film festival document

1. Programme
https://issuu.com/aesthetica_magazine/docs/asff2020_programme?fr=sNj
dmZDE3NDY1NjM

2. Task Details
• Between 3rd-6th November you need to watch and discuss (in
this document)
• A minimum of 3 film collections a day between Wednesday and
Friday (p163-231).
• 3 days (WED-FRI) X 3 films = 9 film collections total (minimum).
• There are 14 genres total- you need to have watched films from at least 5
different genres (genre details p157-161).
• A minimum of 2 Masterclasses during the week (p66-93).
• A minimum of 1 University showcase (p52-55) (Full details- p99-
115)
• A minimum of 1 Guest Programme (p117-142)

3. Task Details
• You will need to plan your time throughout the week accordingly to watch your chosen films and
seminars.
• In the schedule- reference the genre of each film you have planned to watch and the page reference.
• Focus on films that are linked to your career interests, FMP ideas or planned University studies.
• Audio- Animation, Experimental etc
• Video Games- Animation, Experimental etc
• Print- Advertising, Documentary etc
• Try to choose films that are relevant to your individual essay topic and feed it into the essay as
additional research.
• Your pass will last the full duration of the festival until Sunday 8th Nov so watch as much as you
want. This document just details the minimum of what we need you to do.
• Add extra slides as necessary (for watching additional films, showcases etc).
• When you are done delete all the BLUE slides and upload to website in the
PROGRESSION section. This will be marked and contributes to your
submissions so must be completed properly.

4. Task Details
• EXTENSION (VOLUNTARY)
• Create something…
• An infographic about the different films they've watched - include key info about the
film/story/makers.
• An infographic about one film they watched that tells the narrative and talks about
techniques used.

5. Genres
1. Advertising
2. Animation
3. Artist’s Films
4. Comedy
5. Dance
6. Drama
7. Documentary
8. Experimental
9. Family Friendly
10. Fashion
11. Narrative Feature
12. Documentary Feature
13. Music Video
14. Thriller

6. EXAMPLE Schedule
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
FILM COLLECTION 1 Animation 1 (p175) Advertising 1 (p187) Comedy 4 (p200)
FILM COLLECTION 2 Documentary 1 (p76) Animation 4 (p191) Dance 2 (p201)
FILM COLLECTION 3 Drama 1 (p178) Artists Film 1 (p192) Documentary 4
(p203)
MASTERCLASS Memory and
Reflections (p67 –
10:30am)
Inspirational Cinema
(p71 – 12am)
UNIVERSITY
SHOWCASE
University of Lincoln
(p104 – 10am)
GUEST PROGRAMME Indigenous Cinema
(p118)

8. TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
FILM COLLECTION 1 TALES FROM ISOLATION
01(NIGEL)-02(STUCCO)
HUMANS AND TECH
04 (FOREVER)
Music Video:
All From Me 03
Pulpitt 11
FILM COLLECTION 2 DOCUMENTING
MODERN BRITAIN
02(NO BALL GAMES)-
DOCUMENTING MODERN
BRITAIN
HATTIE
Thriller:
Night Bus
FILM COLLECTION 3 VOICES FROM THE
ARTIC
02 (WHAT IS A WOMAN)
ANIMATION
REASON
THE FABRIC OF YOU
Artist Films:
Heartbeat of Squirrels
MASTERCLASS TALENT SPOTLIGHT
RUSSLE TOVEY
6:30
INSPIRATIONAL CINEMA:
A commissioners Guide
Capturing Authenticity:
Channel 4 (1 hour)
UNIVERSITY
SHOWCASE
Yours, mine, theirs:
York St.John
Unique Storytelling:
Individual Perspective
GUEST PROGRAMME

