Second-year BA (Hons) Filmmaking students recently had their Special Project documentaries screened at The Gate Picturehouse in Notting Hill Gate. Two cuts of each of seven different BA shorts were screened for LFA students and staff, as the culmination of months of hard work on their documentary projects.
The screening session was book-ended by discussions with documentary filmmaker Ahmed Peerbux, who produced the BAFTA-winning documentary Grenfell: Uncovered and the upcoming BBC special Shabaz Asks: Are Billionaires Bad? Ahmed also directed This is Soho, a reflective look at central London and how it’s shifted throughout the years, which is narrated by Stephen Fry.
At the screening, Ahmed imparted some wisdom from his career to date, and co-chaired a panel discussion the BA documentary filmmakers, alongside LFA co-founder and joint principal Daisy Gili.
Ahmed's advice
Ahmed’s career has seen him work with a wide variety of crews covering an eclectic array of interview subjects. With this rich level of documentary experience, he was keen to share with LFA students the most important aspects to consider when working in documentary filmmaking.
Above all else, Ahmed emphasised the importance of picking crew members that you know you’ll click with:
First and second cuts
Two cuts for each of seven different documentaries were screened for first and second-year BA students, highlighting different editorial approaches to the documentary subjects in each case.
Kicking things off was Modern Raving, directed by Sarah Stadler, which covered the turbulent times of rave culture in London and the efforts of DJs and ravers to preserve its distinct identity. Next up was Trinity Clarke’s Canterbury: Watching the Fire, which took a look at the history of Canterbury’s firefighters during WWII and the great lengths they went to protect the people and architecture of Canterbury from incessant firebombing.
The screenings continued with Nikita Novikov’s Throw the Salt, which highlighted a London-based sumo wrestling club, and Giulia Fenati’s So They Say, an exploration of the dangers of healthcare influencers and the growing culture of seeking medical advice online. BA students also saw two cuts of Rachel Adair’s Unfocused, an informative and effectively satirical look at how social media has affected attention spans in the modern age.
Jacob Young’s documentary short Make a Hero Out of Me followed, which detailed the filmmaker’s rediscovery for his love of roleplaying as a means of adapting to life in London and finding a sense of community. Lastly came Ventanas, directed by Daniel Balassa, which shone a light on Latinx corners of London through the eyes of a street artist and a dancer.
During the panel discussion with Ahmed, Daisy, and his fellow LFA directors, Jacob Young shared how he felt exchanging feedback with his peers proved invaluable during the post-production process:
Special Projects module
LFA co-founder and joint principal Anna MacDonald, who introduced the session at The Gate Picturehouse, spoke on the importance of students getting experience in non-fiction filmmaking. LFA’s BA (Hons) Filmmaking programme offers Special Projects as an optional module in Year 2, and the Special Projects screening served as a key reminder on the value of non-fiction as an option both at LFA and after graduating.
Anna advised the students:
A huge thank you to Ahmed Peerbux for joining us at The Gate Picturehouse in celebrating the documentary filmmaking work of our second-year BA students. Special thanks to our student director panellists as well, whose advice will no doubt prove incredibly informative to our first year BA students who will look at following in their footsteps with the Special Projects module next year.