a.k.a British Female Filmmaker Focus. I was never sure if I was going to get away with the title: U K Hun?… or even if I was going to let myself get away with it. I didn’t know what I was looking for in British short films this year, but it felt like it took a long time for me to find it. I have to shout out to Strong is Better Than Angry for really showing me a path to programming this. The films here deal with frustrations, anger and struggles to express oneself. And I wonder why these themes seem so prevalent in narratives steered and created by non-cis male filmmakers??? hmmm… Don’t be mistaken, this isn’t the doom and gloom programme, but the thing that drew me to these films was their honesty about the realities of life and their ability to wrap this honesty into engaging superb short films. I hoped this programme would offer a little bit of everything for the audience, some docu-drama, some dry humour, straight talking and reflection, a spooky moment in a rural landscape and a fight in a laundrette.
Strong is Better Than Angry
Directed by Hope Dickson Leach, UK, 2019, 11mins
Square One
Directed by Emily Jo Sargeant, UK, 2019, 12mins
Material Bodies
Directed by Dorothy Allen Pickard, UK, 2020, 4mins
End-O
Directed by Alice Seabright, UK, 2019, 15mins
This is one of six programmes I curated for the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2020, which was cancelled due to Covid-19. The rest of the programmes can be viewed here, and if you have any questions or want further information, please get in touch.