Published: 17 November 2017
Country: UK, London
South Social Film Festival is not an ordinary festival. Its focus is on independent international cinema by not only screening various films from around the world, but also by playing music and serving food from the country of the film. The festival is celebrating its first anniversary on 27 November at the Cinema Museum in London.
South Social Film Festival celebrates diversity of communities by giving the independent, international cinema a home in South London to encourage a fair representation of different cultures, voices and stories. This is a not-for-profit film festival.
“Using three elements: cinema, sounds and flavours, to portray and highlight the culture of a country, the experiential project has gathered momentum and an eclectic range of public. The questioning about diversity in cinema usually focus on the skills or expertise of those involved in creating the art of moving image. However, another important element within the same spectrum is provenance of each and every story that becomes cinematic, ie. international and independent cinema,” wrote the organiser of the festival, Paola Melli.
Earlier this year, Paul Greengrass, BFI CEO’s wrote in the Guardian: “In a world where so much economic value is being generated by the art of telling stories through moving pictures (…) we need a multitude of skills from writers and directors to set designers, coders, technicians, costumiers and more. Without diversity, cinema will become irrelevant.”
Expanding this thought even further, as cinema has a role of entertaining, it is also important as a tool to extend the thought and offer an insight to a different universe. Independent cinema is therefore a paramount subject to be discussed in the diversity sphere.
Indie filmmakers or directors have great difficulty in generating funds for their productions, let alone finding distribution and making profit (or pay the debts acquired during production). It is a great challenge to make independent cinema and it is important to acknowledge and create platforms to showcase these films.
When it comes to worldwide independent cinema, the quest for diversity becomes even stronger. Insightful storylines, storytelling styles or just something that is completely different from your own bubble could change thoughts and perceptions.
South Social Film Festival is a way of promoting crosscultural connection, giving a wider outlook into different countries and lifestyles, broadening the mindset of people while being an entertaining and immersive experience.
For more information, visit www.southsocialfilmfestival.co.uk