2022 PROGRAMME 24/25 Feb Pavilion Dance South West
OUR FIFTH YEAR CELEBRATING CINEMATIC SOUND AND MUSIC. Short Sounds Film Festival has arrived, and we are back in-person at Pavilion Dance South West! We are delighted to welcome everyone back to present a packed line-up of short films, features, guest talks, and more, celebrating all things cinema with our usual emphasis on the unique crafts of sound design and film scoring. It has been a joy to catch up with our beloved festival friends and form new bonds in the time between! From Rupert Gregson-Williams and his work on the Aquaman sequel, to John Roesch working on the recently released Encanto; old faces and new, we are excited to see you all. The festival will kick off on Thursday 24th Feb at 11am, concluding with the award ceremony at 7pm on Friday 25th Feb. Our curated programme of shorts and features will only be available for the duration of the festival, however guest speaker sessions (and the films of the festival winners!) will go live online for you to relive and relearn everything you have seen in person! This year, we are dedicated to celebrating local and upcoming artists, which is why we have teamed up with Arts University Bournemouth students to turn the Pavilion Dance South West foyer into our very own art gallery. Surround yourself with artwork of all kinds of media; paintings, sketches, sculptures, photography, digital CG, and more! So without further ado, I invite you to settle down, turn the volume up, and let your eyes and ears indulge in the delights of the Short Sounds Film Festival 2022.
A STEP BACK INTO THE PAST
Historically, we have had a number of incredible guests attend, including Ken Loach (Veteran film-maker, I, Daniel Blake director), Jess Hynes (actress, writer, director; Spaced), Rupert Gregson-Williams (Wonder Woman composer), David Rowntree (Blur drummer and composer), and Glenn Freemantle (Oscar winning sound designer). Read on to learn about the guests of 2022!
JURY AND AWARDS This year’s Short Sounds Jury will be considering films in competition for 7 awards:
• Jury Award for Best Film • Best Sound Design • Best Sound Editing • Best Score • Best Combined Use of Sound and Music • Best Original Score Not Produced for Picture • Student Award for Best Sound and Music
JURY MEMBERS The Short Sounds Film Festival 2022 Jury members consist of:
DAN PRINGLE is a writer/ director best known for the 2017 thriller K-Shop, with years of experience in filmmaking. He is our festival director and host!
MAIKE HELMERS worked her way up through the sound studios of the BBC's film department before setting up the UK's first MA in Post Sound at Bournemouth University in 1977.
STEVE RAFTER is Creative Director at BOMO Audio, a boutique audio postproduction and sound design company. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Sound Design at Bournemouth University.
TIMO PEACH is a Bournemouth based musician with an affinity for the quirky and unexpected. He is a storyteller, sensemaker, and Creative Director at Momo:zo.
NINA HUMPHREYS is an award-winning composer for screen with an impressive list of credits to her name. She began composing at an early age, and is known for lyrical, dark, and quirky scores.
IN COMPETITION SHORTS Graveyard Spiral 2020, dir. Evelyn Lee Runtime: 9m 55s A hybrid of animation and live action where a woman goes on an inner journey to find peace by facing personal demons that surface after she learns that her mother is suffering from a serious illness.
In Isolation 2021, dir. Edmund C. Short Runtime: 10m 00s Dark comedy following three housemates who are confined to their home during a severe military lockdown.
The Yak in The Dark 2021, dir. Lobsang Gyatso Runtime: 5m 08s The disordered and chaotic state between the original desire and the dogma.
I Close My Eyes To See 2021, dir. Roxie Oliveira Runtime: 13m 48s When Renata is diagnosed with a lifelong illness that could change the course of her life, her dreams of greatness plummet as she struggles to come to terms with her new normal.
The Man in the Pinstripe Suit 2020, dir. Max Goldberg Runtime: 12m 38s Trapped in an empty subway station, a timid freshman must fight to protect his soul from a decrepit, hollow monster.
NYC! Sound (Back) On 2021, dir. Gilad Avnat and Stav Nahum Runtime: 1m 15s Celebrate New York's reopening with this audio-visual homage to the greatest city in the world.
IN COMPETITION SHORTS Surprise 2020, dir. Bojan Brbora Runtime: 7m 15s An assassin is sent to terminate his target, but what he finds at her house risks the whole operation.
