BFI Flare 2022: 10 Shorts To Watch
BFI Flare has been one of my favourite events in the film festival calendar since I started attending almost 10 years ago. The buzz of the festival and the community vibe that the Southbank creates during the two weeks is magnetic and something I always miss on the train home afterwards.
This year, the festival is taking on a hybrid approach and there’s some incredible short films part of the programme that I was able to watch while being at home with my newborn baby. The programmers have curated a wonderful collection of shorts exploring the wide spectrum of experiences from members of the LGBTQIA+ community in both fictional and documentary form, here are 10 picks from female and non binary filmmakers that I recommend.
And Then - Jenn Ravenna
Jenn Ravenna Tran creates a gorgeous world for our two lead characters who manage to make moments even in public with people all around them so intimate, there’s Lost In Translation influences in this beautiful little film.
Birthday Boy - Judith Corro
Family expectations of a young trans boy highlight how the struggle of others accepting your true identity can feel like a losing battle, there’s a beautiful moment with a birthday cake that will make you smile.
Do This For Me - Marnie Baxter
There’s something about female friendships in isolated airbnb style homes that prepare you for an emotional evening. This group of friends share how it can be hard to always be in the loop when life is forever evolving, all while recovering from a shared loss.
Egúngún (Masquerade) - Olive Nwosu
A stunning short with cinematography that will take your breath away, a tale on how often to find healing in ourselves we must go back home and start again. Brilliant follow up from Olive’s last film Troublemaker.
For Love - Joy Gharoro-Akopojotor
Prepare for heartbreak in Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s window into the world of how the brutal immigration system affects a young couple, longing for a home together. The delicate balance of fear and love will make you feel not only sympathy for the couple, but also anger for the circumstances that are all too real for many people in the UK.
Minutes - Alix Eve & Olivia Dowd
Sometimes I wonder whether we would enter into relationships if we could watch a short montage of how things would play out and inevitably end. Minutes shows you the early excitement, the beauty of the mundane and how cracks can appear in the best of relationships. Brilliant performances from the leading couple.
Queer Parivaar - Shiva Raichandani
Shiva Raichandani creates for us a beautiful short film discussing the luck that we can often have in life to be able to choose our own family, even if losing our biological family can be a heartbreaking journey alongside discovering our own true identity.
Snuff - Louise Nesbitt
A one night stand is interrupted by walking in on the making of a snuff film, yes that’s right, you read that correctly. Louise Nesbitt’s story is a quirky and excellent snapshot of a relationship that has become dull and the lengths people will go to get that romantic spark back. Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Lisa Dwyer Hogg are brilliant.
The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night - Fawzia Mirza
Having a cast that is so well balanced in a short film is a triumph, each character making an impact in such a short space of time can be a challenge but not in this adorable festive short, the family dynamics mixed in with the nerves of meeting the in laws for the first time will mean you’ll leave this short smiling ear to ear.
This Is Katherine - Ida H.Eldoen
There’s no hand book on being a queer teen and This Is Katherine explores that curiosity and anxiety in a charming and brilliant way. Mixing pop culture references with the challenge of inner expectations of being queer, this is one of my favourite short films in the past year.
Read more on the shorts programme featured at this years festival here.
Written by Caris Rianne, research by Larissa Hird.
