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 eight films screened at the Fiction Graduate Showcase, including interviews with the cinematographers, stills and shots taken during filming for each incredible production.
Here, Carolina Lobo Nunes explains how she crafted a climate change-induced dystopian drama in Cloud 99.
Please can you share an overview of your film?
Cloud 99 is a dystopian drama set in a world shaped by climate disasters, where survival depends on access to gated communities where the weather is controlled and sunlight is taxed. The film follows Ava, Cassian and their daughter Ebba as they move into one of these zones looking for stability. As Ebba prepares for a school sunflower-growing competition, Cassian risks everything to give her a sense of hope, quietly pushing back against the system. At its core, the film is about the emotional cost of survival and the impossible choices a parent makes when trying to protect their child.
What were your initial discussions about the visual approach for the film? What look and mood were you trying to achieve?
After my first conversations with the director, Leila Murton Poole, we both knew we wanted an organic look within a controlled environment. It was clear from the start that a glossy sci-fi aesthetic was not what this story needed, nor is it part of Leila’s visual language. We felt that celluloid was the right medium for the film. In a world defined by perfection and control, we wanted to embrace the imperfections of how celluloid captures light, allowing the image to feel more organic and human.
The film also features short ads that explain how the world functions, and for those we wanted a distinct look — more artificial, with a heightened, editorial quality. To achieve this, we decided to shoot the ads digitally, mixing celluloid and digital formats within the same film. Visually, we chose to shoot 2-perf on Kodak 35mm film stock and stay in 2:39 aspect ratio for the real world and 4:5 digital for the adverts, so that each world has a clear and distinctly different visual identity, helping the audience immediately understand which part of the narrative they are in.
Colour was something we discussed very early on as well. Bold, expressive colours were always going to sit in contrast to the world the characters live in, helping to create a strong visual juxtaposition. On top of that, we had extensive conversations about the visual effects: what needed to be practical, what could be achieved in-camera, and what would ultimately be handled in post.
What were your creative references and inspirations? Which films, still photography or paintings were you influenced by?
The entire idea for Cloud 99 began with People in the Sun by Edward Hopper. Leila first shared the painting with me as the original inspiration for the film. What she responded to was a world of stillness and quiet beauty that seems to carry something darker just beneath the surface. That personal response became the foundation for our visual language. I knew Leila wanted to create a world that held the same contradiction – serene yet unsettling, oppressive yet intimate, controlled yet still alive.
Leila’s worlds also tend to be very colourful, often almost the opposite of what the story is actually saying, bringing a sense of visual sarcasm into the work. She showed me how much she loved the blue skies in Asteroid City, which became a strong visual reference for us. After some tests, we were able to achieve a similar feeling by exposing for the sky.
We looked at a wide variety of films and many of them were very different from each other, but we were able to take inspiration from specific elements rather than whole looks. Paris, Texas became a reference for the richness and depth of colour, while Jackie was something we returned to often for the way the pink colour helps the character stand out, even within quite muted or dull environments. From a lighting perspective, it was important to me that when it was meant to feel hot, it actually felt hot. Films like Call Me by Your Name became strong references in that sense, as they capture very bright, sun-heavy worlds and the intensity that comes with hard light, while still feeling natural.
What filming locations were used? Were any sets constructed? Did any of the locations present any challenges?
We shot in a real house location, which served as the main family home. In the back garden, we constructed two identical gardens side by side to support the idea that we were in a community where all the houses looked the same.
The location itself, and the lack of control that came with it, was probably our biggest challenge. In a film where lighting is a character, and where cloudy and sunny looks effectively drive the narrative, working in a real location and relying heavily on natural light and weather made the shoot particularly demanding.
We worked with a fully flexible schedule, deciding each day what we would shoot the following day based on the weather forecast. On sunny days, we had to prioritise exterior scenes set in the sun; when the weather turned, we shifted indoors. On top of that, we had fixed days with specific actors, special effects involving rain, a child actor, and moving blue screens around for each exterior scene.
We also only had direct sunlight hitting the gardens from roughly 10:30am to 4:30pm. There were moments when I was literally filming within the smallest patch of available light. Being in the UK added another layer of complexity. As we know, clouds come in and out constantly, even on sunny days, which often meant pausing takes and waiting for the light to return.
To add further pressure to the schedule, we only had access to the location from around 8am to 7pm, which meant all night scenes had to be shot day-for-night. We were shooting in summer, with sunset happening around 9pm, so this became another technical and logistical challenge tied directly to the location. Myself, Leila and our 1st AD Penelope Zouganeli ended up bonding every evening after the shoot, coming up with the schedule and praying to the weather gods. It felt like playing Tetris every night, trying to find the best way to structure the days while keeping enough flexibility to make the most of the shoot.
All of these factors made the location the most challenging aspect of the production. A studio environment with full control would have made things easier for every department, but it would have fundamentally changed both the way the film was made and the way it looks.
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 Arricam LT was our main camera, and for lenses and accessories the production was supported by One Stop. We did a few lens tests, both digitally and on film, and Amelia at One Stop was kind enough to let us try a range of lenses during that process. We eventually landed on the ARRI Master Primes as our main set.
We also used a couple of additional lenses for very specific moments in the film, such as the 8mm Nikkor fisheye prime and the ARRI Alura 45–250mm zoom. For the digital shots, we used an Alexa Mini paired with the same lenses, which helped maintain consistency across formats.