Recomposed 2021, dir. Jordan Ingram Runtime: 9m 01s Jared Blizzard is a composer with an inner pull of his soul toward sound. That inner pull leads him down different roads, through dreams and ideas, to a more tactile experience.
The Phone Interview 2021, dir. Kassy Gascho and Melissa Jones Runtime: 7m 27s After being rejected from her dream sorority, a determined girl kidnaps a local cashier in hopes of achieving community by working at a boutique grocery store.
KLABAUTERMANN 2021, dir. Anke Sevenich Runtime: 17m 02s Two very different people. The old care-home resident Eugen, who wants a self-determined end to his life, and the young nurse Miranda, who doesn't take the rules too seriously. Both rebel against the alienation and humiliation in care.
Survivers 2020, dir. Carlos Gómez-Trigo Runtime: 6m 30s Natural selection says that only those who adapt will survive. What if humans have become stupid?
Shadow of the Mountain 2021, dir. Simon Phelps Runtime: 10m 00s Living in lockdown with his mum and infirm grandfather, an isolated boy explores the local landscape and discovers a thin veil between life and death.
IN COMPETITION SHORTS Sketch 2017, dir. Peter Lee Scott Runtime: 12m 00s It’s an average day in a courtroom in 1979 when Anne gets her world turned upside-down. A convict, and the love of her life, enters the room and she plunges into a world of her wildest dreams.
His Name Was Gerry 2020, dir. Peter Lee Scott Runtime: 12m 00s After a young boy's best friend dies he gets convinced into creating a Viking funeral for him by a neighbour.
Man or Tree 2021, dir. Varun Raman and Tom Hancock Runtime: 4m 00s In the wilderness, a tree begins to question whether it may actually be a man tripping on hallucinogens.
Other Half 2021, dir. Lina Kalcheva Runtime: 13m 21s As an Individual Being in a world comprised of Merged Couples, Ren longs to find his other half and become complete.
IDENTITY 2021, dir. Ekta Saran Runtime: 3m 42s What does it mean to belong in today's world? A world where we're all 'global citizens'? Identity tells the story of confusion and figuring out the answers.
Harmonic Spectrum 2021, dir. Will Hewitt and Austen McCowan Runtime: 17m 00s Sean has a harmonious connection to the piano, spending most of his hours in front of the keys. Being on the autistic spectrum, the music he plays helps him understand his own mood.
Film Hub South West is a growing network led by Watershed – the leading creative centre for film culture, invention and talent development in the South West. The hub consists of over 140 cinemas, film festivals, cross-arts venues and other film exhibition organisations.
network.bfi.org.uk/film-hub-south-west
IN COMPETITION FEATURES
The Innocents 2021, dir. Wojciech Lorenc Runtime: 1h 20m Thurs 24th 13:00 Follow two acclaimed musicians who use their talents to advocate for social justice as they tour the country with their performance of The Innocents - a piece created to shine a light on the growing problem of wrongful convictions in the United States. Using found-object and home-made instruments, electronic soundscapes, and spoken texts, the performer-composers explore various aspects of the issues surrounding wrongful imprisonment in the American criminal justice system. The film culminates with a performance attended by Anna Vasquez - an exoneree, who spent 13 years in a Texas prison system for a crime which never happened.
Song For Hope 2021, dir. Chris Haigh Runtime: 1h 20m Fri 25th 11:30 Ryan Anthony was only 42 years old when he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and given just months to live. Faced with an uncertain future and an unending uphill battle full of hospital stays, chemotherapy treatments and blood transfusions, Ryan continued to share his talent with audiences around the world through solo performances, master classes and concerts. Not only that, he and his wife, Niki, created "CancerBlows”, a charity which has raised millions for cancer research since 2015. Song For Hope is a story about living life to the fullest, about the unwavering strength and support of family and friends and about one man’s refusal to allow his affliction to affect his love of his art.
IN COMPETITION SCORES You Are Victorious Imari Hill Imari Hill is a college student at Kent State University in Ohio (USA). She is majoring in Music Technology with a specialization in audio recording and music production, and is a composer, music producer, and cellist. Imari composed and performed her first original work during her senior year of high school, and now in college she has created music for commercials and short films. She aspires to be a composer for major visual media such as feature films, syndicated television shows, and video games.
