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| Matt Lloyd and Sanne Jehoul at the opening of the 2024 Glasgow Short Film Festival Photo: Andrew Robertson |
The 2024 Glasgow Short Film Festival opened with a goodbye. Programme director Sanne Jehoul is moving on after a decade with GSFF, and among the usual thanks for sponsors and industry bodies, festival director Matt Lloyd was effusive in his thanks to Sanne.
Fulfilling the usual requirement for a small degree of chaos, the first attempt at the welcome speeches was interrupted by a reel for Blazing Griffin. Their support is vital to GSFF, as Lloyd said "there's no point in pretending this is not a tough time for film production in Scotland," which makes the contributions of bodies like "Scottish Screen" (now actually Screen Scotland) and Glasgow Life all the more valuable. Matt did say that the festival remained surprised by some of the groups willing to help, and did presage a later statement by saying he wasn't sure how many would remain happy to do so.
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| Gerard Black plays piano at the 2024 Glasgow Short Film Festival |
Though there will be further valedictions, he praised Jehoul for her work, and the "pleasure and privilege" of "shar[ing]", "learn[ing]", and her "merciless mock[ing]". Beyond the goodbye there were welcomes, for the festival's juries who were told not to be fooled by the "brief glimpse of sunshine." Raisah Ahmed, Jonathan Ali, Jason Anderson, Randa Marouifi, Neils Putnam, and Celine Roustan jurors for the Bill Douglas International and also the Scottish Competition awards were suitably warned. However as there were thanks for festival venues CCA, Civic House, and Glasgow Film's own GFT there was a (veiled) reminder that one of the best things about film festivals is that they mostly take place indoors.
Following this Jehoul spoke in her role as the festivals (outgoing) Programme Director about the forthcoming events. There was the usual mention of festival staple like Shorts & Giggles and the Sunday morning Children's Shorts screenings, the competitions, and the retrospectives and deeper cuts from featured film-makers including installation(s) at the Centre for Contemporary Arts just along from the GFT on Sauchiehall Street.
Those more controversial remarks alluded to by Lloyd were with reference to thematic threads through the programming. Speaking of elements of liberation and reclaiming narrative, Sanne spoke of a "war of narrative" and asked "how we keep resisting." Speaking further about relative privilege and safety she continued that "[We] still have a responsibility to do so," though it may be "uncomfortable to take that stance." She spoke of "wider collective resistance on behalf of the Palestinian people," and in support of those often being punished for "a radical stance against," Talking further about "responsibility," the declaration was "as a festival" to "free Palestine" and "free all oppressed people." This was met with a massive round of applause within the GFT's Cinema One, which felt like it was at or just shy of its maximum capacity of nearly 400.
Conflict in the Middle East has produced many striking short films, and while art is rarely enough, amplifying voices like those of Lawrence Abu Hamdan or Mahdi Fleifel or Razan AlSalah has been a constant chord in GSFF programming. As culture and war continue to become elements of ongoing culture war I can muster the pitiful quantity of courage to salute GSFF for taking a stance.
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| Matt Lloyd and Peter Jewell at the 2024 Glasgow Short Film Festival |
The opening gala was not in fact the first GSFF screening. Films have been shown at HMP Polmont in Falkirk, some of those held there will be participating in the audience awards and festival stalwart Ross Hogg helped with an animation workshop there.
Their short film, the delightful Shapes & Sizes, is a mixture of animation techniques and the various voices of animators. "I'll do the rocket" is a heck of an opening line and the playfulness of animation as a genre was well in evidence. Using a variety of techniques, including flickbooks, abstracted patterns of shapes and a sprouting birdseed, all demonstrated the small joys of art. It was not the only film whose creator(s) would perhaps have been surprised to be seen at a festival, as it was followed by a collection of previously unseen Bill Douglas 8mm shorts from before he attended film school.
Finally the evening wrapped up with a somewhat chaotic Q&A with Douglas' long time friend Peter Jewell, one of the key voices in the most recent Bill Douglas documentary. That proceedings had started with an interrupting production company and continued with the loss of a phone was only added to as Jewell's hearing aids started to play up, meaning that every question was perhaps doubly-echoed as Matt Lloyd relayed them to and from the audience. I don't want you to go away thinking GSFF is a shambolic affair, the only reason I mention these things is that happenstance is the secret currency of film-making. Even as we see further attempts to control narrative, to redefine what people have seen with their own or others' eyes, Glasgow Short continues to set out its stall on two simple platforms. Short film is the best film, and art matters. I know I'm not alone in wishing Jehoul the best of luck in her future endeavours, and I look forward to seeing how GSFF continues to grow and change in her wake.
