Highlights from London Film Festival

The recently wrapped 68th edition of the BFI London Film Festival offered a fantastic mix of world premieres, highlights from the season so far and the very best that British cinema has to offer. Their way of showcasing short films on the big screen in ticketed as well as free screenings, alongside a selection of in competition films shown online on the BFI Player makes it one of the more accessible festivals for short film enthusiasts. Our writer Robin was lucky to be able to attend in person and see a lot of the short films presented by the cast and crew behind them. Here are some of the highlights from this year’s festival!

Travelling Home, dir. Juliet Klottrup

In this short documentary we follow 73 year old Joe Cannon Senior as he makes his annual journey to Appleby Fair in Cumbria, UK. A farrier by trade but now retired, Joe reflects on his past. Coming from a long line of farriers, he has bred all his horses (Billy, Lady Gaga and Sundance) and he speaks about the importance horses have played historically in shaping the country and its people.

It is abundantly clear how much Joe values his legacy and his community, but he is also acutely aware of the changes happening in the society that surrounds him. As he puts it:

What am I? Am I a traveler or a gypsy? I say a traveler. And it’s not racist or anything,

but it is if they stop you from going into a shop ‘cus you’re a traveler or you’re a gypsy.

He mentions how money has had a big impact on people close to him, and how it changes priorities and makes people forget where they have come from. This serves as further emphasis on the importance of the annual trip to the Appleby Fair, which is a chance to reconnect with loved ones that you might not get to see much outside of it. Valuing the time he has left and letting go of what has passed, especially as he grows older and time seems to pass by faster and faster.

Parallel to these changes Joe himself struggles with finding the same balance in life. He talks about wanting a good education for his grandkids, something he seemed to have lacked at times, while trying to maintain his freedom and connection with nature and passing those values down through the generations to come.

A lot of these topics read heavy and at times perhaps even tragic, but the tone of this documentary is warm and reflective, perhaps even optimistic at times. The audio track comes across as more of a poem with the backdrop of gorgeous countryside and horses shot in a handful of different formats. Perhaps unintentionally but through his values Joe is reclaiming what is often seen as derogatory to something he is proud to represent and share. We see a glimpse of a simpler time and praise of things we often take for granted. It might not always be easy, but I think we all stand to learn a lot from Joe and his community.

Review by: Robin Hellgren

Two Minutes, dir. Jamie Benyon

A lot of films at festivals are tough watches. Some bring difficult topics to light while others take a new angle on a familiar story. Others, well they are just good fun!

Two Minutes sits firmly in the secondary category of these two, with a runtime of just over six minutes it tells the story of two brothers (played by Ashley Margolis and Samuel Bottomley) planning to rob a corner shop only to get interrupted by their Nan. That description alone was enough to get the crowd at LFF chuckling, and I can assure you the laughs only continued as the short played on.The two brothers tell themselves they are “good people”, but they “need to do this” for reasons that become clear as the film goes on. The namesake of two minutes comes from the two minute timer they give themselves to get in, get out and drive off before the cops arrive, which is kept in focus by a stopwatch on a phone screen in the windshield of the car.

As the gunman walks in and the getaway driver sits impatiently waiting, a friendly and familiar face of their Nan (played by Annette Badland, recently known for Mae Green in the hit TV series Ted Lasso) pops up in front of the car. The driver tries to brush her off, but naturally she will have none of it and grabs a seat in the car next to him. You see, Nan is worried about her grandson. She says he looks so anxious and seems mentally unstable. She worries that he is not looking after himself and proceeds to force feed him a sweet in an effort to brighten up his day.

The gunman finally gets back to the car after about a minute or so only to find his Nan still sitting in the front seat of the car he desperately needs to get into. Naturally all the other doors are locked and an argument between the three of them ensues. Nan, who is finally cued in after seeing her other grandson run from a corner store sporting a balaclava, is of course furious with them as all hell breaks loose.

