On Wednesday 17th October we attended the BFI London Film Festival, Southbank, to watch a series of short films followed by a question and answer session with the directors and producers. The collection of short films was named 'New British Shorts' for which there were six films totalling to 43 minutes.
The first film was 'Operator' directed by Caroline Bartleet and lasted around 6 minutes. The film is about how Gemma wakes to find her and her son trapped in their house which is on fire. The film was very intense from the beginning despite the operator's calm and collected tone. The film starred two well known actresses Kate Dickie and Vicky Mclure and could be described as drama or even a thriller as the audience only hear the incident and have to imagine it for themselves.
The second film 'Otherwise Engaged' was a short comedy directed by Alicia Macdonald. The short starred Hannah Arterton and Mark Quartley. The film runs for five minutes and in that time explores the themes of social media and the role technology plays/ effect on 21st century relationships.
The third film was a four minute documentary called 'Lines' directed by Cecile Emeke. The films cast discussed the lyrics to certain songs and how a group of women interpreted them. The themes explored would be music and reflection as the individuals reflected on childhood hits such as the work of Destiny's Child, and how they're understanding of the songs have change and developed.
The next film was 'Copycat' directed and produced by Charlie Lynne. The short lasted 9 minutes and was made entirely from VHS clips. Lynne's short film explores the connection between Rolfe Kanefsky's 'There's nothing out there' and Wes Craven's 'Scream'. The film loosely resembles a documentary centered on the belief that after Kanefsky's film was overlooked so he passed it on to Craven's son, to which five years later Scream (extremely similar to Kanefsky's film) was released and a global success.
The fifth film was C.T.R.L directed by Mariana Conde. The film is three minutes long and similar to 'Otherwise Engaged' explores the theme of technology and its impact on relationships. The genre could be consider comedy as humour is created through the film only featuring dancers and how love interests can be manipulated by a phone app as if there were characters in a game.
The final film 'Black Sheep' directed by Christian Cerami was the longest of all the shorts, at sixteen minutes. The film resembled a documentary however a very6 informal one following two teenager brothers as they attend an EDL protest. The film itself could be consider controversial due to the view points conveyed throughout.
What were your favourite films?
My favourites would have to be Operator, Otherwise Engaged, Copycat and Black Sheep. I equally enjoyed 4of them because they were each unique and kept me engaged throughout. I liked how Operator was extremely intense and showed a side of the Emergency Services I had never seen before. In addition, Otherwise Engaged was very light hearted and made me laugh. More importantly, Copycat fascinated me as I really liked how Lynne has edited all the old recordings together, then added his own voice over to tell his story. Furthermore, Black Sheep caught my attention as it was so controversial. I appreciated how Cerami got the two boys to be so comfortable in front of the camera and we were therefore able to hear their true opinions and moreover how vulnerable and susceptible to influences they were.
What interested you about what the film makers had to say?
I enjoyed getting to hear the stories behind the film makers work however I think some were more helpful and informative than others. The directors and producers of Operator had some good advice to do with costs and casting, whilst the director of Otherwise Engaged was very helpful in discussing the pro's and con's of attending film school.
What elements of the films do you think you could use in your coursework?
For my coursework I am looking at representation for which I think was featured in all of the six films depending on how you look at them. I am looking to investigate the representation of disability which could be quite controversial, similar to Black Sheep however less so. In this case I could look at how the director dealt with a difficult topic and the ways in which he was sensitive and tactful in delivering his message.
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