Part 3: After my Year Abroad

After completing my Year Abroad in France way back in June, the first thing I knew I wanted to do was revive some of the Erasmus culture when I came back to Southampton - by joining the Erasmus Society! It’s proved to be a great decision so far.

I’m one of this year’s buddy coordinators for the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) at Southampton, along with my excellent fellow coordinators, Désirée and Jodie. Essentially, the three of us have the difficult task of matching up the best part of 400 students, so that international and UK students can get to meet one another and practise speaking whichever language/s they want.

The word ‘difficult’ is quite probably the understatement of the century here, as our decisions are bound to make some people delighted whilst others will feel more disappointed.

At the Erasmus introductory white T-shirt party

Back in early October, we sent out a quick survey asking people about their interests and subjects as well as the preferred nationality of their potential ‘buddies’. The response was incredible; much better than we had ever imagined, so our job was even more challenging!

There are 18 of us on the committee, which is one of the largest contingents at the University. So far this year, we’ve promoted ourselves at the Bunfight, set up trips to Oxford and Bath Christmas markets and organised introductory and Halloween parties. As we’re in charge of the buddy scheme, we create meet ups but the initiative is very much down to the amount of effort the buddies put in.

 My committee polo t-shirt!

Now more than ever, I realise just how important and rewarding such a scheme is, especially having just returned from a year abroad myself. At the start, it can be extremely daunting as you never know whether you’ll like the country, be able to make friends and manage the dreaded language barrier.

The buddy scheme is so relevant in establishing a bond between home and international students, rather than allowing cliques to grow, and showing that everyone who studies and works here is a valued part of our community. I think this is very important, especially with recent political events (Brexit being one of many!).

For all the Modern Languages students at Southampton learning French, Spanish, German - you name it - there will be just as many Erasmus and international students looking to improve their English with a native speaker. Another really great thing about it is that it’s not exclusively for language students – anyone can join in!

One of the Language Exchange events at the Bridge

We’re equally fortunate to have a multitude of language events where people can chill out and chat with people of all nationalities from diverse backgrounds, even if it’s just down the pub or on campus. After all, people often say they speak a language more fluently after a drink or two!

Nowadays, there’s a Language Exchange every Tuesday evening at Bridge on campus which always has a warm, friendly atmosphere, plus the French Society, Spanish and Portuguese Society (SLAPS) and German Society all run weekly cafés in nearby Portswood.

There really is no shortage of language opportunities here at Southampton!

Paul

Enjoying university life in Southampton without alcohol

So this week is Alcohol Awareness Week, and as  students, I’m sure we are all familiar with alcohol and the effects in can have on our bodies and minds.

As someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy clubbing, didn’t attend every Freshers' event religiously, and doesn’t relish the thought of a hangover, I’ve compiled a list of alcohol-free activities for you to try in Southampton.

Being a student isn't all drinking and nights out!

1. Try Mettricks, Southampton’s own local coffee chain

Instead of going out for a drink at a pub, you could try Mettricks. There are three in the city centre, one at Guildhall, the Old Town, and at Bargate. With a cosy, casual vibe, it’s the perfect place to chill with your friends on a Saturday, or bring that essay you’ve been meaning to write and go full hipster doing work in a non-mainstream coffee shop.

2. Explore Southampton’s cultural side at the museum and the art gallery

The SeaCity Museum is just the right size to get done in an afternoon, and has some amazing exhibitions highlighting the diversity of people in and around Southampton, and how that has changed over the years.

The City Art Gallery is located just behind the museum, and is currently home to part of the exhibitions for the British Art Show 8. It also has a beautiful permanent exhibition of the Perseus Series, which is a cartoon depiction of Greek myths. On top of that, entry is free!

3. Take some time to relax in Valley Gardens on campus

Hidden behind the Union building is a gorgeous place to come and relax. In the summer it is the site of our Bioblitz events and insect walks, but in the winter it is a fabulous place for robin-watching. If nothing else, it’ll be a good Instagram opportunity.

