The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games.
The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen industries to see firsthand the work of NFTS’ graduating students and to meet the next generation of film, television and games makers that will be shaping the industry for years to come.
British Cinematographer takes you behind the scenes to explore the 10 films screened at the Fiction Graduate Showcase, including interviews with the cinematographers, stills and shots taken during filming for each incredible production.
Here, Catharina Scarpellini runs through her work on Every Time I See a Cock I Go Funny, which explores real LGBTQ+ history that’s often overlooked.
Please can you share an overview of your film?
Every Time I See A Cock I Go Funny is set in the ’50s and follows the story of Hob, whose sexual life is exposed and causes a scandal in his community. Hob and his lover Fish are forced to choose between the safety of silence or the consequences of the truth. At its core, the film looks at a moment when shame begins to creep into a proud community and change how people see themselves. The story is inspired by real LGBTQ+ history that’s often overlooked. We approached it with a lot of care and respect, doing careful research not just to be accurate, but to help bring back narratives that have so often been erased.
What were your initial discussions about the visual approach for the film? What look and mood were you trying to achieve?
From my first discussion with Lyndon Hanrahan (director), we both agreed that the film should be shot on celluloid. While the format naturally evokes the period, shooting on film was not only a stylistic decision but also a political one: reclaiming a visual language historically used to exclude certain stories. The queer, working-class men who inspired our characters were largely absent from the historical record, unfilmed, and therefore forgotten. By shooting on 35mm, we are inserting them into a visual archive that once erased them. We structured the film around three distinct visual modes. Coal Mine Review is shot on 16mm and converted to black and white, recreating the coal mine reviews of the time. The second mode, a grounded, naturalistic look, draws heavily from the early stages of colour photography and is shot on 35mm; this approach forms the visual backbone of the film. The final mode is the musical spectacle, which takes inspiration from musicals of the 1950s to 1970s and is more vivid, heightened, and stylised.
What were your creative references and inspirations? Which films, still photography or paintings were you influenced by?
For Coal Mining Reviews, our primary visual inspiration came from real coal mine films of the period. The main reference for our main look was the work of John Bulmer, particularly The North, and his pioneering use of colour film at the time. Bulmer’s photography, which captured working-class life in the industrial North of England during the 1960s and ’70s, closely matched the visual language we were envisioning for the film. Photographers such as Peter Mitchell, Joy Gregory and Colin Jones were also important sources of inspiration.
Cinematically, films like Matewan, Viet and Nam, and the short film Stratum Deep helped shape our approach. For the musical number, we drew heavily from classic Hollywood; films such as Singin’ in the Rain, Chicago and Cabaret but reinterpreted through a more stripped-down, theatrical lens Cabaret.
A significant part of our inspiration also came from on-the-ground research: visiting collieries and nearby towns, and speaking with local communities, many of whom are descendants of coal workers. These experiences deeply informed the authenticity and emotional grounding of the film.
What filming locations were used? Were any sets constructed? Did any of the locations present any challenges?
We filmed across five main locations, covering nine distinct spaces. At the NFTS, we built two sets, a coal mine and lift, shot the musical number on the NFTS Virtual Production Wall, and filmed the police office in the green room. Other areas around the school were used for the colliery corridor and 16mm Coal Mining Review shots. At the Children’s Open Air Museum, we filmed the house interior and exterior. Additional filming took place at the Whiteleaf Hill viewpoint and the showers at Richmond Athletic Grounds. We also had a second unit traveling north to capture colliery exteriors.
Each location presented its own challenges. With the set builds, the main concern was believability, particularly the coal mine, where we had to balance the darkness of the space with the need to clearly see the characters. While prep was demanding, shooting ultimately ran smoothly due to the level of control set builds allow. By contrast, working in a small house without a pre-light day, with a south-facing window and changing weather, proved more challenging on the actual day of shooting despite the easier prep.
Can you explain your choice of camera and lenses and what made them suitable for this production and the look you were trying to achieve?
The film was mainly shot on the Arricam LT with Master Primes. We needed a lighter camera that could be used handheld and on Steadicam, so the LT was the ideal choice. Additionally, because the head torches were quite powerful, I wanted to avoid flaring and keep the image as clean as possible making the Master Primes perfect for the job. Their sharpness also suited 2-perf 35mm very well.
For the Coal Mining Review, we used Bolex and Beaulieu 16mm cameras. This allowed us to recreate the look of films from that era while giving the visual language a distinct separation from the main part of the film. Shooting 16mm also offered more flexibility to capture these shots with a smaller crew. For film stock, on 35mm I chose 500T and 250D to achieve more texture. I found that 250D had more magenta and contrast than 50D, which helped evoke the early stages of colour photography I was aiming for. For 16mm, because many locations were uncontrolled and we often needed to shoot short clips, I used 500T. Since this footage was going to be converted to black-and-white, the stock provided the flexibility I needed.
