'Lexa' is January's Film of the Month

We're happy to announce that our Film of the Month winner for January 2017 is Lexa, a film made by Manchester School of Art students, Lauren and Christian. 

This unnerving short questions how the influence of smart technologies shapes our lives, and shows how ultra-efficiency can often ending up doing more harm than good, especially when statistics are used to define a person's limits based on racial and gender profiling. Featuring audio layering techniques and uncomfortable close-ups, Lexa is a dystopian satire that's sure to get under your skin.

We caught up with Lauren and Christian to talk about their film, how it was made, and what winning Film of the Month means to them.

Lauren:

We both started making films for fun with our friends when we were younger such as mini horror films or playing with editing softwares with our own clips and then proceeded to meet at university.

The inspiration behind entering Film of the Month was the open approach the competition had towards genre and theme. To win feels amazing due to the fact Lexa is the first film we've created where I feel as if we've had complete creative control and to be rewarded for that is a great feeling.

I feel like my inspiration for making films came from my love of writing stories. When I was younger I used to write a lot of short stories, I loved to read and then it would inspire me to write new stories. Ive always wanted to tell interesting and engaging stories however now that I've got older rather than presenting my stories through writing I show it visually through film.

Christian:

I also loved reading when I was younger and would love to picture how I could make the stories into films. I started acting at the age of 3 until I was about 16 and my parents own a theatre production company so was heavily involved with learning scripts, performing and imagining how that could be translated to screen.

Our advice to young people who want to start making films is to persevere. It doesn't matter if you don't have the best camera or the biggest budget, make sure you practice your skill sets such as editing or thinking how a scene could be filmed as it will help you in the long run.

We both have different films we enjoy for different reasons so its pretty tricky to pin point but from a stylistic point of view, Wes Anderson's films such as Moonrise Kingdom or Fantastic Mr. Fox use symmetrical shots and colour schemes throughout which is something that is growing in popularity for example with TV shows such as Black Mirror, and is something we would like to incorporate in our future work.

Lauren and Christian's film will now be showcased to over 300,000 film club members online and on the Into Film YouTube channel, and they have also secured a £100 Amazon voucher plus an Into Film goodie bag with which to help further develop their future films. If you've been inspired by January's winner, find out more about how you can enter our ongoing Film of the Month competition.

If you liked Lexa, why not try these related films:

• Her (2013, 15, Suitable for 14+) Telling the story of a lonely man who finds himself falling for his personal operating system, this film tenderly investigates how a relationship can develop between an emotionally demanding human and an infinitely intelligent A.I.
• The Brother from Another Planet (1984, 15, Suitable for 14+) This sci-fi comedy uses the premise of an extra-terrestrial visitor to poignantly examine the state of race relations on earth.
• Dear White People (2014, 15, Suitable for 16+) In this satire based on controversial real events, African-American students attending a prestigious university protest against racist stereotyping when it rears its ugly head at the parties of the campus elite.
• Pressure (1976, 15, Suitable for 16+) In 1970s London, an intelligent but naïve black school leaver finds to his disbelief, and his older brothers indignation, that his job opportunities are severely limited in comparison to those of his white classmates.