Celebrating 25 years of Somerset House, this programme of shorts honours the connections, creativity, and resilience that define community.
Our first instalment, FRIENDS, FAMILY, CHOSEN, personifies kinship in all its shapes. The family we’re born to and the family we build. From church pews to skate parks, classroom crits to open water, these films chart the pull between duty and desire. Joy and grief share the frame as identity sharpens into focus. A tribute to bonds forged, tested, and remade.
Grab comp tickets while they last and join us for networking drinks from 12.00pm + special Q&A with the filmmakers after.
Please arrive 10 mins ahead of the screening to secure your space as tickets will be reallocated on the day for no-shows.
Screening Room: Embankment Entrance.
IT'S A FAMILY THING - DIR: LEA ANDERSON // An intimate look into an African American family, uncovering the story of a long-lost brother and exploring the transformative power of family and belonging.
SO LONG, FAREWELL - WRI/DIR: REHAN MUDANNAYAKE // A British-Sri Lankan man is forced to choose between pursuing his dream job abroad, and taking care of his elderly grandmother who raised him.
SPERM DONORS WANTED! - DIR: LOGAN REA // Sperm Donors Wanted! follows a transgender performance artist as he interviews hundreds of potential sperm donors live on stage in a quest to find the 'perfect' connection, one that will enable him and his partner to start their family.
BURY THE DOGS - WRI/DIR: BETH ROWLAND // A coming of age drama about the vulnerability of masculinity, the cracks that form in childhood friendships, and the frailty of father figures.
SKATE LIKE A LASS - DIR: JULIET KLOTTRUP // Skate Like A Lass documents grassroots skate communities in Northern England, creating space in skateboarding for female, marginalised and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
BREAKS - DIR/PROD: CHRISTINA YIANNI // A deeply personal documentary that follows Team England parasurfer and Paralympian, Hannah Dines, who lives with cerebral palsy and PSC, from the shores of Wales to California to compete in the World Championships.
AMALI - DIR: RUBY HARRIS // Amali is an honest glimpse into a 13 year olds world as she speaks to her fears and dreams through a summer roadtrip in rural Aotearoa (New Zealand).
CRIT - WRI/DIR/PROD: ISABEL LEA // A disillusioned student questions the value of her art education, while she struggles to find the meaning and motivation in making.
GOD IS GREY - DIR: JENNIFER DRAKE // Chris, raised by two mothers in a Christian household, returns home after the death of one. Desperate to honour her memory, he jeopardises his relationship with the other.
Official programming for the Somerset House Step Inside Think Outside Weekender 2025.