Today marks the final weekend of this year’s London Short Film Festival, the 12th edition of the independent showcase bringing together the finest in experimental short film. Clustered in a range of curated themes, from ‘girlhood’ to ‘funny shit’, the list of 300-plus titles contains for the first time a selection of international entries, including Vetrarmorgun (Winter Morning), today’s short drama from Faroese director Sakaris Stórá.

“We’re not here to entertain you, we’re here to make you feel uncomfortable”

Vetrarmorgun is a coming of age tale of drink- and drug-addled teen rebellion in the isolated setting of the Faroe Islands. “It’s very much just me,” says festival director Philip Ilson of describing the curatorial process, his personal DNA imprinted onto the schedule. “It’s just a case of watching the work and using your instincts.” 

Born out of the Halloween Society organized by Ilson, the festival’s current incarnation came as an evolution of the club originally hosted by London’s ICA. It boasts a longstanding history providing a platform for new and often controversial underground offerings, from early exhibitions by pop artist Richard Hamilton to controversial COUM Transmissions, the artistic output of industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle, the LSFF makes a point of observing film-school entries alongside lower budget, experimental work.

“It’s coming from the underground background from when we started,” he explains of the festival’s enduring anarchic identity. The festival’s communication includes a quote from punk band The Slits’ Viv Albertine stating: “We’re not here to entertain you, we’re here to make you feel uncomfortable”.