Reflecting on Aesthetica Film Festival 2024

So where am I now after Aesthetica…it’s 12/11/2024 and I’m sitting by the door of a train funnelling my experience of the festival through a Google Doc that I hope is going to save owing to the lack of signal. What I do have though is a new ‘Patron’ status on Letterboxd. Through Aesthetica, I broke into my student finances and invested £42.99 into my new and improved look as a certified film buff, cinephile, movie enthusiast (whatever you wish to call me). Through the mosaic of films made accessible to me through Aesthetica, most of which none of my followers had seen or even heard of, I could for once play the pretentious card and log these exciting new discoveries on my account. 

I’m not on my way back to York, but The York; the little gemstone within the creative industry which is recognised on a global status as  a ‘City of Media Arts’. Through Aesthetica’s ‘UNESCO City of Media Arts Expo’, I am more appreciative of the place of my study as I recognise its vital output in cultural endeavours.The exhibition highlighted the eclectic array of talents thriving in the city through its 25 attending businesses. I spoke to representatives of the Arts and Culture Magazine: Aesthetica Magazine. I was inspired to hear that the organisation was formed by a group of students at York St John University - another reaffirmation of York’s cosmic creative output which certifies it as a partner of UNESCO. I was given a free edition of the publication and noticed its global framework which appreciates visual culture from a collection of international perspectives.

Not only do I have a laptop to my name, but now one in which lies a treasure chest of archival material from the festival’s screenings, permitting my access to all the showings I wasn’t able to experience live (right until the end of the month). This morning in fact I watched an Artist’s film: Tender Loving Care in the proximity of my own house. This time I was able to workshop the piece by manipulating its pause and rewind function in favour of absorbing each of its intricacies. Then, of course I wrote the honorary Letterboxd review (my debut since becoming Patron), and hopefully inspired my followers to engage more with shorter mediums of films. 

In case I got talking to the man sat opposite me right now who is switching between states of twiddling his thumbs and doing his daily Duolingo obnoxiously loud on full volume, I’d now be able to reply to him “what kind of film” if he asked what my favourite film was:

An unlikely (but possible) encounter between 

middle-aged Duolingo Man and Laptop Girl on train

Duolingo Man: What are you typing away then on that laptop of yours, if you don’t mind me asking

Laptop Girl: Oh, just a review of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival in York.

Duolingo Man: Smashing. What’s your favourite film?

Laptop Girl: Oooh. Well I guess it depends what kind of film you mean. See, I’ve been fortunate enough to see a range of films in my lifetime: feature films, short films, fashion films, animations, experimental films, the list is quite extensive. Sure, they all come under the umbrella term of ‘film’ but I guess I have a favourite in each category and it would therefore be difficult to decide on my overall favourite film. 

Whereas a response last week (prior to Aesthetica) might’ve looked like…

Laptop Girl: Probably Breathless, or Roman Holiday. 

For anyone who takes their Letterboxd account seriously, The Aesthetica Short Film experience is a great way of unearthing new forms and learning to appreciate film in its many guises. 

The perfect Aesthetica experience: my top 5 must-dos!

1. Visit the EXPO: A great networking opportunity and major confluence of all the unique, developing creative industries in York. 

2. ‘Building Awe-Inspiring Scenes: Shooting within a Virtual Environment’ masterclass: Become immersed in the volumetric world of virtual production through insight from leading creative experts Dimension and DNEG

3. The Games Lab: Pop by The Hospitium at York’s Museum Gardens and get your game faces on, with the opportunity to amuse yourself with up to 36 virtual joyrides!

4. See an Animation screening: Grab your popcorn at the Picturehouse’s City Screen and indulge in an hour’s worth of comforting cartoon shorts that could take you anywhere between outer space with a stranded astronaut,  and the world of a man harbouring an ‘unhealthy’ obsession with Nom Noms crisps. 

5. Brew and Brownie: It’s tiring holding an Unlimited Festival Pass for Aesthetica film festival (in the best way possible - there’s simply too much to see!). Treat yourself in between masterclasses, screenings and events, to a cup of chai and a homemade cookie at the Brew & Brownie Bakehouse opposite the Yorkshire Museum