Ice Dust Anika Djoric Saturn has been an inspiration for Anika Djoric for years. One of Saturn's many moons, Enceladus, is a small, icy body. The Cassini–Huygens space-research mission revealed that jets of icy particles from that ocean, gush out into space continuously at about 400 m/s, forming a plume that extends hundreds of kilometers into space. Some of the material falls back onto Enceladus, and some escapes to form Saturn’s vast E ring. Ice Dust is inspired by this small but impressive moon, the brightest world in the solar system.
Aquamarine The Point of No Return This track was composed and arranged by the members of Bournemouth-based The Point of No Return band for their forthcoming album of the same name. It was recorded by Richard Lailey at Harewoodstock Studios, mixed by Matt Black at Hangover Hill Recording Studios, and mastered by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios. The band consists of Richard Lailey on keyboard and voiceover, Dave Revell on guitar, Big Steve Cable on bass and David Deejman Jones on percussion. The initial voice track is by Anna Schwaiz.
IN CONVERSATION WITH
MARK ANGUS THURSDAY 24TH 15:00pm
SOUND DESIGN FOR GAMES Mark Angus is a BAFTA award-winning video game sound designer and is the Audio Director at Gladestock Studios, whose recent work includes Fast & Furious Crossroads (2020), Injustice 2 (2017), and Alien: Isolation (2014), for which he won the BAFTA.
A born and rasied Bournemouth local, Angus graduated from Bournemouth University in 2004 with a Masters in Post-Production Sound Design. Up until then, he had envisioned becoming a musician, being in a band and running his own record label. It wasn’t until his late twenties that he had a change of heart, and made the transition to the gaming industry. In the time since then, he has gained two decades of sound design experience, including as the Lead Sound Designer at EA - Electronic Arts, until he took the leap and set up his own sound studio. Angus also has film and television credits to his name, and many of the games he has worked on have been adapted from film, with the studio aiming to deliver cinema quality soundtracks and sound design, which is why he is a perfect, but still out-of-the-box, guest for our festival!
Further examples of games Angus has worked on through Gladestock Studios include Telling Lies (2019), Abandon Ship (2018), Quantum Break (2016), SimCity (2013), Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010) and Part II (2011).
IN CONVERSATION WITH
LARRY SIDER THURSDAY 24TH 16:30pm
WHAT IS SOUND DESIGN? Larry Sider has decades of experience in sound design, specialising in animation and documentary as a film editor and sound designer. His credits include Street of Crocodiles (1986) and Institute Benjamenta (1995) by the Brothers Quay, London (1994) by Patrick Keiller, and Mirrormask (2005) by Dave McKean.
Originally from America, Sider studied filmmaking in Chicago in the early 70’s, going on to specialise in Sound in his final years. Soon after earning his degree, he moved to London, and began working extensively in animation, documentary, and experimental filmmaking, mostly produced by the British Film Institute and Channel 4. Sider is Director of The School of Sound which began in 1988 as an event to explore the creativity of sound in art, media, and film and television. It is aptly named as it aids in teaching the intricacies of sound to the nation through weekend seminars, practical workshops, lectures, and the international symposium which is held every two years. In addition to this, Sider is Head of MA Sound Recording, Post-Production, and Design at Goldsmiths, University of London, and lectures both in the UK and abroad.
In 2003 Sider, along with Diane Freeman and Jerry Sider, published a book titled SOUNDSCAPE: The School of Sound Lectures 1998-2001, allowing him to add ‘author’ to his already impressive list of credentials.
IN CONVERSATION WITH
RACHEL PORTMAN FRIDAY 25TH 13:30pm
THE MAGIC OF COMPOSITION Rachel Portman is an award-winning British composer from West Sussex, England, who has written over 100 scores for film, television, and theatre. She has achieved historical milestones by becoming the first female composer to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score on Emma (1996), and the first female composer to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Bessie (2015).
Portman began composing at the age of 14 and studied Music at Worcester College, Oxford University. She gained experience writing music for the BBC and Channel 4 in the 80’s, and then went to score Ethan Frome (1993) and The Joy Luck Club (1993). Portman received numerous nominations for composing Chocolat (2000) and The Cider House Rules (1999), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Score. She then
went
on
to
compose
over
a
dozen
feature
films
in
the
2000’s,
including Mona Lisa Smile (2003), Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist (2005), The Lake House (2006),
The
Duchess
(2008),
and
Never
Let
Me
Go
(2010).
