Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Hi Alexander, lovely to be speaking with you. Where in the world do we find you right now? Hi Chris, thank you for the opportunity to take part in your filmmakers showcase. We are preparing right now everything for summer 2024, to be ready to shoot our first feature film, "The Heart of Darkness“ (WT), write the script in our writer's room at Picco-Studio (Comment: see www.picco-studio.com), negotiate with the team and cast and take care of the funding. It is an exciting process we are going through! Since we founded Picco-Studio in 2021 we are growing and gr ..read more

★★★ Directed by: #GabrielBrown Starring: #EleanorGrainger Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Purely Cosmetic exposes the behind-the-scenes moments for an actress who has finally made her West End debut. Unfortunately, all is not as it is portrayed to be for this shining star. Instead of glitz, glam and fame, the audience are shown a much darker side to the lifestyle and focuses on the internal thoughts of our young actress. This short film shows us the side to acting and fame which we are shielded away from, the side which does not show the immense pressure and mental preparation it takes ..read more

★★★★ Directed by: #SriKandula Starring: #SabelleCaviston, #AJCollevecchio, #AdamMyers Short Film Review by: Alexandra James A short student film directed by Sri Kandula, What Remains is a thriller that is set in a post-apocalyptic world. There are few survivors, and there are cannibalistic creatures which are roaming the earth. The only thing that is keeping them alive is instinct and sticking together. Grace becomes a lone traveller after her fiancé’s death, she is fearful but determined to survive. Grace soon meets another lost soul though her travels called Oscar, a mute and timid guy who ..read more

★★★ Directed by: #DianaGalimzyanova Starring: #MarriaRoslova, #ArturSemenduev, #DmitryKrupin Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Sheep F-cked In the Head is a music video which portrays a woman on a night out drinking and enjoying herself to the extreme. However, throughout the video she is constantly approached by men, and some of the advances towards her are consensual, and some are not, and yet they still tried to take advantage. This video highlights some of the common scenarios many women face daily, and certainly when drinking or out in a night club. Diana Galimzyanova is the director ..read more

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Hi Aimie, many thanks for speaking with us. Where in the world do we find you right now? Hello from Glasgow, Scotland! Not the sunniest location by any means but it is home. You have a new short film, Unravelling, currently in Post-Production which you wrote and directed. What's the plot and how did this story originate? Unravelling is a harrowing exploration of multiple sclerosis through a young woman who becomes plagued by a strange physical manifestation sprouting from her body while helping declutter her chronically ill grandmother's cottage. But when ri ..read more

★★★★ Directed by: #TimothyDraper Starring: #TimothyDraper, #ShaunFotheringham, #ToddAndresen, #ChuchieZitting and #MarcHoover Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Uncharted Expedition follows team leader Timothy Draper and Shaun Fotheringham, embarking on a fantastically thrilling adventure and bringing a team together to explore and investigate treasures across Western America. Covid-19 unfortunately put a delay on the team and stopped them from making headway with their mission. However, episode 1 of this series shows the guys constructing a secure and loyal team, all keen and with the per ..read more

★★★★ Directed by: #ToniVGenov Short Film Review by: Alexandra James This short documentary focuses on the incredible work of Alice Guy-Blaché, the first female director who began her career as early as 1896, experimenting with colour, visuals and sound effects in movies. Unfortunately, the reason as to why she is not heard about to this day is due to several factors. Alice was a woman in a very male dominated industry and many people tried to have her fired and removed from the set, they did not want this amount of credit being given to a woman. Moreover, many of her films were destroyed and ..read more

★★★★ Directed by: Phil Dunn Written by: Phil Dunn Starring: Joshua Griffin, Shaun Mason, Ellie Piercy, Derek Elroy Short Film Review by: Chris Olson Exploring themes of love and hate, the short film The Stupid Boy by #filmmaker Phil Dunn is a powerful and affecting drama. It stars Shaun Mason as Stephen - a young man with a tragic background being groomed for a white supremacist group operating in London, and Joshua Griffin as teenage schoolboy Michael whose unique perspective of the world and unusual behaviour sees him as a target for bullies. The short film culminates in these two character ..read more

Grimmfest, Manchester's International Festival of Fantastic Film, will be returning to regular venue, Manchester’s Odeon Great Northern, from 6–8 October to showcase the best in genre cinema. With the feature film lineup already announced, we are delighted to share this year’s poster artwork by Ilan Sheady, emphasising this year’s celebration on female-centric horror. But now, that celebration is set to start a day earlier, on the evening of Thursday 5 October, with a special preview screening of Joe Lynch’s SUITABLE FLESH alongside two startling short film premieres and the infamous Evolutio ..read more

★★ Directed by: Nick Gatsby Written by: Nick Gatsby Starring: Skye Armenta, Nick Gatsby, Christopher James Taylor Indie Film Review by: Chris Olson Serving up surrealist sci-fi, filmmaker Nick Gatsby invites viewers to take a “trip” with him in this experimental comedy Zapper!. Not a film for any viewer who suffers from epilepsy, the film achieves and maintains an acid-trip aesthetic throughout, constantly shifting colour and utilising a smorgasbord of special effects and wacky props (the guns are bananas). A group of higher beings engage in an annual game whereby they use lowly zappers to co ..read more