Graduate Stories

Since graduating in January 2004, Jean Philippe has worked as Director of Photography on 'Arrowman Sam', a 20-minute film on super 16mm for I’ll Hit You Back Productions - a company set up by three LFA graduates (Tom Rowson, Fraser Duncan and Colin Hickey). He has also been Focus Puller on several shorts including 'Crossing the River', 'Shirley and Pretending', and has worked on several documentaries: as Camera Operator on 'The Lolita Dreams' (directed by Stephane Talneau), 'Open Du Coeun' (directed by Yves Darandeau), and 'Didier Gustin' (directed by Christophe Liou) and as Focus Puller/Camera Assistant on Michèle Bernier – 'Les Démons Midi' (Directed by Marie Pascale Osterreich) and 'Casque D’Or' (directed by award-winning Cinematographer, Thierry Machado).

Jean Philippe has also worked as a freelance Cameraman in France on various current affair programs for M6, Canal +, Yvelines Premiere and Info Sport, and was Camera Operator for French Pop Idol (Fremantle for M6). His feature film work to date includes Director of Photography on 'Screaming Blue Murder' and 'Hello You', for which he was 2nd Camera Assistant. Jean Philippe’s TV credits have included focus puller on Sky One’s 'Mile High' (Series II), BBC drama series, 'Casualty' and cinematographer on 'Inspector George Gently', 'Shameless', 'Law and Order' and 'Vera'.

Visit Jean Philippe's IMDB here.

Philip Clements has gained experience working with clients in the film and television industry with high technical standards. He has worked on over 100 films as a foley editor for all types of genres across television shows, full length feature movies, shorts, and so much more. 

His latest work on the critically acclaimed ‘Chernobyl’ won the Emmy for Sound Editing as part of the 10 Emmy Awards won on the night.

We are delighted with Philip’s success since graduating from our Filmmaking Diploma. His next projects include ‘Catherine The Great’ starring Helen Mirren and the third series of ‘The Crown’.

Filmmaking Diploma Graduate 

Avril Furness is an independent Writer Director based in London.

After six years working as Creative in London ad agencies Fallon and Wieden+Kennedy, Avril graduated from the Filmmaking Diploma in 2015 and has since written produced and directed over 20 short films

Always having a passion for the arts, Avril graduated from University College London with a History of Art BA Hons degree before working at Sotheby’s Auction House, The Institute of Contemporary Art and M&C Saatchi before training at Watford College and pursuing a career in Copywriting and Art Direction as a Creative.

An idea driven creative, with a passion for working in film in all it’s different aspects and mediums from Virtual Reality to directing and choreographing films that stream live on twitter apps, Avril is currently working on a number of different film projects, installations, VR ideas; exploring the idea of the traditional film format and how we consume film.

Her most recent docu-drama, 'Last Moments' was selected in the "top 3 future-gazing films" at Underwire Festival 2016

Visit Avril’s IMDB page

www.avrilfurness.com

Will Tennant graduated from the LFA Filmmaking Diploma in 2006 and went straight into a work placement at Icon Entertainment. He was plunged straight into story development at Icon and his script work there led directly to him taking up a role at Andy Serkis’ The Imaginarium Studios – Europe's leading Performance Capture studio and production company. Will is now Head of Film at The Imaginarium.

Joseph A. Adesunloye graduated from the Filmmaking Diploma in 2007 and has since blazed his own path as an independent filmmaker, writing and directing a series of short films: ‘The Service’ and ‘Beyond Plain Sight.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Joseph came to the UK and studied for an MA in English Literature and Film Studies at the University of Aberdeen before enrolling at London Film Academy to further pursue a career in film.

Alice Rosso is an award-winning screenwriter and LFA Screenwriting Diploma graduate based in London. Her first short film ‘I’m Here’ (2016, UK) has been selected for five international film festivals. With her feature film scripts, she has been selected for the BAFTA Guru Labs 2017’s talent pool. 

Alice begun her filmmaking career in New York, where she worked on the feature film ‘Interpreter of Maladies’.

Graduating from LFA in 2015, she began working for Independent Talent Group as script reader and for On the Corner Films on all aspects of development and production alongside Academy and BAFTA award-winning Director, Asif Kapadia and Producer, James Gay Rees.

Alice’s background in writing and development, her experience in an American environment and her continuing involvement in UK’s film industry have led her to her current position as Head of International Development of Red String Pictures. 

