Festival of Short Film returns to MediaCity with viral stars and film festival lineup

Now in its fourth year running, BA and MA Film Production students were given the opportunity to attend a range of workshops held across the campus with each covering a wide range of skills, from Canon Ambassador Elisa Iannacone’s workshop on choosing the right lens to elevate your visual storytelling, to the Silk Factory’s insider knowledge on how to execute and properly market a film trailer.

The hottest ticket of the festival was to hear from content creator Bella Roberts, an internet personality and editorial trainee, who spoke to our students about the reality of being an editor and how to effectively network to break into the film industry.

Bella, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on her social platforms, said: “I had a really good time at the Festival of Short Film at the University of Salford. It was really great to be surrounded by the students and to actually talk to people in person as I make content online and I never get to chat to people in real life!

“It was so cool to hear of the students’ experiences and also get real time feedback from them. I wish all the students who saw my talk the very best in the future and hope to see them in the edit suites in a few years.”

Thomas Kirby, festival organiser and Programme Lead for BA Film Production, said: “For our fourth year, we were really delighted to add in a film festival to the running. Anyone in the world could submit a film for entry and then the judging panel then selected them for our students to watch and learn from.”

The Best Experimental Short Winner, Torii, was directed by Martin Gerigk in Japan whilst local filmmaker Snik Jacobs received his award in person after Grasshopper Par 3 won Best Local Short Film.

As well as practicing their technical skills, the aspiring filmmakers were invited to consider their wellbeing and the emotional struggles of the film industry, with workshops on emotional resilience and leadership led by 6ft From the Spotlight and EQUITY. There was also a Queer Filmmakers meetup and a talk from Melissa Johns, a representative from the charity Triple C which supports deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent people to secure work within the creative industries.

Festival attendees also gained access to a collaborative workshop with Albert, the screen industry organisation for environmental sustainability, that allowed students to gain a recognisable qualification in only a couple of hours. Those who qualified were granted with the Albert graduate certificate, showcasing their ability to make effective environmental decisions on future projects.