9. Films 1
• Nigel was a very moving animated piece, based on the true story of the bird Nigel No Mates, who fell in love
with a fake bird, and refused to love another.
• I really liked the animation style, and how it was quite rough and raw, with many different sketch lines and
strokes, and I think it added to the grittiness of the cold and wet location it was set. It also gave the
characters quite a dark undertone, specifically the half human half walrus character pushing Nigel to mate
with a real bird.
• The lack of colour of the surroundings and the accent of yellow and blue on the birds was interesting, and it
added a feel of sunshine into the normally grey and miserable landscape, the birds being a metaphor for life
finally returning.
• I think the lack of speech was helpful in some areas, however it did take me a while to understand fully what
was going on, why the walrus man needed so many speakers to tempt the bird, why he was so mad at Nigel
refusing to mate with a real bird, however it did make me as a watcher feel somewhat clever at being able to
figure it out without need of dialogue.
• I think where the lack of speech was slightly confusing at times, there was more empahisis put on the sound,
which I really enjoyed. Like the style of animation, the sound added edge and grittiness, creating quite a
spooky and suspenseful ambience at times.
• I think the thing that struck me the most, and has been most memorable, was the character of the walrus
man. He was really quite intimidating, having control of the environment that Nigel was in, whilst also
stalking him like a predator. I thought it was interesting how the walrus man was portrayed, as he is surly
doing a positive thing, by bringing life back to the area, and trying to keep a species from dying, however his
obsession with pushing Nigel away from his fake-bird love was quite a negative and sad thing to watch. This
may possibly be why he was portrayed as both Man – the saviour of the species- and Walrus- the hunter and
the enemy of Nigel.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
Nigel Animation

10. Films 2
• Stucco was very intense, and I feel like there is a lot to unpack. Stucco tells the story of an
agoraphobic who has recently separated from her boyfriend, I believe after she cheated on
him (“I just want to know how long it was going on for!”)
• Overall I liked the look of Stucco, the camera angles and shots, the lighting and the colour
palette. I think that colour is something very important in Stucco, in her new flat its all very
grey very cold, with the one dark blue wall quite oppressive among the duller colours, and it
represents how the main character is feeling very well, and it almost gives a sense of
claustrophobia which I'm sure is something she is experiencing. We can also see the contrast
at the end and briefly when she lifts up the blinds of the window, the more warmer and
brighter, friendlier tones of the world outside.
• I liked the aspects of horror, the wall somehow becoming a mish mash of human body parts,
the character watching herself on camera pushing an arm back through the whole, however I
did sometimes think what the point was, and weather the point came across in the right way.
• I think overall, the message of Stucco is about facing your fears, getting out of your comfort
zone, because you don’t know what else could be round the corner. I think its about not
giving into your anxieties and to centre yourself and your feelings, and that you are your own
worst enemy, and I resonated with that message well. It was defiantly satisfying when the
main character breaks down the wall, and pushes away her fears, and when she wakes from
her madness, and is outside in the bathing sunlight and blue sky!
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
Stucco Drama

11. Films 3
• I really really enjoyed NO BALL GAMES, and it struck a chord with me quite deeply.
• It was just really nice to see children have real, mindless fun, exploring their surroundings,
meeting new friends, making new games.
• Contrary to the title, NO BALL GAMES, the children featured managed to create their own play,
and I think in a sense it was saying “even though you put signs up, even though you tell them stop
and tell them to get away from their homes, you cannot stop children's imagination and
unfiltered wonder for the world.”
• I think it also showed the watcher, that kids have life more sussed out than we think, the two
welsh girls giving great insight into what makes a good husband, how to create your own
entertainment, and the kids from Islington telling us how important school and learning is. This in
a sense is quite melancholic, as I think watching it, we know that in a few years this childlike
innocence will be gone, the pressure of adolescent will soon loom over them, moulding them and
changing them in a way they could never imagine, in that sense I think this documentary is quite
sad.
• It also made me feel very nostalgic for the times I was a child, and would run around playing
blocky with my neighbours (or mob), and when I wouldn’t be home until the sun set.
• I loved this documentary and it made me feel so many different emotions, emotions of sadness,
of happiness of melancholy and I think something that can instil so many feelings into you at once
is something special.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
NO BALL GAMES Documentary

12. Films 4
• What is a woman is showing us a discussion in a females locker-room about What is a
Woman, and what gives you the right to call yourself a woman. The discussion starts
when a trans women is called out for using the female changing rooms, erupting a
conversation discussing many different opinions on the matter.
• I love how real this feels, and possibly it is real. It feels very unscripted and very natural,
and maybe that’s because this discussion something very similar to this has probably
happened many times over. The lighting is simple, the shots are simple and taken from
angles that give the impression of watching, which makes the watcher involved in the
conversation, without necessarily being part of it.
• I think it’s a great thing for people to watch if they are having trouble understanding any
of these opinions displayed in this film, weather that be you not understanding why the
trans lady should be allowed in the changing room, or not understanding how the other
ladies could disagree on a topic like this.
• I feel as though there is not one side or opinion being pushed here, and the fact that the
women do mostly take the time to listen to one and other is nice to see, and can help the
watcher come to their own decisions.
• I think this is a great piece for people to watch if they haven’t quite thought about this
topic much, or have only one solid opinion, as it’s a good way to explore what your own
beliefs and morals are, without one being pushed as the right or wrong one.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
WHAT IS A WOMAN Narrative?

