Lara Brehmer
Londoner Otto Shed, winner of the 2023 Ealing Film Festival student award for his film Deep Fake Love

Londoner Otto Shed has won last night’s Ealing Film Festival award for his short film Deep Fake Love, a film about romance mixed with artificial intelligence set in the capital.

Shed, who entered his short film into the student film competition category, was announced as the winner yesterday on the inaugural night of this year’s festival. He said of the award, “I live in London. It was shot in London, and I think it has a London personality. We tried really hard to make sure we got some locations there, like Greenwich Park for example.”

The festival was launched in 2020 as an online event during the pandemic. It has since gone from strength to strength with a record 400 short films submitted into competition this year. Film categories include drama, comedy, animation, horror and sci-fi, as well as a student film competition. The event now runs in person over six days at several cinemas in Ealing. It brings together filmmakers from across the globe, with films submitted from 40 countries, including Argentina and Iraq. But it remains a hotbed for local talent, including Shed.

Cinematic Legacy

The festival forms part of the cultural revival in the West London borough of Ealing that is home to the world’s oldest film production studio, founded in 1902 and still in operation today.

Festival Director and Co-Founder Peter Gould spoke to City News about the special history of film in Ealing and his future ambitions for the borough. “When we started the film festival, four years ago now, we didn’t have a single high street cinema in Ealing, now we have three. Film is suddenly coming back to where it really belongs, because if you look at the history of Ealing, it really is one of the birthplaces of British cinema.”

Screening of a student film contender at the 2023 Ealing Film Festival

Ealing Councillor Polly Knewstub attended the awards ceremony last night, saying afterward “The Ealing Film Festival has become a wonderful addition to the cultural life of the Borough. It is another way to honour the huge role Ealing has played in the history of British filmmaking”. The festival will end on Saturday, with final winners announced at Ealing Project cinema, one of the newest cinemas opened in the borough.