For media enquiries please contact Head of Marketing Holly Blake on h.blake@lfs.org.uk.
2026 started with a bang! We've got all the details for you, so get comfortable and read on to learn about the latest achievements of our grads and alumni. If you have any exciting news you’d like to share with us, don’t hesitate to get in touch - we want to hear all about it! Don’t forget you can sign up to our alumni newsletter here to get the updates direct to your inbox.
London Film School announces year-long digital archive release to mark 70th anniversary
London Film School (LFS) today announces a year-long YouTube archive series to mark its 70th anniversary in 2026, celebrating seven decades of filmmaking talent by releasing a curated selection of its archival films on YouTube throughout the year.
2026 LFS GRADUATE SHOWCASE BOOK
Thanks to everyone who took part in the London Film School Graduate Showcase 2026. The event includes screening 56 films, showcasing the work of 39 scripts and hearing 40 pitches and presentations. The event took place at the BFI Southbank.
And a huge thank you to our 2026 Graduate Showcase sponsors who supported London Film School: Panalux, Casarotto, Ramsay and Associates and Sargent-Disc.
London Film School celebrates strong presence at Berlinale 2026
ABRACADABRA by Amay Mehrishi selected for Generation Kplus
London Film School (LFS) is proud to announce a significant presence at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), with student and alumni work represented across film selection, industry talent programmes, and special anniversary screenings.
"The end product is 6 hours but to get there was years of work. You have to remember your life is the process, don’t chase the final destination so much."
We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with screenwriting alumnus, Samuel Jefferson, who told us all about his journey from grad to co-creator and head writer of the award winning Apple TV Original series, Berlin ER. The series won Best Drama Series and Best Cinematography Fiction (Tim Kuhn and Jieun Yi) at the German Television Awards, and was nominated for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Directing Fiction and Best Editing Fiction – an incredible achievement!
OSCAR NOMINEE IN THREE CATEGORIES "VERA DRAKE"
"VERA DRAKE", the new film by Mike Leigh, our Chairman, was nominated in three categories at the Oscar Award ceremony last night. Mike was up for Best Director, Imelda Staunton up for Actress in a Leading Role and the script up for Original Screenplay.
Best Director went to Clint Eastwood for "Million Dollar Baby", Actress in a Leading Role went to Hilary Swank for "Million Dollar Baby" and Original Screenplay went to Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind".
OSCAR NOMINEE FOR ASHVIN KUMAR EX-STUDENT C. 145
Nominee in Category "Short Film - Live Action"
"LITTLE TERRORIST"
Writer/Director: Ashvin Kumar
FILM SYNOPSIS
When a young Pakistani boy accidentally crosses the mine-strewn border into India in pursuit of his cricket ball, he is helped by a Hindu teacher.
ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the first Academy Award nomination for Ashvin Kumar.
ALSO NOMINATED IN THIS CATEGORY
EVERYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY MUST
7:35 IN THE MORNING
TWO CARS, ONE NIGHT
WASP
The winner for this category was "WASP".
AWARD WINNING PRODUCER GAVIN POOLMAN EX-LFS STUDENT C. 95
Gavin Poolman is an Alumni of the LFS. He is Canadian but he is based in the UK. He was at the school in 1984-1986. Two of the films that he and his company, Apollo Films (a member of PACT) have produced received good Festival and commercial credits. The website links are listed below and also a short precise of each film:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/festival_express/
or the New York Times review:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E0D9103DF933A05754C0A9629C8B63
BEST SHORT FILM AT BAFTA
Congratulations also go to Nancy Harrison, our Honarary Student, who is a student at the London Metropole University, and who has worked on many of our student films as Producer/Production Assistant, was Production Assistant on the Bafta Award winning Short Film "The Banker" directed by Hattie Dalton.
BAFTA AWARDS FOR "VERA DRAKE"
CONGRATULATIONS to our Chairman Mike Leigh on winning another award. This time the BAFTA AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR for his latest film "VERA DRAKE". Congratulations also go to his leading actress Imelda Staunton on winning Best Actress in a Leading Role for the same film.