Graduates from the Film and Television Production course premiered their final year films at the prestigious British Film Institute.
Date: 7 August 2023
Final Cuts, the School of Computing and Digital Media's festival of outstanding student documentaries, short films, and animations returned to the BFI earlier this year in June.
Student Vesta Skar won the jury award for her film ‘The Baby’, a fascinating and slightly surreal film that explored Christmas Eve traditions, which left a young girl in spiritual trouble. Vesta noted how her work on the course influenced her final year film.
“The director David Lynch is a big influence for me, but I was also able to take small details and lessons from the films I have made on my course to help me make my final piece of work. I feel like I have properly stepped forward into the industry and I can actually start applying for jobs now”
Will Hextall won the audience award for his film ‘Picturesque’, decided by a panel of judges including course teachers and technicians. The film’s tagline is ‘Hiking in the Lake District a young blind woman and her girlfriend learn how to embrace love and disability’.
Audience member, Martin, described the film as “quite self-contained and focused, the kind that really transports you to a specific emotional place, as well as transporting you to the physical space of the Lake District.”
Georgia Hamlin’s film ‘Ordinary After 12’ depicted two enemies forced into an uneasy alliance after being confronted by an unexpected visitor. Georgia found the work experience section of her course invaluable. “It helped me to figure out exactly what I wanted to do, and I ended up falling into editing, which I realised I’m best at. I also got to try out stop motion and other styles which I ended up using in my final project.”
Organiser and Film and Television Production course leader Dr Jeremy Collins, spoke highly of this year’s films, especially the sound design. “It was amazing to see and hear all the improvements in sound quality, with the addition of things like ambient sound, quality dialogue, and music. These layers of sound which you aren’t always consciously aware of, contribute to the sense of realism of a film.”
This year also saw the introduction of a new film studio for students on the course which allowed students to film in a controlled environment. Jeremy noted the impact of the studio on this year’s films. “I think the addition of the new film studio has had a huge impact. It's great that students are making use of the resource to be able to build a set and create a story within that space, and do it relatively efficiently”
The awards were presented by filmmaker and City of London councillor Munsur Ali, who graduated with a degree in Film and Broadcast Production and currently chairs the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee.
The Final Cuts 2023 trailer is available on the LondonMetFilm YouTube channel, including:
- Roadrunner – Directed by Alex Longe
- Lost Mary – Directed by Vitoria Mendes
- Men Too – Directed by Olayemi Izevbekhai
- Two Fingers – Directed by Aston Brain
- The Baby – Directed by Vesta Skar
- Ordinary After 12 – Directed by Georgia Hamlin
- Picturesque – Directed by Will Hextall
