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London Film Festival 2008

The London Film Festival continues to supply a great selection of UK and world shorts. They are divided up into nine programmes and they run as follows.

  • Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences - "A selection of short animated films from around the world."
  • Bigmouth Strikes Again - "Being a bigmouth and a bully can backfire, and the young people in these films learn some life-changing facts before their final descent into adulthood."
  • A Day in the Life - "A selection of short films about memorable days and events which have great significance for those involved."
  • Down on the Street - "A diverse selection of short films about the lives of young people around the world and their experiences on the streets of their cities."
  • International Animation Panorama - "A selection of new international and British animation films."
  • London Calling - "A selection of recent shorts from some of the capital's most exciting new filmmakers, supported by Film London's production schemes."
  • Shock Tactics - "This short film selection has shock value for everyone."
  • A Strange Day - "Consistently thought-provoking and occasionally disturbing, these seven short films cover all bases between slightly quirky and way out there."
  • Suffer Little Children - "Growing up can be hellish for all manner of reasons, as these films demonstrate."
  • TCM Classic Shorts - Six films vie in competition for a prize pot of £10,000, split between the overall winner and two runners-up.

View other London Film Festival Films by strand: Cinema Europa, Experimenta, Film On The Square, French Revolutions, Galas And Special Screenings, New British Cinema, Treasures from the Archives, World Cinema

Love You More Love You More
Love You More and Mumbler
52 Percent (Country: Poland ; Year: 2007; Director: Rafal Skalski)
52% is the ideal proportion of one's leg length to height and one of the most important admission criteria set by the Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg. 11-year-old Alla has two months to reach these dream proportions to be admitted to the school.
Suffer Little Children
7 More Minutes (Country: Poland, Germany; Year: 2008; Director: Izabela Plucinska)
After a train accident four people meet up at the beach to say farewell.
International Animation
The Acquaintances of a Lonely John (Country: USA ; Year: 2008; Director: Benny Safdie)
This is the story of a lonely man called John trying to connect with anyone he can.
Down on the Street
Advantage (Country: Australia; Year: 2007; Director: Sean Byrne; Writer: Rob Beamish; Stars: Shelly Lauman, Mark Winter)
A young couple stumble home after a big night out. Their frisky interlude at a suburban tennis club lands them a role in a far more sinister, supernatural game and their opponents have a distinct home court advantage.
Shock Tactics
Aquarium (Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Rob Meyer; Writer: Rob Meyer; Stars: Don L Bagley, Kurt Braunohler, Zachary Brian, Matt Campbell, Barbara Ann Davison, PK Egersheim)
Something's fishy at an aquarium society meeting.
A Strange Day
Nine-Ball Nine-Ball
Nine-Ball and Protect You + Me
Awkward (Country: Canada ; Year: 2008; Director: Kellie Ann Benz)
A dinner party and the conversation begins to get awkward as offensive language creeps into the everyday banter.
Shock Tactics
Baghdad Express (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Nimer Rashed)
A teenage girl working in her father's Arabic restaurant is forced to decide which comes first - her dreams or her family.
London Calling
Because There Are Things You Never Forget (Country: Argentina, Spain; Year: 2008; Director: Lucas M. Figueroa)
Four friends accidentally kick their football into an evil old lady's yard. They'll never play with their ball again and so plot a deadly revenge.
A Day in the Life
Berni's Doll ( ) (Country: France ; Year: 2008; Director: Yann J.)
Provocative satire on sexual consumerism via exploitation of the third world.
International Animation
Bitten (Country: France ; Year: 2007; Director: David Morley)
Clara has been bitten. Frightened and alone, she flees through a dark and sinister forest, pursued by a gun-toting man bent on her destruction. She finds help in an isolated farm, but this sanctuary is only temporary…
Shock Tactics
This Way Up This Way Up
This Way Up and The Wednesdays
Buses and Trains (Country: Australia ; Year: 2008; Director: Chris Frey)
A group of homeless teenagers ride the late-night transport across the urban landscape, but one of the gang has a secret she can't reveal.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Cartrouble (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Dave Hunt)
Man, woman, car... trouble.
London Calling
Chainsaw (Country: Australia ; Year: 2008; Director: Dennis Tupicoff)
Romance is like a chainsaw: a very dangerous beast indeed.
International Animation
A Child's Metaphysics (Country: Japan ; Year: 2007; Director: Koji Yamamura)
A metaphysical exploration of childhood psychology and physiognomy.
