Leeds International Film Festival 2020

This year we were fortunate enough to virtually attend Leeds International Film where we caught some incredible feature features and fantastic short films too. Our team shares their thoughts on some of their favourite picks from the festival, our only regret is that we couldn’t watch everything because of the widely brilliant selection!

Scrum (2020, Dir. Kate Graham) Short Film

This coming of age drama set and produced in Yorkshire, tells us the story of a mother coming to terms with her teenage daughter’s adoration for rugby. We see Jodie (Emma Wrightson), muddy and tousled after the game, then her mother Michelle (Kelli Hollis) on the rugby pitch, standing tall in heels and a fur coat with a baby pink trimmed umbrella. The scene is immersive and sets the tone for the short, which touches on a single mother and daughter dynamic and gender roles. 

Michelle and Jodie are clearly very different, with Michelle being more inclined toward traditionally ‘feminine’ things, and Jodie being more invested in rugby, and not her appearance. The tension between the two is apparent, however as Michelle realises how important the sport is to her daughter, she relents, proud and full of love for her talented daughter.

Engaging sound design, true to life writing, and convincing performances make Scrum a powerful short, that I believe will resonate with many people for a variety of reasons.

Written by Larissa Hird

Salmon Men (2020, Dir. Veronica L. Montaño, Manuela Leuenberger, Joel Hofmann) Short Film

Animated short Salmon Men is made up of beautiful artwork that reminded me of vibrant pencil drawings. With the women waiting by the egg, swimming in synchronicity, the humanoid fish men battle against one another in an exciting, psychedelic race to mate. 

This reimagination of the salmon run, in which the mature fish leap up a river from the ocean in order to spawn, was unique, humorous, and captivating. The illustrative style paired with the effective score built tension as we watched the salmon men fight to be the first to reach the salmon women, without robbing it of its fun and independent feel.

Suggestive imagery throughout the colourful animations leaves no guesses to what Salmon Men is really about, and of course in the salmon completing the race, tiny humanoid baby salmon emerge from where the egg rests, starting the cycle again.

Written by Larissa Hird

Black Milk (Dir. Uisenma Borchu) Feature Film

Black Milk is a bold and brave feature from German-Mongolian director, Uisenma Borchu, who tells the intimate and deeply personal tale of a young woman, Wessi, who escapes a controlling relationship in search of her roots. She travels to Mongolia to visit her sister and immerse herself in a lifestyle completely the opposite of what she is used to. A lot of the film primarily discusses what Wessi feels and focuses on exploring the journey she goes on to find herself. The emphasis on feelings makes the narrative rather loose, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We are fully immersed into this lifestyle, witnessing even the most mundane of tasks that fill up the days of Wessi’s sister, Ossi, and her community. The differences that cause the cultural barriers between the two sisters are subtlety revealed through their actions and beliefs. This is complemented by the cinematography, which is stunning and perfectly highlights the vastness and seclusion of the location, with the documentary-style being so realistic that sometimes the line between reality and fiction is non-existent. Black Milk gives an insight into a community and culture that I otherwise would have known very little about, and I thoroughly enjoyed being taken away to this remote little part of the earth for 90 minutes.

Written by Beth Lindsay

Freed (Dir. Josza Anjembe) Short Film

A highlight of the Queer Short Film Competition, Freed is a beautifully heart-wrenching short film that takes place in a French prison and focuses on the life of an inmate named Issa, during his final days before getting released. In such a short amount of time, Josza Anjembe manages to create a perfect sense of Issa’s situation and how it shifts when mysterious young inmate, Gaetan, is introduced. The performances from both leads are subtle and realistic, with minimal words exchanged. However, the discriminative dynamic between some of the inmates is perfectly portrayed and highlights why Issa and Gaetan have to suppress their feelings and who they really are, or else they will struggle to survive in the prison climate. The visuals manage to make the viewers feel the constricted nature of the prison, we see nothing outside of the walls, whilst the films warm colour palette complements the tender moments (which there are a minimal amount of)really well. Reminiscent of the films of Xavier Dolan and Barry Jenkins, Freed shows so much potential for becoming a feature film and I very much look forward to what comes next from Josza Anjembe.

Written by Beth Lindsay

She Lives Alone

She Lives Alone (Dir. Lucy Rose) Short Film

Set on a bleak yet beautiful countryside farm, She Lives Alone is an eerie tale detailing how isolation can become our biggest enemy. It was quite compelling to watch during a year in which so many of us have had to face this! Rachel Teate is enchanting as Maud, her harrowing performance only adds to the increasing tension that is provided to us through the incredible score that kept me on the edge of my seat with each shot. Lizzie Gilmore’s cinematography compliments this twisted story so well, the lighting adding to the fear of what may be lurking in the shadows for Maud, plus the reveal at the end. Not only is the story strong, which is no surprise as Lucy Rose is a talented writer, but the production design from Poppy Hall and costume design from Maddy Williamson whisks you away from your own life and throws you into this dark tale.

Written by Caris Rianne

Liverpool Ferry

Liverpool Ferry (Dir. Lee Armstrong, Prod. Lindsey Fraser) Short Film

I’d been wanting to see this short ever since it was announced that Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson was playing the leading role. Initially, I was unsure of the premise, two teenagers escaping in the middle of the night to board a ferry from Belfast to Liverpool. I thought these were young runaways wanting to escape their lives and enjoy a romantic trip away. But when we arrive in Liverpool, it becomes clear that the reason for this trip is for Sarah to receive an abortion. It’s maddening to remember that abortions only became legalised in 2019 in Ireland. Jackson’s expressionate face played a big part of her success within Derry Girls and it certainly compliments this performance too. The romance between Sarah and Jules may not be forever, but they’ll be forever changed by this journey.

Written by Caris Rianne

Sweet Mother

Sweet Mother (Dir. Zena Igbe) Short Film

Beginning with a happy family get together; initially you feel that Sweet Mother is going to go in one direction, one in which it may talk about gender roles after a young boy is seen wearing woman’s clothing and is scolded for his actions. But, we then move forward to discover that there are more secrets within this family than an innocent game of dress up. Efosa hiding his sexuality from his mother is born from fear of rejection, like many LGBTQ children, especially within his family where identity and culture are so important. Zena’s writing shows how the struggle between the love for ones family and the love for a partner can be an inner battle that many of us face, particularly when our cultural identity is so important to our parents.

Written by Caris Rianne

You can find more information on Leeds International Film Festival by heading over to their website.