Rob enrolled in the first one-year filmmaking diploma at The London Film Academy in 2001 and flourished in the intensive, creative atmosphere. Learning on Steenbeck and synchroniser under the tuition of editor Michael Johns, it was here that he came to focus on editing as his career choice. He cut two of the course's Super 16 films and directed one other. The school's predominant theme of rounded, practical learning meant he developed the tools to effectively and confidently communicate with all other departments and came away with the skills and drive to progress in the industry.

Moving into the digital world using Final Cut Pro and Avid, Rob met editor Eddie Hamilton through the LFA and, as his First Assistant Editor, worked on four feature films (including the U.S. #1 ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’), becoming highly skilled in all stages of the post-production process. He also worked as First Assistant Editor on one further feature (’Grow Your Own’), edited by the now two-time Oscar-nominated Joe Walker.

Having edited short films, promos and music videos, Rob cut his first 35mm feature ‘Shirgo’ in 2006, an intense Mexican drama. This was followed by the high-profile feature ‘The Tournament’, an explosive action film starring Robert Carlyle, Ving Rhames and Kelly Hu, theatrically released in 2010. He has since gone on to edit 12 feature films, the highlights of which include:

‘Red White & Blue’, an award-winning revenge thriller shot in 2009 in Austin, Texas;

‘Devil’s Playground’, an action-horror starring Craig Fairbrass and Danny Dyer and winner of Best Film at the British Horror Awards 2010;

‘When the Lights Went Out’, premiering at the Rotterdam International Film Festival;

‘The Penguin King 3D’, a 3D penguin drama narrated by Sir David Attenborough;

'Son of God', a Biblical drama that reached #2 in the US box office, taking $60 million in it's opening weekend;

'Johnny Frank Garrett's Last Word', his fourth collaboration with director Simon Rumley, premiering at SXSW 2016;

'Bobby', a widely acclaimed football documentary that premiered at Wembley Stadium in 2016.

Robert is currently finishing his role as Assembly Editor on the film 'The King's Man', an epic prequel in the spy hero franchise, set amid World War I at the origin of the Kingsman organisation.

Interspersed amongst his feature work Rob has also edited high-profile US television including ‘The Bible’ (History Channel) and ‘A.D. The Bible Continues’ (NBC), produced by Mark Burnett, Roma Downey and Richard Bedser. The Bible ranked as the #1 cable television show of 2013 and the #1 selling TV miniseries of all time and is estimated to have been seen by over 100 million viewers over the series.

Rob's role as advisory board member for the LFA has continued his links with the school and reflects the mutual bond built during his time there.

You can also see our interview with Robert and view more of his work at his website is www.robhallediting.com

He has produced several internationally acclaimed and award winning films, and has created content for a number of Blue Chip clients, such as National Geographic, HBO, Fox, HBL, & Aga Khan Development Network. Having identified a gap in the market for high quality content, he launched GrayScale in 2014 - with a vision for the company to be a cut above the competition. He is also a Director at Alsons Group of Industries, one of Pakistan’s premiere precision engineering groups; and serves as a Trustee at AAS Trust. 

Spotlight on Akbar:

Did you become a specialist in any part of filmmaking?

Production and direction.

What was the highlight for you at LFA?

The friends and contacts I have made from around the world.

What have you been doing since you graduated?

I have worked in various capacities at a number of production houses and TV channels in Pakistan and I have played an integral part in launching several of the country's premier channels. I have played a senior management role in a number of media outlets and I am currently running my own production company.

Have you made any films since you graduated?

I have produced and directed several documentaries, a number of TV commercials and I have more than 200 hours of television programming to my credit. I do plan to make a feature film one of these days.

How many people does your creative work reach?

The mass-media capability of TV has enabled some of my work to reach thousands, if not millions, of people across the world.

And finally, advice for emerging filmmakers based on your experience?

If it's fame and fortune you’re after, there are easier ways of achieving them than filmmaking!

Alice was born in Italy and read Media Studies at the University of Bologna, where she had the opportunity to deepen her knowledge of the History of Cinema and its aesthetic theory. In 2007 she enrolled in the Diploma course at the London Film Academy – where she had the opportunity to work on several short films in different key roles and was selected as ‘Cinematographer of the Year 2008’.

Her first short film as a director, 'Into The Light', has been screened in several film festivals across Europe and the US and won the Golden Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival 2009 and the Critics Award at the Acquedolci Independent Film Festival  2009. She has produced a few successful short films, including 'The Loop' - made with the support of the UK Film Council, which premiered at the prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2010 - and 'Maydoum' - a short film based on an original screenplay by best-selling novelist Ahdaf Soueif and starring Khalid Abdalla ('United 93', 'The Kite Runner'). 