International Animation
City (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Cordelia Swann)
Reflections found on objects, places and monuments on the streets around the City of London.
London Calling
My Olympic Summer My Olympic Summer
My Olympic Summer and I Love Sarah Jane
Cry Me A River (Heshang aiqing) (Country: China, Spain, France; Year: 2008; Director: Jia Zhang Ke; Stars: Zhao Tao, Guo Xiaodong)
Four old college friends reflect on what might have been.
Showing with 24 City
A Day In A Life (Country: Belgium; Year: 2007; Director: Nicolas Daenens)
Two street punks, Mario and Tom plan a bank job. Emin agrees to be their driver - but he doesn't have a car.
A Day in the Life
Deconfliction (Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Edward Tyndall ), Official Site
Rant and reflect with Tina Highland. (D)
Shock Tactics
Dennis (Country: Denmark; Year: 2007; Director: Mads Matthiesen; Writer: Mads Matthiesen, Martin Zandvliet; Stars: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lykke Sand Michelsen)
When Dennis, an introverted bodybuilder, invites a local girl out on a date his mother is hurt and disappointed. Despite the pressure she puts on him to cancel the date, Dennis ventures into a night that he will never forget.
A Strange Day
Elephants (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Sally Pearce)
An infestation of elephants spell trouble for a family.
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences and International Animation
Last Time In Clerkenwell Last Time In Clerkenwell
Last Time In Clerkenwell and Leaving
Ella and the Astronaut (Country: USA ; Year: 2008; Director: Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Robert Machoian)
A young girl, a toy astronaut and a lot of imagination.
Suffer Little Children
Fantaisie in Bubble Wrap (Country: USA ; Year: 2008; Director: Arthur Metcalf)
A whimsical jaunt through the world of bubblewrap.
International Animation
È Finita La Commedia (Country: Belgium, Spain; Year: 2006; Director: Jean-Julien Collette, Olivier Tollet; Writer: Jean-Julien Collette, Olivier Tollet; Stars: Christian Crahay, Cédric Eeckhout)
A father and son chat in a parked car... but what are they waiting for?
TCM Classic Shorts
Frankie (Country: Ireland ; Year: 2007; Director: Darren Thornton)
Frankie is a 15-year-old boy who wants to be the best Dad ever, but as his day goes on, he starts to realise how impossible this will be for him.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Gone Fishing (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Chris Jones; Writer: Chris Jones; Stars: Bill Paterson, Devon Murray, James Wilson, Eric Bailey, John Basham, Lin Blakley, Desiree Densiti, Ruth Gemmell, Lucy Joyce, David Talbot)
An elderly man trying to cope with loss bonds with a youngster over the story of a monstrous pike.
TCM Classic Shorts
September September
September and Jerrycan
Good Boy (Bom Garoto) (Country: Brazil; Year: 2008; Director: Davyde Wachell; Writer: Davyde Wachell; Stars: Wallace Coutinho, Marilia Coelho, Jaqueline Macóeh, Diego Ferreira, Juan Lima, Lauro Albuquerque ), Official Site
Surviving the slums of Rio is a challenge for a boy and his mum. (S)
Down on the Street
Half a Bear (Country: Latvia ; Year: 2007; Director: Nils Skapans)
Will Bear find a new friend?
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
Haze (Country: Singapore; Year: 2008; Director: Anthony Chen)
It's a hot humid day in Singapore and two teenagers decide to skip school and stay in, playing out an innocent love affair amongst the heat haze of the city.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
The Hunt (Country: Latvia; Year: 2007; Director: Jänis Cimermanis)
Can the Rescue Team save the animals from the hunters?
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
I Love Sarah Jane (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Spencer Susser; Writer: David Michôd, Spencer Susser; Stars: Brad Ashby, Mia Wasikowska, Vladimir Matovic, Beau South, Peter Yacoub, Richard Mueck, Anton Enus), Official Site
A 13-year-old will stop at nothing to win the heart of the girl of his dreams.
Full Review
A Strange Day
The Wrestling The Wrestling
The Wrestling and Aquarium
In the Woods (Country: USA ; Year: 2008; Director: Paul Vester)
American language in the bush years.
International Animation
Jerrycan (Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Julius Avery; Writer: Julius Avery)
A young boy is bullied into making a life or death decision, but can Nathan prove himself to his mates?
Suffer Little Children
Kingsland #1 Dreamer (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Tony Grisoni)
Kurdish Huso arrives in Dalston with high hopes, but integrating into the community proves more difficult than he anticipated.
