YORK'S film festival is going on the road.
The BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) is partnering with the BFI Audience Network and Film Hub North to present the Aesthetica Award-Winning Film Tour.
"It's an initiative that encourages positive engagement with independent film, new talent and innovative visual storytelling," says festival director Cherie Federico.
"Great film asks us to think differently. It enriches our lives and invites us to see the world in a new way. Film is transformative; it has the power to take us to new places, meet new people, experience new cultures and customs."
The Award-Winning Film Tour's short films explore contemporary social issues, inspiring life stories and beautifully heart-warming narratives across animation, drama, documentary and dance.
The selection of eight short films comprises: Ian Bruce's Double Portrait; Ed Perkins' Black Sheep; Joschka Laukeninks's Backstory; David Moody's Camlo; Barnaby Blackburn's Wale; Faye Carr-Wilson's Venus; Benjamin Cleary & TJ Peyton's Wave and M Thomas and S Delahoyde's Wayward Wind.
Black Sheep, a heart-breaking documentary exposing the face of modern-day racism in Britain, was a triple winner at last autumn's ASFF and was nominated for an Oscar too.
Ed Perkins's film charts how, after the murder of Damiola Taylor in 2000, Cornelius Walker and his family left London in search of a better life, only to be confronted by vicious and often violent attacks.
Wale won Best Thriller at ASFF 2018, as well as receiving Oscar and BAFTA nominations. In Barnaby Blackburn's short, when a former young offender looking for a new life starts up his own enterprise as a mechanic, he is given a chance by a stranger with sinister intentions. Blackburn duly tackles the subject of modern-day racism, discrimination and scapegoating.
SEEKING FREEDOM: Drag artist Venus Dimilo in Venus
Wave, winner of ASFF’s Best of Fest Award and Best Drama in 2018, is a humorous yet heartfelt exploration of communication, human connection and loneliness. Directed by Oscar winner Benjamin Cleary and TJ O’Grady Peyton, the film follows Gaspar Rubicon, who wakes from a coma speaking a fully formed but unrecognisable language, leaving him isolated by his inability to communicate.
The Wayward Wind is a humorous twist on the "rambling man", told through clever choreography against the beautiful, expansive backdrop of a typical Mid-Western farm.
Venus, winner of ASFF’s inaugural BFI Film Hub North Award last November, is an intimate, personal documentary about disability, empowerment and individuality as drag performer Venus Dimilo explores the art as a means for creative expression and freedom.
Backstory, from 2017, chronicles the highs and lows of a single life from cradle to grave, exploring themes of love, loss, family and identity.
Camlo, winner of the York Youth Award last year, follows a young Roma boy living in Belfast, who, despite being born there, is ostracised by a society that refuses to accept him, based purely on cultural differences and ignorance.
David Moody's film takes a sobering look at social and cultural divides that still exist in modern society, but is also a story of friendship, acceptance and hope for the future.
Winner of the Best Animation prize at ASFF 2018, Double Portrait chronicles the life and love of Geraldine Peacock and her late husband Bob Gannicott. Originally commissioned to paint a portrait of Bob, artist and filmmaker Ian Bruce painstakingly painted each frame to create a beautiful, inspiring and moving love letter and memoir of an ill-fated relationship.
"ASFF believes that cinema should be accessible for all," says Cherie. "As such, our film tour is available to community groups, cultural centres, galleries, exhibition spaces, film clubs, cinemas and independent exhibitors."
Those interested in registering for the tour should go to asff.co.uk/film-tour-booking-form to complete the form. Full programme details can be found at asff.co.uk/aesthetica-film-tour; for any enquiries, contact Andy Guy at andy@aestheticamagazine.com.
The 2019 Aesthetica Short Film Festival will take place in York from November 6 to 10.
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