13. Films 5
• Forever is a short about a man who is denied life insurance after an AI algorithm
determines he is not eligible for it.
• I don’t know how to feel about this film, I think the animation was interesting and
experimental, but personally I didn’t like it. I think it was supposed to mimic maybe
strands of data, 01010101, and represent maybe the AI and the Cloud where all our data
is stored. It was sort of like a map. I didn’t enjoy it however as although you could see
some shape in it, it wasn’t that obvious and it was at times quite disorientating to look
at. That may have been the wanted outcome, however I think it was too much that it
distracted me from the story.
• I think I also didn’t really like this short that much either, because I didn’t really resonate
with it. I don’t particularly understand life insurance policies and why it would be
rejected or why it would be given to someone, or why someone would even want it, and
I think that’s just due to my age and the time of my life I am in, insurance is the last thing
on my mind. I think the only thing I resonated with really, which did help me understand
the piece a bit more, was the way he was describing his feelings, how he felt when he
was told he wasn’t eligible, and how it felt to be told by an AI machine that you will die
soon so therefore you cant have this. I can understand that, however I didn’t understand
the context enough I think to really understand the story and what the director was
trying to tell us.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
Forever Animation

14. Films 6
• Hattie is a short documentary following Hattie, a girl with a rare disorder known as
Spinal Dysplasia, and how it has changed her life, from her early childhood days to
her becoming an adult.
• I really liked this documentary, because it felt quite simple and the protagonist of
Hattie was a generally cheerful and open person, happy to share all the details of
her condition with the viewers. I liked how the director didn’t present her as
beholden to her condition, because as you watch you can see that she’s not, and
how it was something that was a challenge in her life but she didn’t let it control her.
I think in that sense it gave a really good message about people with disabilities, and
about not letting anything control you or your life.
• I think out of all the films I have watched so far, this has been the most helpful with
coming up with ideas and getting inspiration for my FMP. Because it was quite a
simple, to the point documentary, I think it’s a good model for something I would
like to do for my project, and looking at the questions that were asked, the way the
subjects within the documentary were filmed and portrayed, it is a really good base
for something I could replicate in my own documentary.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
Hattie Documentary

15. Films 7
• Reason is a polish animation about a modern day Witch Hunt, and how it all works out in the
modern day with technology ect.
• I loved the animation style, and how it was very simple, and it has given me ideas on how to
make my own animation without anything being too complicated. I also liked the mixture of real
life footage for the detailed sections such as tying the laces, or turning on the radio, as it brings
the viewer back to earth.
• I think the story was an interesting one, at the possibility that people today might still be
persecuted for witch craft, and I think it also gives a larger picture of modern day hysteria we
experience. We can see that although the mayor didn’t believe it and tried to somewhat protect
the witch, that he witnessed her burning at the stake. We can also see it in the mother whose
daughter is “cursed” by the witch, and how initially she was a sceptics and didn’t believe in
witch craft, however when she had the chance to save her, she didn’t take it.
• I think the film was certainly more visual in its storytelling, with a lot more expression from the
animated characters body language than their dialogue, which I enjoyed, because I liked the
animation style so much. I think the dialogue that was used told us enough about the characters
that we needed to, the mother being a sceptic (It’s all fairytales!) the lady on the bus seeing the
lady as a problem ( since she has moved here 7 cows have died!) and the mayor struggling to
keep everyone happy, whilst also not wanting to feed the “Witch” to the dogs.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
Reason Animation

16. Films 8
• All From Me is a music video from a Taiwanese artist, and is based on the myth
known as Pingtan.
• What drew me to this music video was the thumbnail, and I really love east Asian
culture and history, so I was instantly grabbed by the image of a powerful
Taiwanese queen, surrounded by women in slightly creepy masks.
• The music video itself is very beautiful, will a lot going on however its in a very
clear and easy to understand way. The visuals were really beautiful, and I think
quite traditionally east Asian, featuring lots of colour, extravagant clothing and
scenes.
• I am sadly not very familiar with the myth of Pingtan, however I think it doesn’t
really matter too much, as the visual storytelling is so good that I could make my
own deductions about the myth and I could figure out what was happening quite
easily.
• Over all it was very beautiful, very intense and I really enjoyed the song that went
along with the narrative, it felt very powerful.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
All From Me Music Video