4. Find societies which don’t run alcoholic socials

I know of a few societies which have socials and events that aren’t all at SoBar and Jesters, but you’ll be pleased to hear that the socials they run sound like some of the best. For example;

• Sprinkles - for ice-cream and crepes!
• PlayZone -  a giant, adult-sized playground. Yes please!
• Oxygen FreeJumping  – it’s just a room full of trampolines – what more could you want!?

5. If you do get roped in to going out, don’t panic

If you order something that looks fizzy and (preferably) a funny/bright colour, people will be fooled! My favourite for this trick is a lime and soda, it can definitely pass as a vodka lemonade.

Georgia

My favourite event of the year: Diwali

Around this time of year everyone seems preoccupied with finding Halloween costumes and purchasing fireworks for Bonfire Night, but few remember the Hindu Festival of Lights – THE most popular festival in South Asia!

My family take Diwali very seriously – it’s basically our Christmas! I’ve been fortunate enough to celebrate Diwali in India many times and honestly it was one of the highlights of my childhood!

The streets are lined with diyas (lamps) and exquisite patterns from gulal (colourful powdered paint) and the skies are filled with fireworks all night.

History

Diwali is also known as ‘deepavali’ meaning ‘rows of lighted lamps’.

So why the obsession with lights?!

Diwali symbolises good defeating evil and thus light prevailing over darkness. This stems from the Ramayan (the first of two ancient Indian epic poems) in which prince Rama and his wife Sita return to Ayodhya having been banished from their kingdom for 14 years and defeating Ravana (the demon king of Lanka) in the meantime.

Jains and Sikhs also rejoice on this auspicious day:

• Jains - celebration is for Lord Mahvira (Founder of Jainism) who reached a state of Moksha (eternal bliss)
• Sikhs- Diwali marks the release from prison of the sixth guru Hargobind Singh in 1619. Furthermore, the foundation stone of their most holy place (Golden Temple in Amritsar) was laid on Diwali in 1577!

Diwali 2016!

30th October fell on a Sunday this year, meaning everybody in the family was home and we could really make the most of the day. I brought my boyfriend Alex to the festivities too - and we dressed him in a traditional Indian kurta (long-sleeved shirt)!

 Alex and I all dressed up

On the Sunday, only vegetarian and non-alcoholic drinks were permitted. Fortunately, this barely affected me - but proved a significant challenge for Alex! I managed to squeeze in a very early morning workout (thanks to the clocks going back that night) before helping my family clean the house. We bought fireworks before spending the afternoon catching up with a close friend!

The main festivities for Diwali always occur in the evening. As soon as it began to get dark outside, I prepared for my favourite part of the day, lighting the diyas! Everyone helped to light the candles around the house and in the garden and switched the lights off… it looked BEAUTIFUL!!

After my extended family had arrived, we had the main puja (prayers) at a shrine created in our living room with Lakshmi, the goddess of Wealth, at the centre of worship. Following the prayers, we ate lots of mithai (Indian sweets) and went outside for fireworks!

If there is one thing to know about Indian culture it is that we love to eat massive portions as well as feed others!

The rest of the evening consisted of eating multiple courses and chatting with family and close friends. The night concluded fairly early as the young children had to go to bed, but it was a fantastic evening nonetheless!

If you ever have the opportunity, DEFINITELY attend a Diwali celebration!

Aditi

Avid for art? British Art Show 8 at Southampton

Hey readers!

As mentioned before, I am usually swamped in extra-curricular activities, but last week I fancied doing something completely different to my usual routine. The British Art Show 8 immediately came to mind – I had seen posters all over campus promoting the event and kept promising myself that I’d make time to visit.

Background

Before going to the exhibition I thought I would do some background research to find out about the interesting history of the show. The exhibit features the work of 42 artists who have significantly contributed to UK art over the past five years and over half of these artists have created new pieces especially for this big event!

