With the world in lockdown, Film Festivals have had to adapt and find alternative ways to showcase new and interesting shorts. Tweetfest, in its sixth year, is no exception and delivered a selection of intriguing films across a few days, in a new format. To their credit, the organisers, Angela Peters and Chryssanthi Kouri also created a space for filmmakers to come together and experience a Gala night, albeit a slightly different one than usual.
The usual format for the festival involves public screenings in thematic blocks, which usually take place over several days at the Hen and Chickens theatre in London, before the Gala event occurs at the Hackney Picturehouse. With these options not on the table for the film festival this year, the decision was taken to go online and deliver the various strands using the Festhome platform. This has been a popular choice this year and has successfully run many festivals with varied programmes.
Alongside the films on Festhome was a number of interviews on Youtube with the filmmakers, hosted by Angela Peters and Gemma Gordon, which replaced what would normally have been Q&As in person during the various sessions. These 15 to 20 minute chats gave an insight into the programme that would otherwise have been lost and were a valuable addition. Festivals are not just about the films themselves and it’s important to try to keep the informative and social aspects if at all possible.
Joining the main ‘shorts’ and ‘International’ strands this year was a special category for ‘Lockdown films’, which included all shorts made within the lockdown period. As you can imagine, this year has been challenging for the industry and as is quite often the case, new limitations can create some fascinating results. Amongst these, several stood out, including: Stitch (Dir. Rosie Baldwin), The New Normal (Dir. Matt Willis-Jones & Andrea Cartategui), Cat (Dir. Mark Jackson), Same Time Next Week (Dir. Gigi Burgdorf), The Last Oak (Dir. Annabel Vine), and Colin-19 (Dir. Gemma Rigg).
In the main strands, the quality was high, as you would expect and the highlights here included: Mandatory (Dir. Javad Khorsha), David (Dir. Zach Woods), Good Thanks, You? (Dir. Molly Manning Walker), Hermit (Dir. Omid Mirzaee), Witness (Dir. Ali Asgari), Avernus (Dir. Simon Ross), Baroque (Dir. Chrysa Koutrakou), Appetite (Dir. Katrin Larissa Kasper & Xuemeng Li), The Hankerbox (Dir. Abbie Lucas), Majority (Dir. Tess Hoffe), and The Rotation (Dir. Hazhir As’adi).
These were just the tip of the iceberg though, and there were a lot of interesting films throughout the programme. Regardless of which strand they were grouped into, the best short were also selected for the main competition, which were then eligible for the awards.
The ‘In Competition’ films were:
Majority (Dir. Tessa Hoffe)
A wonderful slice of modern community life, highlighting the differing attitudes in an estate. With great character moments and performances, this works brilliantly.
Samaritan (Dir. Dustin Curtis Murphy)
Striking version of the Samaritan tale, with a twist.
The Last Oak (Dir. Annabel Vine)
Although this is technically a lockdown film, it doesn’t look like one and is very well put together. This also has the great director Aurora Fearnley, who has previously won a directing award at Tweetfest, as one of the actors.
Stitch (Dir. Rosie Baldwin)
Written and starring Zara Symes, this is a great idea, brilliantly executed.
Choker (Dir. Orson Cornick)
An interesting environmental allegory that is highly effective.
David (Dir. Zach Woods)
With Zach Woods of ‘Silicon Valley’ fame directing Will Ferrell and The Good Place’s William Jackson Harper, you’d expect this to be good, and it didn’t disappoint.
Ouzo and Blackcurrant (Dir. Nat Luurtsema)
An intriguing tale of two old friends meeting up, and through the haze of nostalgia discover that the past hasn’t entirely been left behind. Visually interesting, and with a nice twist.
Validity (Dir. Meena Ayittey)
Psychological thriller that takes an unexpected turn.
Naked Ambition (Dir. Mai Iskander)
An interesting and well shot tale of overcoming obstacles to realise your dream.
Baroque (Dir. Chrysa Koutrakou)
This is a love story told in a clever fashion, and with a fantastic visual style.
Good Thanks, You? (Dir. Molly Manning Walker)
Fantastic central performances underpin this powerful film about survival and dealing with trauma.
Appetite (Dir. Katrin Larissa Kasper & Xuemeng Li)
Comedic take on dating, with great performances and more costume changes than most shorts!
A Day in the Life of a Boy (Dir. Niklas Bauer)
A really interesting and thoughtful depiction of Autism.
Witness (Dir. Ali Asgari)
A fantastically well told tale, where a tragic accident impacts upon an already overburdened mother.
The New Normal (La Nueva Normalidad – Dir. Matt Willis-Jones & Andrea Cartategui)
An inventive and amusing lockdown film that has a nice surreal edge.
All the ‘In Competition’ films would have been worthy winners, but like most things, someone has to take home the prize! This year, these were announced during an online Gala, as opposed to the usual razzmatazz, but even so it proved to be interesting. Held on Zoom, the Gala presentation took the form of the awards presented by Angela Peters, Mel Radloff, Chryssanthi Kouri and Rajita Shah, followed by a period of open discussion. While not as good as meeting in person it was still an effective way to bring people together. Additionally, a good side effect of having this online was that it allowed many of the International filmmakers to attend, which hasn’t always been possible.
The winners this year were:
Best Actor:
Micheal Ward (Good Thanks, You?)
Best Actress:
Maria Popistasu (Majority)
Best Cinematographer:
Anna MacDonald (Good Thanks You?)
Best Costume Design:
The Widow (Dir. Ailish Castillo & Nicola Morris)
Best Lockdown Short:
The New Normal (La Nueva Normalidad – Dir. Matt Willis-Jones & Andrea Cartategui)
Best International Film:
David (Dir. Zach Woods)
Best Film:
Good Thanks You? (Dir. Molly Manning Walker)
Audience Award:
Naked Ambition (Dir. Mai Iskander)
This year has been particularly tricky for a lot of creatives, and adaptation has been the only way that many have been able to survive. Tweetfest’s move to being online was a choice forced upon them that proved successful and also managed to keep the connection with the audience. While the experience of seeing films in a theatre can never be replicated, what was achieved here worked very well, and that is down to the commitment and enthusiasm of the festival team. Tweetfest has been growing year on year, and with the quality shown here it will continue to do so, no matter what obstacles are thrown in its path.
