June: Exciting News from #ASFFAlumni!

It’s time to spotlight all of the wonderful things our #ASFFAlumni have been getting up to! Here are all of the headlines, from Duncan Cowles’ Feature-Length Debut to Stacha Hicks’ film festival win.

Duncan Cowles Premiered
Feature-Length Debut at DocFest

Silent Men is award-winning ASFF alumnus Duncan Cowles’ first full length documentary and audiences had the opportunity to watch it for the first time at DocFest! Part therapy, part road trip, the movie follows a deadpan filmmaker who asks men how they show their emotions as he confront his own struggles with opening up.

Read our Interview

Guardian Documentaries Picked
up 2023’s Listening Pitch Winner 

Megan McDonough’s powerful documentary Old Lesbians joins the list of remarkable projects that have been picked up by Guardian Documentaries after winning the incredible £20,000 Aesthetica x Audible film grant. Head over to their website to watch this powerful short about reclaiming queerness and old age.

Watch the Film

Stacha Hicks Took Home
the Prize for Best Film at CBFF 

Stacha Hick’s _ELICIT_ screened at Aesthetica last year. It’s a “story for the isolated, the aging and the cruciverbalists” that follows the budding romance between a librarian and a crossword maker. We were thrilled to hear that this incredible project won the main prize at this year’s Carmarthen Bay Film Festival.

Meet the Director

Yasmin Afifi Takes Her
BAFTA-Winning Film to the USA

Jellyfish & Lobster screened at last year’s festival and went on to achieve massive success – including winning the BAFTA for Best British Short Film in 2024! Now, Californian audiences will get to watch this touching story of mischief and magic at the Oscar-Qualifying Palm Springs International ShortFest.

Read our Interview

Jessi Gutch is Elected to
First-Ever DFC Board of Trustees

Members of the Documentary Film Council (DFC) have elected eight representatives and we are delighted to see that Jessi Gutch is on the board! The filmmaker has won many awards at ASFF, from the Listening Pitch grant with Blind as a Beat in 2022 to the Best of Fest Prize in the following year with Until the Tide Creeps in.

Read our Interview

Submit Your Game to be Part of #ASFF2024!

The post June: Exciting News from #ASFFAlumni! first appeared on Aesthetica Short Film Festival.