London College of Fashion has curated an interactive program for this year’s London Short Film Festival that includes live filmmaking, a Grime music video with a Q&A, plus the first ever Fashion VJs at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London.
Taking place on Sunday 15 January, LCF will re-create the spontaneity and immediacy of the fashion world through film, interactive live editing and music at London Short Film Festival (LSFF). Live multi-sensory visual projections have been specially created for the event by LCF, who have also been working with Domino Recording Company to provide a new artist to soundtrack the day. The screenings will be followed by a panel featuring Leonie Cooper (ex-London College of Fashion student and Senior Staff Writer at NME) and Katie Baron (author of Fashion Creatives Shaping Pop Culture).
A combination of students and alumni will be screening their short films at the ICA, including WBW Awards photographer of the year 2016 and BA (Hons) Fashion Photography alumna Olivia Rose. She will present her photographic work for This Is Grime, the definitive book on Britain’s most provocative music genre (written by i-D Features Director Hattie Collins) as live projections, accompanied by a suitable DJ soundtrack from Domino Records including artists such as Range, Mr. Mitch, Kwes. and Rags Originale.
Olivia’s music video for NoLay’s recently released EP, Grime, Guts and Glory, Have You Forgotten is a considered and powerful discussion of the implications of life in suffocating urban situations. Shot in black and white by Olivia Rose, Have You Forgotten uncovers a vulnerability often ignored in the depiction of working-class boys and young men.
We spoke to Olivia ahead of LSFF and her screening at the ICA. She said:
At the start of December I went to see the Infinite Mix exhibition and whilst in the Khalil Joseph room I whispered to my friend that in five years, my films would be showing at reputable galleries like this. I never imagined that I’d be showing at the ICA five weeks later. It feels like a significant achievement for me as I begin to cross over from photography to moving image.
We also talked to MA Fashion Media Production student Marie-Therese Hildenbrandt ahead of her film Abjective being screened at the ICA. Her film explores hair as abject, we asked about the idea behind the film and how she feels about it being screened at LSFF. She replied:
The scores of the film Abjective was influenced by sound artist Richard Eigner from the band Ritornell. The idea behind the composition was to create music and sound effects to go along with the film and its cinematic style. The sound designer used a lot of different layers of sound to engage with the film. The collaboration started when I sent a rough cut of the film over and asked if Richard wanted to do the scores for the film. He agreed and by the first meeting he already had a rough sound edit prepared, which we went along with and kept working on it till the end result came out.
We also spoke to MA Fashion Photography alumnus Harun Guler ahead of his short film Pehlivan / Wrestler being screened at LSFF.
Tell us a little bit about your film?
I am interested in the depiction and performance of gender and national identity in the everyday life of both the Western and the Middle Eastern world, exploring the boundaries of authenticity and staging, documentary and fiction.
Where has your film been shown so far?
It has been screened at the Liebes Wedding Festival Berlin and the Istanbul Fashion Film Festival, where it was also shortlisted for ELLE’s Choice Award 2016.
Why is sound so important in your recent films?
I am trying to keep my video works as personal as possible. Since music – especially classical Middle Eastern music – has a huge impact on how I perceive my surroundings in everyday life it ends up being one of the main elements in my works.
Tell us about the soundtrack that you have used?
The soundtrack is a Romani gypsy music from the Thrace area in the Northwest of Turkey performed by Burhan Ocal, connected with Western dance/electronic elements. The combination of the Davul (double-headed drums) and Zurna (wind instrument) are typical elements not only of this genre but also the two main instruments being played during the traditional Turkish Oil Wrestling tournament.
What are you hoping to achieve by setting this soundtrack to these images?
This work is the fourth part of my MAQAM video series in which I am trying to detach traditional Middle Eastern music from its usual context and embed it to a more western imagery. Two elements that might seem to be contrary to each other whereas in my life it has always been inseparable.
How do you hope the sound will affect your viewer’s understanding or appreciation of the film?
I would prefer to cause confusion at the viewer rather than leaving them all satisfied and unchallenged.
Artists Harriet Fleuriot and Sarah Cockings will also be screening their short film The Sound of Fashion in a remixed state with live sound from Luke Fraser and performance from Miss Cairo, showcasing its episodic art, design products, furnishings and clothing as a dysfunctional experimental piece of moving image. The film features current or graduating students, alumni and independent filmmakers.
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