LJMU Short Film Festival

Filmmakers of tomorrow proud to show their stuff

LJMU MA short film festival returns for its first in-person event. OLI JOHNSON reports

The Liverpool John Moores University MA Short Film Festival will take place from 1 - 8 April 2022. The festival took place for the first time last year, when there was still strict COVID guidelines.

The festival is entirely run by the MA students at Liverpool John Moores University as part of the Exploring Film Festivals, Distribution and Exhibition module on their course. They are guided by module leader Dr. Lydia Papadimitriou and festival coordinator Jacqui Griffin, but have control of most of the festival themselves.

Luke Beck, a spokesperson for the festival, spoke to MNL about the event:

Why did you set up up the festival last year?

The MA Film course offers a hybrid style of teaching, using learnt theory to inform filmmaking practice. The LJMU MA Short Film Festivals offers students the opportunity to use their theoretical knowledge in order to put together a film festival from inception to the event itself. Students were given the opportunity to participate in various key roles within the festival, including publicity, trailer-making, management of social media, and the organisation of advertisement.

How did it go last year given Covid restrictions?

The global pandemic prevented any kind of in-person event from taking place. However, the festival still took place in an on-demand format that gave the viewer the freedom to choose when and where they watched the content. Last year’s festival also included Q&As with filmmakers and an awards ceremony that ran smoothly despite being online. The same rings true with this year’s festival.

Did holding last year’s event online actually help?

Last year’s festival being held online presented both positives and negatives. On the one hand, it was easier to organise as there was no need to book venues to be used at a fixed time. However, there is something to be said for the social aspect of an in-person film festival the effect it can have on the enjoyment from a viewer-perspective.

What is the aim and scope of this year’s festival?

This year we have increased our final selection of films for the programme to 40, as opposed to the 30 included last year. This was in part due to the large number of submissions we received this year, over 1,400 from around the world.

Diversity within the festival is extremely important to organisers, and we are delighted that we received submissions from 22 countries for this year.

In terms of the aim of this year’s festival we intend to continue to offer a selection of high-quality films from film students internationally, in order to give the spotlight to those who may otherwise remain undiscovered.

We are also committed to creating a fulfilling experience for the viewer from start to finish, not only through the high quality of the films but by also giving an opportunity for the audience to vote for their favourite film.

Future plans beyond 2022?

In terms of our future plans, we look forward to being able to host the festival in-person within the city of Liverpool, as it has a deep-rooted history within the film industry. The LJMU MA Short Film Festival aims to provide a platform for a diverse range of filmmakers to be able to showcase their stories and experiences, and we are committed to expanding on this year upon year.

Still from Marcelo