DIRIGO 2023

9th International Student Film Festival

Dirigo is an International Student Film Festival directed and produced by BA Film & Media Arts Production students from University Centre Weston. This festival aims to inspire and showcase the creativity of student filmmakers worldwide. It is an open festival with no set boundaries; we actively encourage new styles, voices and direction.

Our festival screening was held at The Arnolfini in Bristol, Thursday 26th January 2023 7pm. Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA. View on Google Maps

ONLINE SCREENING - For those unable to attend, we are also streaming the festival here. Watch via the video links below.

TICKETS FOR THE EVENT WERE FREE VIA THE ARNOLFINI WEBSITE / HEADFIRST

Trailer

ONLINE SCREENING

The festival programme is also available online. These videos are unlisted, only to be shown here as part of Dirigo - 9th International Student Film Festival, please don't share elsewhere.

We will announce winners at The Arnolfini and the results will also be posted on our instagram @dirigofilmfestival

Part Three will premiere - Monday 30th January at 7pm. Below.

AWARDS

Well done to all of the nominees! Here are the runners up –

Best animation: The Last Straw, Cleo Parker; Lily Goodwin
International: Erden, Celina Schmidt
Young filmmakers: The case of Robin and Magpie Heists, Joe Capille
Best UK: Firm it, Teni Gideon Ayankoya
Best South West: The dreams in which you die, Cleo Rose Fehrling Leather

And a big congratulations to the winners! -

Best animation: The most boring granny, Damaris Zielke
International: Darbohra (Another Time), Sarah Zammit
Young filmmakers: The space in-between, Jodhi Jeanmaria Ramsden-Mavric and & Felix Siro
Best UK: Brown Sheep, Konna Thomson
Best South West: Phil Churchill: The hidden symptoms, Alexander D Churchill

AUDIENCE AWARD: Brown Sheep, Konna Thomson (Voted at Arnolfini, 26/1/23 9.45pm)
AUDIENCE AWARD: Online viewing/ voting - Vote/ see live results here

AUDIENCE AWARD

Please vote for your favourite film, after watching them all at this link below
https://strawpoll.com/polls/NoZr3qKW3y3

AUDIENCE AWARD - VOTE HERE

PART ONE PROGRAMME DETAILS

1. The Last Straw (3:45)

‘Cyril the Scarecrow is terrified of birds. How will he manage to scare away Bertie the crow who just won't leave him alone?’

Directed by Cleo Parker. Animated by Lily Goodwin (Bristol, UK)
University of the West of England
Best Animated Film - Runner Up
@Cleoillustrates_ @Lilygoodwin_animation
https://www.lily-goodwin.com/

The Last Straw Trailer

2. Hard Resident (10:46)

Directed by Qi Mei Lin, Wan Yu Wu

Nominated - Best international, Taiwan

‘Pan shih ju chuan, a new immigrant who came to Taiwan from Vietnam for 22 years, even though she is used to the food and environment in Taiwan, life is still a thing to overcome for her.’

3. The dreams in which you die (4:15)

Directed by Cleo Rose Fehrling Leather

Best South West Film, UK - Runner up

‘The Dreams In Which You Die’, in short, is a film about conquering darkness. It is about the conscious decision to reclaim control after refusing to exist in a state of anxiety and trauma.’

4. Phil Churchill (13:53)

Directed by Alexander D Churchill

Best in South West, UK - Winner

‘A short documentary exploring Phil Churchill's Parkinson's diagnosis.’

5. Darb’ohra (13:33)

Directed by Sarah Zammit

Best International Film, Malta. Winner

‘Ben, a young boy with a keen and curious mind, stumbles upon a charming little toyshop in the heart of a Maltese village.’

6. Firm it (4:23)

Directed by Teni Gideon Ayankoya

Best UK Film, UK (Runner Up)

Exploring the hidden deeper meaning of the secrets of mental health in young black african boys, untangling stereotypes and revealing answers presenting the origin of violence and anger.

7. Erden (14:40)

Directed by Celina Schmidt

Best International Film, Germany (Runner Up)

When the Earth is about to end, Raya and Kaii are planning to move to an exoplanet together. 100 years later, an android ghost drifts through space, remembering their past love.

8. Gagging for it (1:00)

Directed by Hugo Docking

Nominated - Best animated Film, UK

‘We all know that smoking is a dirty habit, but this cigarette is utter filth. Smoking kills. Smoking abducts babies. Smoking sucks the living soul from your urethra, spits hot ash in your ear and insists that you call it "Daddy". Is this really what you want?’

Part Two PROGRAMME DETAILS

1. A portrait of greed and grief (5:38)

Directed by Sam Goddard

Nominated - Best of south west

‘Using a theatrical style, ‘A Portrait of Greed & Grief’ tells the story of two opposing characters, staged within a western backdrop. The film portrays its emotive narrative through spoken word poetry and realises the environment solely through the use of lighting.’

2. Oyum (6:21)

Directed by Aidai Askarova

Nominated - Best international Film, Kyrgyzstan

The film attempts to show the spiritual world of carpet weaving - an ancient kind of craft of the nomadic people, passed down from generation to generation. Beliefs, thoughts, the process and the artistry of this case are revealed in the film "Oyum", which is a play on words and translate from Kyrgyz language as "my thoughts", as well as ornaments, patterns with which nomads decorate carpets and more. In the absence of the usual literary monologue, all the director's decisions lie in a purely visual sphere.

3. The most boring granny (7:02)

Directed by Damaris Zielke

Best Animated Film, Germany. Winner

Greta has the most boring grandma in the whole world. When she falls asleep on the sofa, Greta gets the idea, to play funeral with her grandma. This confronts them with some questions they didn’t ask themselves before. Because what remains when you have to leave life behind?

