London Short Film Festival 2019
After generating successful campaigns in 2017 and 2018, Sundae returned to lead the press and publicity for the 16th annual London Short Film Festival in 2019.
We absolutely LOVE this Festival so we were giddy kippers when we got the call to get involved for the third year on the bounce!
LSFF is a vital moment in the UK film calendar, a beacon of inclusive and ground-breaking film-making from a diverse range of backgrounds. The Festival shows a huge selection of UK and international short films across music, culture, and politics.
As we have done each year, for the 2019 edition we cooked up bespoke campaign for each strand of the festival – Music, LGBTQ, Fashion & Culture, international and we achieved coverage across national, London specific, film, events, music, comedy, LGBTQ, fashion & culture and international media outlets.
We used a variety of announcements and strategies including LSFF spokesperson interviews, filmmaker interviews, programme launch news stories, event listings, previews, reviews, event attendance coverage in order to push the festival to the fore within each sector.
National coverage ran in national newspapers The Telegraph and i Newspaper and blanket coverage ran across all film titles including The Fan Carpet, The Cine Eye, Film Daily, Horror Hothouse, Back to the Pictures, Take One Cinema and Jump Cut Online to name a few.
LGBTQ coverage appeared in DIVA Magazine, Gay Star News and Qweerist and culture based coverage ran in Frieze, ASFF, The British Blacklist, Asian Image, GQ and NOWNESS amongst others. We also locked down interviews on BBC Radio London, LBC and BBC Radio 2.
As ever, the LSFF team were an absolute dream to work with; their programming skills and level of organisation and enthusiasm never fails to make our jaws hit the floors.
For us, they are the perfect client; they mirror our energy and we bounce off each other. Combined, the forces never fail to deliver and we can’t wait to get started on 2020’s instalment.
Much love to all films no matter how short – the content at LSFF always lives long in the memories of all in attendance.
Tom x
(Images: London Short film Festival / Time Away / GIRL / Constellation of Cosmic Queens / No Woman is an Island / Rohan Ayinde / publicity shots)
London Short Film Festival 2018
Following a successful campaign in 2017, Sundae returned to lead the press and publicity for the 15th annual London Short Film Festival in 2018. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, LSFF is a vital moment in the UK film calendar, a beacon of inclusive and ground-breaking film-making from a diverse range of backgrounds. The festival shows a huge selection of UK and international short films across music, culture, and politics.
As part of our strategy we created a bespoke publicity campaign based around the festival’s individual strands – Politics, Music, Culture, Brexit, BAME, LGBTQ, international, Industry and the With Teeth bi-annual commissioning award from LSFF supported by Arts Council England
With the programme boasting particularly strong and diverse content, something we’re extremely passionate about, and wanted to shine a bright light upon.
A key highlight was a legacy screening of pioneer of Black British cinema Ngozi Onwurah’s rare works, followed a panel discussion with Ngozi , producer Simon Onwurah, Hilja Lindsay-Muwonge (actress, Flight of the Swan) and Sian Ejiwumi-Le Berre (actress, The Body Beautiful).
Ngozi Onwurah was the first Black British woman to have a feature film released in UK cinemas (Welcome II The Terrordome,1995), and was of huge interest to the press with pick up from British Blacklist and Run Riot among many. Plus despite a tight schedule and LA time difference, we also secured an interview feature with Don’t Panic London, it’s an amazing, insightful piece and something we are incredibly proud to have been part of.
Sundae x
Sundae’s Summer Holiday – Britain on Film Coast and Sea
Every now and again a project comes along that really lights up the office and the BFI’s latest ‘Britain on Film’ online collection, Coast and Sea has done just that. With 21 projects and 190 screenings between May and October in some of the most beautiful coastal areas across the UK, working on this has been like a summer holiday.
Unlocking film and TV history for new audiences, ‘Britain on Film’ is a major digitisation project drawn from the BFI National Archive, Regional and National Archives and rights holders from across the UK, revealing new and unseen stories of our lives through the history of film. The BFI Film Audience Networks summer programme of screenings and events has allowed audiences to discover, explore and engage with the UK’s diverse coastline and local stories in their area.
Innovative events like Celluloid Sail; a stunning tall ship, transformed into an outdoor cinema where audiences can climb aboard and explore secret spaces in the bowels of the boat and discover footage about life at sea as light and projection will animate the ship’s sails have made this into a project like no other and allowed us to gain varied features on BBC News and the Irish News amongst others.