Review by: Robin Hellgren

Vibrations from Gaza, dir. Rehab Nazzal

Vibrations from Gaza showcases a series of interviews with deaf children living in the occupied Gaza Strip. Over the years we have seen many horrifying stories of the impact war has on a community, and the current conflict in Gaza is no different. Where this documentary differs from the rest is that most of the destruction itself is kept off screen, in favor of the interviewees' experiences of it.

One recurring topic in this conflict is the use of drone surveillance and the impact that has on the people being surveyed. The first instinct might be to think of this as an infringement on privacy which is completely true, but another side effect is the constant noise the drones themselves give off and the effect this background buzz has on the citizens living in it. The kids to varying degrees mention this as something they faintly hear or prominently feel.

Similarly they also speak about their experiences of the bombings and the way they experience feeling a nearby house getting destroyed. Through vibrations in the air or tremors in the ground they have learned to tell when to run for cover. As horrific as it may be, knowing what the resonance of collapsing buildings feels like is highly important for these children and it is something many of them have grown up with.

Furthermore the film brings into question the reason for the children's loss of hearing in the first place. The use of sonic weapons in warfare is a plausible explanation to some extent and it is reasonable to question the validity of these weapons given the impact they have on the general public in the area.

While of course being a highly political topic, the documentary itself is not very politically angled and instead takes a micro perspective through the use of these interviews and if anything the angle is anti-war driven. Regardless of where you stand in the conflict I think it is obvious to everyone that these children deserve a better future, and I truly hope we will see that day come to life soon.

Review by: Robin Hellgren

Mother's Day, dir. Emily Burnett

Mother’s Day starts off with the young Emrys (played by Tyler Rocha) getting lovingly woken up by his mother Wendy (played by Talitha Wing). They get ready and Wendy walks Emrys to school, which proceeds as any day would for Emrys. He has a rich imagination and loves everything to do with space and spaceships. During his school day he starts to paint a mothers day card for Wendy which of course features a rocket too.

However when school is up and Wendy does not show up for pickup, things take a turn. Waiting in the hall he instead encounters Betty (played by Anita Reynolds), his Gran who has traveled from the Caribbean to take care of him. She informs him that his mother ‘needs a break’ and that she will be staying for a while. But Emrys has not met his grandmother since he was very young and he does not seem to remember much of her, and neither does she really seem to know him and the young boy he has grown up to be.

Betty has a firm hand in her parenting, a stark contrast from his mother Wendy and the lively fantasy world that Emrys has known so far. No climbing or jumping, finish your plate at dinner and bath time every night after school. He obliges but secretly tries to approach Betty who is resting in the other room, only to be met with blank stares and no response.The following day Emrys sneaks in on Betty bathing his Mother, the same way that she does with him or his mother did prior. The scrubbing is tender and lovingly, yet Wendy’s eyes are still blank as she shifts into tears and breaks down seemingly out of nowhere.

Slowly Emrys relationship with Betty improves and an acceptance of the situation starts to grow, only to come crashing down again when Emrys walks into his mothers room to find an empty bed after Wendy has been hospitalized.

Mother’s Day is an unapologetic display of the effects that mental illness has on your family. Told mostly through the eyes of a young boy it skips past the specifics and instead focuses on the emotional resonance and the viewpoint of a child trying to grasp the small world around them. This is further emphasized by letting the imagination of Emrys spring to life in small details, like a painted door in his room showing a shooting star or the audio queues of ‘mission control’ guiding him through life.

The soundtrack beautifully interweaves the fantasies of a child's imagination with the somber and melancholic strands of a deep depression mirroring the mother’s mental state. The film is ruthless in its depiction, yet I can help but feel warmth from its glimmers of light in the midst of a family crisis. It is a fantastic display from writer director (and BAFTA-award winning actress) Emily Burnett and a directorial debut which is very promising for the future.

Review by: Robin Hellgren