In the last few years Alice has focused her career on Assisting Directing, working on several award-winning feature films and numerous short films, alongside many successful directors inlcuding Sara Sugarman, and a host of famous actors including Alan Rickman, Michael Byrne, Leigh Francis and Perry Benson. Her first feature film as 1st Assistant Director, 'Life Just Is', was premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2012 in competition as Best British Film. The film got UK distribution and has been screened all around the country in prestigious venues such as the BFI and Riverside Studios. 

Alice has recently worked on 'Quick Cuts' - a new sit-com for BBC4 - and is currently in pre-production for 'Soldiers of the Damned' - an ambitious thriller/horror feature film set in WWII.

View Alice's IMDB page here.

View Alice's website here.

Michele's latest short film, the neo-noir thriller 'Rain Catcher', premiered at the prestigious Sitges Film Festival, followed by Leeds International Film Festival and the London Short Film Festival.

The short is having its US premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival and will soon compete for the Silver Melies at the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival.

Michele has directed content for BBC and BAFTA TV and for brands such as Nike, P&G, Kiehl’s, FIAT, Campbell’s, Barilla and numerous others, including the United Nations.

He has recently directed the official trailer for the largest Asian film festival in Europe, the Far East Film Festival 20th.

Max comments...

"I came to the London Film Academy in 2003 after working as a runner for a post-production company. Before I attended the Filmmaking Diploma, I had had little on set experience save for a few days of camera assisting on documentaries with my father. It was the first time that I had been exposed to shooting drama, which I found that I really loved. My time at the LFA was a real eye opener, as it gave me a really good understanding of how a film set actually works, and the kind of processes that go on to accomplish a finished film.

After leaving in 2004, I teamed up with director/producer Mo Ali ('Shank', 'Montana') and shot around thirty music promos winning Best Video at the Urban Music Awards two years running. I also began to assist on documentaries, mainly for National Geographic and Discovery Channel. Within a couple of years I was shooting those documentaries as a Director of Photography.

For the next seven or so years I travelled all over the world shooting shows such as “How Do They Do It?” and “Gold Rush Alaska” for Discovery Channel, “Situation Critical” and “Seconds from Disaster” for National Geographic. I also began shooting drama reconstructions for BBC’s “Crimewatch”, as well other factual programming shows such as “Dispatches” for Channel 4.

Last year I shot a flagship series for Channel 5 and the History Channel called “Pub Dig”, presented by Rory Mcgrath before returning to the wilderness in Canada and Alaska for Gold Rush. I also made steps into the commercials industry, shooting the “2012 Nike: Make It Count” promotional adverts which screened at Nike stores worldwide and on the big screen before games at the Emirates Stadium.

I knew I wanted to make the jump from documentaries into drama and feature films, so I applied to the National Film and Television School to study Cinematography under Brian Tufano BSC (Cinematographer on 'Trainspotting', 'Quadrophenia' and 'Billy Elliot' to name just a few).

I was lucky to be accepted and at the time of writing this, I have just completed my first term. It might seem risky to some to give up a steady career in high end broadcast documentary to go back to school, but it’s my opinion that in this business you never stop learning. I think the second you think you know it all, you will cease to be a fresh and interesting filmmaker. There will always be another way of doing things, and I think as filmmakers we should continually strive to challenge our own abilities, styles, and outlook on the creative process of what we do.

I will now be out of the loop for two years, but I’m not too phased by that gap. I think once you know how to make contacts and play the game the way the pros do, you realize that you CAN control your own destiny and create opportunity through hard work, determination and networking".

Her second short UTOPIC DYSTOPIA, distributed by Shorts TV, showcased in Cannes and NYIFF.
Teodora began producing commercials for FRED & FARID GROUP in Paris working with brands like Diesel, Martini Royal and Weight Watchers. She’s been directing and producing advertisements, brand films, music videos and short films since 2012.

In the Press: ‘HUNGRY EYE’ – TEODORA BERGLUND: PARIS TO LONDON
We were thrilled to talk to Teodora, a London Film Academy graduate with huge success in Paris and France. Now, she owns her own production company. Here is her story...
Read the full interview here

“What’s great with LFA is that we all had to learn and practically try all of the roles in the filmmaking process. This has shown to be so great for me when I direct today: I know what the boom operator, sound mixer, spark etc is going through and I know how to talk to my crew better than I would have been able to if I would not have done the roles myself. It helps me creatively too when I know what the sound mixer is thinking; I might change the scene if it is better for the sound mixer. This is something that I highly have valued and take with me from LFA.”

www.viragofilms.com