The first big event of the film calender starts here our guide to some of the events and films we like.
Today: 21:00 Fri 10 Jan 2020
Kicking off the 17th edition of LSFF, they are packing comedies of a darker hue and more Lynchian leaning, inducing both belly laughs and bittersweet chuckles. These films aren’t afraid to confront issues that matter – from the male gaze to coming out – with lighter spoofs found in the unlikeliest of places, from chicken shops to dreary offices. Eyes out for comedy names Jack Whitehall, Lolly Adefope and Amit Shah. Programmed by Philip Ilson 88’
This programme contains references to sex and violence, and depicts a mass shooting
INDUSTRY: FITS AND STARTS: SHORT FILM FUNDING
12:00 Mon 13 Jan 2020
The industry’s gatekeepers offer advice and insight into getting your short film funded – from best practice pitching and pet peeves, to streamlining the application cycle for both applicant and commissioner. Learn about the pockets of money up for grabs and what both established and more niche funds are looking to put into production.
Panellists: Daisy Griffith (Commissioning Editor, BBC), Caragh Davison (Coordinator, BFI NETWORK), Jess Gormley (Executive Producer, The Guardian), Gavin Humphries (Managing Editor, NOWNESS), host Joanna Duncombe (British Council)
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: OSCILLATIONS
17:00 Sat 11 Jan 2020
PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH frieze
Wikihow texts, Nina Simone and Citebeur pornography intersect in this programme of cinematic juxtapositions.
A ‘compare and contrast’ dialectic structures these works, exemplified by Drew Lint’s psychogeographical meditation on colonialism, class and sexuality on the streets of Paris. Pedro Neves Marques’s entwined narratives of virus-bearing mosquitoes and a queer, polyamorous relationship spin a beguiling analogy for Jair Bolsonaro’s reactionary conservatism, whilst Ja’Tovia Gary interrogates the corporeality of black women through animation, street interviews and performance. Programmed by Tom Grimshaw. 88’
All of the films in this programme qualify for LSFF’s Best International Short Film Award as well as, dependent on genre, our Best Documentary and Best Animation Awards.
This programme contains unsimulated sex.
Oscillations also screens at ICA, 3pm, Wednesday 15th January.
SPOTLIGHT – DOCUMENTARY: RELATING TO EACH OTHER, COMMUNING WITH OURSELVES
19:00 Thu 16 Jan 2020 – ICA Cinema 1
As intimate as a family, as expansive as the internet and as lengthy as decades, this programme takes journeys through VRChat, inner city London and colonial histories to try and expand our understanding of how we can connect to others and ourselves.
How do we build new, supportive and healthy communities between us? How do we understand our current positions in regard to our shared and personal histories? Hoping to answer these questions, LSFF presents a mix of artist and observational documentary filmmaking including works from Onyeke Igwe (No Dance, No Palaver). Programmed by Miranda Mungai. 93’
A WIDER SCREEN
Joe Hunting 13 mins (UK, 2019) – An intimate insight into how virtual reality (VR) is affecting peoples social lives for the better. 70% of the film is shot within VRChat, a VR social platform that allows users to create their own worlds and avatars.
SPRING FEVER
Anna Snowball 9 mins (UK, 2019)- In the Netherlands, sex education is done differently, as a group of pre-teens from Amsterdam have a candid conversations about their changing bodies with an inspiring teacher. This isn’t just a sex ed class, this is an anti-shame class.
MOTHERLAND
Tracey Lopes / Alicia Quayson 3 mins (UK, 2019) -A mother recounts her experience of growing up in Congo; an experience which shaped her as a woman, defined her as a mother and established deep-rooted family values.
MATA NE
Christina Sayaka Kerber 15 mins (CH, 2019) – The filmmaker travels to her second home, Okinawa, Japan, where she and her mother visit her grandmother as part of a visit that becomes both a reunion and a farewell.
THE YELLOW MAZDA AND HIS HOLINESS
Sandra Heremans 11 mins (BE, 2018) – A conceptual experiment on what it means to start a film with a black image, developing into a subtle personal essay about the filmmaker. The story of a missionary falling in love with a Rwandese girl, blends with what images and colonial history mean to their daughter.
THE CIRCLE (Main image)
Lanre Malaolu 16 mins (UK, 2019) -The Circle is a bold and lyrical portrayal of two brothers from inner city London, and the challenges they face daily, interpreted through dance.
THE NAMES HAVE CHANGED, INCLUDING MY OWN AND TRUTHS HAVE BEEN ALTERED
Onyeka Igwe 26 mins (UK, 2019). Bringing together three interconnected narratives – a story of the artists’ grandfather, one of ‘the land’, and another detailing an encounter with Nigeria – which the film attempts to tell in as many ways as possible.
All the above events are at Rich Mix or the ICA
SW1Y 5AH
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