Another flagship event comes from STUDIOCANAL; the premiere of a new restoration of Leslie Norman’s classic wartime epic Dunkirk (1958) at Screening on the Beaches on the very beaches of Camber Sands on the South Coast of England where the film was shot later this month. Again, the historical nature of this event allowed us to target different sectors of the press and we have secured coverage in publications such Classic Boat and SAGA.
Scotland played host to another project highlight with the 80th anniversary screening of Michael Powell’s The Edge Of The World at the University of Edinburgh’s remarkable FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility – a unique circular wave tank.
We have absolutely loved telling people about these amazing events and helping to grow the target audience on a national level but the part of the project that we have particularly enjoyed is working closely with all of the project leads, establishing the communications support that they need and providing them with bespoke resource packages that have enabled them to move forward independently and gain their own regional coverage; it’s been an extremely satisfying experience.
This is project that resonates with us as a team here at Sundae and represents everything we stand for as a company. We all love summer holidays and it’s even better when you get to go on one at work.
Donmar Warehouse Presents: Julius Caesar
Sundae was thrilled to be asked to handle the publicity campaign for Donmar Warehouse’s Julius Caesar. This was the first in the on-screen versions of their phenomenally successful, groundbreaking all-female Shakespeare Trilogy, both directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The film was released in cinemas on 12th July, and had its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it was nominated for two awards.
The diverse all-female cast was a unique and important angle for the trilogy, one that we were really keen to emphasise throughout the campaign. The meta element of the play, with the cast assuming the role of prisoners who were acting in the Trilogy, came about as a direct result of the Donmar Warehouse’s association with the remarkable prison charity Clean Break, which aims to rehabilitate female prisoners and women with experience of the criminal justice system through the restorative power of theatre.
The three plays were recorded in October 2016 at the Donmar Warehouse’s pop-up theatre at Kings Cross with Phyllida Lloyd directing. The on screen version was shot live over two nights, and used separately shot hand-held material to break up the formality of the live camera ‘capture’, and GoPros hidden in the stage or worn by the actors.
The critical reception for the original theatre run gave us a fantastic foundation to build on. We secured a wide range of fantastic film reviews, with 4* reviews from outlets including The Stage, and Screen International.
We delivered a targeted campaign reaching the national film and entertainment press, whilst harnessing the Donmar’s Young + Free which offered reduced price tickets to under 25s , was carried through to the cinema release, intended to diversify Shakespeare’s audience. The cast was led by our greatest living Shakespearean actors Dame Harriet Walter, with Jade Anouka, Karen Dunbar, Jackie Clune and Jennifer Joseph.
We achieved a great spread of interviews, including a major double page spread interview with Dame Harriet in the Radio Times, leading to print and online pickup in the Guardian, an interview with Phyllida Lloyd on Monocle 24 Radio and a feature with Shiloh Coke for British Blacklist,
A junket at the EIFF gave us an opportunity to really amplify the regional ties to the film, namely through Scottish comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, winning coverage on BBC Radio Scotland and a double page spread in The Sunday Mail.
The first phase of the campaign was a huge success, with 64 pieces of coverage achieving a total potential reach of over 460 million.
(Images: Julius Caesar by Helen Maybanks)
Emancipation of Expressionism: an 11-minute hip-hop dance from Boy Blue Entertainment
We are mega excited to be working on Emancipation of Expressionism, an 11-minute hip-hop dance, from Boy Blue Entertainment, that is being captured on film by, the one and only, Danny Boyle in a staged performance at London’s Barbican Theatre.
The dance, choreographed by Kenrick Sandy with music composed by BBE co-founder and fellow artistic director, Michael Asante, is performed by a diverse 17-strong company led by Kenrick.
Team Sundae was lucky enough to be on set, at the Barbican, as the performance was captured and directed by Danny Boyle and what an amazing experience it was; popping, locking, waacking, breaking, hip-hop and krumping, all specialist hip-hop and street dance styles we witnessed first hand through Kenrick’s genius choreography.
We couldn’t help but feed off the infectious energy of the work and it was a completely uplifting experience. The emotion generated by the dancers was quite incredible and the performance levels were like nothing we’ve ever seen up close and personal.
The taste of the production that we got from our time on set will stay with us for some time and we can’t wait to see the final capture. This journey is one that we are hugely honoured to be invited on and it’s already causing a stir with coverage in The Times, the Evening Standard and British Blacklist for the project announcement.
Watch this space for the next stage.
