The award-winning short films by Falmouth’s online filmmakers
19 June 2024
Falmouth’s online Film & Television MA student filmmakers are scooping awards for their films left, right and centre.
Peter Chin’s film disConnect has racked up multiple awards this festival season, most notably winning the coveted Second-Time Director (Short) award at the Cannes Film Awards.
Elsewhere, Seb Morgan’s film Morecambe secured him Best Director, Super Short Film, at the New York Film and Cinematography Awards 2024 – an awards series which has featured Sir Ian McKellan – as well as Best Original Score at this year's Milan Independent Awards Film Festival, and multiple other selections and mentions.
Course Leader, Dr Jem Mackay, told us: “We are immensely proud of Peter and Seb. These projects are a testament to the innovative spirit and hard work of our students and faculty, where we strive to combine theoretical knowledge with practical application in real-world scenarios."
disConnect, dir. Peter Chin – winner, Cannes Film Award
Peter is a Malaysian film director and producer, who began his career as a VFX professional before transitioning to a commercial film director in the advertising world. As a filmmaker, he is always drawn to the exploration of emotional nuances through characters.
He told us: “The idea of disConnect comes from my advertising digital content experience where I worked with numerous influencers, and some shared with me how their personal and social media lives are intertwined with no boundaries. I took bits of these personal experiences from different influencers and pieced together a story of mental struggle, self-worth and exploitation in the social media realm.”
He added: “disConnect was a challenge in simplifying everything from the story, camera work, audio, pace to the character. It was a work of love and passion from myself and the talented cast, crew, and everyone who believed in this vision.”
The jury from the Cannes Film Award commented on the film’s “masterful cinematography” and “near-perfect sound design,” applauding the brisk editing that kept the narrative intense and engaging.
Further festival achievements for disConnect include:
- Winner for Best Cinematography at the Busan New Wave Short Film Festival 2024
- Winner for Best Student Film at the Beyond The Curve International Film Festival 2024
- Winner for Best Trailer/Teaser at the 4th Dimension Independent Film Festival 2024
- Finalist for Best Actor at the Korea International Short Film Festival 2024
- Official Selection at various international festivals including Bridges International Film Festival, Cambodia International Film Festival, and Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival.
Morecambe, dir. Seb Morgan – winner, New York Film and Cinematography Awards 2024 and Milan Independent Awards Film Festival
Seb is a filmmaker and singer-songwriter from the Lake District. His award-winning short, Morecambe, is a scripted musical homage to the town’s past and present, created by Seb and several fellow students on the master’s.
He told us: “[Winning these awards] was slightly unexpected! But I found this past year that I'm good at directing; I can get a group together, and I have a clear idea of what they want. And when I see someone put a camera up, I'll just say, ‘Look, that background doesn't work’ - I can see it. That has worked very well with Morecambe.”