Hey there, I’m Dan, LSFF’s Young Programmer, and I’ve been asked to pick out a couple of my favourites from our upcoming festival.

It’s our super sweet sixteenth this edition, and whilst there won’t be any birthday tantrums (fingers crossed, no promises), there are gonna be a lot of great shorts screening at a lot of great venues across London. I’ve selected three great events for y’all to peruse at your leisure, and I’ve also added a few tips on how to grab some cheap tickets for all my fellow “young people” out there, because as a cash-strapped student, I feel your pain.

Holy Beef, dir. Dwayne Gumbs, Iain Simpson

NEW SHORTS: FUNNY SHIT Fri 11th Jan, 9.15pm, ICA

Tickets. Funny Shit is showing as a part of our opening night at the ICA, and to be honest, the name says it all. Cold January evenings are pretty miserable at the best of times, so why not brighten up your day and defrost that stiff upper lip by popping by and having a giggle with us? Courtroom artists, stock photos, dead musicians and exploding milk bottles. Normally, these wouldn’t really be funny, but in the context of these short films you’ll be ROFLMAO-ing (nobody has ever said that and got a laugh) in the cinema. Anyway, if you don’t get a chance to catch the programme, it’ll be screening again at the Regent Street Cinema the day after at 9:15pm.

Looking for a cheap ticket? Grab an ICA Blue Membership if you’re a student or under-26 for only a tenner a year to get a £5 discount on ICA Cinema tickets!

Cakes and Candles, dir. Nicky Chue

NEW SHORTS: IRL Weds 16th Jan, 6.30pm, Rich Mix

Tickets. When I first got the opportunity to watch this programme - in bed, a bit hungover, craving a fry up - I was blown away by just how great all the films were. It felt like going down the rabbit hole of “up next” on Youtube as the whole thing just seemed to flow seamlessly. All the shorts in it are reflective of the here and now without being too “hello fellow kids” about it, and they tackle important subjects like love, identity and community that are vital to defining what it means to be a young person right now.

Looking for a cheap ticket? If you’re aged 16 to 25, you can get a MIXER membership for only £6 a year that gets you £6 tickets (with no annoying booking fees) all day, every day at Rich Mix.

Broken English, dir. Derek Jarman

DEREK JARMAN: THE MUSIC VIDEOS Weds 16th Jan, 8.30pm, BFI Southbank

Tickets. I didn’t really know a lot about Jarman before I got to have a sneak peek at this programme, but if you’re an indie boi like me, you’ll definitely be familiar with some of the artists on the bill - The Smiths, Pet Shop Boys and Suede to name a few. The great thing about these videos is that they don’t compromise on Jarman’s artistic integrity in any way just because they’re promotional material for a song trying to climb the charts - in fact, the music almost comes second to the visuals. Don’t forget to bring your dancing shoes as there’s a post-screening disco with MUBI in the exotic sounding Blue Room after.

Looking for a cheap ticket? If you’re 25 or under, you can grab £3 tickets at BFI Southbank any time! All you have to do is bring some form of photo ID to the box office to prove your age, and then they can set you up so you can grab a cheap seat online.

Mothering, dir. Lucy Bridger

COMPETITION: BLUE MONDAY Mon 14th Jan, 6.30pm, Curzon Soho

Tickets. If you’re having a bad day, then why not come along have a watch of our Blue Monday programme and realise that, well, your day could be going a lot worse? Depression, dysfunctional families and loan sharks are just some of the topics tackled in the programme, but they’re all presented in a poignant way that doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the situations. All of the shorts featured feel like truthful accounts of real life stories (even if some of them push the boundaries in cinematography) but because they’ve all been selected for competition, you know that they’re the cream of the crop of what we have to offer.

Looking for a cheap ticket? Grab yourself a completely free Curzon Student Membership to get super cheap tickets for all of our screenings at Curzon Soho this year, as well as a free trial for their new fancy Curzon12 streaming service.