The award winner’s announcement and ceremony will take place at 8pm on Sunday 29th April at festival’s hub venue, The Hen & Chickens.
Creative Director, James Wren, said: “This year, we were overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of submissions and the finalised programme boasts a wealth of talent from across the world. Deciding on finalists has been a challenging task as every film in this year’s programme showcases exceptional talent from all levels of experience of filmmakers, and is a wonderful celebration of independent film at its finest.
The festival’s opening night which will take place tonight at 7pm with a screening of the film, Pickups, one of the finalist films showing at Everyman’s Screen on the Green.
Award Nominations
Best Feature
Pickups – (Dir: Jamie Thraves, UK) – “Aidan”, (played by Aidan Gillen, who also wrote the screenplay) suffers from insomnia, back trouble and the breakdown of his marriage and finds solace in a number of strangers he picks up, although, he is now concerned that someone is stalking him. Work is getting on top of him too; he murdered a couple of people last week and he still has more people to kill...
Hippopotamus – (Dir: Edward Palmer, UK) – Ruby wakes up to find herself kidnapped, with two broken legs, and no memory of who she is or how she got there. As her kidnapper, Tom, helps to jog her memory, Ruby begins to question everything...
The 12 – (Dir: James Whitehill, UK) – A grieving, balaclava-wearing, widow attempts to hold a small countryside church congregation, and its Pastor, hostage after losing his wife to cancer.
Guardians – (Dir: Mark A. C. Brown, UK) – Two highly unqualified men are thrown together as Live-in Guardians of a 200 year old house. What at first seems like an easy job is soon shown to be anything but, when the house comes under attack from unseen forces.
Best Foreign Feature
Consolation – (Dir: Pawel Podlejski, Poland) – Patryk is a Polish man, returning home after 20 years in Germany. Paulina is young and wants to move to Germany to escape her dull life. When their paths cross, Patryk is forced to face his past.
A Sublime Life – (Dir: Luis Diogo, Portugal) – Dr. Ivan has found two radical cures for unhappiness: the diagnosis of fake terminal cancers and the temporary elimination of some of the five human senses. Will the therapies will work or will they have unforeseeable side effects?
She Was Young With Light Eyes – (Dir: Giovanni Mazzitelli, Italy) – Describing the sentimental training of a man, as well as the conflicting events that mark his feelings, this film whirls around different characters and surreal situations, which most will be able to identify with.
Wander About Me – (Dir: Ghazaleh Soltani, Iran) – Saayeh, a single independent woman living in Tehran, is having a crisis about being in her thirties, living alone and seeking love. She wants to have a baby but doesn’t want to get married; she tries to adopt a child but she can’t. Then, she accidentally finds herself face-to-face with the baby smuggling ring.
Best Short
Catch of the Day – (Dir: Geraint Reynolds, UK) – A story of timeless love, with a twist in the tale. As Dylan cares for his dying wife, Gwen, he relives bittersweet memories of their long and happy life together. Dawn breaks and Gwen dies. Returning to the sea shore where they first met, Dylan allows the waves to claim him.
Burn – (Dir: Judson Vaughan, UK) – In the midst of national hysteria and incomprehensible personal tragedy, a child is born bearing the scars of other people's sins.
Seeing Him – (Dir: Chris Jones, UK) – When Sophie and her younger lover James find their relationship being challenged they are forced to confront a truth they have both been hiding from.
One Year Later – (Dir: Daniel Booth, UK) – Simon celebrates the one year anniversary of his suicide attempt by inviting his somewhat reluctant Father and supportive Sister to an unconventional family dinner.
Cupidity – (Dir: Simon Connolly, UK) – A group of strangers, thrust together by greed, discover that temptation can be fatal.
Cotton Wool – (Dir: Nicholas Connor, UK) – The story of a 7 year old boy who cares for his mother after she has survived from a stroke, with little to no help from his older sister.
Best Foreign Short
Pink & Quilted – (Dir: Frederic Chane-son, France) – A little pink panty goes a long way...
Subtle Lines – (Dir: Vladimir Karpychev, Russia)
Once Upon a Dream – (Dir: Anthony Nion, Belgium) – When Valentin meets Ludivine, he is convinced she’s the girl he has been dreaming of for the past weeks… Literally, the girl of his dreams. So he sets out to live it fully. Only, Ludivine has a feeling this boy meet girl scenario will take a nightmarish turn…
Father’s Letter – (Dir: Denis Filyukov, Russia) – Based around real events, this film recreates the memories of father who wrote a letter to the son that committed suicide.
Those Who Can Die – (Dir: Charlotte Cayeux, France) – Zoé, 15 years old enters a strict boarding school. Around her, pupils are playing and attending classes with faded eyes; the violence of the supervisors is visible through their obsequious look. One day Zoé meets Marie and understands what they are destined for.