A Day in the Life
Konvex-T (Country: Sweden ; Year: 2008; Director: Johan Lundh)
Axel is a sad man who finds himself living in a nightmarish, strange, dystopian world. After a brief, strange encounter with his love interest, Agnes, he visits the corporate physician and shows him a big unpleasant boil he's got on his buttock.
Shock Tactics
Laban the Little Ghost: No ones afraid of Laban (Country: Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Lasse Persson)
Laban is a ghost who has difficulty scaring anyone.
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
Laban the Little Ghost: The Queen's Friend (Country: Sweden ; Year: 2008; Director: Alicja Jaworski)
The Queen's friend wants to see a ghost but is she prepared for it?
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
Lakemba (Country: Australia ; Year: 2008; Director: Platon Theodoris)
In the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, Sef and Chux are into creating hip hop, smoking weed and Islam.
Down on the Street
Last Time In Clerkenwell (Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Alex Budovsky; Stars: n/a), Trailer
Birds go bonkers.
Full Review
International Animation
Leaving (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sam Hearn, Richard Penfold; Writer: Penfold Richard; Stars: Kierston Wareing, Johnny Harris, Joe Siffleet)
A battered wife tries to find the courage to leave her husband.
Full Review
TCM Classic Shorts
Love Does Grow on Trees (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Bevan Walsh)
It's 1989 and thirteen-year-old Danny's life is thrown into chaos when he discovers adult magazines, girls, and the embarrassment that goes with both.
London Calling
Love You More (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sam Taylor-Wood; Writer: Patrick Marber; Stars: Harry Treadaway, Andrea Riseborough, Samuel Roukin, Paul Ritter, Pete Shelley, Harriet Ashcroft, Alex Kelly)
Two schoolkids get amorous while listening to the new Buzzcocks single.
Full Review
A Day in the Life
Max's Words (Country: USA; Year: 2007; Director: Galen Fott, Jerry Hunt)
Max discovers the creative power of words.
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
Midnight Lost and Found (Country: India ; Year: 2007; Director: Atul Sabharwal)
Arvind works behind bars at a late-night pharmacy. A relationship develops with a Mumbai prostitute who visits nightly to buy condoms.
Down on the Street
Mumbler (Mompelaar) (Country: Belgium; Year: 2007; Director: Wim Reygaert, Marc Roels; Writer: Wim Reygaert, Marc Roels; Stars: Serge Buyse, Jan Coemelck, Piet De Praitere, Gunter Lamoot)
Blaring and showy horror flick goes for the throat.
Full Review
A Strange Day
My Olympic Summer (Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Daniel Robin; Writer: Daniel Robin, MR Dhar; Stars: MR Dhar, Annette Bhole, Etta Robin, Stanley Robin, Debbie Robin)
A discovery prompts a filmmaker to re-examine his parents' relationships.
Full Review
A Day in the Life
My Rabit Hoppy (Country: Australia ; Year: 2008; Director: Anthony Lucas)
A school project about a pet rabbit that goes horribly wrong.
Shock Tactics
Nine-Ball (Country: Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Nikolina Gillgren; Writer: Per Gavatin; Stars: Daniel Gustavsson, Christopher Heden, Magnus Krepper, Peter Jarn, Paula McManus)
A man who struggles to communicate learns a lesson from his son.
Full Review
TCM Classic Shorts
One Shoe Short (Country: Australia ; Year: 2007; Director: Jackie Van Beek)
Life in a remote Alice Springs aboriginal community where there's not enough shoes to go round the local school.
Suffer Little Children
On the Line (Country: Germany, Switzerland; Year: 2007; Director: Reto Caffi)
A department store security guard is secretly in love with a clerk in the store's bookshop and hopes to connect with her on the commute home.
A Day in the Life
Panic Painter (Country: Sweden ; Year: 2008; Director: Johan Hagelbäck)
A visit to a gallery demystifies modern art.
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
Playground (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Avril Evans)
Best friends Malachi and Neil visit their special hideaway only to be greeted by an uninvited guest.
London Calling
Pop Art (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Amanda Boyle)
Arthur, the new boy at school is 'special'. In fact, he's inflatable, but Toby likes him.
A Strange Day
Protect You + Me (Country: USA ; Year: 2008; Director: Brady Corbet; Stars: Daniel London, Patricia Connolly)
A meal with mum turns sour.
Full Review
A Strange Day
Rabbit Punch (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Kristian Andrews)
The growing pains of a 14-year-old Norfolk boy.
