London Film Festival Review Roundup Part 2

This past month Robin had a blast attending the 2025 London Film Festival and is reporting back with several of his favourite shorts he saw at the fest. In Part 2 below he reviews The Big Bad Wolf, Forgotten Routes and Another Other.

The Big Bad Wolf, dir. Leo Wright

Stop motion filmmaker Leo Wright, through the world famous Aardman Animation Studios, brings us the BAFTA qualifying The Big Bad Wolf. The film cleverly riffs on what is perhaps the most famous kids fairy tale of all, picking up shortly where it left off. Having discovered the strength of the brick house, the pigs of the world have launched into an industrial revolution and are now thriving in their sturdy wolf-proofed houses, factories and shops. Cast out of society the wolves are left to roam the streets scouring for food amidst the pigs trash.

In this story we follow the young piggie Richmond, who despite his father’s and frankly society's constant propaganda of anti-wolf sentiment, befriends a wolf named Billy, helping him find food and reminding us all to never judge a book - or in this case a wolf - by its cover.

Packed with detail that we have come to expect and love when it comes to Aardman related projects, the film builds a rich world using very limited means in terms of scenery and runtime. Through the smart use of well known source material, the story instantly feels lived in and relatable. From this foundation it builds upwards with relevant topics in modern day society, such as racism and social issues like housing or food crisis’. It is a sweet story of acceptance and not judging a book by its cover, neatly served in a well crafted package.

Review by: Robin Hellgren

Forgotten Routes, dir. Varta Arutiunian

Forgotten Routes is Varta Arutiunian’s journey through Ukraine’s history, using voice over narration to string together a mix of photography ranging from archival and satellite footage, to her own source material and even a stop-motion style of scrapbooking.

She describes the film as a ​​first-person documentary, sharing the story of her homeland Ukraine from her personal point of view, and in doing so she also shares her research into how we got to this point. Filtered through the painful experience of trying to build a life abroad while your homeland is fighting for survival, it shows an experience which is unfortunately far more universal than what we are currently witnessing with Ukraine.

We have seen a lot of coverage on the Russian war against Ukraine and sadly it continues to stay relevant today, but the angle of the historical lens on the collective memory is something I have seen far fewer explorations of. Split into past, present and future it paints a more detailed picture of the country's identity and the experiences its population is currently suffering through. It is heartfelt, honest and incredibly impressive work for a student film from an emerging film maker, displaying an emotional range we often do not see from far more experienced directors, all the while staying focused on the topic that is being covered. With this stunning introduction I cannot wait to see Arutiunian’s future projects.

Review by: Robin Hellgren

Another Other, dir. Bex Oluwatoyin Thompson

The audio track for Another Other is the recordings of the interrogation of Claudine Gay, Harvard University's first African-American president, by white state officials. Gay is defending herself and the university against accusations of anti-semitism taking place on campus during protests against the Gaza genocide.

Along with the audio we see clips from the 1993 film Rising Sun, in which the character Lieutenant Smith (played by Wesley Snipes) is being interrogated by white state officials about his motives and actions. The fictive story clearly echoes the very real struggles shared in the conversation we hear.

Alongside this we see subtitles on screen which follows the Claudine Gay questioning. But after a while the subtitles start to diverge and instead of showing what is said, it shows additional commentary, seemingly interpreting what Gay wants to say, what she thinks but does not say, or what the interviewers are asking between the lines.

Personally it is the first time I have seen subtitles used in this way in a film, and admittedly I did a double take the first time it happened, curious if there had been some mistake made by the person responsible. It quickly became clear this was not the case, and instead the subtitles serve as a separate character in the story or at the very least, another layer on top of the characters we do not see. This ingenious method of narration is so palpable it feels like a forth wall breakage of sorts, and it is only further emphasized by it being the only thing directly connecting what we hear and what we see. I found myself glued to the screen, trying to keep up with this braid of three separate yet united streams of storytelling being thrown at me. As we got to the end of this brief nine minute film, I felt eager to talk about not only the message but also the method used to deliver it, a very impressive feat on both fronts.

Review by: Robin Hellgren