BFI FUTURE FILM FESTIVAL 2025
Lada Kopytova
blueprint
FESTIVAL SCREENING
Thursday Shorts 20th Feb, 2025
FEB, 17, 2025
Cass and Ezra look back on their failed relationship, a reminiscence brought on by Cass’ tendency to write about her life and Ezra’s unwillingness to exist as a character in her stories.
Hi Lada, how does it feel to be at the BFI Future Film Festival with your short Blueprint?
It feels incredible! It was my second time applying to BFI Future and I’m still pinching myself to make sure it’s real.
Blueprint has already had an amazing festival run picking up several nominations and the Court Métrage Aspiring Filmmakers at Festival Courts d'un soir (2024). What has it meant to you to get this type of recognition for your short?
It has - and continues to be - extremely empowering. Blueprint was my first time working with actors and the film changed a lot from the original script in the edit, so I doubted that any festival would want to programme it. I’m extremely grateful for the warm reception it has had so far, it’s the best motivation to keep making more films.
How important are festivals like BFI Future Film Festival, in creating a platform for short films and filmmakers?
Festivals are truly magical places where cinephiles, filmmakers, and regular cinema-goers can merge, interact, and support new voices in cinema. Seeing screening rooms packed with people eager to watch shorts, especially at such iconic venues as BFI Southbank, really helps welcome some fresh faces into the industry and introduce people to some great stories!
Short films are a vital medium in the film industry, yet there are few opportunities for the public, outside of festivals, to see them. What more can be done to make short films more visible and accessible to the wider cinema audiences?
Showing short films before features in cinemas! And more grassroots community-driven film clubs and events!
Can you tell me a little bit about how Blueprint came about? What was the inspiration behind your screenplay short?
Starting film school and being constantly surrounded by stories, narratives, and ideas, I developed a growing desire to experience something real. This coupled up with always collecting ‘cinematic’ things that happened to me in the notes app on my phone resulted in Blueprint - a story about an aspiring screenwriter, torn between writing about her life and actually living it.
What were the biggest challenges you faced making Blueprint, and what was the message you wanted to convey with this film?
When my dad came to the first shooting day as an extra and I had to look like I knew what I was doing.. Or trying to find vegan whipped cream in Walworth market at 9pm, or begging a bus driver to let us on with a double mattress so we can get it to the studio. For a film about how we can all go a little bit insane for our art the production really had to look the part, you know!
When working on a short like this how much flexibility do you allow yourself and your cast with your script. Is there much flexibility with the text once you start shooting or do you prefer to stick to what you’ve written?
I always do rewrites after the table read and rehearsals, but on set I prefer to stick to what’s on paper.
What was the most valuable lesson you discovered about yourself as a filmmaker during the making of Blueprint?
That if I really want something - I will do everything in my power to get it. We had a location fall through mid-shoot and I had about 12 hours to find a cafe in London that would let us shoot there for free. That scene got cut out later anyway, but it was great experience for my own character development!
Have you always had a passion for filmmaking?
I’m going to be honest, most of the time I spent looking at a cinema screen as a kid was because temperatures in Kyiv can drop to -15º in the winter and cinemas are extremely well heated through. But I always liked to communicate my ideas visually and could talk for hours and hours, making up stories of just about anything.
What would you say have been the biggest changes to your filmmaking style since your debut short?
I definitely shoot more coverage now! But on a real note, I always try and remember how I felt during the making of my debut short on every project since. I feel like that was the purest form of me as a filmmaker, unaffected by references, expectations, and comparisons.
You’re part of the Ukrainian women art collective TRiYKA, how much does your artistic background inform your filmmaking approach?
I work a lot with found footage/materials and personal archives when making works for TRiYKA, and I think that idea of borrowing from life or re-interpreting and collaging reality is something that I love to interweave into my films.
Moving forward, what themes and subjects are you looking to explore with future films?
I am currently working on a new short, which explores displacement from a perspective of an elderly Ukrainian refugee. Moving forward, I want to use film as a platform to champion Ukrainian voices and make sure that the violence inflicted by Russia onto my homeland doesn’t disappear into the media void.
"In this industry very few will guide you by the hand and you need to become your own biggest fan."
Who are some of the filmmakers that have inspired you?
I have always loved bold, daring filmmakers, who aren’t afraid to be different. To me those are (but not limited to) Chantal Akerman, Derek Jarman, Harmony Korine, and contemporary Ukrainian documentarists like Oksana Karpovych.
Is there any advice you wish you had been given when you started your filmmaking journey?
Film school is not going to make you a filmmaker. You, and the amount of hours you choose to put in - will. In this industry very few will guide you by the hand and you need to become your own biggest fan.
And finally, what message would you want your audiences to take away from Blueprint?
Films and scripts are not worth destroying your personal relationships for! Get out into the real world and the right idea will find you at the right time.