AUB student film “Time Between Us” continues to rack up recognition

Time Between Us, written and directed by Issy Campbell back in her second year at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) recently topped its list of accolades by winning both the Best UK Student Short Award and the Special Recognition Award at Sunrise Film Festival, a BIFA qualifying festival.

It was also nominated in the Best Low Budget Film category.

The film follows a young woman who finds herself in “a liminal space filled with her fragmented childhood memories,” as Issy explains.

“These moments are brought to life through projections, archival footage, and practical effects. She begins to understand the value of capturing memories and the blissful pain feelings of nostalgia can create.”

For Issy, Time Between Us is an extremely personal project, and her family archive and videos from her childhood are projected within the film as the protagonist's memories.

Commenting on some of the challenging moments while making the film, she says, “The final edit of the film was given a mixed response, which was a disheartening experience, with criticism advising structural and musical changes, as well as removing the archive and personal aspects from the film altogether – all of which I fought to keep in the film.

“Looking back, I'm so pleased that I fought very hard to keep the film the way I envisioned it, but there were moments where I wish I trusted myself more and let myself make mistakes. We are at university to learn, not to create perfect work and often, we, as students, are too hard on ourselves."

Having just completed her final year, Issy says the advice she'd give her younger student self would be, "keep making films for yourself, and keep making them authentic, as no one knows your story better than you.”

By her admission, she and her team took a risk on Time Between Us, submitting it to several film festivals, where it has earned a string of awards, and been screened at more than 25 events across the country.

“For a short film made in our second year with a budget of under £250, I couldn’t be prouder of what the team and the film have achieve,” says Issy. “We have won prize money from some of these festivals, which has allowed me to fund my next project: All That’s Left.”

All That’s Left is an example of how the collaborative spirit at AUB continues after students complete their studies, as it has involved not only BA (Hons) Film Production students, but those on the University’s BA (Hons) Textiles, Fashion Communication, and Make-up for Media and Performance courses.

Having now finished shooting, the film will begin its festival run this September.

Now about to graduate, Issy’s journey in film production continues in London, where she’s starting her first job at Carnival Films (NBC Universal).

“It's honestly been the most rewarding three years on the Film Production course,” she says. “It's beautiful to see how far we've all come, and I can't wait to see what's ahead.”