The focus of the art show is the “changing role and status of the object at a time of increasing convergence between the real and virtual”. These topics hugely appeal to me, having studied various theories concerning space - particularly virtual space - and perceptions of space and objects.

My inner geographer was ecstatic to see how the artists have consequently imagined ways to conceptualise materiality and epitomise the digital era.

Exhibit Day!

Last Tuesday I FINALLY got to visit the show! I had a two-hour break between the end of a lecture and intramural netball training and figured that I had to seize the opportunity to go! I decided to visit the John Hansard Gallery exhibit as I was already on Highfield campus. The John Hansard Gallery is one of the many arts venues we have at the University.

I would encourage everyone - student, lecturer, or local - to check it out! The exhibit isn’t particularly large so it can easily be done in a gap between lectures, or at lunch time, with ample time to watch parts of the films showing - but you’d need over an hour to watch every film and take your time in the exhibit.

Oh yeah, and it’s FREE!

Upon walking in I was slightly started to see a wall of faces beside me (as shown below)

“Spirit is a Bone” (2013) Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin

I found it extremely compelling and spent quite a while examining the intricate features of each face. The portraits had been created using sophisticated facial-recognition technology that was developed in Moscow for use at border controls - but without the subjects consent!

I highly enjoyed the short films showing, particularly ‘All That is Solid’ (2015) created by John Akomfrah and Trevor Mathison. It was entirely monochrome and featured incredible footage from past and present. The majority of the scenes were photos of landscapes - rather than humans – but the overall effect was mind-blowing. Some sound effects – such as crying infants - were rather uncomfortable, but this was undoubtedly successful in emotionally connecting with the viewer!

A scene from ‘All That is Solid’

My favourite part of the display, however, had to be Melanie Gilligan’s multi-episode drama named 'The Common Sense: Phase 1', exploring the ways in which new technologies can influence our thoughts and behaviours. The series centres on a piece of technology named ‘the Patch’ which is worn in the upper roof of the mouth and possesses the ability to communicate feelings between individuals. Each episode was remarkably different from the others- but with each episode featuring a darker scenario!

Hopefully this post has persuaded you to experience the exhibit yourself. Lucky for you, it is here until 15th January - so there's plenty of time left to visit!

Aditi

A weekend in Portsmouth with my twin

So, here we are, four weeks in and the blog posts keep coming! After a couple of weeks of getting back into the swing of university life, my brother came down for the weekend from Bath – did I happen to mention that he’s also my twin?

We usually visit each other twice a semester and last weekend David came over to stay for a few days. Normally we can make plans easily, especially as there are so many options; day trips to Winchester, Portsmouth, and Bournemouth to name just a few. However, with the recent rail disruption, we decided to get a National Express instead over to Portsmouth, therefore saving time and money.

Me and David, my twin!

Spending a year abroad and traveling at weekends has given me a real sense of adventure that I still want to keep up this year. You may have to whisper it quietly in these parts but Portsmouth is a fantastic city to spend time in, and I’m not just saying that because I support its local football team!

In a nutshell, ‘Pompey’ (as Portsmouth is affectionately known) is served well by transport connections, but the hub of the city is definitely around the harbour. There, the historic part of the city with the Naval Dockyard meets the newer Gunwharf Quays, which is filled with plenty of shops and is also home to the towering, iconic landmark of Portsmouth – the Spinnaker Tower.

 HMS Victory - visible as soon as you leave the train station!

Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower 

Portsmouth Marina

After a quick lunch consisting of a pasty (yes they’re not just sold in the West Country!) and a drink, we headed off to the Dockyard where we were visiting the new Mary Rose exhibition which has only been open for 3 months. I’d done a tour of the naval site a couple of times before, giving me an excellent chance to reminisce. Although King Henry VIII’s old flagship was recovered from the Solent several years ago, they’ve been really busy since then restoring and washing the ship before leaving it to dry for the last three – yes, three - years! From the pictures it looks so special today even if only half of the wreckage was ever found.

