London Film School scores unique success at Cannes Film Festival 2024

The unprecedented selection of three LFS student films over three consecutive years marks a unique achievement in the history of film schools at the Cannes Film Festival.

This year’s film, Praeis from Lithuanian director, Dovydas Drakšas features in La Cinef (formerly known as Cinéfondation), created in 1998 in a bid to discover new young international cinematographic talent, with only 15-20 short films selected each year from film schools all over the world.

In 2023, graduate film, Talking To The River by Chinese director, Yue Pan was selected for the Director’s Fortnight, (Quinzaine des Cinéastes, which was started in 1969) and screened in its world premiere. In 2022 Glorious Revolution by Ukrainian director and LFS grad, Masha Novikova was selected for La Cinef and took home third place.

Chris Auty, School Director and CEO says, “LFS is the first film school in the world to see three of its graduation films selected in the official competitive programme for three consecutive years – this is an incredible accomplishment. The continued success of LFS students like Dovydas, Yue and Masha at Cannes Film Festival reflects the raw talent and hard work we see each day at the School. It also cements the School’s place as a top global filmmaking conservatoire, currently home to 52 nationalities.”

Praeis focuses on 17-year-old Ada, who re-evaluates the memories of her father, questioning the childhood myth she built around him and getting to know him anew. The film was created by former LFS students Tamás Meder as Director of Photography, and Jing Zhao as co-producer. LFS graduate, Anastasiya Mykhaylova was Production Designer and Dovydas was also editor.

Dovydas Drakšas, writer and director of the Praeis commented, “This story reflects a broader generational gap that exists to some extent in all families in Lithuania – between the older generation, which had experienced stifling oppression, and the younger generation, which was hopeful and eager for change. This divide created a friction of sorts that gave rise to a lack of mutual understanding and even a slight grudge for being different from one another. In my environment, I observed this separation most notably in relationships with father figures – individuals who were often silent, reserved and guarded, rarely revealing their private emotions. As I too was seeking connection, answers and understanding, it was important for me to tell this story through the eyes of a child. Through this lens, I wanted to depict the journey of deciphering the enigmatic persona of father and hope to shed light on the complexities inherent in such relationships. This emotional journey represents a significant aspect of the coming-of-age theme that guided me throughout the writing and the making of the film.”

As well as Masha Novikova in 2022 and Yue Pan in 2023, Dovydas joins several other LFS alumni to have been part of the Cannes Film Festival and La Cinef. In 2016 Hamid Ahmadi’s graduation film In The Hills won 2nd prize, and in 2018 Zhannat Alshanova’s grad film, End of Season was selected. Several more LFS alumni have taken part in the prestigious Cinéfondation Residence including Duccio Chiarini, Barney Elliott, Babak Jalali, Rafael Kapelinski, Orkhan Aghazadeh, and Rafael Mendoza. In 2023 Amanda Nell Eu was selected to attend La Semaine de la Critique with her film, Tiger Stripes winning the grand prize and was the first female Malaysian director to take part in the festival.