If a film festival, with a highly inclusive and inventive programme of shorts is your thing, then Tweetfest is probably the one for you! Now in its fourth year, organisers Angela Peters and Andrea Farrena have continued to expand the festival, which now runs over three days.
Angela Peters and Zara Day host the Gala Evening at Hackney Picturehouse, London
As well as the usual Gala evening, held at London’s Hackney Picturehouse, this year sees the addition of two extra days held at the Hen and Chickens Theatre in Islington. Having previously attended Tweetfest, I knew how passionate and supportive this event is, so was excited to see these extra sessions, as they would no doubt be interesting!
The first of these was a ‘mini fest’ celebrating British filmmakers across four strands, all hosted by Mel Radloff: Outsiders, Dark Night of the Soul, Trouble makers, and Connections. Between these four strands, there were 31 different films shown that day, with each section having its own Q&A, encouraging discussion and making it more a dialogue, than a broadcast.
Highlights (which weren’t also screened at the Gala evening) included: Struck (Dir. Aurora Fearnley), Actress (Dir. Edward L Dark), Never Better (Dir. Lucie Guest), The Snag (Dir. Isabelle Desalos), The Sky Underwater (Dir. Maria Galliani Dvrvik), Lady (Dir. Will Nash), Nora (Dir. Dustin Curtis Murphy), Beat It (Dir. Jonny Magowan), and I, Filmmaker (Dir. Rob Thompson).
The second day focused on ‘F-Rated’ shorts, highlighting the work of female filmmakers, either directing/producing, or in a significant driving role. The films were: Mind F*#k (Dir: Sherill Turner), Beef Steak and Sardines (Dir: Erifili Missiou), Blackout (Dir: Serena Chloe Gardner), The Loft (Dir: Chryssanthi Kouri), Time and Again (Dir: Kel Webster, Steve Lawson), Family Portrait (Dir: Kelly Holmes), Echo (Dir: Ricky J Payne), The Penny Dropped (Dir: A D Cooper), Breathe (Dir: By Louise Marie Cooke), Pulsar (Dir: Aurora Fearnley), Testing Greta (Dir: Abbie Lucas), and Resolutions (Dir: Heidi Jones).
With some phenomenal shorts, this F-Rated evening was a great success and showcased some remarkable creative people and films. Personally, this strand contained some of my favourites from the festival, alongside several of the finalists. From the brilliant wit of ‘Mind F*#k’, the mystery of ‘Echo’, the social realism of ‘Blackout’, the dark emotional journey of ‘Breathe’ (with one of the most surprising twists/shocks in the festival), the awkward darkness of ‘Testing Greta, and the spectacular sci-fi of ‘Pulsar’, I loved the rich, substantial, and impressive depth that all these films exhibited, and I can’t recommend them enough. One small side note on ‘Pulsar’, is that one of its actors, Jessie Buckley is the star of a film coming out in February, ‘Wild Rose’ (in which she is fantastic), and looks set to make her take a big leap up. You can read my review of Wild Rose here.
After the screenings was an interesting Q&A hosted by Jessica Jay, which was much more of an open discussion than the usual kind of Q&A you get at events. Quite often these are dry affairs, with quick questions and simple answers, but here, it became much more of a round table discussion, with a variety of viewpoints and experiences, and a lot of shared ground.
The Gala evening, the central event hosted by Angela Peters and Zara Day (an actor, but also a writer under the name Zara Symes), was a chance to see the shorts that are in competition for the main awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematographer, Best F-Rated Short, Best International Short, Best Film, and the Audience Award. This year, like most years, there was a diverse and interesting collection of finalists.
In competition were:
Contractor 014352 (Dir: Simon Ryninks)
A poignant look at the realities and lack of human connection in the corporate world, with Johnny Flynn giving a great performance in the central role. With both a poetic and philosophical twist, this is a brilliant tale examining the lack of personal connection, for the worker and the company, with which we can all empathise.
Shadows (Dir: Simon Harris)
On leave from World War I, a soldier appears at a family’s farmhouse claiming to have known their dead son. Through the visit to a grieving mother and her daughter, this examines the effect of war back at home, and how supressed emotion manifests itself.
Local Dealer (Dir: Smari Gunn)
A smart and witty slice of entrepreneurial spirit in the suburbs, with a twist. Ridiculous and brilliant, this absurd tale is a perfect little comedic blast, and I must make a special mention of Stephanie Lewis’ amazing ‘Bobby George’.
Like Glass (Dir: Adam Spinks)
A teasing and mysterious film, as a young woman wakes up injured, and the truth is slowly revealed. This is a slow burning, and highly effective film, which draws you in, helped immensely by the great work of Emily Trappen.
Early Days (Dir: Nessa Wrafter)
A close up look at the early days after giving birth, with a new mother overwhelmed by how her world has changed. Maimie McCoy gives an outstanding central performance in this moving and thought provoking film, which perfectly encapsulated the characters experience. I couldn’t fault it!
Boxes (Dir: Eben Skilleter)
Three friends discuss their lives and how they have each been judged by society. With all three stars Lucy Formby, Molly Carter and Zoie Dash, deservedly being nominated for Best Actress, this was a great piece, delivering some great social commentary.
Are You Volleyball? (Dir: Mohammad Bakhshi)
A story of asylum seekers living next to a border, and their experience with the military beyond the fence. This was an unexpected highlight, as I wasn’t really sure what it would be like. What it contained though is an impeccable cast, especially the young people, in a multi layered story. It deserves all the plaudits it has received.
This was a fantastically strong line up, and showed how much quality there is out there, as well as how valuable festivals like Tweetfest are in getting this work seen.
Sadly, like any competition, there are ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, even though there wasn’t a dud in the festival!
This year the awards went to:
Best Actor:
Johnny Flynn (Contractor 014352)
Best Actress:
Maimie McCoy (Early Days)
Shakyra Dowling (Left) presents the ‘Best Actress’ Award to Maimie McCoy (Right), for ‘Early Days’.
Best Cinematographer:
Andrew Alderslade (Contractor 014352)
Andrea Farrena presents Tibo Travers (Producer) and Simon Ryninks (Director) the ‘Best Cinematographer’ Award on behalf of Andrew Alderslade, and the ‘Best Actor’ Award on behalf of Johnny Flynn, for ‘Contractor 014352’.
Best F-Rated Short:
Pulsar (Dir: Aurora Fearnley)
Angela Peters (Left) presents the ‘Best F-Rated Short’ Award to Maria Jose Bavio (Right), who accepted it on behalf of Aurora Fearnley, for ‘Pulsar’.
Best International Film:
Are You Volleyball? (Dir: Mohammad Bakhshi)
Best Film:
Early Days (Dir. Nessa Wrafter)
Nessa Wrafter (Director), Maimie McCoy (Actor), and Clancie Brennan (Producer) with the ‘Audience’, ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Short’ Awards for ‘Early Days’.
Audience Award: (Shared!)
Early Days (Dir. Nessa Wrafter)
Are You Volleyball? (Dir: Mohammad Bakhshi)
As with previous years, Tweetfest delivered a remarkable collection of short films, but with the added attraction of more in depth coverage and opportunities for networking. Some festivals and events are just a series of screenings, but here there is much focus on discussion and interaction, on all levels of filmmaking. Quite aside from attending as an audience member, if you’re also an actor, sound editor, director, or makeup artist, for example (and not just limited to those jobs!), you will find the social aspect of the festival immensely engaging and useful. Long may it continue.