The Mary Rose

I’d thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking for a day trip, especially as travel can work out quite cheap (a £7 return bus journey using National Express). Furthermore, the Dockyard itself offers good deals around the £20 mark which allow you to return as much as possible in a year if you don’t get everything done the first time.

After getting back to Southampton, we went for pizza and a night at the cinema watching The Girl on the Train. I don’t want to give too many clues away but the title is definitely very accurate, plus it’s a gripping psychological thriller with some unexpected twists along the way!

On Sunday, there was just about enough time for a pub roast dinner before David headed back to Bath on the train. In a month’s time, I might just be able to do the return journey!

Thanks for reading!

Paul

Summer in Southampton: Tudor houses and zebras on the loose

Today was the first time I had ever stepped foot in Old Town, a part of Southampton City with a treasure trove of history. My family are visiting me for a few days for my graduation so I did some research on activities they could enjoy whilst at the same time allow me to learn more about the city itself.

Despite having lived here for three years, I was surprised at the new historical knowledge I learned about my new home! Who knew there was more to know!

Tudor House and Garden

First up was the Tudor House, one of Southampton’s most significant historic buildings. It alone encompasses over 800 years of history in one site.

The Tudor House in the sunniest city in the UK. I felt like I was holidaying in the south of France with that cerulean blue sky. 

Uneven floors, steep steps and low ceilings were kept in their original state to preserve authenticity.


Much history has been uncovered about the Tudor house over the years. It was built in 1492 and has been home to a prominent Tudor lawyer, an artist, and a Victorian bonnet-maker. Interestingly, the house has been deemed by many as haunted because of alleged eerie noises and shapes that can be felt during the night. It is worth noting that the house is built on the site of earlier medieval properties.

Ready for a night out in town… in a classic Tudor dress

A Tudor kitchen

Looks like a boring old wall with scratches right? These marks actually date back to about 1570 and 1620 and show caricatures of people, ships, animals and more. The house was owned by ship-owners at some point so these are likely etched in by sailors.

A real air-raid shelter in the cellars of the house where a family took refuge in during WWII. This was a wine cellar during the Tudor times.

King John’s Palace. Built as part of King Edward III’s efforts to strengthen the town’s defences against the French in the 1300s. Over time, it has been formed as part of the Tudor House structure.

Bugle Street: the view from the window in the 1800s

 

Bugle Street: the view from the window today

Zany Zebras

Next stop was the Zany Zebra trail. Brought to the city by local Marwell Zoo, this interactive and free art trail aims to raise the profile of Grevy’s zebras and the conservation that the zoo carries out. Marwell Zoo’s hope is to inspire the generations to come to take an active interest in wildlife conservation. Overall, there are 150 sculptures scattered throughout the city, some are big and some small. The University of Southampton even has a zebra in the city! Here are those that we came across on our day out…

A Zany Zebra outside the Tudor House

A little one inside the house called ‘Zippy’

Outside the Holyrood Church ruins. It was originally destroyed by the 1940s blitz which heavily damaged the city. Its shell was subsequently dedicated to the Merchant Navy sailors who sacrificed their lives during the war

Outside the O2 Guildhall where many bands such as the Foo Fighters have played in recent times

My mum posing with this artistic nod to one of the biggest names in music 

After traversing through the city, it was high time for some lunch! It took us no longer than a lovely five-minute stroll to get to Old Town to the modern areas of West Quay and the Marlands. Two shopping centres at the centre of Southampton which when combined together has around 200 shops!

Lunch with a view of the docks. The Harmony of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ship, set sail from here on her maiden voyage.

Our day was simply amazing. Until now, I never really had a fuller grasp of the rich and vast history Southampton really has. The stories displayed in the Tudor house has given me a glimpse of the city, its people and the wider world throughout the years. On the other hand, the Zany Zebra trail was a brilliant interactive activity for the whole family which my five-year-old brother certainly enjoyed. It didn’t hurt to have the shops and restaurants close by either.

If you’re about to join the University of Southampton in the next academic year or plan to stay in the city during the summer, don’t hesitate to do a little research on what else you can get up to.

