The tail end of last week saw the seventh Indie-Lincs International Film Festival, hosted at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre at the University of Lincoln. Running from Thursday evening until the end of Saturday, I was lucky enough to attend Friday’s morning and early afternoon events.

First on the agenda was Student Shorts, a mix of short films by University of Lincoln students from second year up through Masters projects. Kicking everything off was Lifts, a production with an all-South Asian cast exploring how ordinary people can be thrust into committing less than savoury actions due to unfortunate life circumstances. This was a slight outlier in the student category as it was directed by postgraduate Rohan Sudan, but was included in this category due to his ties with the University. This piece definitely succeeded in its goal of shedding some light on what drives people towards crime and offered a refreshingly empathetic take on characters that would typically be presented as villains.

Despite the unenviable task of following a no-longer-student film, the rest of the shorts in this block demonstrated the talent that the University continues to attract and cultivate. The mix of subject matter and styles kept things fresh and perfectly showcased the diverse minds behind the projects, and although each stood out in its own right I was particularly captivated by Grounded and Funk the Patriarchy, both of which defied my initial expectations.

Grounded opened with a title placing the film in the year 2040, but instead of leaning into a stylised high-tech future as many pieces set in this future era do, the film is set in a small wooded area with a focus on family. Nell is a botanist who has been offered a job working to terraform Mars, however, her father and brother disapprove of her even considering the option as it is made clear that they will never hear from her again due to a lack of communication apparatus afforded to the colony. This creates the central drama of the film and grounds the production in everyday reality despite its future setting, adding a potential third meaning to the title alongside Nell’s grounding by a parent and literally being grounded on Earth, although my extension into triple entendre here is likely as much a stretch as suggesting that the protagonist’s lack of excess electricity flowing through her person was in any way considered when selecting the title. The themes of human interaction and family over anything overly sci-fi gave the piece a relatability that will no doubt ensure it lives in my memory far longer than similarly set shorts I’ve experienced at past festivals.

You’d think that by the time I got to Funk the Patriarchy, I’d have learned not to judge a book but its cover, but the slightly provocative title took my mind to the accusations of students tackling social issues in an eye-rollingly predictable manner that one sees floating around social media every now and again; fortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This short documentary focused on the female DJ scene, featuring testimonials from two DJs and Leeds-based promoter Aurora Sound UK. Although the issues facing women in this male-dominated space are addressed, they are not dwelled on, giving the film a more positive tone in showing the DJs overcome these stereotypes. The passion the participants have for music is a central focus of the production and conveys a message that is explicitly spoken in the film itself: they are not female DJs, they are just DJs.

At the end of the block directors of the films Alone, Funk the Patriarchy and Lifts, Laura Dutton, Hayley Dean and Rohan Sudan respectively, came out to speak about their films and take part in a Q&A. It was very interesting to hear what they had to say about their productions, and all three were very personable and clearly passionate about filmmaking and the themes behind the films that they worked on.

The next block after a half-hour break was Shorts #1, a collection of international short films. Once again all of the productions were of high quality and offered variety in style and substance, with both an animated and a more experimental film in the mix. The first film, Lovar Du? (You Promise?), was produced in Sweden, and director Lin Laurin sat in at the end of the block to discuss her work and answer any audience questions. This piece follows five-year-old girl Vida living through her parents’ divorce and getting to know her mother’s new partner Peter, presenting a slice of life rather than any particular overarching story. This short is structured into chapters that vary in length; when discussing later on Laurin mentioned that this was done to accurately depict childhood memories. Her stated goal was to create a film for adults that explored divorce from a child’s perspective, without placing blame on any party, focusing on the way somebody so young might feel in a not-uncommon yet emotionally taxing experience, and in this, I believe the film exceeds expectations.

The other film that really remained with me from this section was Milk. Perhaps biased by a combination of recognising the lead actor, Laura Aikman, and the subject matter being one close to my heart, it offered an exploration of depression and suicide from the perspective of somebody who has had a loved one suffer a mental health crisis. Laying out the day of Lydia, a mother picking up her teenage son from the hospital following a suicide attempt, this piece perfectly captures the feelings of guilt one can experience upon discovering that somebody close is suffering after you failed to see it yourself. With her son Ben back in the house, Lydia is constantly overthinking the mundane, the film climaxing with her having to go out to pick up a carton of milk; her rush to return home builds off the tension built up thus far, causing the viewer to fear the worst for what she will discover upon entering her son’s bedroom only to see that Ben is fine, sitting on his bed listening to music exactly as he had been when she left. The audience and Lydia both suddenly realise that their fears were completely overblown, and this moment of relief marks the first step on the path to some semblance of normality for the family.

After Shorts #1 and another break, there was a talk with Tracey Hyde, an agent from leading London talent agency Casarotto Ramsay with roots in the Lincolnshire area who represents screenwriters and directors. She spoke on the importance of acquiring an agent as an up-and-coming writer or director, however, advised that this be done once you have been noticed in the industry due to the competitive nature of agencies. Tracey has represented the likes of David Yates, director of the final four Harry Potter films, and was overall a fantastic and informative speaker. Unfortunately, this is where my experience of the festival came to an end, but my time there was thoroughly enjoyed and I’ll definitely make sure I have more time to soak up the full event next year!