A Great Night at the West London Film Festival 

Going to my first Film Festival on my own was a daunting feeling and I didn’t know what to expect. Not knowing anyone was the most terrifying thing, but it was such a great experience for me to go and network and delve into the film industry and the world of film shorts.

I had the privileged of watching three short efforts which where Sister Wives, Mr Strappy and Lipstick. 

Let’s explore them.

Sister Wives: 

Sister Wives, which had an all-round brilliant cast that were authentic in every scene was also imaginatively and beautifully shot. For me, it felt a little disappointing. This story was about two religious “sister wives” who are married to the same man in a strict fundamental closed community who develop feelings for each other. The plot felt a little too predictable for my liking. Maybe this effort should have been made into a feature length movie to delve into the characters more which would help develop the motivations that drive the storyline. Mia-McKenna Bruce stole the show; however, all the actors were never less than impressive. 

Mr Strappy:

This witty, hilarious romcom is spectacular.  What I loved was underneath it all was an exploration of the pressures and challenges both good and bad that make up a relationship. The fact that the couple were LBGT added nuance, but the story was universal. Adolfo Vico, who was the director of this short film combined these themes beautifully. 

Lipstick:

Making his directing debut Kevin McNally made this short film in 2020. This supernatural/horror film was suspenseful and brilliant. I don’t normally like horror films, but this short movie was very entertaining and one to seek out. Lipstick is about a grieving mother who uses a mirror to look for answers from her dead son that may help heal wounds in her life. I loved at the end Kevin McNally put a “behind the scenes” section which included the cast and the creatives. This was a clever touch. 

Each of these Shorts were impressive in their own way and the fact they were all very different made it a fulfilling experience. 

The West London Film festival was held at Chiswick Cinema which was a perfect venue. Having drinks beforehand gave everyone the opportunity to mix, mingle and meet new people. The main event was held in one of the cinema rooms and then afterwards there was a Q and A with star attraction Kevin McNally. Following this there were networking opportunities in The Lounge, which was informative and great fun. 

I met some really nice people such as Dominic Quinn, Henry Esdon Kevin Mcnally and Priscilla Olympio just to name a few.