17. Films 9
• Pulpit is a music video from the artists Rodney Chrome, a single from his upcoming
album Queer Pressure.
• Although the music video was short, I feel like there is a lot to unpack within it. I
have never heard the song before and I don’t know anything really about the artist,
so the lyrics and the music video are really the only indicators of the context and the
narrative within the video.
• I loved how well the shots and the pace of the music video synced with the single,
and I loved the choppy and fast pace of it all. I loved the idea of the spotlight, which
I think holds a lot of meaning within itself, and it features a lot throughout the video.
Also I think the focus on the men in the video is something really important, and the
fact how we only have one female character, presumably a career or parent to the
artist, and we are shown her in a complete different setting to the rest of the people
featured in the video.
• I think overall the meaning of the video, from what I can take from it, is about
masculinity and who you are within the queer community or any community for
that matter, and how you are put on a pedestal and there are expectations of you,
and who you are in other settings, with your family, your childhood self.
FILM TITLE FILM GENRE
Pulpit Music Video

18. Masterclass 1
• In this master class, the interviewer spoke with Dionne Ferell a development executive for BBC
Films.
• This masterclass was very helpful because Ferell spoke about what the job of a development
executive is, what is involved in the job, how you work with other companies and how to work
with film makers to get there work made.
• Listening to what she said about funding, companies such as BFI, Film 4 and of course BBC Films
really helped open my eyes to the process it takes to get British independent films of the ground,
and how important they are to the future of British cinema, and how they help launch people into
careers. I found out that films such a Judy, a film I saw in the cinema last year, went through the
development and funding process with BBC Film, and it was exciting to know the basis of that
process from the first script to the final production.
• She also told us how she initially got her career as a development executive, she began as a
runner, then a script editor working for multiple companies, and is now at the BBC, which is really
helpful to someone like me who would love to get into that sector and see that there is some sort
of way to do that.
• Watching this masterclass has opened up my eyes to what I could be in the future, how to get
there and the career path that I want.
MASTERCLASS TITLE
Inspirational Cinema: A commissioners
guide.

19. Masterclass 2
• In this masterclass, the interviewer spoke to the channel 4 factual commissioner based in Leeds,
who gave some really good information and advice at how things work within the factual tv
industry, what you need to do to get noticed ect.
• This masterclass was very helpful, as it gave me some great insights into what I need to do and
what I need to focus on to get myself into an industry like that, and working within a company such
as channel 4 or something similar. They spoke about diversity within the industry, which is
something I am very passionate about, and how they are working to raise the voices of minorities
and the voices of women in the industry, which has made me feel like I CAN do this, and that there
is a place for women and BAME people within the industry and that we can make a difference.
• It was also really nice to hear about the new HQ in Leeds, as that makes it so much easier for
people in the North as well as the region to get into the company or to get their foot in the door,
and not have to go all the way down to London to get your ideas heard. He spoke about having a
clear vision and how to pitch that, and how its really important to companies who you want to
approach, as well as yourself to get your projects made as best as you can. That is something I will
defiantly think about for my FMP, specifically because I want to work in documentary form, its very
important to have an aim and to have a focus as well as having everything else within that( post
production work, camera skills ect).
• 10/10 Masterclass!
MASTERCLASS TITLE
Creating Authenticity

20. University Showcase
• In this showcase there were a variety of short films as wells as documentaries, that
focussed a lot on age and family and mental health.
• The first film Lockdown Gothic, was a take on mental health, and I believe cabin fever and
the effect lockdown has been having on us. I know many people, myself included, indulged
in escapism during lockdown, engrossing ourselves within period dramas/novels and
fantasy worlds to help get us through the rough time, and in this film I believe it is telling us
the story of one woman who does that. I loved the cinematography, how raw it was, how
we could see every hair on the protagonists arm, how we could even see the sweat on her
face which emphasised her sense of being trapped. It was a nice shock when she snapped
out of the Victorian gothic world, and back into the real world, a less glamourous and more
battered woman, reflecting her retreat from the escapist world and being awoken back to
reality.
• Another film that is quite memorable from the showcase, was titled Schizophrenia and Me,
documenting the days leading up to a lady who had struggled greatly wedding engagement
meal. In the doc, she tells us her journey from her first diagnosis, to her hospitalisations,
treatments she experienced and to when she met the love of her life and finance George. I
thought it was a really nice profile, as when people hear schizophrenia, there are always
images in our minds of mad men, screaming about the devil and Jesus, but this
documentary humanised the mental disorder, and it made it easy to understand for the
viewer, because everyone's life experience is different.
SHOWCASE TITLE
Yours, Mine, Theirs