4. The space in-between (5:00)

Directed by Jodhi Jeanmaria Ramsden-Mavric

Young filmmakers award - Winner. Australia.

What happens when we suppress the tendency to fast forward through the momentment of stillness in our lives and open our eyes to the beauty of emptiness?

5. Mind your head (4:37)

Directed by Taaram Zehra Cheema

Nominated - Best animated film, Pakistan

My film is about belonging, misplacement and freedom. Being born and raised in Pakistan with all its flaws and challenges of a deeply rooted patriarchal structure, this film is an indication of what is yet to come. A new era dawned the moment we began practising resistance; not a year ago and not ten, but long before.

6. The case of robin & Magpie Heists (11:49)

Directed by Joe Capille

Young Film makers Award - Runner Up

After both her parents are arrested, a destitute but talented private school student must commit a series of heists in order to pay her tuition fees.

7. There is nothing nice deep within (7:35)

Directed by Fiorella Spitzer

Nominated - Best animated Film, Hungary

A girl’s repressed feelings burst to the surface like devastating fire, destroying reality, forcing her to flee to a subconscious world where she has to face her demons.

8. Offerlamm (5:44)

Directed by Tova Persson

Nominated - Best animated Film, UK

A sheep writes a letter to his sister whilst being prepared for a ritual.

9. Brown sheep (12:42)

Directed by Konna Thomson

Best UK film, - Winner. Audience Award Winner.

I am a 2022 graduate of Manchester Film School with a special interest in character-driven storytelling and documentaries. My first film which I have written and directed is in festivals, and I am in the pre-production process of my next short which will be shot this year.

Part Three (Online Screening - Friday 27th January 2023 Tune in Here)

Dying to meet you: Directed by Ava Bounds Young filmmakers award, UK
The dark side of pet breeding: Directed Asher Elias Anantham, Alana Keira Anantham, Zarina Penn Aronson Young filmmakers award, United States
First snow: Directed by Anton Sytnik best international film, Ukraine
Cloud boy: Directed by Kieran Firth-Bernard Best animated film, UK
Strawberry shake: Directed by Lou Andréa Fiere best international film, Estonia
My first lockdown Ramadan: Directed by Aarif Laljee young filmmakers award, UK
An island in the middle: Directed by Alberto Montull Best international film, Spain
Salmon: Directed by Pengyu Qu. Nominated Best International Film, China
Daisy: Directed by Sofia Scarpa, Young filmmakers award, US

Also nominated (but films not available)
The ode on cure: Directed by Vladislav Motorichev. International film, UK
Eviction: Directed by Alexandre Paquet . Animated film, Canada

Photography from Dirigo 9 festival by Dimitrios Panagiotopoulos

Dirigo 9 Team

This year’s Team is:

Festival Directors- Georgia Spencer, George Gamble
Festival Producer(s)- Star Davey, Olivia Hext
Festival Presenters - Georgia Spencer and Harley Bridgeman
Marketing / Social Media - Matt Lyttle, Olivia Hext
Graphic Design- Beth Jones
Editor - Benjamin Camp, Harley Bridgman
Submissions / Film Freeway - https://filmfreeway.com/DirigoFilmFestival
Executive Producer - Richard Edkins & Ross Bliss

To find out more about our BA Film & Media Arts Production degree please visit the UCW website.

We use Film Freeway for submissions, See festival page here

Key Dates

Open for submissions - 14/10/2022
Early submissions deadline - 17/11/2022
Submissions deadline - 8/12/2022
Late Submissions - 5/1/2023
Festival Screening - Thursday 26th January 2023 7pm

Submissions are now closed for Dirigo 9, we will open for submissions to Dirigo X in October 2023

SUBMIT YOUR FILM HERE - NOW CLOSED

LAST YEARS WINNERS (January 2022)

WINNER (Joint) - BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM - Watch
Peaches DIR. Benjamin Hunt (USA)
Based on a true story, Peaches follows young Eliza, the first female member of the local Scout troop. Determined to help others, she competes in the troop’s canned food drive. However, constrained by poverty, Eliza must decide whether or not to donate her last can of peaches and risk going hungry. (10 min 26)

WINNER (Joint) - BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM - Watch
Chamomile DIR. Jonghyeon Han (South Korea)
The Boy who works at the company in central Seoul, sits down on park bench to rest for a bit in lunch time. He looks around and all he can see are the adorable couples. He feels super lonely. (9 min 5)

WINNER - BEST UK FILM - Watch
The Great Conjunction DIR. Karolina Smolova
The Great Conjunction tells a story about an ageing astronomer, Kenneth, who plans to watch the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter but his plans get turned upside down when his teenage grand daughter shows up on the doorstep of his house.
(14 min 57)

WINNER - BEST IN THE SOUTH WEST - Watch
WINNER - AUDIENCE AWARD
Carbon Copy DIR. JADE AYINO (Bristol, UK)
'A collection of self-written poems that directly comment on my intersectional experiences growing up as a Black woman living in modern Britain. The film navigates between sensations of trauma, desire and frustration.' (4 min 50)

WINNER - BEST ANIMATED - Watch
On Becoming Rarer DIR. Joanna Phillips - UK (also nominated for Best of South West)
Our lives are constantly becoming rarer, ever rushing toward the end. As someone with stage 4 cancer this weighs heavy upon me. This music film explores time, transience, the afterlife and ultimately, death. (3 min 12)

WINNER - BEST UNDER 18 - Watch
Papa DIR. Claiborne Martell - USA - Winner - Best Under 18
In Eureka, California, a mother takes care of her father, who is living with dementia. During her short visit, she brings food and reminders to take his medicine, as well as medical documents. Tough times and difficult conversations are approached with care and compassion throughout this short film. (10 min 28)