
London Film School shorts have long graced our pages, both through our continued curation of the 10 best films on offer during their annual graduate showcases and also by having the pleasure of featuring those LFS filmmakers who make it through our submissions and are highlighted in their full Directors Notes interview glory, such as to name a couple, Julie Magnaudet’s conceptual rom-com Broken Hearts and Remi R.M. Moses’ Saving Art. This year there are 60 films being screened from the 13th – 17th of January at the BFI Southbank. For all those who are regular readers, you’ll recognise DN’s curatorial taste in the selection below. We are always on the lookout for films which present something we haven’t seen before, stories which surprise and energise us realised with skill and technical prowess. While 2025 may bring with it some wholly abysmal world events, I am one of those staunch believers that some of the best creativity thrives in times of hardship and I found a real sense of hope and inspiration seeing the range of themes, issues and conversations sparked from this year’s LFS graduating talents.

Sriracha – Weili Hsing
After revelling in the beauty and brutality of Femme back in 2023 I was cautiously hesitant as a magnificent East-Asian drag queen walked into a traditionally loud and rambunctious late-night kebab shop but what unfurls is a heartwarming and very human interaction which (for a short while) restored my faith in humanity. Taking place in one location without using any tricks or special effects, Weili Hsing’s Sriracha relies on beautiful writing with injections of comedy and strong chemistry between our two main players. To boot, who doesn’t love seeing an idiotic loud-mouth bigot being spunked with chilli sauce?

The Couch – Lara Kuijper
Whether this was on purpose or not I was instantly brought back to the absurdist odyssey in the Thiele Brothers’ Sofa, So Good, which I revelled in when catching it at LFF last year. The interaction between these three lads is superbly captured by Kuijper as they fumble through an everyday London with what is quite frankly – a very disappointing sofa. Films about friendships and those intricate balances have a way of bringing me in and I personally wanted to join them on that sofa for one of those warm cans mercilessly shook to death as they were carried around.

Mother and Ulysses – Mushi Cai
I was immediately drawn in by the cinematography capturing the granular and textured journey which Cai takes us on aptly fitting for the unfolding tale. It struck me as taking a page from an Almodóvar film whose nuanced portrayal of women, particularly of a more advanced age, is undisputed. Mother and Ulysses echoes with loneliness consisting of only essential dialogue, perfectly set on a rainy miserable day and left me bereft – one of my (perhaps more pervasive) preferred emotions after being touched by a film.
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Underwater – Ruiqi Zhang
Mermaids seem to be having a bit of a moment and I am there for it, especially in an absurd but wonderfully frenetic tale teeming with magical realism. Zhang treats us to a tale of fortitude, overcoming fears, and the serendipity of meeting a random stranger and takes us away from the often all-encompassing grind of daily life. I must also praise the technical filmmaking and what I imagine was a sheer nightmare for the producer, especially in a student production!

Being Quiet in a Foreign Language – Siwei Zhu
This quiet and contemplative piece from Zhu is delicately juxtaposed with the interior clamour we can only imagine as a young woman arrives in London from China and finds herself split between belonging to neither. Zhu sweeps us through London where Kiki gradually manages to find moments of connection beyond words and leaves you to reflect on the dependence we have on language and the spoken word when so much of human connection comes from elsewhere.

The Big Pygmy – Tom Chambers
Chambers has deftly built a shattering story where a woman’s breakup, devastating and still painful, seems to be infecting every aspect of her life. She suddenly finds herself missing parts of herself and unable to seek help or explain what is happening. However, the rest of her life just carries on, those around her oblivious to her suffering forcing her to reflect on what is actually real.

A Little Bit of Glitter – Siddharth Menon
A very unlikely friendship forms as two individuals from completely different worlds find connection. Proof that if we rid ourselves of institutionalised prejudices and just open up to our true selves and others, beautiful things can happen. Through A Little Bit of Glitter Menon shines a little bit of light which we all need, and gives us permission to smile but reminds us that it isn’t always that easy.

Flavinera – Amanda Millenia Salvati
Our most valuable resources in terms of history are those who lived it. As generations go, we lose those who survived atrocities, genocides and insane despots and their stories. The only documentary choice on my list Salvati’s Flavinera tells the story of Flavia who escaped Castro’s Cuba as she undergoes a renovation of her house and takes us on an oral journey of her life, loves and history through her collection of art and wry manner of storytelling. Documentaries are essential to capture moments in time and this beautiful nostalgic offering was a delight.

Museum of Death – Lianpeng Zhao
Zhao has not only made a film whose existential musings lend themselves to a much more seasoned filmmaker, but with such lush visuals and sound design, I wanted more. Past and present weave together in an almost indecipherable fashion as you question what is real and in front of us and what is imagined. The predominantly dialogue-free Museum of Death stayed with me for a while and I found myself haunted, not in terror but in contemplation.

El Guionista – Juan Antonio Barroso López
I wanted to finish with by far the most outlandish but equally heartbreaking graduate film of this year’s showcase. López’s El Guionista is a delightfully playful short heralding back to days of silent film while itself being set in a dystopian landscape not unlike that of The Good Place but filled with clowns and androids. It is creatively brilliant and shows a highly commendable range of skills through charming costume design and split cinematography to capture the older god-like narrator and the world he is creating through which he is able to escape his reality.
You can find more unmissable films, like the ones featured at the London Film School Graduate Showcase 2025, in our Best of Fest collections.