Plenty of cities have notable film festivals these days, but as Oscar buzz heats up this season, we'll be keeping an eye on the London Short Film Festival, which will kick off this Friday. (Anyone who wants to win their Oscar pool by predicting the Short Subject winners would do well to check this festival out, we say.)
According to city website Londonist, 25 indie venues across town will take part in the festival. Now in its tenth year, the LSFF has grown from its initial four-day run to a more expansive ten-day event.
The short films on offer are grouped thematically across the festival’s run under headings such as Sisters & Daughters, Teenage Girls Go Crazy and Lo-Budget Mayhem. And dedicated cineastes can catch the London premiere of experimental filmmakers Al + Al’s acclaimed The Creator, surreal film about thinking machines from the future that have come back in time to discover their creator, computer scientist Alan Turing. The event will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers themselves.
There will also be a special focus on Collabor8te, the short film-making scheme set up by Rankin Films in 2011, which champions new talent from the UK and Ireland. Similarly focused on emerging talent, Peter Strickland – whose fabulous homage to giallo films, Berberian Sound Studio, was released last year – will be presenting a masterclass lab in association with BAFTA.
Tickets to the festival can be booked on the LSFF website.