Best Web Series
M.O.T.H.E.R. Knows Best – (Dir: Chris Mayo & Scott Kingsnorth, UK) – A ten part dystopian dark comedy web series.
Nemausus – (Dir: Quentin Uriel, France) – A series project mixing humor, history and science fiction intended to be broadcast on the Internet.
Galaxy Ball Team EARTH – (Dir: Diane Spencer) – Galaxy Ball is a planet versus planet sport. Earth has its first team, however due to the Russians sending a dog into space in 1957, Earth's dominant species got registered as dogs. This is a mockumentary that follows a group of aliens who are all qualified in the sport (manager, coach etc) who have come to Earth to train ...
Jade Dragon – (Dir: Joseph Brett, UK) – A mockumentary web series set in a Chinese takeaway.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults – (Dir: John Henry Westhead, UK) – Series about 17 Albion Street, care home for adults with mental health conditions. The series deals with what happens to the residents of 17 Albion Street in the community and at home.
Coming Together – (Dir: Wessel van Schaik, USA) – Coming Together follows a group of six twenty-something’s in New York City as they navigate love, friendships, and their sexuality.
Best Feature Documentary
The Circle – (Dir: Philippa Frisby, UK) – Film on yoga transforming lives of street children caught in web of drug addiction.
Robin Hood Complex – (Dir: Emile Ghessen, UK) – Former Royal Marines Commando turned documentary maker, Emile Ghessen, swapped his rifle for a camera to document the plight of international volunteers fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
F**k it, It’s Over – (Dir: Hardeep Giani, UK) – Documentary film that looks at the gentrification of the world famous area of SOHO in London, through the eyes of local artist Henrietta Sophia Wallace Dunlop, who was raised there as a girl in the 70s.
BabyLondon – (Dir: Andres Roccatagliata, UK) – BabyLondon is a documentary, which reveals an invisible side of society in London, a city where reality and illusion get muddled up.
Endgame – (Dir: Andi Reiss, UK) – Death is the biggest issue we will all have to deal with and in the UK, euthanasia and assisted suicide is illegal. This documentary explores the challenging and complex debate.
Best Documentary (Short)
The Bare Knuckle Carer – (Dir: Jonny Pickup, UK) – An insightful glipse into the life of Billy ‘Bang Bang’ Hawthorn; a committed full-time carer for his disabled mother and also a rising star on the underground bare-knuckle boxing circuit.
Sisterly – (Dir: Nina Vallado, USA) - Sisterly is a short documentary film that explores the relationship between sisters under the impact of autism. Nina and Lisa share their sibling story with honesty and vulnerability of their challenges and successes.
Klatki: The Hidden Farms of Europe – (Dir: C. M. Jackson, UK) - Fur has made an insidious comeback in Europe. Klatki is the story of Open Cages as they fight to expose the hidden world of fox & mink farms.
Mumpsimus and Halcyon Discord – (Dir: Rolf Klein, UK) - Filmmaker Rolf Klein draws on his personal experiences of mental health and homelessness to challenge perceptions in the media.
Best Director (Feature)
Jamie Thraves (Pickups)
Ghazaleh Soltani (Wander About Me)
Luis Diogo (A Sublime Life)
James Whitehill (The 12)
Edward Palmer (Hippopotamus)
Mark A. C. Brown (Guardians)
Best Director (Short)
Nicholas Connor (Cotton Wool)
Geraint Reynolds (Catch of the Day)
James Hughes (The Inuring/The Velvet Abstract)
Fenella Greenfield (Pill)
Kristina Kumric (Half a Man)
Best Actor (Feature)
Greg Zajac (Loose Ends)
Aidan Gillen (Pickups)
Matt Prendergast (Guardians)
Christopher Hunter (The 12)
Stuart Mortimer (Hippopotamus)
Best Actress (Feature)
Chandler Loryn (Loose Ends)
Ingvild Deila (Hippopotamus)
Aleksandra Gracka (Consolation)
Lianne Harvey (Bikini Blue)
Mehrave Sharifinia (Wander About Me)
Best Actress (Short)
Liz McMullen (Actress)
Emily Haigh (The Inuring)
Vanessa Bailey (Seeing Him)
Leanne Best (Cotton Wool)
Dominique Provost-Chalkley (Eat Jeremy)
Best Actor (Short)
Max Cavenham (Burn)
Lewis Allcock (One Year Later)
Ryan Nolan (Ashes)
Jason Eddy (Home)
Jack Parris (The Hex)
Best Score
Pickups – (Dir: Jamie Thraves, UK) – (listed above)
Bikini Blue – (Dir: Jaroslaw Marszewski, Poland) – A UK based Post War drama where an English-Polish couple look to build a new life in Britain, only for his past to come back to haunt them.
