Nick Jones asks who a young people’s film festival is for as he previews the Leeds Young People’s Film Festival (LYPFF) (28th March – 5th April)
Who is a Young People’s film festival for? The answer might seem obvious, but it’s not necessarily the case that a film is created for people in a certain age group, and those are the ones who appreciate it the most. Many adults never tire of films made for children. A little liberal parenting and a lot of adult content on television also mean that young people are used to seeing material intended for an older audience from early on in life, and therefore never really identify as being part of their own age group when it comes to viewing aimed at them.
Those who read the title of Paul Clarke’s Culture Vulture blog ‘Do you remember the first time… watching a grown up film?” might have answered “Uh… I don’t, actually.” Leeds Young People’s Film Festival (running from Wednesday 28th March until Thursday 5th April) is a celebration of those aged 25 and under, and values the exchangeability of experience that can be had across all ages. It’s the festival’s 13th year, and steps forward in the same ‘onward and upward’ spirit that someone does into teenhood. Many worlds of change occur in the first quarter-century of a person’s life, and the festival tries to embrace as many of them as possible.
The INDIs (Independent Directions) award invites filmmakers aged 25 and under to contribute films created entirely independent of professional help. It’s the part of the festival that excites me the most. As someone in my late 20s, I’ve realised that I have almost no idea of what the experience of being a teenager these days must be like. I’ll look forward to seeing what has changed and what has stayed the same. I could be wrong in expecting the hyper-connectivity of smart phones to have turned everything completely upside down, but whatever the outcome, the entries should provide a fascinating insight in every shape and form they take (short films, documentaries or promotional clips are all eligible).
One of the festival’s flagship films, We Are Poets, stokes Leeds’ regional pride, as a group of teens from the city are picked to represent the UK in the worlds’ largest poetry slam, which takes place in Washington DC. I’m not exactly attuned to contemporary poetry, but any subject can be made compelling in docu form, and We Are Poets has great credentials. Cabin In The Woods is another big presence, and led me to my IMDB app, because the name Joss Whedon rang a bell, and I wasn’t sure why. Ah, yes, creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, TV shows that I lived through in their heyday, but never became embroiled quite like the housemate of mine who took up most of the front room with each series on VHS.
It’s unlikely I will have had much of a chance to take the films in before they reach the big screen, so it’ll be good to see animations like surrealist Spanish claymation Capelito the Magic Mushroom (image at the top of this post) up there in the first place. I’m not expecting to over think Capelito’s extremely malleable nose and hat, or the relationship between them too much.
– Nick Jones
Check out what else is on offer over at www.leedsyoungfilm.com or follow them on Twitter (@LeedsYoungFilm)
Mike McKenny is The Culture Vulture’s film editor. If you have any film related stories, articles, reviews with a twist, etc, contact him on mike.mckenny1983@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @DestroyApathy