HARD Mag @ Aesthetica Film Festival!

Cover image : Josh Bibby

11:30, Wednesday the 5^th of November, saw me queued outside of City Screen Picturehouse, wrapped in my favourite knitted scarf to brace the autumn York chill. It had not yet started to rain, so, huddled between bustling groups of film students, industry professionals, and keen members of the public, I stood eagerly in line to collect my pass for the 15^th anniversary of Aesthetic Short Film Festival. 

Surprisingly I’ve never actually been to an event of this scale with HARD. As I perched in front of the pop-up reception desk, asking to ‘collect my press passes for HARD Magazine,’ I felt an overwhelming sense of pride; just quite how I had landed myself in this position I did not, and still do not know. Nethertheless, with my shiny new Aesthetica brochure tucked under my arm, I trundled home, ready to ponder over the coming screenings with my housemate, best friend, and fellow HARD colleague Maddie. 

Friday morning welcomed my first event of the weekend: a scriptwriting masterclass with BBC Writers. Admittedly I'm not too familiar with the world of TV and Film writing, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity to dive head-first into the process. At 10am, I took the journey through the drizzly museum gardens and into the Yorkshire Museum, where I was led into a theatre packed-full for the event. Some quick introductions revealed I would be learning from the incredible Simon Nelson – the drama development executive for the BBC. 

First, Simon led us through the young writers open call programme at the BBC, which offers aspiring television writers the opportunity to send in their own script. Submitted work is reviewed and judged by professionals from the industry, all with the chance of being sent to development. Eager audience members scribbled in the open notepads upon their laps, as I wondered whether I could be sat among the creators of the next big television series. A show of hands revealed around 70% of the room to be screen-writers, 20% directors and the remaining few hands (including my own) as ‘just having a general interest’ – safe to say I felt like an imposter in a room packed with industry superstars. 

Simon revealed his top 10 tips for writing a stand-out script – a necessary quality when up against 6,000 other submitted pieces. My quickly jotted notes read:

1: Write for the right medium – choose the best form for your story.

2: Get the story going quickly – invest in active protagonists, and start right in the middle of the action.

3: What really is your story about? Sometimes you won't know this until draft 7 or 8!

4: A strong character will drive the plot - and you don’t always have to like them.

5: Engage with the viewer emotionally.

6: Surprise us!

7: Structure is key – begin and end in the right place.

8: Exposition and expression – carry a notebook in day-to-day life, and jot down interesting or funny things people really say.

9: Write what you want to write – don’t second guess what people want to see.

10: Be yourself – focus on your unique take. 

Time at the end for a quick Q&A revealed the true passion of audience members for making it big. Simon was keen to only answer questions from women (to begin) as he mentioned that women are less likely to participate in a Q&A if men ask first – a touch I loved. But my favourite takeaway, and one which Simon stressed: every show only has one protagonist. Someone amusingly asked, ‘but what about Friends?’ And to that, I learnt, there is only one answer. Simon says Ross. But I’ll leave that one there.

Next up on my agenda were guest screenings from the Ridley Scott Association (RSA) back at City Screen. With just 15 minutes to spare I made my way among a flurry of other lanyard bearing festival-goers, anticipating what was to be my first real look at Aesthetica. I was surprised to see how packed the cinema was, with people queuing up and down the stairs to secure a space at the comedy screening next door. Luckily, I secured my own seat and sat ready to watch my first four films of the festival. 

The screenings had no common theme (unlike most others over the weekend) but all shared the privilege of collaboration with RSA’s short film division and assistance from their head of short film, Nancy Ryan. I enjoyed the range of genres, taking in a comedic drama about Joseph of Nazareth (Cuckold), a beautifully shot Spanish drama about an old man losing his memory (Ocasao), and a comedy about a group of drama students (Class). Whilst enjoyable, the standout from this screening (and in fact the whole festival) was the final film, The Healer. 

The Healer (2025, directed by Will Jewell) follows a mentally troubled teenage boy, Jake, as his mother enlists him in an equine therapy course. Whilst it's no doubt that any film about animals will make me cry, I was still taken aback that I found myself sobbing in seat G14, Screen Two, on a mere Friday afternoon. The cinematography and music choices were nothing short of beautiful, accompanying the soft story of a growing relationship between Jake and a gorgeous white horse named Apollo. 

The credits rolled, and with tears in my eyes, I was so excited to learn that the writer and director of The Healer were here for a live Q&A. The writer (Trudy Williams) was asked where the inspiration for the story arose. She revealed it was actually a university project, and came from personal experiences with her own 12 year-old son, who found it impossible to receive any counselling on the NHS when he was struggling with his mental health. She explained that she’d been around horses her whole life, aware of the healing power they possessed. Thoughtfully, she added, ‘horses are like a mirror – they always know, and show what you feel deep down.’ When asked how the horses themselves managed to put on such a great performance, acting on que, she revealed that they were actually specially trained for TV and Film – a beautiful touch in which I had no idea. Trudy finished by thanking the wonderful actors and actresses who brought the story to life, including one who was sitting in the seat directly in front of me!

As I left the cinema, it seemed hard to escape the flash of yellow lanyards, even far from City Screen itself. Whilst the day opened my eyes to the incredible world of short film and the talented individuals within it, I took away a more encompassing lesson: this city really does come to life when infused with a vibrant spark of creativity.