Tom x
(Emancipation of Expressionism by Boy Blue Entertainment image credit: Nicole Guarino)
A royal success for King Lear: The Film
Throughout 2016 we have had the absolute pleasure of working on the multi-platform release of King Lear: The Film for digital arts commissioning body The Space. Captured at the Royal Exchange Theatre, a co-production with Talawa Theatre Company, where it played to sell-out crowds, the production was critically acclaimed, with the Guardian calling it ‘as close to definitive as can be’, so, as you can imagine, we were super excited to be on board.
Award-winning actor Don Warrington has been highly praised for his brutal and powerful portrayal of King Lear, which resonates particularly as the UK’s awareness of the impact of Dementia on family bonds and decision-making grows. The film has already seen support from the downright lovely folk at Dementia UK, Alzheimer’s Society and Lewy Body Society who ran news stories and engaged with us on social media.
Meanwhile the casting of King Lear’s family as black reminded us that the presence and influence of black people is potentially un-documented in our ancient history. The casting also addresses the debate about the lack of availability of roles for black actors in the UK; we were able to ignite a discussion about diversity in the industry, with titles such as Digital Spy and the Metro as platforms.
There were three exciting stages of release for King Lear. First off, the film was made available to everyone with access to the internet on BBC iPlayer as part of a series called Shakespeare Lives – in the digital age. We wanted to spread the word to as many people as possible that Lear was stream-able, and we were able to support the launch with a huge spread of press coverage including the Daily Mail, BBC News and the Stage.
King Lear: The Film then went on tour. It was shown at thirteen cinemas across the country, all completely free to encourage students to attend. We hit the regional press to let the locals know and managed to secure 43 regional pieces of coverage.
At 7pm on Christmas Day, King Lear added a generous slice of culture into the mix on BBC Four. We sat back, digested our excessive amounts of turkey and looked on with immense pride as our ‘Pick of the Day’, in many leading national publications, yet again took centre stage.
Deservedly, the interest in King Lear: The Film increased across all three stages of its release, with the screening previewed in titles such as Sunday Times: Culture, Daily Telegraph, i, Financial Times, Sunday Express, Daily Mail, What’s on TV, Total TV Guide and the Times.
We are so happy to say that we are continuing to work with the Space in 2017; keep a lookout for the specifics… ‘cos they be comin’ to ya on the fly.
Tom x
(Images: Jonathan Keenan)
LSFF 2017: This is happening without your permission
We’re incredibly excited to be working on London Short Film Festival 2017. Now in its 14th year, LSFF is renowned for its daring cross-arts programming and has been recognised as the cutting-edge UK independent film festival.
LSFF is showcasing over 500 films across ten days, in some of London’s most exciting venues including The ICA, Picturehouse Central and Hackney Picturehouse, in addition to screening one of the festival’s special events, David Bowie: Sound & Vision, nationwide in 19 Picturehouse cinemas for the first time in the festival’s history.
LSFF 2017 has programmed a wide variety of ground-breaking and pioneering films across the following strands: music, comedy, fashion & culture, LGBTQ and international; featuring a collection of specially commissioned features specifically for the festival as well as popular classics from across the decades.
The festival features two premieres, via the inaugural With Teeth commissioning fund, the first to debut is Alex Z Taylor’s Outsiders Inside Us, followed by Alnoor Dewshi’s Kickbox Hijabi. It’s also been announced that the first open call for submissions of With Teeth is taking place in the summer 2017 – this is the opportunity for up-and-coming filmmakers to enter the competition to be in with a chance of winning a bursary to make a bespoke film to debut at next year’s festival!
My highlight so far included the David Bowie: Sound & Vision screening as it featured cult classic films, starring the main man himself – The Image, Cracked Actor and Julien Temple’s classic film Jazzin’ For Blue Jean – it was a really lovely way of celebrating Bowie’s life and legacy, which included a huge round of applause and not a dry eye in the house.
Tomorrow I’m off to the White Trash Girls, Gun Girls & Riot Grrrls event which I’m super excited about as one of my all time favourite director’s, Tamra Davis, is premiering one of her short films, No Alternative Girls, followed by a Q&A panel discussion which she’s taking part in. I’m a huge fan of the 90’s riot grrrl movement so this event is right up my street, I’m also looking forward to seeing the specially commissioned zine, based around the content and ethos of the films.
So far LSFF has garnered press in The Guardian, Metro, Evening Standard, Time Out, NME, Dazed & Confused, i-D, The Huffington Post, Shortlist, BBC Radio London and LBC.
We’re looking forward to the feature length screening of cult-classic film: Crossroads, as well as the Awards Ceremony taking place on Sunday’s closing night, we’ll announce winners asap!
