By Edward Bayliss
Val Moreno-Alvarado, a second year student, is president of the Durham Film Festival 2025. I caught up with her to discuss all things filmmaking, and to talk about the film festival itself, which in its fourth year, looks ready and set to champion the efforts of student filmmakers around the world.
What is the state of student filmmaking at Durham University?
‘When I first came to Durham, it seemed as though student filmmaking was very niche. But this year, at the first session that we had [at DU Filmmaking Society], there were around sixty people, and I realised how much people care about filmmaking, and in so many different fields – people are into soundtracking, people want to act, to direct. There are film courses available at the university, but they are very theoretical – there’s no field experience – and that’s why the filmmaking society exists. We’ve had a number of films produced by Durham students who are aware of DFF through the filmmaking society.’
Tell me about the character of the film festival itself – what does it involve?
‘It’s a week of events. The main event is the screening on 14th June – we have a panel of judges coming up to Durham, two of whom are lecturers at the university. One is called Santiago, he has a lot of expertise in film festivals – he sat on the board at the Berlin Short Film Festival. We also have someone coming from the British Film Institute, who is the co-president of the London Short Film Festival and has been really helpful in assisting us with our own festival. We will screen around eight films, with an awards ceremony, a Q&A, and a drinks reception afterwards at the school foundation near the viaduct. Leading up to this, we have two events, the first of which is an open air cinema on 10th June at Aidan’s beer garden, with the next event on 12th June at Bar 33, with live music and an old Hollywood atmosphere. The final event is on 15th June, after the short film screening, with a live orchestra soundtracking films at the Masonic Hall.’
In unashamed Letterboxd fashion, what are your four favourite films?
‘I’ve been dying for someone to ask me this! I’ll try not to sound too pretentious, but also like I know something about cinema. The first one I have a very emotional connection with, it’s called Güeros, and it’s just perfect – the production and story are both very sentimental, and beautiful, I think. It also comes from Mexico, which lends a further familiarity. My next would be Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Red which was amazing, the ending was perfect, and overall, the storytelling is perfect. Then I would say Lovers on the Bridge, by Leos Carax. It’s a love story, but very real and not cheesy or hyper-romantic. And number four, I’m between Dead Poets Society, which I was really shaken by the first time I saw it, or La Haine which has a similar vibe to Güeros, black and white, artsy but unpretentious.’
Is there a particular film set or production you’d have liked to have been around?
‘I think Babylon, by Damien Chazelle. There is this one scene where there’s a party, it’s so chaotic, there’s an elephant, and dancing, the music is perfect. But overall, the whole film is about making films, and how much he appreciates the actual production of films. I think it would be crazy to have seen a production try to capture a production!’
And, a director whose brains you’d like to pick?
‘I think, maybe Kieślowski. He also has a series of religious films called The Decalogue based on the Ten Commandments, though I hear he is not particularly religious. I’d like to ask him about his motivations there, where that inspiration came from. I also feel as though a lot of his films are characterised by mundanity, and I’d like to know if that came from personal experience. I think in general, filmmakers always put a part of themselves in their films, but I’d like to know to what extent this is the case with him.’
Check the Durham Film Festival Instagram account for events and updates, @durham_filmfest