What to watch at the BFI Future Film Festival 2023: the programmers’ picks

Running from 16 to 19 February, this year’s BFI Future Film Festival will include four days jam-packed with masterclasses, workshops, screenings and networking opportunities. Screenings and events are live and in person at BFI Southbank, with a wide-ranging online festival also accessible to a worldwide audience.

With things about to get underway, we asked the BFI Film Academy Young Programmers (all aged 25 and under) for their recommendations.

As we find our place in the world, we are faced with some intimidating questions. What does it mean to belong? What tethers us to where we feel safest? The pursuit of a sense of belonging can be complex and ever-changing, with ‘home’ becoming harder and harder to define. 

The Immigration and Belonging strand celebrates perspective and highlights vulnerability in the search for security. After the Rain and Busan, 1999 explore difficulties that arise when returning home after a long time away, while Sorry for the Inconvenience, “I Like It Here” and Honeybee investigate the desire for normality in unfamiliar terrains, and How I Got My Names examines the value of reinvention. 

One of my favourite things about recent progressions in cinema is seeing more cultural representation both on and off screen. Among the most interesting developments in storytelling is explorations of code-switching (the way we change our language and behaviour in different social contexts), with British short filmmakers making multilingual films to examine how individuals maintain a level of agency within a multicultural domain. 

The conversation about cinematic language doesn’t have to end with what the camera tells us, and this event explores the nuances and power of linguistic exposition. In the company of a fantastic panel, we’ll talk through some of the interesting ways UK short filmmakers are using dialogue, different languages and subtitles (or the lack of them) to enrich their storytelling.

Film strand and event picked by Summer Gamble

It’s safe to assume that if you are attending the Future Film Festival, you have some interest in the arts, and that’s what this strand is all about. The films in Art and Performance include a variety of genres, from comedies like Whore #4, Model of Life and Stunt Trouble, documentaries like Pacing the Pool, and genre hybrid films like The Murderer and Please Clap. All these works explore the joys and frustrating realities of being an artist in ways that feel both incredibly relatable and which are sure to make you laugh. You might even see yourself in one of the characters.

Ever listened to a famous filmmaker talk about how many times they heard ‘no’ before finally breaking through? Do you wonder how they managed to find the motivation to keep trying? If so, this panel is for you.

Whether you are a working filmmaker or a student, there’s no better way to learn about the industry than through a first-hand account. The best tips that I have ever learnt came not from a three-year film degree but through working professionals telling me anecdotes of their times on sets and all the mistakes they made through their careers. As this event on tackling failure and set-backs should prove, such stories are not only very entertaining, but also incredibly insightful.

Film strand and event picked by Matilde Guimaraes

Being green in the film industry is becoming increasingly important, so what better way to celebrate cinema’s ecological changemakers than this year’s strand: Our Planet. Inviting us to recognise our place in the world and duty in preserving it, the programme features a range of impactful documentary and fictional stories. 

As I’m from Brighton, it’s no surprise I’d recommend Play On: Football’s Climate Story, which highlights our local stadium’s sustainability through smooth visual graphics. Darkside’s CGI is immensely impressive, as is the tactile use of stop-animation in Somebody Take the Wheel, Migrants and Don’t Go Little Doe.

Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, these films envelop you in their worlds, while leaving us to reflect on our place in our own.

No matter what you may think of Adam McKay’s climate-change satire Don’t Look Up (2021), there’s no denying its impact in getting audiences to think about our planet’s future. As young filmmakers, it’s important to be the change we want to see, and it’s all the more impactful to put these changes on screen. This panel discussion, which I’m hosting, will be invaluable to gain sustainable storytelling tools, beyond disaster films or nature documentaries, to practice what you preach and reach audiences in your filmmaking.

Join us to explore what you can do as a filmmaker to help create greener stories. We’ll be sharing a PDF toolkit after the event to help you be sustainable in your films.

Film strand and event picked by Georgia Hunter

Sometimes a simple laugh is enough to blow off steam. But the short films in this strand go beyond this psychology, offering confounding hilarity and even sly commentary on the world we inhabit.

The live-action selections include En-Route, which involves a hysterical search for an Uber, and Preach Modern, a satirical think piece on the role of celibacy and religion in a changing world.

The other films explore animation techniques to convey their humour. Interdimensional Pizza Pushers takes experimentation to the max, travelling through galaxies and different animation styles. Everything Must Go and Humans Are Dumber When Crammed Up Together combine interview and illustration, and Floor 43 and Catastrophe are hilarious journeys styled with animated flair.

A year on from its successful debut at the 2022 festival, we return with the Young Programmers’ movie quiz. It’s time to challenge your film friends, old and new, to an all-out battle of film trivia, memorable soundtracks and badass dialogues.

We have made sure to strike the perfect balance between easy and difficult, drawing on cinema from all over the world to produce the ultimate movie quiz. High stakes mean big prizes too, but all will be revealed on 19 February.

Whether you’re a hard-core competitor or a film-loving casual, bring your friends for an hour of frenzied fun.

