BEST OF THE FEST
Fri 09 Feb | 19:00 | 83 mins | Recommended 18+ | £5
Want to see it all but make the whole festival? Check out this showcase of the films in consideration to win the Two Short Nights Best Film 2024 Award.
Nocturne
Dir. Kate Graham | 17 mins | UK
A composer's hold on reality crumbles following the birth of her son, as a strange presence stalks outside the isolated house she's been sent to work.
After The After Party
Dir. Jess Mountfield | 3 mins | UK
After a couple of drinks, a girl admits to her best friend that she's always wanted to know what it feels like to be kissed by a girl.
Distressing Images
Dir. Sam Dawe | 15 mins | UK
A content moderator for a social media site begins to suspect his young son is hiding violent tendencies when their family pet is mysteriously wounded. Distressing Images blends the heightened world of extreme online content with a very banal parental fear: “what if there’s something wrong with my child?”
MAX
Dir. Ant McPhail | 13 mins | Australia
Russ, 17, struggles to figure out what it means to be a ‘man’ in his small coastal town. In gun-controlled Australia, Russ steals shotgun from his elderly neighbour, giving him the chance to prove himself to the local underworld heavyweight. However, Russ decides to carve his own path rather than have it determined by the approval of others through social initiations of manhood.
She Sells Shellfish
Dir. Lily Tiger T-Wells | 13 mins | UK
Shot in black and white super 8, She Sells Shellfish is a collage of two Welsh women’s lives with those of the archived past. A curious exploration of the female cockle gatherers of South Wales, and the surprising secret shellfish and seaweed hold for our oceans’ health.
Not Surgery Hours
Dir. Tia Salisbury | 7 mins | UK
Dr Goldsworth is on an idyllic marathon training run when she's derailed by anxious patient Geoff, who's desperate for medical advice for his intimate problem and won't take no for an answer.
The Last Cowboy In Salford
Dir. Jakob Lancaster | 15 mins | UK
Jonny Richman is a seventeen year old Jew. He is also a cowboy, much to his parent’s frustration. A surreal, moving and darkly funny tale. A modern British twist on one of the oldest genres.
MEET THE PANEL
Meet the our panel of jurors who will be deciding the winner of this year’s Two Short Nights Best Film Award.
ION BELESIS
Ion is a third year BA Film and Television Studies student at the University of Exeter, originally from North London and of Greek-Cypriot descent with an interest in political cinema, both local and international, and how it creates a satire through either a real or surreal context. Whilst at Exeter, Ion was President of the Film Society in second-year, and learnt about people’s favourite genres and heard about alternative niche filmmakers. They have volunteered in UK-based film festivals such as Soho London Independent Film Festival from 2022-24 as an assistant programmer. Through both on-set and off-set work, Ion has been able to access both low and high-budget cinema, and is excited to see the talent of Two Short Nights.
DAVINA QUINLIVAN
Davina Quinlivan is an Exeter-based writer, academic and filmmaker. For 12 years, Davina was a Senior Lecturer in Film at Kingston School of Art, Kingston University. She is the author of several monographs including The Spirit of the Beehive (BFI Film Classics); Joanna Hogg: New British Art Cinema, Female Identity and Aesthetics (Edinburgh University Press); Filming the Body in Crisis: Trauma, Healing and Hopefulness (2015) and The Place of Breath in Cinema (2012). She holds a PhD in Film from King's College London. For three years, she ran the film and creative writing public seminar series 'F: For Flanerie' at The Freud Museum. For over a decade, journalism featured in The Times Higher Education culture section as well as Another Mag, Dazed Digital and Little White Lies. Davina’s memoir, Shalimar: A Story of Place and Migration (Little Toller Books, 2022), was shortlisted by the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment Creative Writing Prize 2023; she’s currently an ARHC Creative Writing fellow with The University of Exeter and The Story Society at Bath Spa University. She is working on a follow up to Shalimar, a series of visual poems on magic and Burmese folklore and Artistic Director on a major Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation project, Paper Nations.
JON SEAL
Jon has been making and teaching film for over 45 years. His films range from dramas to documentaries to poetry films. His recent documentary, The Teachers’ Protest has been translated into four languages and shown in 15 different countries. Jon has also have a strong interest in boat building and am currently making a series of films about building a traditional, wooden boat. This has enabled me to combine my passions of woodwork and film making. It is really exciting to be part of the jury and have the opportunity to see such a variety of exciting, new films. He is a strong believer in the power of low-budget, independent cinema and is constantly in awe of the way in which Exeter Phoenix enables and supports independent filmmakers to tell their story.
SIMRAN KAUR SANGHERA
Simran is a Second Year Art History and Film Studies Student at the University of Exeter. She has always had a deep passion for the intricacies of filmmaking and film history which is why she is also a volunteer at the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum and runs her own podcast called the Filmsofadeadgirl Podcast! Simran also has experience with writing shorts for the BFI, has attended the National Film and Television School and much more. She is excited to contribute what she can to this year's Two Short Nights Festival.