Post Attitude Challenging the Conventions of Cinema-Going.
Dario Ramirez Romanillos
Have you ever wondered what would happen if cinema-going were an interactive experience that transgressed societal expectations? This is what we experienced watching Post Attitude at Rich Mix (as part of the London Short Film Festival 2025).
The space in which the films were screened was an independent cinema in Shoreditch, and a room decorated with psychedelic motives, an appropriate setting for the themes of the films to be further embodied.
Usually at the cinema, a playlist can be heard while waiting for the film to be shown. In the case of Post Attitude, we were invited to add songs of our choice to said playlist, making it eclectic. This sort of playlist really matched the overall vibe of the films we were about to watch, which all challenged societal expectations and broke the conventions of cinematic language. Furthermore, watching a screening at the cinema is usually an individual experience, in which talking and interacting with others is discouraged. Not there, at Post Attitude the audience is prompted to become aware of themselves and others.
This programme, curated by second-year Film and Screen Studies students at LCC, was uniquely assembled. It included the following films, all with innovative and groundbreaking filmmaking styles: I.CON (Vanda Carter, 1995), a film that reflects on identity from a postmodern perspective, with striking visuals and an innovative animation style; Copy Shop (Virgil Widrich, 2001) which delves into the complexities of reality and perception, and the questioning of existence; Where Do Ants Sleep at Night? (Dean Wei, 2023) which portrays a group of office workers as ants going about their barely exciting lives until a pigeon comes in and disrupts their routine, symbolising the longing and expectation for freedom; Klipperty Klöpp (Andrew Kötting, 1984), an experimental and avant-garde film that mixes different genres to tell a story about trauma and the passage of time; and Guerrillere Talks (Vivienne Dick, 1978) is a feminist essay featuring themes of female sexuality, power and liberation.
Post Attitude delivered a distinctive cinema experience where the audience questioned their compliance to the hegemonic structures of our time.
LSFF x LCC: Love Bites
Gabriel Draisci
Love Bites is a screening event programmed by LCC in collaboration with the London Short Film Festival. It is a series of short films, all based around the theme of Lesbian vampirism. Being neither a lesbian nor a vampire myself, it was unfamiliar territory for me, but I was still curious to see what the event had to offer.
The event was hosted at the Rich Mix theatre, which I thought was an excellent venue. The actual theatre in which the screening took place was very large and spacious, with a good screen and comfortable seating. There were more people present than I was expecting, but the audience was mostly respectful and well-behaved. There were a few instances of laughter, but these were contained to appropriate moments within the films.
As for the actual films themselves, I was most drawn to the first one, The Mark of Lilith from 1986. I was initially impressed at how well it managed to emulate the look and feel of an older style of film before realizing it was actually made in the 80s and not present day. The short makes great use of lighting and camerawork for a smaller budget production, as well as impressive set design and location work which gives scenes a very lived-in, authentic feel. My one criticism would be that the way in which the film conveyed its ideas often felt very dry and didactic, with many scenes of characters directly relaying ideological snippets to the audience.
Mom, if I were a Vampire (2022) is a more contemporary short hailing from Taiwan. While it has more cultural specificity to its country of origin, it still retains the central metaphor of vampirism-as-lesbianism featured in the other shorts. There is some interesting use of digital handheld cinematography, but the most memorable moment is the ending, with a completely unexpected, funny needle drop which I won’t spoil.
YOLO (2013) is a Danish short, donning a retro 80s/90s aesthetic with its use of colorful neon lighting. The often vulgar, raunchy and foul-mouthed screenplay as well as its high school setting recalls teen movie classics such as Mean Girls and Clueless. The intertwining of these elements with both a vampiric and sapphic twist creates a pastiche similar to Jennifer’s Body, though in my opinion not as successful.
Overall, I would say Love Bites is worth seeing, whether you are a lesbian, a vampire, both or neither, given you already have an interest in the relatively niche subject matter.
Love Bites – A celebratory exploration of queerness in the vampire genre
Grace Melvin
London’s Short Film Festival, ‘Love Bites’, brought on a wonderful, raw, and sensual journey full of laughter and sweetness last Friday night at Rich Mix Cinema. In the heart of Shoreditch, a vibrant and bustling area and a home for ‘culture and creativity’. Curated by London College of Communication students Robyn Mckinson, Sonya Vseliubska, Jonathan Mohamed and Luke Wheatland, ‘Love Bites’ celebrated “being queer unapologetically” with its twist of romantic horror, exploring vampirism as a clever analogy for the euphoric and nerve-wracking anxieties queer youth explore and experience.
The curators’ purpose was incredibly clear when attending this screening, which was aimed at young queer women. Rich Mix Cinema was filled with an accepting, diverse band of women, looking to push the male-centric and heteronormative norms of the vampire genre. From breaking the fourth wall, to heart-warming, gobsmacking narratives, it was clear this screening was built to ‘leave a mark’.
When arriving at the screening I was immediately welcomed with a goody-bag, filled with a sleek, zine-style programme, a ‘Love Bites’ sticker, and a heart-shaped lollipop – a sweet often seen as an innocent, yet erotic, symbol, mirroring the short films themselves. The cinema was plush but quirky with its funky geometric walls. The playlist before the shorts was also curated very clearly for its target audience, with tracks such as ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by Joy Division, a song that explores heartbreak and raw emotions, that has connected with young people since the early 80s. Deborah Devyn Chuang’s ‘Mom, If I were a Vampire’ stood out to me at this screening, in its experimental camera style and creative representation of being queer. I was blown away with every switch in the plot and thought it was a wise selection for the screening.
At times the space felt cramped, and the event would have been enhanced by allowing for more room between the bar and the DJ, and more seating space. This is a downside of London event spaces. I also felt that, despite how much I enjoyed the short ‘YOLO’, its inclusion the programme felt slightly forced, as though it held more themes of desire than vampirism. Conversations after the screening discussed ‘YOLO’ having more of a ‘music video’ style than being a short film. I agree, however, the shots were mesmerising and the close-ups of the silent exchanges between the girls spoke volumes. The costume design and colour pallet was brilliantly representative of 2013 fashion, when the film was shot, a time of bold neon colours on absolutely everything!
Sexy Lady Massive, a female-centric, genre-blending music collective, DJ-ing after the event was also a highlight for me. I have seen Sexy Lady Massive DJ a couple times, flitting back and forth from Bristol to London, and their strong presence as an up-and-coming female DJ collective felt very appropriate for this screening. This was an impressive end to the event and one to remember.