International Animation
Rainhorse (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Sebastian Godwin)
A nail-biting stand-off between a man and a horse. From the short story of the same title by Ted Hughes.
London Calling
Ralph (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Alex Winckler)
Showing as part of UKFC Completion Fund Shorts at EIFF 2008.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Refrains (Country: Poland ; Year: 2007; Director: Wiola Sowa)
An episode repeats itself in the life of a family of three very close-knit women.
International Animation
Ripple (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Paul Gowers; Writer: Paul Gowers, Jim North; Stars: Ben Crompton, Bill Thomas, Lucy Holt, Glenn Doherty, Tony Bluto, Abbie Hirst, Sandy Walsh)
A series of unfortunate effects make a man's trip to see his girlfriend spiral out of control.
TCM Classic Shorts
Roads (Country: Israel; Year: 2007; Director: Lior Geller ; Writer: Lior Geller; Stars: Waseem Nur Habshi, Daniel Chernish, Mahmud Mura, Osama Rabaya, Haled Mayer Marwat), Official Site
A 13-year-old Arab and an Israeli ex-soldier connect. (S)
Down on the Street
Rolling On (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Paula Desiderio)
A high-octane look at skateboarding as a positive London subculture; with contributions from legendary pro-skater Tony Hawk.
London Calling
Ryan (Country: UK ; Year: 2007; Director: David Scofield)
In a typical town in anywhere UK, Ryan is wandering the estate bored, but finds himself drawn into the older kids' games of aggression and intimidation.
Suffer Little Children
Spending the Night (Country: Sweden ; Year: 2007; Director: Amanda Adolfsson)
A young girl is going to spend the night at her boyfriend's place, his parents not being home. They rent a movie and have high expectations for the evening. But things don't really turn out the way they thought they would.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
September (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Esther May Campbell)
Marvin is not going anywhere. Into this forgotten corner of English countryside and motorway services arrives an extraordinary young girl, changing his world forever.
Full Review See: Encounters Film Festival Diary: Episode Two
Shock Tactics
Tales for Tiny Tots: Bye, bye little monkey! (Country: Sweden; Year: 2007; Director: Anna-Clara Tidholm, Gun Jacobson)
Little monkey gets wet while playing outdoors.
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
Tales for Tiny Tots: Nelly Packs (Country: Sweden; Year: 2007; Director: Anna-Clara Tidholm, Gun Jacobson)
Nelly decides to leave home.
Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences
There Are Monsters (Country: Canada ; Year: 2008; Director: Jay Dahl)
There's a strange little girl standing in the front garden…
Shock Tactics
Thick-Skinned (Country: France ; Year: 2007; Director: Jean-Bernard Marlin, Benoît Rambourg)
A 12-year-old boy tries to kill a kid from his neighbourhood to impress his father.
Suffer Little Children
Tight Jeans (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Destiny Ekaragha)
“How can a man wear jeans dat tight? It's dat emo look, innit?”. A humourous and authentic slice of life from the perspective of the young black British male.
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Tomboy (Country: France ; Year: 2007; Director: Claudine Natkin)
Chloe is a 10-year-old who plays football, never cries and doesn't like other girls. But when Marie, a sweet blond girl, joins in, Chloe and her boy friends decide to invent a new game.
Suffer Little Children
This Way Up (Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Adam Foulkes, Alan Smith), Official Site
Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble.
Full Review
International Animation
The Wednesdays (Country: Ireland; Year: 2007; Director: Conor Ferguson; Writer: Luke Clancy, Conor Ferguson; Stars: Doreen Keogh, Des Keogh, Alan Devlin, Pat Laffan, Tina Kellegher, John Collins, Susan Moore)
An elderly couple find and unusual way of spicing up their relationship.
Full Review
TCM Classic Shorts
Wonders of the World (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Cordelia Swann)
Dazzling images of a funfair at night in London's West End.
London Calling
The Wrestling (Country: Iceland; Year: 2007; Director: Grimur Hakonarson; Writer: Grimur Hakonarson; Stars: Halldor Gylfason, Bjorn Ingi Hilmarsson, Helga Braga Jonsdottir, Maria Gudmundsdottir)
A love story about two gay wrestlers living in rural Iceland who must keep their relationship a secret from the inner world of Iceland's national and very macho sport.
A Strange Day
The Yowie and the Magpie (Country: UK ; Year: 2008; Director: Dylan White)
A darkly comic animation set in the Australian outback of a bloodthirsty hunter and his mythical quarry.
London Calling
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