Leeds International Film Festival 2022 Roundup
This month I was lucky enough to get to see the plethora of films slated for LIFF (Leeds International Film Festival)’s 2022 line-up. Both through volunteering and press, across multiple venues in Leeds, I got to witness another highly thought-out fête of filmmaking genius and ambitious films for the future.
Charting international influence from South Korea to Iran, films documented uncomfortable truths. On opening night in the Light in town, I got to see Next Sohee, a poignant picture based on a tragic true story centring the pressures of student internships. Given Iran’s political regime and the director Jafar Panahi’s own personal struggles with hunger strikes and being in and out of prisons, No Bears also opened up the beginning selection on an emotional note. Alongside Taxi Tehran and other independent dissident films from the continent’s covert art scene, No Bears’ meta ending was crushing but pertinent.
Other interesting themes were explored via innovative techniques within LIFF’s schedule. Jamaica Society Leeds was a primary sponsor; the festival’s ‘One Love’ portion contained a brilliant iPhone 11 underwater shot short Sink or Swim accompanying retrospective 1978 screening of Rockers. The implementation of Rockers demonstrated how music throughout a feature runtime can course with political waves. The film provided an excellent backdrop to the Leeds ‘Rebellion to Romance’ exhibition, also in town.
Within the ‘Disability Futures’ category, the screening of Eat Your Catfish was an excellent standout. Over 930 hours of footage was collected for this magnificent film mostly from Kathryn’s POV. Darkly funny yet incredibly intimate, the familial production AAC (augmentative/alternative communication) device used meshed great with the use of a POV mounted on Kathryn’s wheelchair. There was a great informative panel afterwards on non-normative voices in film, and what more could be done in the UK industry to increase representation.
Not all the technical ability came in feature length form – or from live action for that matter… The selection of Animated World Shorts were a welcome safe haven after seeing lots of spectacular features. However, I was still rocked; numerous films provoked me after garnering previous acclaim from Venice and the Academy. Tom CJ Brown’s queer melodrama Christopher at Sea culminated in a titanic fantasy, battling the elements. Similarly stormy, João Gonzalez’s Portuguese Ice Merchants depicted a beautiful snow-top vision of father-son relationships on the precipice of something special.
The finale was anything but a base camp. While debut film from Charlotte Wells languishes in the Turkish sun, Paul Mescal and Francesca Corio’s simmering performance of a fraught father-daughter relationship rocked me to my core. From the ‘Macarena’ to ‘Losing my Religion’, the relative newcomer duo carve out a stellar performance, steeped in 90s nostalgia. I can only hope the Oscars recognise such performances, granting them immunity from being brushed aside like sand in that Mescalian hair.
A sensational show that I got to cover through volunteering and press, but these are some of the highlights. Roll on the 37th LIFF.
Edit: You can watch the official LIFF 2022 catchup video here, on YouTube:
(Featured Image: Highlights from @leedsfilmfest, Twitter)