Film strand and event picked by Shadman Kabir

Featuring exclusive interviews with the participants of such landmark documentaries as Hoop Dreams (1994), Capturing the Friedmans (2003) and The Staircase (2004 to 2018), the feature length Subject examines the common practices of the documentary filmmaking world and considers the impact these practices have on the films’ participants. This sensitive documentary – which is being previewed alongside the festival with an on-stage Q&A with directors Camilla Hall and Jennifer Tiexiera, and contributor Margaret Ratliff, hosted by Kim Longinotto – looks at the lifespan of a film and pays careful attention to the way in which its release can alter a participant’s life. A must watch for aspiring and experienced documentarians alike.

After attending a screening and Q&A for Brian Hill’s documentary Songbirds (2007) at last year’s Sheffield DocFest I was struck by the way in which Hill had collaborated with his documentary’s participants – women in a British prison using musical therapy to deal with life behind bars – rather than just trying to capture their experiences. 

I began thinking more about the politics of documentary filmmaking and some of the ethical dilemmas that surround the form. Throughout my time as a BFI Film Academy Young Programmer I have tried to use the opportunity to investigate these questions further, and this panel is a really exciting platform to do just that. I look forward to getting to dive further into these topics alongside the Subject team Camilla Hall, Margaret Ratliff and Jennifer Tiexiera.

Film and event picked by Alexi Reich

Our identity is instrumental to the way in which we find our place in this world. Including inner-city teens using skateboarding as a means of liberation (Concrete Angels), the rhythmic performance of culture through an intricate dance-fight (Beast), a love letter to Blackness (As Above), the history of self and place (Long Live Somaliland), queerness across many colours (Half, My Father’s Son) and the lengths a woman can go to rid herself of debt (Speak for Herself), this programme showcases the very best of what it means to truly be yourself. 

With mainstream TV shows like Heartstopper creating a new wave of representation for LGBTQIA+ young people, it can be hard to imagine what it must be like in 2023 for those whose queer existence still puts their life in serious danger.

Fighting to be heard: Queer filmmaking in adversity is an event I’m hosting that takes a closer look at the reality of being an LGBTQIA+ filmmaker in some of the most hostile environments across the globe. 

Featuring some incredible creatives breaking down barriers in their international communities, this event not only highlights their bravery in the fight to be heard, but allows us as young filmmakers and film lovers to stand in solidarity with those fighting for their freedom to exist in safety and love ✊🏼

Film strand and event picked by Caleb Roberts

Family and friends can bring joy or distress, and help guide the paths of our lives. So it’s no wonder that this has been a common theme in so many fantastic films of the past year.

Being Human shows us the beautiful interconnectedness of society, while BET FREDRICA paints a chaotic but ultimately sweet mother-daughter relationship. In Close Your Eyes and Underbelly, family and friends are a source of immense weight and anxiety. In Homebird and By Hand, we see the duality of family: how they can be something to run away from, but also – possibly – to return to.

This strand will make you question and reaffirm the importance of your loved ones.

If you’re in the early stages of a career in the film industry, or looking at it from the outside in wonder (and possibly terror), it can appear to be very mysterious and exclusive. That’s why it’s so vital to hear examples of other people’s experiences. When directors, writers and other industry professionals speak about their own journeys, it can help to demystify the world of film.

In SCENE, the BFI Film Academy Young Programmers chat with people who have already made those strides into the film industry. This series is available on Instagram Live, so you can drop in and out while it’s happening, and even ask your own questions.

Film strand and event picked by Sam Stevens

The Society strand isn’t the easiest set of films to watch: they all realistically discuss sensitive issues such as women’s safety in public (Her Fight), reproductive justice (If Her World Ends) and sexual assault (Safe).

Yet each film has its own distinct aesthetic and visual style, from the stunning animation in The Seine’s Tears to the snappy editing in Country Life, and the way in which Okoshko shifts between colour and black and white. Other films in this strand include CANNED, Mental Roots and Still – all of which will elicit strong emotions, leaving you with an urge to challenge our own societal boundaries.

Making the leap into the film industry, whether that’s straight out of school, college or university, is always daunting. But wouldn’t it be far less overwhelming if you knew exactly what those doing the hiring were looking for? 

Hear practical advice that will help you understand how to get into the industry and get your first job in film and TV. This is an event that’s not just for wannabe directors. Even if you’re not quite sure which area of the industry is right for you, this event will look at a range of different jobs and departments to find out exactly how you can get your foot on the career ladder.

Film strand and event picked by Jed Wagman

Walking down the street, headphones in, we’re all the main characters in our own film – and music is our life’s soundtrack. Luckily for you, we’ve got your next mixtape queued up.

Drop Out and Opera explore music and its integral cultural ties, while The Audition and Black Metal examine music as a form of self-expression. The Breakup Album of the Year poses the idea that songwriting can be personally exploitative. God Knows and The Tipping Point use their score to tackle the existential, and After Closing makes you want to dive into the screen and boogie the night away.

Audiences can forgive poor image quality – but awful sound? Not a chance. 

Yet the sound department is one of the most mysterious elements of film production. It’s not as simple as making sure your mic is on. There’s an expansive on-set and post-production workflow, which – in this event – we’re going to demystify for you.

Join a pair of Oscar winners as they break down the roles of a sound editor and sound mixer within the filmmaking process; and how they work together to ensure the film’s sound is just as visceral as the visuals.

Film strand and event picked by Nick Willis