August highlights
Updates from the London Film School community
Here, we share monthly London Film School updates; students, alumni and staff successes we thought you might like to know about. Find out more about our MA Filmmaking, Screenwriting, and International Film Business courses.
The best bits
Recent graduates Remi Itani and Zhannat Alshanova will screen their respective short films Drought and A History of Civilization as part of the Toronto International Film Festival 2020. Zhannat recently took home the Silver Leopard for International Short Film at the Locarno Film Festival for the latter.
Rafael Manuel’s graduation film Filipiñana took third place at the prestigious CILECT International Film Schools Prize. It will also screen as part of this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival in the NEST Film Students programme.
Alumnus Ian Bonhôte has co-directed the new Netflix documentary Rising Phoenix about the history of the Paralympic Games.
“The Paralympics can’t go ahead in 2020 due to COVID-19, but Rising Phoenix is a powerful reminder that they’ll be back to fight again soon.” Lillian Crawford, Little White Lies
Graduation films
We are thrilled to have so many graduation films in the student section of this year’s digital edition of Encounters. Congratulations to all casts & crews:
- Filipiñana — Dir. Rafael Manuel, Prod. Naomi Poltier-Mutal, DoP Xenia Patricia, Production Design Andrea Vigoni, Ed. Rafael Manuel.
- Natural Paul — Dir. Sam Tibi, DoP Alex Grigoras, Production Design Julia Bronwyn Wiese.
- Shoegazing — Dir. Servane d’Alverny, Prod. Julien Cornwall, DoP. Tamas Apor Meder, Production Design Molly Shears — also selected to feature in the NAHEMI Student Competition at the festival.
- Sink or Swim — Dir. Alisa Tritenko, Prod. Ksenia Rubina, DoP Norbert Strehle.
- Transit — Dir. Ariq Khan, DoP Eng Teck Ng.
- Underneath — Dir. Calif Chong, Production Design Andrea Vigoni.
- Walter the Dog — Dir. William Haigh, Prod. Frederic O’Donohoe, DoP Tim Archibald, Production Design Adriano Rudiman, Ed. William Haigh.
- We All Just Want to be Mad — Dir. Flora Tennant, Prod. Rafael Manuel, Naomi Poltier-Mutal, DoP Xenia Patricia, Production Design Davide Valsecchi, Ed. Emanuele Bonomi.
Read Masha Clark’s interview by the Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival about her graduation film Señor — a finalist at the 2019 Student Academy Awards, recently screened at POFF Shorts and the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia.
Meidagen (Dir. Juri Ferri, DoP Clara Stephanie Schieber Lorenesi, Ed. Marijn Maas) will enjoy an open-air screening at the Elba Film Festival this September.
La Petite Folie (Dir. Massimo Zannoni, Prod. Kevin Barnett, DoP Antoine Billon, Production Design Nia Fausset, Ed. Kevin Barnett) will screen at the Innuendo International Film Festival in Milan where it has been nominated for a Best Production Design award.
Luca Nappa’s graduation film Warriors of Sanità (DoP Sebastian Lojo) is now streaming online via Omeleto — “the home of award-winning short films. We showcase Sundance winners, Oscar noms and critically-acclaimed filmmakers from every genre.”
We Choose to Go (Dir. Marlene Rios, DoP Hsien Niu, Production Design Emily Marquet, Ed. Razvan Barseti) won Best World Project at the Latino Film Market and the Audience Choice Student Film Award at the Monmouth Film Festival.
Other alumni successes
Also screening at Encounters is a new short film If Then Else, by alumna and rising talent Carla Simon. The film was nominated for Best Short at the 2020 Gaudí Awards.
Screening at the Giornate Degli Autori at the Venice International Film Festival is alumnus Andrea Della Monica’s new documentary feature James.
TJ Collanto’s project April Mud has been selected for the inaugural Objectifs Short Film Incubator running throughout September. The scheme will see filmmakers from Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore develop their short film scripts with mentors and a valuable support network.