Southampton certainly has plenty of shops for you to choose from but there is more to it than meets the eye.

Rylyn

Common People festival 2016

I’m not really sure where all the time has gone, but we have reached June. June marks the end of my second year at university and the start of the summer holidays. Next year I will be graduating and that thought itself is daunting. However, the taste of  'freedom' has taken a bit of getting used to, and I keep thinking I have an assignment due, when I don’t!

For me, the best way to get rid of it was to attend the Common People festival last weekend. Honestly, what better way to kick it off than with a trip to Norway and then a festival with no other than Craig David as the main headline – I’m not complaining!

Common People is a big music festival right on Southampton Common, so an ideal location for us students!

The main issue I have with festivals or similar events in England is that, most of the time, I have never heard of the main headline acts. House music is cool for a night out, but not what I would listen to during the day. There aren’t many artists I would go to a festival for. However, I’d go to a festival for Craig David. And so I did, last weekend when it was the Common People festival!

It was a weekend festival, but due to my student budget, I only went on the Saturday. Rumour has it that it was even more fun on the Sunday, but since I wasn’t there for that day, I will tell you about the Saturday.

Even though Craig David was the last act on, I got to see some other good bands like Public Enemy and Primal Scream, and it turns out I have heard their music by before without really realising it was them! It was a pleasant surprise to hear and see them live.

The festival itself started around 11 am, but we didn’t get there until around 5pm. Apparently, as I heard from other friends and later on read, there were massive queues to get in earlier in the day – luckily I didn’t have to queue for more than 10 minutes by the time I arrived. The queues for food and drink were very long, though, which was a bit of a disappointment, but probably typical for any festival.

The festival area itself was Southampton Common, which I’m sure most people here know quite well. They managed to fit a massive bouncy castle, a number of stages and over ten thousand people into the space without it feeling too cramped; I think it’s fair to conclude that it is a decent space for a festival!

Singing along to ‘Seven Days’ and ‘Fill Me In’ by Craig David live, was almost a bit surreal. When Craig David first had his breakthrough I was probably six or seven years old, but his songs have somehow always followed me and loads of my friends throughout our lives. I didn’t actually know he was a Southampton native until after I moved here, but as you might imagine, it was extra fun to see him live here in Southampton.

He described it as the most important show of his life and opened up the whole set by saying ‘It has never felt so good driving down the Avenue’. I personally couldn’t have had a better experience. He played all the good old hits, but also his new music and covers, which resulted in a good mix of everything, and a lot of fun!

I am already looking forward to going Common People next year and seeing which artist will be playing!

Alexandra

Society farewells and Media Ball 2016

Somehow, and I still can’t quite figure out how, it’s May already. This of course means that my time here is rapidly getting shorter and shorter, and a major part of the whole transition out of university life is to hand over my current roles to some (hopefully) enthusiastic newbies.

My time as Film Editor of The Edge has been, without doubt, one of the most extraordinary and eye-opening experiences during my university experience, and to be honest, even though I’ve still got a month or so left of editing and scheduling, it already feels like I’ve kind of lost a limb.

Obviously I can’t hold on to it forever though, and with The Edge AGM last week, a new committee of super-talented and mega-capable writers was formed, who I know will totally embrace the roles and make them their own.

It wouldn’t be a proper farewell without a jolly good send-off though, and so all of the core media departments: The Edge, SUSUtv, Surge Radio and Wessex Scene, joined together to host a wonderfully wild night of incredible food and well-deserved awards. The Media Ball 2016 was held on Monday at Fantini’s restaurant in Southampton, and it was the most perfect, truly epic farewell possible.

A small group of Edgelings, suited up and ready to party!

A huge turnout of Edge writers and committee members, both past and present came along, dressed to the nines and ready for a true evening of wonder. Aside from the seriously awesome three course meal though (not forgetting free champagne!), the biggest moments of the night came from the ongoing awards ceremony, hosted by our very own team of sabbatical officers from the Students’ Union.

