Official selection 2023
Categories and screenings
Our selection of student films will screen on the 12th and 13th of June at the Gala Theatre and Cinema. Night 1 of Durham Film Festival will feature:
Panel and Q&A with Judges and Filmmakers
Category 1: Suspense
Category 2: Turbulence
Night 2 of Durham Film Festival will feature:
Panel and Q&A with Judges and Filmmakers
Category 3: Bonds
Category 4: Character
Awards Ceremony
Suspense: Tense films which rivet, thrill and disorientate, keeping audiences firmly on the edge of their seat.
Turbulence: Transformative, tumultuous experiences of life, culminating in both resolution and tragedy.
Bonds: Depictions of the complexities, strength and fulfilment provided by human relationships.
Character: Studies of humanity’s broad spectrum, closely examining different individuals through documentary
Category 1: Suspense
A serious house
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Henry Fish
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In the midst of a plague, a lonely priest must confront his fears when faced with an ominous knock at the door of his abandoned church.
crescendo
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Aimee Parker
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A boy finds an old, wooden box while on a walk with his dog.
the garden dweller
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Will Needs
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A man deals with a nightmarish garden.
the twilight night
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Leyang Su
Category 2: Turbulence
roya
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Mohammad Reza Mohammadi
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An Afghan man and his wife want to cross the borders illegally and reach Europe.
Köksüz (Rootless)
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Defne Özden
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Koksüz deriving its title from the Turkish word meaning ‘Rootless’. Is story that explores the contrast between metropolitan lifestyle and natural life.
ivory
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Hal Howe
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Daniel’s world collapses in on itself after he takes a life on the streets of South London.
Category 3: Bonds
Re-Record
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Kyrylo Zemly Anyi
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A family celebrates the birthday of their son. After a warm birthday greeting, their usual feast takes place.
my brothers
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Archie Williams
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A study of a current relationship with brothers via archived materials.
klezmer
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Oskar Luiz Bonn
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A Jewish musician, having escaped from the pogroms in his home country at the beginning of the 20th century, arrives in modern day Edinburgh.
Category 4: character
witch reborn
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Maria Shevtsova
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A documentary short film following US singer Sabrina Kennedy as she finds herself at the Samhain celebrations in Glastonbury and dives into the hidden world of modern-day paganism in the UK.
bluesman: the ballad of al peters
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Sean Bass
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Growing old is not for cowards. The study of a bluesman, from his on stage persona to the loving man underneath.
model of life
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Sascha Lo
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An insecure life model is desperate to be someone’s muse but when a budding artist chooses her as his creative subject she is not as pleased.