Warwick Filmmakers’ Showcase 2019

The annual Warwick Filmmakers’ Showcase returned for a fifth year this week, with six promising directors exhibiting their short films during a screening at the Warwick Arts Centre. The official selections were curated by a panel of judges – a mixture of alumni, current students and teaching fellows – who expressed their difficulty at having to select just six films from an impressive collection of entries.

Screenings were interwoven with live music and interviews with both directors and judges in an event hosted by charismatic presenters, which saw important social issues raised through the medium of film in creative and engaging ways. The event was sponsored by IATL and the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund.

Here’s a brief round-up of the evening’s featured films, which were all written and directed by student filmmakers.

Evanescence (Jingyi Zhang)

“A girl foresees the end of the world as part of a ‘human purge programme’, and therefore she is viewed as a ‘bug’ in the system.”

A dark, convincing picture of a society under the thumb of technology, with clear roots in the gloom of Orwell and Black Mirror. Smart transitions – particularly those switching in and out of CCTV footage – combine with ominous synthesised sounds to draw the viewer into the mysterious world of ‘Dimension VI’.

NO (Paulina Lazutkaite)

“A powerful story about consent.”

NO proves a pertinent examination of what constitutes sexual consent, placing importance upon acknowledging the ungendered nature of assault and coercion. A brilliantly-constructed awkward meeting between two characters quickly becomes something darker; an unexpected shift in tone which ensures the film’s important message is delivered effectively.

Pre-Occupation (Adam Tindall)

“A recent art graduate struggles to impress a tyrannical curator in order to secure a job.”

The longest of this year’s entries, Pre-Occupation is a charming take on both the difficulties of graduate employment and the pretension of the art world. Think Mean Girls meets Velvet Buzzsaw. A fantastic script coupled with a great chemistry between characters makes for some effective comic relief, while the engaging camerawork – with a particularly clever recurring glass motif – punctuates the narrative and forebodes events to come.

Pre-Occupation received the Audience Award at the end of the evening.

Nevermore (Adam Tindall)

“A modern re-imagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’, where a heartbroken man is tormented by the memory of his former girlfriend.”

A creepy spin on the pain and confusion of a messy breakup. Poe’s classic verse is put to good use, while impressive camera tricks convince the viewer of an ex-lover’s supernatural hold over a grief-stricken young man. Lighting plays an important role in establishing the film’s spooky tone, in a short-but-effective glimpse into the dangers of romantic obsession.

Monsoon Season (Matthew Cullum)

“A story of two gay men trying to grapple with how to deal with sexual assault, and the importance of queer friendship.”

It’s the candid script and believable relationship between the two main characters that makes Monsoon Season so effective. A tangible anxiety pervades every scene; the viewer is convinced by the struggle and confusion of the protagonist which makes the delivery of the film’s social commentary so powerful and poignant. The sharp flashes of glitter and cigarette light add a visual flair to the otherwise-typical surroundings, while the closing scene leaves the film hanging on a sense of hopeful optimism.

Unready (Art Hound Films)

“A short experimental film in which, after waking up, Veda proves that normality can be very strange.”

Every moment of Unready’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it run time is engaging and intriguing. Whether the lead character is bathing in a bath of dirt or pouring a carton of milk over their head, the film effectively mixes deadpan humour with questions of consumerism and social pressure. It’s the sort of short film that asks everything and confirms nothing, proving that normality can, indeed, be very strange.