With a wide spread of different awards and a nominations list so long it was nearly visible from space, the whole room was totally pumped to find out the lucky winners. Judged by a team of external experts, including our very own media alumni and members of the Student Publication Association, the awards were a pretty big deal, and it was seriously amazing to see so many Edge writers being recognised for their work.

I was even lucky enough to grab a few awards myself: Best Review for our work on Reel Opinions, and Best Event for all the work put into the University of Southampton Student Film Festival over the past year. Arranging the festival was very easily one of my university highlights so, as you can probably guess, being recognised for it made me uncontrollably happy and made the night somehow even more terrific.

As far as awards go, I’m very, very proud of this one.

Ultimately, our friends at SUSUtv picked up the award for Best Media Department which was very well deserved, and certainly helped to end the night on a high.

Being a part of a number of these societies has made my life here at Southampton not only that little bit sweeter, but it’s also fed me the experience needed to take on jobs in the wider world, and getting to hang out with my friends whilst doing so was certainly a bonus.

Life at Southampton doesn’t necessarily have to end with your degree, and there’s always so many fantastic opportunities waiting just around the corner.

Looking back, I can’t recommend a role in SUSU Media enough.

Ben

SUSU's Culture Festival 2016

The University of Southampton loves to celebrate the diversity of nationalities present in its organisation.

This year, Southampton University Student’s Union (SUSU) did just so by holding its first ever Culture Festival. From the 24th until the 30th of April the Union hosted activities within and outside of its campuses which immersed students into the cultures of its diverse student body from across the globe.

From food and activities, to language sessions and movies; all the bases were covered. Some events even had free entry, such as the language lessons, film screenings, and the halls food exchange in which students had the opportunity to share food from their home country and try other traditional cuisines.

It certainly was a memorable week before the crunch of summer exams.

The Travel Fair

The first event I went to was the Travel Fair which was brilliantly organised by the Travelling Society. It consisted of the Union’s international societies which gave practical tips on travelling and suggestions on where to go when visiting their members’ countries of origin.

I was involved in the fair through being the President of the Filipino Society (FilSoc). Our committee held a stall which answered keen travellers’ questions on what it may be like to be a first time traveller to the Philippines and what other useful information they may take with them when planning a visit. Entry was completely free and even had drinks deals at The Bridge where the fair was held.

The fair filling up fast with keen travellers 

Speaking to Alicia about Jamaican food and how just upon entering the restaurant you can guess whether or not the food is going to be good or bad 

Drinks deals at the Bridge made especially for the event 

International Performance Night 

My favourite event out of all during the festival is definitely the International Culture Night. Superbly organised by AISEC Southampton every year, this was an evening of music, dancing, poetry and a range of all other creative performances by the Union’s international societies.

What really struck me about this evening was the differences, similarities and the colourful traditions within this University that we are all surrounded with.

The Vietnamese society won 1st place as having given the best performance of the night. This picture was taken during the spontaneous dance off between all societies 

With the President of AISEC, Rofini 

Global Village

The purpose of this event was to showcase the different cultures and nationalities within the University through global cuisine, international music, art, international exhibits and activities. Guests were provided with a free and unique opportunity to experience a variety of cultures through sight, sound and taste. In essence, this “Global Village” offered attendees a trip around the world without leaving Southampton!

Societies were able to set up stalls which portrayed their culture through their traditional food, clothes, music and games.

The societies who participated include: Polish Students’ Society, Bruneian Society, Malaysian Society, Pakistan Society, Nepalese Society, Omani Society, Indonesian Society, Lebanese Society and many more.

Of course the Filipino Society took part and we brought along our karaoke machine with us for attendees to have a go at! A big part of Filipino culture is singing. Filipinos love to sing and almost every household in the Philippines own a karaoke machine so we thought it would be a fantastic idea to use as a prop for our stall.

The Filipino Society’s stall at the Global Village. Behind me is our karaoke machine where we encouraged guests to perform a song before they got their stamp on your activities passport 

Certainly many other events were available during the week. There was even a Holi Festival on the Redbrick area on Highfield Campus!

