Iconic central London cinema hosts screening of final-year Ravensbourne University London student films
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Final-year students from Ravensbourne University London returned to the prestigious Curzon cinema in Soho this week to see their work showcased as intended: on the big screen.
A staple of the London cinema scene since its opening in 1985, Curzon in Soho provided the perfect platform for the next generation of filmmaking talent to screen their final projects as Ravensbourne students.
As proprietors not only of a chain of cinemas but also an Academy Award-winning distribution company, Curzon’s hosting of the third iteration of this annual screening is a testament to the pedigree of excellence in Ravensbourne’s final-year cohorts.
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What’s struck me most is the hard work, creativity, commitment, passion and dedication. In a world where machines can increasingly take jobs away from the creative industries, it’s this commitment to telling stories that deal with the human condition from the unique perspective of human individuals that’s of more value than ever.”
The scope and variety of the films on show exemplified the creativity and ingenuity of this graduating cohort of Ravensbourne students. Sleek, stylised music videos and inventive commercials were interspersed between dystopian fiction, horror, thrillers, mysteries, gentle comedy and documentaries.
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Subject matters and narrative concepts such as coming-of-age, grief, guilt, sexual trauma and the importance of family were approached with maturity, deep consideration and industry-standard application.
The student experience
The mood was reflective among the students prior to the screening, who had worked diligently and to a professional standard on their final major projects (FMPs).
Touching on the project and Ravensbourne experience as a whole, student Patrick Frost commented: “Everyone’s excited today to celebrate a good few years at Ravensbourne. We spent a good three years developing our skills to become the artists and creators that we are today.”
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From day one, it was industry, industry, industry. I’ve been to a lot of talks and conventions being a part of Ravensbourne and it’s just been great to get practice talking to industry professionals. We’ve been tutored under people who’ve worked on major films, short films and documentaries so it was great to have an insight into their knowledge that they’ve passed over to us.”
The buzz of excitement that Patrick spoke of was palpable, with final-year students experiencing a shared sense of accomplishment and pride at seeing their work on the silver screen.
Another member of the graduating cohort, Nicole Meehan, said: “During my final year I had quite a lot of health problems and I was producing my final major project from home. Seeing it actually made when I didn’t even think I’d be able to graduate this year was quite a big thing.”
Tom Wright, added: “It’s really nice because when you make films now, you’re used to people watching it on whatever screen. That’s fine and cool, but to see it on the big screen is just a really nice experience, especially with an audience and feeling their reaction. It just puts it in a different context.”
To find out more about Ravensbourne's BA (Hons) Digital Film Production course, you can visit the dedicated course page.