In addition to Portman’s television and film scores, she has written stage and concert works, among them an Opera, The Little Prince. Portman’s most recent works include Dreamwork’s A Dog’s Purpose (2017), Disney’s Godmothered (2020), and the Julia Child documentary Julia (2021).
IN CONVERSATION WITH
SHUTTLECOCK FRIDAY 25TH 16:00pm
SHUTTLECOCK AND SOUND Following a screening of Spinning Path’s Shuttlecock (2019), we will be joined by producer Simeon Costello, writer/director Tommy Gillard, and composer Freddy Mercer for an interview with our festival host, Dan Pringle, to talk all things Shuttlecock and sound. It will be the final film screened in Shorts 3 (15:00pm) with the talk following immediately afterwards.
Spinning Path began when Costello and Gillard crossed paths in Devon. Their partnership was built on a shared love of weird cinema, seeking to create equally obscure short films. They haven’t looked back since. In addition to Shuttlecock (2019), their list of credits includes Cut from Cloth (2018), Rhapsody in Blood (2019), and the recently released Seagull (2022). Spinning Path also celebrates what we at Short Sounds
Film
Festival
aim
to
uplift;
local
talent
in
the
South
West,
UK.
The film follows Carl, who is forced to question his idea of masculinity and what it means to be a man when a new, mysterious member of the badminton club joins in with the charity tournament, and Carl’s obsession spirals out of control. Starring Tom Greaves, Niall Kiely, Alexander Pearn, Sam Morgan, and James Cotter. Shuttlecock has won many awards, including the Best Short Film Award at BFI London Film Festival 2020, and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
IN CONVERSATION WITH
JOHN ROESCH FRIDAY 25TH 17:00pm
THE GODFATHER OF FOLEY John Roesch is a professional Foley Artist based in California, with over 40 years of industry experience. Originally aspiring to be an actor, Roesch attended the United States International University School for Performing Arts, where he and his fellow peers created a short film. This inspired a new life path, and Roesch then went on to receive a BFA in Film from New York University.
In 1976, a friend asked if he could help with the sound on their film. And so, the floodgates of Foley were opened! He soon became partners with Joan Rowe at Gomillion Sound, which skyrocketed Roesch into the world of Foley and sound design. Together, they worked on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which went on to win many awards for sound, including an Oscar for Best Sound Editing. Since then, he has worked on over 60 films that either won or were nominated through the Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA, has worked with masses of award-winning directors and filmmakers, and has branched out from film to work on games, television, and even on one of the most famous music videos of our time; Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982).
From 1992 to 2015, Roesch was the Lead Foley Artist at Warner Bros. Immediately after, he became the Lead Foley Artist at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Ranch, where he still works today. When he’s not working on creating immersive Foley, Roesch hosts The Right Scruff Podcast, in which he delves into the world of post-production film.
CELEBRATING CINEMATIC SOUND AND MUSIC
SHORTSOUNDS.CO.UK #SSFF22 We would like to thank the following sponsors and team whose commitment and dedication ensures the festival can take place.
FESTIVAL TEAM
SHORT SOUNDS FILM FESTIVAL LTD
Dan Pringle, Festival Director Adam J Merrifield, Managing Director Matt Godden, Festival Manager Emilee Gallett, Festival Manager Ariana King, Festival Assistant
20 Poole Hill Bournemouth BH2 5PS Tel: 01202 878028 info@shortsounds.co.uk Registered in England #12286400
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Thursday 24th 11:30 - 12:30 SHORTS 1 COLLECTION OF SUBMITTED SHORTS 13:00 - 14:20 THE INNOCENTS FEATURE FILM 15:00 - 16:00 MARK ANGUS SOUND DESIGN FOR GAMES 16:30 - 17:30 LARRY SIDER WHAT IS SOUND DESIGN? 18:00 - 19:00 SHORTS 2 COLLECTION OF SUBMITTED SHORTS
Friday 25th 11:30 - 12:50 SONG FOR HOPE FEATURE FILM 13:30 - 14:30 RACHEL PORTMAN THE MAGIC OF COMPOSITION 15:00 - 16:00 SHORTS 3 COLLECTION OF SUBMITTED SHORTS 16:00 - 16:30 SHUTTLECOCK AND SOUND PANEL 17:00 - 18:30 JOHN ROESCH + LIVE Q&A IN CONVERSATION 18:30 - 19:00 AWARDS CEREMONY 19:00 - LATE FESTIVAL WRAP PARTY @TONIC SOCIAL, BH2 5BR