A short film by a Turkish Cypriot filmmaker has been selected for this year’s Fighting Spirit Film Festival (FSFF) Short Films competition that is being screened at Hackney Picturehouse. Bulent Ozdemir-Larusso’s Brawler, which will make its world premiere at the FSFF on Saturday, 7 September, is up against 34 other short films from around the world that feature fighting as part of their storyline.
The FSFF competition programme includes a mix of fiction and documentaries, ensuring it appeals to a broad range of tastes, whether that’s traditional kung fu, modern hard hitting action, or real life stories.
Brawler has been nominated in the Best Cinematography and Best Actor categories at FSFF, with the winners announced on the final day of the festival.
The action-packed film is Ozdemir-Larusso’s eighth as a director. The lead role ZHero is played by model, stunt man and street dancer Isky Fay. ZHero is a fighter who “finds himself on a collision course with fate after a series of unforeseen events.” His true love Jessie, played by Olivia Moyles, is in grave danger and ZHero’s sole focus is on reaching her before it’s too late.
Audiences can expect a “pulse-pounding, high-stakes brawl” during this 6-minute mini movie where ZHero seeks to beat the odds and save Jessie.
Who is Bulent Ozdemir-Larusso?
Ozdemir-Larusso’s career as a filmmaker has seen him take on multiple roles including screenwriter, editor, producer, colourist, and cinematographer. A new feature film that Ozdemir-Larusso edited, Fyre Rises, was nominated for multiple awards this year, winning Best Feature at the London Independent Film Festival and Best Local Film at the Romford Film Festival.
To date, Ozdemir-Larusso has written seven films and directed eight. His work has garnered domestic and international praise from leading film platforms including the Austin Film Festival, as well as notable industry figures such as Randal Kleiser, the director of 1978 hit movie Grease, and Gary W. Goldstein, who produced Pretty Woman.
The London based filmmaker produced Brawler with his sister, Halime Ozdemir-Larusso who is herself an acclaimed international arts producer. The film was made through Halime’s Producer 360° platform, which specialises in cultural works across a range of disciplines, from visual art to performance, film and fashion, staging collaborations and projects for prestigious events and venues worldwide.
In competition
Brawler will screen on Saturday morning in the first batch of short films that are in competition. The other films in Part 1 are: Shattered Remedy, Ronin, Latte For Jim, Sakura In The Cage, The Chef, Rustam – A Muay Thai Story, Welcome To The Party, Young Hot Bloods, Outlands, Shadow Theater, Bleak Salvation, Jump Senior, The Hitman And The Assassin, A Drowning Heart Part 2, Risky Business, and The Tragedy Of Cain,
Part 2 of the competition will screen at 11am on Sunday morning. These films are: Jackal And Hide, The Last Dumpling, Flaming Assassin, Buon Appetito, Crouching Carpet, Heading Home, The Boss, The Warrior Poet, Office Offence, Deja Vu, Don’t Bother The Neighbors, Earth Lion, Sudden Thunder, We Are Home, Wash Your Hands, Jackie: Winter Edition, Rise of Chow, Midnight Punch, Sliced, The Ultimate Superpower.
The winners of this this year’s FSFF competition will be announced at a gala ceremony at Hackney Picturehouse on Sunday evening.
See below for more information and for tickets.
Screening Details
Title: FSFF 2024: Short Films in Competition, Part 1
Date: Saturday 7 September 2024
Start time: 11am for the first section of competition
Duration: 180 minutes
Venue: Screen 3, Hackney Picturehouse, 270 Mare Street, Hackney, London E8 1HE
Admission: The films have been given an 18 certificate. Admission is £15.30 including booking fee, with concessions for students, over 60s and Picturehouse members.
Tickets: buy online from the venue’s box office – click here.
More info: click here to visit the Fighting Spirit Film Festival website for more information about the festival and other screenings and activities.
