London Rocks

‘Betrayed’ is a multiple award-winning short film, including ‘Best Sci-Fi’ at Brighton Rocks International Film Festival 2022, which is now in redevelopment as a feature film. We caught up with writer and producer Jay Shurey and director Dagmar Scheibenreif to garner some inside information on the evolution of the film and the work that wentContinue reading “Interview with Jay Shurey & Dagmar Scheibenreif of ‘Betrayed’”

Rocks International Film Festivals wholeheartedly embrace the weird, wonderful and thought-provoking. Our feature film for LRIFF22 is no exception, ‘Alice, Through the Looking: À la recherche d’un lapin perdu’ by Adam Donen is a piece of work whose intricacies, quirks and hidden jabs reflect in no small measure the beguiling man behind the madness. ‘Alice’Continue reading “In Conversation with Adam Donen Writer, Director and Producer of ‘Alice, Through the Looking: À la rech

London Rocks International Film Festival is proud to be screening ‘The Mountain’ where Matthew, played by Jamie Wilkes, has to physically confront his inner demons who manifest as he is going about the seemingly mundane yet insurmountable challenge of daily life. Mental health is something we are now starting to see broached in television, documentaryContinue reading “Interview with Clare Macdonald, Director of ‘The Mountain’”

Daniel Thomas Freeman’s feature film, ‘The Silence After Life’, won the award for Best Actress at Brighton Rocks 2020 and we are delighted to be hosting him again at London Rocks this year with his latest film ‘The Day After’. Daniel has a multifarious background immersed in and around music and film which allows himContinue reading “Interview with Daniel Thomas Freeman, Writer, Director and Producer of ‘The Day After’”

Experimental New York cinema might bring to mind Andy Warhol, Jonas Mekas or Maya Deren but whatever your fancy it has the power to stimulate and draw out admiration, contemplation and so much more in the viewer. It diversely tests and breaks traditional aspects of filmmaking thus allowing the director to break free from narrativeContinue reading “In Review: ‘Stabat Mater’ & ‘Couscous’ by Marina Sagona”

Appearances can be deceptive and ‘QUEER BLOOD’ is a striking example of a film where nothing is quite as it seems. An indie neo-noir set in North Hollywood, this drama features characters whose wants and desires are hidden by their own internal struggles and locations so authentically brought to life and meticulously put together youContinue reading “In Review: ‘Queer Blood’ by Alexander Roman”

* * * Stories close to our hearts, whatever emotions they evoke, can be the hardest to tell. An entire industry relies on people talking about their feelings and exploring various traumas in their lives, but what if there was a different channel for these explorations? No-one can claim to have the magic formula butContinue reading “Interview with Rishi Gandhi, Director of ‘Mater Mortis’”

A short horror where an inexplicable disease becomes a metaphor for the trauma of dealing with the suffering of loved ones. From the moment ‘MATER MORTIS’ opens on your screen, your senses are stung by themes of familial trauma and you do not have to travel far to see the personal connection to this film.Continue reading “In Review: ‘Mater Mortis’ by Rishi Gandhi”

* * * ‘Easy Said Up High’ is a short drama filmed across three nations during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2021-22. Directors Janin Stenzel and Lena Stamm also act in the film, which follows the story of best friends Celia and Helen as they maintain a friendship over Zoom, battling all of the things thatContinue reading “Interview with Janin Stenzel and Lena Stamm, Directors of ‘Easy Said Up High’”

* * * Actors and TV Presenters Maggie and Marie Cornwell are both fourteen and in Year 10 at school. Their most recent acting roles are Anna and Bella in the short film, ‘Court Number 5,’ by their award-winning film director-father, Mickey Cornwell. Our interview takes place over zoom with a Christmas tree in theContinue reading “Interview with Mickey Cornwell, director of ‘Court Number 5,’ and lead actors Maggie and Marie Cornwell”

* * * You have a particular idea you want to develop, you want to work with someone who you have known for years and you happen to be attending a trade show in a certain city where everybody knows “what happens here, only happens here”. It is truly a delight to talk to a creatorContinue reading “Interview with Micah Dahl, Director of ‘Clarence’”

Brighton Rocks Film Festival 2019’s Best Music Video Winner Returns . . . Unapologetic sexual lease-of-life and gay icon JD Kelleher stars in and directs the music video for his new single release Give Me Light. The music video is a captivating cinematic piece with wide-angle shots of an Irish coastal landscape against the soft light ofContinue reading “In Review: ‘Give Me Light’ by JD Kelleher”

* * * As I’m sure the majority of our readers may know, the world of short films is not one where you are going to make a quick buck. Nor are you likely to find a widespread audience, but this means that a filmmaker’s true intention and flair is allowed to flourish. Here atContinue reading “Interview with Alexander Roman, Director of ‘Queer Blood’”

* * * ‘Black Fish’ is the most genre-defying, evocative and charming film of this year’s LRIFF selections. It is part documentary, music video, experimental film, sci-fi, adventure, drama, and work of poetic realism. It is shot on an aesthetic 16mm black and white. We caught up with its creators Giulio Melani and Nicola GurrieriContinue reading “Interview with Giulio Melani and Nicola Gurrieri, creators of ‘Black Fish’”

How much do our backgrounds influence who we are and what we do? Whilst few of us are lucky enough to realise our childhood dreams, a personal youthful desire to be a marine biologist was rudely shaken from me upon my realisation that my brain doesn’t work well towards maths and science. The trajectory ourContinue reading “Interview with Cory DeMeyers, Director of ‘Danny Boy’”

* * * DR JAMES ROWLINS, LONDON ROCKS CO-DIRECTOR: ‘Mute’ is a gripping adaptation of a Stephen King short story from the ‘Just After Sunset’ collection. It is a slow-burn mystery that begins when a lapsed middle-aged Catholic visits a local priest for confession. We interviewed director Kyle Dunbar and actor Andrew Bee to getContinue reading “Interview with Kyle Dunbar, director of ‘Mute’ and lead actor Andrew Bee”

* * * DR JAMES ROWLINS, LONDON ROCKS CO-DIRECTOR: ‘UNINTENTIONHELL’ begins as a gritty tale of a grieving father seeking revenge on the perpetrator of his daughter’s murder, which spins into an exploration of guilt and mental health. It is a gripping and violent film that challenges our expectations at every turn, and casts anContinue reading “Interview with Balbeer Bahi, director of ‘Unintentionhell’”

As co-Director of LRIFF, I am beyond excited for the second edition of London Rocks Film Festival. Our first festival was held in the grips of Covid19, concluding only a few hours before a national lockdown. A Blitz spirit reigned – the impression of screening films on the deck of the Titanic as the fourContinue reading “London Rocks 2.0: Post-Normal Cinema”