She Was Young With Light Eyes – (Dir: Giovanni Mazzitelli, Italy) – (listed above)
Dad is Pretty – (Dir: Park Soo-Min & Kim Seung-Hyeon, Republic of Korea) – Duk-jae’s life sucks. His boss is younger than him and bullies him. He drinks too much. When he gets home his wife locks him out of the bedroom and his daughter would rather turn up the TV than talk to him. When work requires Duk-jae to visit a cross-dressing bar called ‘Hawaii’, everything changes…
Best Cinematography
The 12 – (Dir: James Whitehill, UK) – (listed above)
Hippopotamus – (Dir: Edward Palmer, UK) – (listed above)
Cupidity – (Dir: Simon Connolly, UK) – (listed above)
The Inuring – (Dir: James Hughes, UK) – A bullied teenage girl finally confronts her sister to drag their fractured past out into the light.
Something More Banal – (Dir: Shalini Adnani, Uk/Chile) – In an unusual working morning, people sit and wait, contemplating life, and the dead man hanging in front of them in a Mexican factory.
Best Editing
Cupidity – (Dir: Simon Connolly, UK) – (listed above)
Loose Ends – (Dir: Greg Zajac, Canada) – In a world where being a freelancer for a powerful crime syndicate is as easy as signing up for a mobile app, new hire Tim Givens, in a case of mistaken identity, finds himself held hostage by Jessica, an escaped kidnap victim, who's trust he must earn in order to avoid being executed.
Hippopotamus – (Dir: Edward Palmer, UK) – (listed above)
Bikini Blue – (Dir: Jaroslaw Marszewski, Poland) – (listed above)
Best Screenplay
Cotton Wool – (Dir: Nicholas Connor, UK) – (listed above)
The 12 – (Dir: James Whitehill, UK) – (listed above)
Hippopotamus – (Dir: Edward Palmer, UK) – (listed above)
A Sublime Life – (Dir: Luis Diogo, Portugal) – (listed above)
Loose Ends – (Dir: Greg Zajac, Canada) – (listed above)
Best Art Direction
Pink & Quilted – (Dir: Frederic Chane-son, France) – (listed above)
Subtle Lines – (Dir: Vladimir Karpychev, Russia)
Sanitiser – (Dir: Jay Powrie, UK)
Burn – (Dir: Judson Vaughan, UK) – (listed above)
Best Animation
Hybrids – (Dir: Florian Brauch, Matthieu Pujol, Kim Tailhades, Yohan, Thireau, Romain Thirion, France) When underwater fauna must adapt to environmental pollution, the whole food chain changes.
Box – (Dir: Sacha Beeley) - A story of oppression and freedom inspired by Satyagraha. Gandhi and his followers find strength in numbers to break free, working together to find a way out of the box they are kept in.
We Will See Someday – (Dir; Nari Hong, Korea) – This short animation film is centred on the theme of death as it follows the relationship of a girl and a cat.
Blows With The Wind – (Dir: Hazhir As’adi, Iran) After incurring some unpleasant events, scarecrow becomes human and breaks away from those situations. On the way, he sees two other scarecrows whose conditions are not better than his. Thus he is on the horns of a dilemma and must make a hard decision.
Best Make Up/Costume
Another Game – (Dir: Riyad Barmania, UK) – A group have signed up to a mysterious lottery with disturbingly high stakes, where their thirst for dominance blinds them to the risks they take...
Burn – (Dir: Judson Vaughan, UK) – (listed above)
Pink & Quilted – (Dir: Frederic Chane-son, France) – (listed above)
The Incantation – (Dir: Jude S. Walko, USA) – A young American girl has a chance of a lifetime to visit her ancestors castle in the south of France, only to find that her family is hiding deep, dark secrets about their nefarious past, far away from prying eyes.
Festival Directors Choice
Announced on the Awards Night
One to Watch Award
Announced on the Awards Night
Tickets for all shows are available from www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/buy-tickets/ or on the door.
Launched in 2016, and following two very successful years, the 2018 Unrestricted View Film Festival now bigger and better than ever before Stretching across three venues (the first year that this North London film festival has extended past a singular venue), the festival will show a selection of feature films, documentaries, short films and web series across the week.
Unrestricted View in collaboration with FMW Films is a collective of award winning theatre and filmmakers, established in 1997 to write and produce innovative and exciting new work. Combined, the companies have produced over 20 plays, five new writing festivals, seven feature films and hundreds of comedy shows, including the feature film, The Man You’re Not which recently won Best British Feature at the London Independent Film Awards.
Main Site: www.uvff.co.uk
Tickets: www.unrestrictedview.co.uk
Twitter: @UViewFF
