2007 Northern Film School Showcase

A free showcase of highlights from the last two years of student filmmaking at the Northern Film School, based at the Electric Press in the centre of Leeds. The selection includes work from undergraduate to master level and features fiction, animation, and comedy. The screening is presented in two parts of 90 minutes each, starting at 10am and 12 noon.SCREENING I

Wrong Side of the Bed
Dir: Daniel Lucchesi, 2006, 1min, DV

Normality takes a turn on his head when Mr Average Joe suffers a very unlucky day when he gets up on the wrong side of the bed. Will he manage to get back on the right side of life or will he be doomed to suffer bad fortune for the rest of the day? This film was the winner of 2006 One Minute Wonder Competition.

The Multitude
Dir: Ronald J. Wright, 2007, 6mins, S16mm

A young boy cowers in the dark, as the phantom figure of his long-departed father scratches at the door, begging to be let in from the cold.

The Wilds
Dir: Matthew D. Ridley, 2007, 15mins, S16mm

Following a chain of brutal child deaths in a secluded North Yorkshire village, a local farmer journeys out into the wilds to discover the fate of his missing son. Whilst searching, he begins to track a predatory, cat-like animal, which roams The Dales. After uncovering the dreadful truth, the farmer must now face the creature alone in a final confrontation of man versus beast.

Anticlockwise
Dir: Dimitris Bavellas, 2007, 8mins, S16mm

A film about one man's life being controlled by time and in particular the golden hour of 9 o'clock. When a series of events stop him from getting to work for that golden hour he finally takes a stand for the first time in his life!

The Seamstress
Dir: Tony O'Reilly, 2006, 7mins, S16mm

1956, Broken and battered in silence she sits, waiting, knitting... until he returns. A shy, timid woman is taken to the edge in this, gritting, real-life disturbing drama of domestic violence as she turns the tables... But will she have the courage to go all the way....

Warped
Dir: Oliver Cane, 2007, 12mins, HDV

After witnessing a brutal attack, Michael goes over to the victim and calls for an ambulance. He waits with the injured man for the ambulance to arrive and winds up at a Police Station where he agrees to give a statement to a Detective. During the course of the interview, however, the tables are turned and Michael's situation descends into a nightmare.

This Way to Happiness
Dirs: Alex Melville / Samuel Waters, 2007, 8mins, DV

There is a town flooded by frowns, where the norms laugh and the performers drown. There are no beers, just bottles of tears and the dish to try is a slice of cry pie. Norman Namron is upon his throne, dictating his doctrine to the many norm Drones...

Armchair Anarchist
Dir: Charlie Hellier, 2007, 21mins, DV

Living life in the constant glow of the cathode tube, Wesley's world is a blur between sanity and psychedelia, slipping in and out of consciousness, harassing agony aunt columns and victimising anyone with the misfortune of having their name in the phone book. This time he may stumble on a way of finding where his dreams end and his day begins.

SCREENING II

On My Way
Dir: Yuan Liu, 2007, 8mins, S16mm

'On My Way' is the story of a young girl from china having to confront the realities of her decision to move away from her family to England. But instead of finding happiness in her new freedom, she can only find loneliness and a dislocation from her environment. A fish out of water.

Martha @ The Wells: Celebrating 28 Years of Dance Umbrella
Dir: Talal Al-Muhanna, 2006, 24mins, DV

A dance documentary celebrating the 28th anniversary of the Dance Umbrella international festival of contemporary dance in London. Featuring performance highlights from the festival's 2006 gala at Sadler's Wells in London and interviews with the artists involved.

Spoke Pearls
Dir: Ivan Szabo, 2007, 7mins, S16mm

The meeting of a young boy and a girl reveals an unknown link between them. Are wishes better kept to oneself or spoken out loud? A haiku set in Yorkshire.

The Odds (suitable for over 16s only)
Dir: Costas Chrysanthou, 2007, 6mins, S16mm

Jack and Helen meet at a casino and share a night of passion. In the aftermath, Jack faces the consequences. However, nothing is as it seems...

Ordinary World
Dir: Matiia Viita, 2007, 14mins, HDV

A troubled teenager, Claire, lives with her father, Barry, in a semidetached house in a normal neighbourhood. She begins to suspect that their next-door neighbour Paul is hiding a dark secret. Can Claire overcome her own flaws and convince her father that things may not be as ordinary as they seem?

Pearls
Dir: Vincent Hall, 2007, 21mins, DV

The documentary Pearls takes a conversational journey through the memories and stories of people born between 1920-1940. The film weaves in and out of personal recollections of defining events in the history of mankind to the individually defining moments in their history, and asks for advice and opinions based on their experiences.

The Bench
Dir: Alex McCormack, 2007, 8mins, HDV

In a cluttered and confusing world is a confounded bench. Sitting quietly he observes the life of our planet. Assembled and dumped into this world, he starts life unknown and unknowing. As time passes he finds a colleague in his race to uncertainty and a special friendship is created with his neighbour in life, Kevin.

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