What role did camera movement, composition and framing, and colour play in the visual storytelling?
The 2.35:1 aspect ratio, central to the soul of our framing, allowed us to fully immerse these stories in a heightened cinematic language, and gave the film a new dimension – it takes a step away from reality and help us somewhat be more connected to the musical number. Colour situates the audience firmly within the historical period and helps define the film’s three visual modes: reality, the mining review, and spectacle.
Camera movement is used sparingly and only when motivated. The second colliery scene is the only handheld sequence, reflecting Hob’s world being shaken after his sexual encounter becomes public and his lover and colleagues turn against him, giving it a distinct feel from the rest of the film. Movement is also used in the dream/imagination sequence, as Fish confronts the sexual scandal affecting his community and faces shame, helping the audience transition in and out of that moment. The musical number embraces movement as well, reinforcing the theatricality and spectacle of the scene and bringing the dynamic energy it deserves.
What was your approach to lighting the film? Which was the most difficult scene to light?
I wanted the lighting to feel grounded while still giving the film the dramatic weight it needed, evoking the time period but also leaving space for a musical number. Balancing realism and stylisation was key, and lighting helped tie those two approaches together. Working on a period-piece student film with two set builds meant limited resources, so I had to stay flexible, creative, and open to problem-solving to get the best result with what we had. For example, the head torches kindly provided by the National Coal Mining Museum used LED rather than period tungsten, so I corrected them with CTO and leaned into the strong beams they produced as a stylistic choice.
The coal mine wasn’t far, but I think the musical number was the most challenging. I worked mainly with moving lights typically used for concerts or TV, which I hadn’t used before. These fixtures were rigged overhead, couldn’t be repositioned, and had to be controlled entirely from the lighting desk, requiring careful planning and close coordination with the NFTS Virtual Production wall, with no time for prior testing due to its availability.
What were you trying to achieve in the grade?
For the bulk of the film, shot on 35mm, the look was already embedded in the footage, so our grading focused on finding the right balance in saturation, contrast and tones, making sure everything matched seamlessly, and keeping skin tones consistent across formats. Our main challenge was matching four formats – 35mm 2-perf, 16mm, Alexa Mini pick-ups, and stock footage – while maintaining a cohesive period look, especially for the mining review. A big shout-out to Seowoo Park, who worked tirelessly to help us land the final result.
Which elements of the film were most challenging to shoot and how did you overcome those obstacles?
The most challenging turned out to be the musical number. On the shoot day, we ran into major lighting technical issues throughout most of the morning: the lights stopped responding, froze in daylight while I was shooting on 500T tungsten film, and didn’t always move as expected. I had to rethink the lighting on the spot, adjusting the key light I could control, matching it to the overhead units using a colour meter, changing the colour temperature of the volume wall plate, and adapting the lighting cues and transitions I had originally planned.
Once lighting was finally up and running, camera and sound began having technical issues throughout the afternoon. That combination was disastrous, and we weren’t able to finish the musical number on the day we had planned. In the end, we had to cancel our final shooting day so we could return NFTS Virtual Production Wall at a later date to complete the musical number. Sometimes things go wrong and end up working in your favour – in this case, we really liked the colder look that emerged for shooting that scene with 5600K lights and decided to keep it and having the extra day to shoot the musical number was key to executing it the way it deserved.
What was your proudest moment throughout the production process or which scene/shot are you most proud of?
I think the lift scene is the one I’m most proud of. I had an epiphany while visiting a real coal mine for research – I actually had to step out of the lift and write the lighting plan for the scene on the spot. We had a spinning set background and a lot of lighting effects, so seeing the plan come to life on the day, working exactly as I had imagined, was incredibly rewarding.
What lessons did you learn from this production that you will take with you onto future productions?
I learned so much on this production that it’s hard to pin it all down. On the technical side, I gained experience lighting and metering for a wide variety of scenarios; blue hour, sunset, set builds, the volume wall, dark spaces, and shooting a white suit against a black background, among others.
I also learned what it takes to run a big team and manage a very tight budget for a highly ambitious film. Beyond the technical skills, I learned to trust myself and my instincts, to advocate for what I need, and to hold my ground when necessary. I also realised the importance of having a strong team I can rely on, they support me so I can do my job effectively. These lessons are ones I’ll carry with me into every future production.