Nikki x
(Images: Courtesy of London Short Film Festival)
Jumping on board with the The Railway Children…
We’ve been working hard on the stage to screen film of E Nesbit’s The Railway Children – and it’s been such a wonderful campaign to be part of.
The Olivier Award winning production was filmed by Genesius Pictures in the unique Signal Box, a custom built theatre at the National Rail Museum in York. This production featured the train from the original 1970 film, which made it extra special.
We launched press and publicity campaign late last year, in addition to looking after all social media marketing for the film, which was shown on Easter Monday in over 400 cinemas.
We gained exciting national and all-important regional coverage through interviews, competitions, reviews, video content, features and listings. Some of my favourite pieces appeared in The Guardian, The Londonist, Evening Standard,The Mail On Sunday, The New Day, The Mirror, Top 10 Films, The Skinny, Metro. In addition there were hundreds of regional pieces of coverage, which were produced working with the local cinemas and the film’s marketing director Jane Smith.
I loved producing and delivering the social campaign, in particular creating videos for social media from BTS footage and tailoring our posts to ensure they worked perfectly for The Railway Children’s very specific audience.
It was very exciting for me personally to work on The Railway Children, as it was my first experience following a film from production through to launch. I found it so insightful seeing the film grow from initial plans to then gaining coverage in some of my favourite publications such as The Guardian.
It was also an absolute pleasure to be part of the press launch at The Courthouse Hotel, Soho; everyone who attended loved the film and the whole event was a massive success.
There are still lots of encore screenings making their way to various cinemas in the UK, be sure to jump on board and catch it if it is calling in to your home town.
Becca x
(Images: Andrew Lamb and Anthony Robling)
The Railway Children steams into town
We are very proud to be working with our friends at Genesius Pictures to promote the theatrical release The Railway Children (2016), a film of York Theatre Royal’s Olivier award-winning production performed in summer 2015 at the National Railway Museum, Yorkshire.
There has been huge anticipation for the film so, last night, it was incredible to finally run the press screening at London’s The Courthouse Hotel with the full cast and some very key national media present.
The response to film was incredible. Produced by Genesius, it captures Mike Kenny and Damian Cruden’s imaginative stage adaptation of E. Nesbit’s cherished novel on its return to its Yorkshire roots, and features the original locomotive from the much-loved original 1970 film.
Filmed with seven cameras by an expert team, who navigate the unique staging including moving platforms, props and rail carts, the film captures every moment of the fast-paced production and is a completely new experience of it.
The Railway Children follows the story of Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis, three sheltered siblings who suffer a huge upheaval when their father, who works for the Foreign Office, is taken away from their London home and (falsely) imprisoned. The children and their mother, now penniless, are forced to move from London to rural Yorkshire near a railway line. The story deals with themes of justice, the importance of family and the kindness of strangers.
The countdown to national release is now on and it will hit over 400 cinemas on Easter Monday – 28th March and we honestly can’t wait…
Tom x
(Images: Anthony Robling)
Design for life: Design Manchester returns with film, music and fashion events
What a week at Design Manchester! It was great to work across such an illustrious programme of events, which this year also included fashion, music, film and animation to celebrate the crucial role of design in all walks of life.
Design Manchester has become a staple of the city’s diverse and thriving cultural calendar, whilst also functioning as a highlight for creatives across the UK. With such a vast range of talks and workshops held at key venues across the city it’s hard to decide on my favourites, but one of my highlights definitely included Music How, which welcomed New Order’s Stephen Morris in conversation following the release of New Order’s new album.
I found out about the design aspect of the album musically, and it was really interesting to hear where the ideas for album artwork come from. Stephen was joined by Music How and Luke Bainbridge from Festival No. 6, who also led a really insightful talk about the planning of the festival and its amazing programme, along with the issues the curators face each year.
Another favourite for me was Design Now, featuring Parisian illustrator Malika Favre, graphic design studio Hudson Powell and co-founder of Lemon Jelly and Airside Fred Deakin. They all discussed their work and the processes behind and all gave really engaging conversations about their work and the industry.
As a showcase of Print Now supported by GF Smith, another key event was Manchester Print Festival, which took place at the wonderful People’s History Museum showcasing over 50 stalls selling independent artwork, along with free hands-on workshops in letterpress, screen printing, origami, badge making, paper flower creations, doodle wall and collage work.
We had lots of positive words from everyone involved, with press including Creative Review, Design Week, Big Issue and Manchester Evening News.
Here’s to next year!
Becca x
Photos: Sebastian Matthes / MANOX