Not your average day at the Union… 

All in all, SUSU’s first ever Culture Festival was a success. I most definitely had fun participating in the events and enjoyed meeting new people from different cultures.

Being at university is the perfect time to expand your horizons by experiencing cultures you never thought you could ever have the chance to get involved in… and I didn’t even have to leave Southampton!

Rylyn

Realising projects: The University of Southampton Student Film Festival

Some time ago I spoke quite broadly about a project I had been putting together as part of a cross-collaboration between the University’s entertainment magazine, The Edge, and its film making society Wessex Films. Planning started last September and last week the dream was finally realised. The first (hopefully annual) University of Southampton Student Film Festival went off without a hitch, and I couldn’t be happier or more proud!

I won’t go into too much detail about the planning stages, since I’ve touched on them at least a few times in the past, but the actual event - an evening of celebrating the best student films the University has to offer was held last Tuesday 15 March, and it seemed to finally come together wonderfully.

Despite slight worries in the week leading up to the festival, due to the fact that we rather bizarrely ended up with too many submissions (I honestly never thought that would be possible!), all ran smoothly on the night thanks to a carefully-formed shortlist.

In the end, after 25 submissions, 14 films, ranging from comedies and horrors to documentaries and music videos, were chosen and screened in their entirety to much applause and fanfare from the surprisingly large audience. Co-founder Pippa and I had been keeping our hopes relatively modest in terms of attendance numbers, but were totally bowled over when we began noticing the room filling out. Exact numbers are still a little hazy, but it was definitely far more than we had ever anticipated!

 

Our fabulous live audience at the very end of the night!

As one of the hosts for the evening, I tried my best to keep things light. I found myself frequently surprised by not only the quality of the films we showed, but also the audience’s reactions to them. They laughed and cheered along in all the right places, applauded every film as it ended and proved generally supportive of every filmmaker in attendance. It seems silly, but little things like this are what made the event such a success in the end; when everyone is enjoying themselves it makes hosting and organising everything so much easier!

Following the screening, there was a short break for the attendees to mix and network with one another over free wine and food. At the same time, the judging panel disappeared off to a hidden room to discuss who would be walking away with which awards.

Myself and co-founder Pippa - the hosts for the evening.

The panel consisted of myself, head of the Film Department Professor Lucy Mazdon and senior lecturer Dr. Mike Hammond, with input coming in from Southampton alumnus Jonny Ramsay, the current Sales Coordinator at Universal Pictures who unfortunately couldn’t make it on the night. It was truly a testament to the quality of the films entered that deciding the lucky few took some time.

Eventually, with the winners’ names tucked away safely in a series of envelopes, the award ceremony could finally begin.

Thanks to some rather lovely sponsorship from other creative societies including Surge Radio, SUSUtv, Union Films and FilmSoc, as well as the Film Department themselves, the awards consisted of not only little trophies and certificates, but also a series of different assorted prizes, ranging from cinema vouchers to DVD bundles and even a vinyl player!

One by one the winners were read out in eight categories: Best Sound/Music; Best Editing; Best Cinematography; Best Screenplay; Best Acting; Best Directing; Best Film and the Audience Award, voted for by the audience themselves during the break. With huge cheers for all the winners, it seemed that the crowd agreed with the judges.

Our incredible, award-winning filmmakers!

Words cannot describe how happy and relieved I was at the end of it all. Six months of planning and stressing had been entirely worthwhile. It shows how these big projects may seem crazy when you first start them up, but with SUSU’s unparallelled backing they came together beautifully. There are too many people to thank and hug, but to anyone who was involved with the Festival in any way, shape or form, from the deepest depths of my heart: thank you.

To anyone who has ever had a cool idea that they thought was too extravagant: give it a shot. You’ll be surprised with how far you can get, trust me.

Now I’m just going to curl up into a ball over here and sleep for the whole of Easter…

Ben