Students and staff from the London School of Film, Media and Design (LSFMD) at the University of West London (UWL) heard from award-winning director Rebecca Rose at a screening on campus of her film “The Removed” which was named Best Narrative Drama at last year’s Ealing Film Festival.
The screening was followed by a Q&A session both about the film, which tells a painful, close-up story of a woman separated from her child, and about Rebecca’s career in the film industry, starting out as an actor, and then moving behind the camera, mainly working as an assistant director.
Passion and resilience
Rebecca told students that succeeding as a filmmaker depends on a combination of passion and resilience. “The Removed”, which she both wrote and directed, was inspired by the stories of women who had their babies taken from them; her experience in many areas of filmmaking was key to its successful production.
The event, organised as part of LSFMD’s Industry Experience work, also heard from two students who were successful at the Festival, Karyna Fedorchuk and Rushil Vyas, including screening their work that caught the judges’ eye.
Rushil, who graduated in Visual Effects last year, gave a fascinating insight into how VFX can bring magic to production, talking through how he put together his Visual Effects short “Ape of the Unknown”, which was one of the festival’s official selections.
Recognition and work experience
Media and Communications student Karyna says the recognition for her documentary “Solo”, which was screened at the festival’s emerging talent event at Ealing
Picturehouse, has been a huge boost:
“You don’t fully realise what it means until you attend the festival and see a brochure with your film’s title, and your name next to the word “Director”. I don’t quite dare to call myself that yet, but when someone else writes it about you, it truly feels like a significant step forward.
“Watching my short film on YouTube is one thing but realising that it is being viewed by a full cinema audience is something entirely different, and it is a feeling that truly gives you goosebumps.”
Karyna is currently doing work experience with the festival, and this has already helped open the door to a week-long placement on a professional film set and an offer of paid work in future.
Sarah Lewthwaite, Media and Communications Course Leader, who organised the UWL event and watched the screening at the Ealing Picturehouse alongside a group of students said:
”Solo is a great film, and it was fantastic to see it on the big screen – a real endorsement of the standard of work our students are doing.”
A collaboration that benefits students
The event at UWL was organised in partnership with the Film Festival. Festival Director Russell England, said:
“Ealing Film Festival is delighted to be partnering with UWL in the run up to the next Festival which runs from 15–18 October. We’re looking forward to further strengthening our partnership, by encouraging more student entries, and a continuing programme of dedicated screenings and workshops, along with volunteering opportunities for students during the festival.”
Head of LSFMD Paul Lohneis said:
“It’s good to see such recognition for the high-quality work being produced by students on our Media and Communications and Visual Effects courses – and we’re looking forward to excellent filmmaking on our new Film, Screen and Content Production degree, which will build on a long history of film production here in Ealing.
“Our partnership work with the Ealing Film Festival is a great collaboration, which helps to open doors for our students, and we’re looking forward to developing it further in the future.”
The festival is offering a special 30% discount to UWL filmmakers, using code EFF3026. Submit your entry here by 31 July.
