Student filmmakers festival in Lancaster to tackle biggest issues in today's society

Work of emerging young movie makers will be screened at a free film festival in Lancaster.

The Lancaster University Film Degree Show celebrates explores digital culture, displacement, and social justice, with screenings at The Dukes Cinema on Monday June 15 and Tuesday June 16.

Over two days, final-year students will premiere their dissertation films, documentaries, and experimental works - ambitious projects that tackle some of today's most pressing issues: digital surveillance and social media judgment, the experiences of refugees and international students, mental health and isolation, trauma, and gender and power.

The dissertation films include exploring how apps and digital systems expose and judge private lives, following a Syrian refugee's experience of the UK asylum system, a one-shot psychological thriller about guilt and responsibility.

Other works examine friendship and mental health, diaspora identity, urban legends in the digital age, and feminist retellings of myth.

“Film has the power to open up conversations around the realities shaping contemporary life, and our graduating students continue to approach these subjects with creativity, empathy, and courage," said Dr Maryam Ghorbankarimi, Senior Lecturer in Film Practice.

"These screenings celebrate not only emerging filmmaking talent, but also the ability of cinema to engage critically with the world around us.”

Screening times are: Monday 15 June, 5pm to 9pm – Dissertation Film Showcase and Tuesday 16 June, 2pm to 5pm – Documentary, Experimental and Short Film Showcase

Admission is free.