We are elated to announce the official film selection for the first-ever Napier Student Film Festival! After an overwhelming response of over 200 submissions from 43 countries, our esteemed jury board has carefully selected 25 short films from universities in 15 countries to compete in the festival.
Excitingly, five of these films were created by students of Edinburgh Napier University and we will also be screening an additional four films out of competition that represent Edinburgh Napier University International Partners submissions.
The festival will take place from 13-15 November, offering an unforgettable experience with a variety of programmes, including film screenings, masterclasses, industry conversations, an awards ceremony, and a fun-filled after-party. You don't want to miss this creative celebration of student filmmaking!
Check out the Events Programme
Official Shortlisted Films
“A Cloud Holding a Knife” by Julian Iliev
Simon Fraser University, Canada
(Duration: 08:54)
“Alyssa and the Sun Bunny” by Marija Alisa Muizniece
University of Portsmouth, UK
(Duration 02:04)
“Attention” by Thomas Nataniel Green Baadsvik & Nikolai Alvfarinn Loras-Olne
Trondheim School of Culture, Norway
(Duration 03:07)
“Connection” by Julie Ketlem
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil
(Duration 15:00)
“Crescendo” by Faith Concepcion Cruz
University of Auckland, New Zealand
(Duration 06:49)
“Home Ground” by Luke Jervis & Owen Lavery
Belfast Met, UK
(Duration 09:52)
“Jalan” by Nur Aina Annisa Binti Rudiladhha
Taylor’s University, Malaysia
(Duration 13:44)
“Merlich Merlich” by Hannil Ghilas
Académie Moovida of Marseille, France
(Duration 19:26)
“Necropolis Munro” by Kyle Craig
Edinburgh Napier University, UK
(Duration 7:57)
“New Town” by Campbell Anderson
Northern Film School, UK
(Duration 10:00)
“Perfect Wall” by Sea-Hoon Jeon
Hanyang University, Korea Republic
(Duration 13:06)
“Peroxide” by Missy McNaught
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, UK
(Duration 11:13)
“Questioning Adonis” by André Hall Visperas
Northwestern University, Qatar
(Duration 09:59)
“Rabbit Hole Within” by Holly Murgatroyd
Edinburgh Napier University, UK
(Duration 09:20)
“Red Palm” by Ella Reilly
Edinburgh Napier University, UK
(Duration 10:03)
“Someone Else’s Story” by Michal Lustig
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem, Israel
(Duration 04:35)
“Son” by Saman Hosseinpuor
Sepehr Art University of Isfahan, Iran
(Duration 17:45)
“Son of Happiness” by Dominik Mirecki
Warsaw Film School, Poland
(Duration: 16:44)
“The Alchemist” by Eleanor Smith
University of Westminster, UK
(Duration: 03:14)
“The Analogy of Space” by Oleksandr Hoisan
Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Ukraine
(Duration 12:00)
“The Rain Cloud” by Yunqing Pan
California Institute of the Arts, USA
(Duration 01:30)
“The Steep Path” by Hugo Nguyen
Vinschool the Harmony, Vietnam
(Duration 14:23)
“Trachatys of An Old Woman” by Ben Kay
Queen Margaret University, UK
(Duration 06:05)
“Waves, Away” by Martha Podmore
Edinburgh Napier University, UK
(Duration 03:00)
“Yeehaw” by John Kelbie
Edinburgh Napier University, UK
(Duration 03:25)
Additional Napier International Partner films selected for screening
“Ai Cinta U” by Ivy Fong Xin
Taylor’s University, Malaysia
(Duration 15:22)
“Baking and Entering” by Lance Harbour, Cole Keisling, Andrew Lacy, Zach Legaux & Brooklynne Scivally
Middle Tennessee State University, USA
(Duration 3:45)
“Destined Purple” by Zhang Yue
Qingdao Film Academy, China
(Duration 29:00)
“Til Death Do Us Part” by Bronwyn Blanks & Alexander Protich
Middle Tennessee State University, USA
(Duration 3:08)
Selection Process
Below are insights from our jury members on the selection process:
Hazel "Being on the Napier Student Film Festival jury panel has been an absolute pleasure so far. I have been introduced to such a wide variety of short films from queer Westerns to genre-bending documentaries. As an aspiring filmmaker myself, it’s great to see what students around the world are making and to get the chance to reflect on their work critically.
The selected films this year are so strong, and the filmmakers should be proud of themselves for the blood, sweat, and tears they have poured into their films. I am excited to meet some award-winning filmmakers next month at the first-ever Napier Student Film Festival, with hopefully many more to come!"
Gabrielle "Festivals are such an important part of the film industry, so it makes sense to establish one at Napier. Seeing what the process looks like from a jury perspective has been insightful.
Getting to watch shorts from students around the world, who have the same goals, aspirations, and desire to simply make films, has been wonderful. Seeing first-hand what works logistically in shorts for short film festivals is knowledge I’ll keep with me. I hope people look forward to the Napier student section. It’s great to see what everyone is creating within the uni!"
Reese "I'm so grateful to be involved with the film festival. For an aspiring screenwriter, it's so important to hear the voices of other storytellers and see what narratives they want revealed. I always want to read, watch, consume more stories. Jumping into the film industry later, once everyone has honed their craft and selected what to dedicate themselves to, is not enough. I need to see what they want to show me now, even if this means spending all day letting my butt get numb as I watch short film after short film. It's a small price to pay, and I would gladly pay it again. This has been an illuminating experience, especially when hearing other jury members' thoughts."