Celebrating super-short stories of freedom and creative expression from young, Northern filmmakers.
In early-September 2023, we headed to Pictureville Cinema in Bradford for the finale of our very first BFI Film Academy DIY Filmmaking Challenge.
Three months previously, we’d challenged the young filmmakers of the North to create no-budget, micro-short films inspired by the theme of Unbound, and exploring stories of freedom, creative expression and limitless possibilities.
The showcase event was a chance to celebrate our micro-short submissions on the biggest screen possible, with a shortlist of five finalists selected by the Film Hub North team with support from Bradford-based filmmakers Hollie Bryan (Cosmosquare Films) and Jordon Scott Kennedy (Idle Work Factory).
You can find out more about our Unbound shortlist below. Each shortlisted filmmaker will receive a one-to-one mentoring session with our BFI NETWORK filmmaker development team. While our winning filmmaker, Noah Lei Underwood receives £1,000 development funding to support their next film.
Congratulations to all of our shortlisted filmmakers and thank you to everyone who submitted.
Submissions are now open on our next DIY Filmmaking Challenge - Environment. Submit your work by Monday 9 October for the chance to win career-development support, and to showcase your work at Sunderland Shorts Film Festival.
Find out more.
It's really great to see a platform in Bradford for early-career filmmakers. I feel very grateful to be a part of watching all these great films and seeing such a brilliant level of creativity in the North. - Hollie Bryan, Cosmosquare Films
Unbound shortlisted films
AMPuTV: The Number One Star
Presented as an intercepted intergalactic television broadcast, AMPuTV: The Number One Star takes the form of an extraterrestrial advertisement for an extraordinary pair of shoes.
Georgia Madden boldly mixes media and a maximalist aesthetic in this way-out-there micro-short.
The Journey Home
A multi-layered interpretation of the theme, The Journey Home tells the story of a creature that considers its current bindings and finds them wanting.
Expressive and emphatic, Noah Lei Underwood’s short packs echoes of modernist cinema and gothic fiction into its condensed runtime.
Vines
A young woman loses herself and discovers something new in an unpredictable landscape in Taylor Clarke’s stop motion animation.
Pain-stakingly assembled using a cut-paper technique, Vines captures the changing of the seasons and the beauty of the natural world.
Chump Change
A short, not-so-sweet spy movie set on the streets of Sheffield.
Frankie Currie sends up the familiar tropes of the spy genre in this absurdist comedy about the unlikely future of espionage.
Saudade
On a rooftop in the rain, an office worker finally finds release from the monotony of his 9-5 routine.
Darshan Gajjar’s evocative dance film moves skilfully from stasis to serenity, and from burnout to bliss. Featuring a performance from dancer James Gallego Olivo.
