tutor, Virginie, whose insight and support were instrumental in shaping the story, with valuable feedback and encouragement from her classmates too.
"After completing the program, we went on to shoot the film in Emilia’s home country of Argentina, working with a small budget and a loyal, dedicated cast and crew, from the US and local. The film is now complete and has already been accepted into several acclaimed genre festivals, which we look forward to announcing soon! We've also received interest from multiple distribution companies. We are proud that the making of this film reflects the London Film School’s ethos of global filmmaking. Our team included collaborators from around the world who came together to bring this story to life. We are truly grateful to be surrounded by such an incredible group of people." - John Mathis and Emilia Cotella, directors of The Devil Whispered My Name.
Congrats to Leticia Tonos and the team for AIRE, Just Breathe being officially selected for Sci-Fi London Film Festival 2025 where the screening was followed by a Q&A with Leticia.
It’s a pleasure to report that Zoé Mahfouz’ feature-length comedy screenplay POTATO, POTAHTO, which she wrote during her screenwriting course, has been nominated at the Creative World Awards. Best of luck in the competition!
Sofiya Sujad's screenplay Meena or Battered Fish was officially selected by the Independent Shorts Awards, Los Angeles. Meena or Battered Fish was written by Sofiya during her time on the MA Screenwriting course. Well done and best of luck!
Grad Film Highlights
Congrats to the creative team behind A Little Bit of Glitter for reaching the Semi Finalist stage for the Student Academy Awards 2025! One of around sixty from thousands of entries! Director: Siddhart Menon, Production Designer: Zhiqi Wang, Editor: Christine Arnold, DoP: Ravenna Tran. The film also received an Honourable Mention at Brighton Rocks Film Festival.
Two LFS films will be screened at the next edition of Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival (USA): Dou (Director-Writer-Producer: Jing Zhao) and Different Faces (Writer-Director: Gregory Randolph, DoP: Yuanhui Yang, Editor: Aymée Hamon).
A fabulous trio of LFS films will screen at Oscar Qualifying Bengaluru International Film Festival (India). A Little Bit of Glitter (credits as above). Vithura (Director: Joseph Dominic, Producer/Editor: Sid Menon, DoP: Max Cutting, and action thriller Matter (Director: Pujit Kalash, Producer: Atharva Puranik).
Over on the southern hemisphere, triangular bromance drama The Couch premiers at International Film School Festival Uruguay, (Writer-Director: Ed Lara Kuijper, Producer: Karina Stephan, DoP: Rastine Mir, Sound: Jack Cameron).
Academy Qualifier Durban International Film Festival (South Africa). screened two LFS films: Dou (Director-Writer-Producer: Jing Zhao) and The Penitential Act (Writer-Director: Ben Packwood, DoP: Yanxiang Qiu, Production Designer: Elitsa Marielle, Editor: Alexander Emborg, Production Manager: Megha Bhaduri, Assistant Director: Joseph Dominic).
After a great Festival run, big up to the creative team of The Bull for winning the Silver Young Director Award (Cannes, France) in the category Film School 10 minutes and over. Writer-Director: Victor Nauwynck, Producer: Siddharth Bala Kumar, Editor: Ryan Ling, Production Designer: Anastasiya Mykhaylova.
Mother And Ulysses screened at talent spotting First International Film Festival Xining (China). Director-Writer-Editor: Mushi Cai, Producer: Qiuhui Wang.
Locarno premiered short film Scorched Earth was screened at the last edition of the Aigio Film Festival (Greece). Director-Writer: Markella Kontaratou, Editor: Mengyao Zhang.
Grad film comedy Penicillin won the Best Comedy Award at the London Global Film Awards. Writer-Director: Romane Golan, Producer: César Candelon Cong.
Continuing a great festival run, Divine Intervention will be screened at the San Francisco Frameline Film Festival (US). Co-Creator-Director: Ravenna Tran, Writer: Rebecca Ozer, Producer: Aditya Jain, Megha Bhaduri, Nathan M. Legger, Production Manager: Juan Antonio Barroso Lopez, Editor: Ryan Ling.
Three LFS films have been shortlisted for the Young Director Awards in Cannes. The Bull (Writer-Director: Victor Nauwynck, Producer: Siddharth Bala Kumar, Editor: Ryan Ling, Production Designer: Anastasiya Mykhaylova). Hold...Please! (Writer-Director: Asa Gartland, DoP: Muhamad Fauzan Bin Abdul Hak, Editor: Liu Lingyi, Producer: Luobing Ye). Saving Art (Writer-Director-Editor: Remi Moses, Producer: Victor Nauwynck, DoP: Pui Man Leung, Production Designer: Anastasiya Mykhaylova, Art Director: Elitsa Marielle.)
Invocation will be screened at Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival. Writer-Director: Lu Lu, Producer: Zhao Wu, Jiayin Bao, DoP: Yue Pan, Camera Op: Longhua Yang, Production Design: Ziyan Gao, Editor: Zheng Wei.
Photo credits (top to bottom)
COYOTES, wri-dir: Said Zagha
Emilia Cotella and John Mathis
POTATO, POTAHTO, wri: Zoé Mahfouz
The Couch, wri-dir: Isa Lara Kuijper