Kodak generously supported us with both 200T and 500T stock, and I decided to shoot uncorrected tungsten for all the daylight scenes, both interior and exterior. I tested both tungsten and daylight stock, but in the end daylight stock felt more contrasty, and we both preferred a softer, less contrasty look for this project. I also liked the natural coolness of the uncorrected tungsten stock, which we could really lean into for the cloudy scenes, while still being able to warm up the sunny scenes in the grade. All of the night scenes were shot day-for-night, and I felt that the uncorrected tungsten stock helped with that as well.
What role did camera movement, composition and framing, and colour play in the visual storytelling?
Leila has a very strong directorial style when it comes to the visual approach, and my main intention was to bring her vision through as clearly as possible.
We leaned heavily into static shots. Our characters don’t move much within the space, and they are often placed in ways that feel slightly artificial. Because of that, movement didn’t feel motivated and it felt unnecessary, which was something we wanted to avoid. When we did use movement, it was constrained and very specific, mainly through tracking shots. We also used zoom very sparingly, only to emphasise two moments that are metaphorically connected and intentionally uncomfortable.
Composition always needed to feel intentional. We often kept things symmetrical where possible, with clean lines and precise framing. That not only helped create a dystopian or futuristic feeling, but also reinforced the idea of an artificial world, which was something we were consciously aiming for. Another stylistic choice was having the character’s eyeline almost directly to camera. This helped make the world feel more staged and artificial. We also avoided over-the-shoulder shots, which tend to feel more intimate, instead favouring one-shots. Removing that familiar visual language created a more detached, observational feel. All of these decisions came from Leila’s vision as a director, and they felt deliberate and in sync with the world we were trying to create.
When it came to colour, we wanted the world to feel colourful. As mentioned, Leila’s films often use colour in a way that almost contradicts the message, bringing a sense of irony or sarcasm into the visual language. Shooting on 35mm celluloid gave us a very organic colour reproduction which we knew would be important for this film. The characters’ wardrobe followed a very specific palette while the world around them was intentionally colourless. For example, the interior of the house was mostly white and grey, with most of the colour coming from the wardrobe.
What was your approach to lighting the film? Which was the most difficult scene to light?
Lighting is a character in Cloud 99 — literally. The entire world is defined by access to sunlight, which also dictates whether or not electricity is available.
I generally like to keep things simple from a lighting perspective, finding ways to achieve the desired look with fewer lights. I naturally lean toward minimalist setups that feel naturalistic, but for this project we had to be prepared for larger, more complex setups, even while trying to use as much sunlight as possible.
Most of the film is set during the day, so although I love shaping and working with natural light, we needed a backup plan in case the weather wasn’t on our side. We used M90 lights for our sunny scenes and a generator to support that level of lighting, generously supplied by Glo Lighting. For the other scenes we used mostly LED lighting.
When it was sunny, I wanted it to feel truly hot – like being in a very warm country. I avoided softening the sunlight too much and embraced its imperfections to give the scenes heat and intensity. Normally I’d avoid shooting in the harsh sun, but here it became an element of the story. Shooting on celluloid helped immensely, allowing us to hold highlights beautifully and embrace the texture of the light.
For the cloudy look, we generally used full silk diffusion, sometimes combined with full blackout depending on light levels. On a few occasions, we leveraged natural shade from buildings, carefully scheduling around the sun’s path. Working with available light requires both planning and speed, and as a team we managed that efficiently. One of the biggest challenges was creating shade with 20×20 and 12×12 silks while the sun was constantly moving. My gaffer, Shaun Waldie, was fantastic – working at incredible speed and efficiency, even with a small team and a tight schedule.
There’s a scene where the characters fight over activating the cloud that covers the house, with light shifting from cloudy to sunny continuously. We shot it with an 8mm wide-angle lens in a room with low ceilings, and the windows we used for lighting cues were right behind the characters. The main challenge was placing the lights so they motivated the space without creeping into frame, while also executing rapid, manual lighting transitions and balancing the existing ambient light. For this sequence, we had a M90 through each window, with two sparks physically passing frames fitted with diffusion and CTB to simulate clouds moving across the sun. Inside the room, we also dropped the fill light on cue to heighten the shift in atmosphere.
The house itself added another layer of difficulty. The angles were limited because we couldn’t reveal the full layout as it needed to preserve the idea of identical houses within this neighbourhood. So, for example, we couldn’t show windows on all sides as the houses share walls so we would only have windows at the front and the back. Lighting an all-white house is notoriously tricky, especially controlling falloff, so even “simple” setups become larger when combined with tenting and creating negative fill. In the end, we embraced these factors which complemented the story.
Another challenge was that most of our night scenes had to be shot during the day (day for night) due to location scheduling. By that, I mean we were genuinely lighting for 5600K, with the set appearing fully daylight-balanced. I knew, however, that in the grade we could transform the look entirely, as long as we maintained consistent colour temperature and controlled exposure on set. This constraint pushed us toward a specific visual style, but ultimately it became complementary to the world we were creating.
Overall, there were many lighting transitions and technical challenges, but my goal was always to maintain a naturalistic look, particularly so that interiors would blend seamlessly with the exteriors.
When we got to the virtual production studio day, it did feel like a breeze. We still had a lot of setups to get through but we were suddenly under a controlled environment. From a lighting perspective I think it can always be an interesting process to light scenes for a VP wall. For this we used mostly LED nanlite with the exception of some movers which we rigged in specific places for lighting cues.
What were you trying to achieve in the grade?
From the outset, we wanted a clearly distinctive visual language between the cloudy environments and the sunnier world. It was important that the audience immediately recognised these as two separate realities. While much of that separation was achieved through lighting on set, the grade became an additional storytelling tool.
Interestingly, one of our early references from Leila was The Wizard of Oz. Particularly the idea of a heightened reality and the exaggerated contrast between the two worlds. We knew we didn’t want to push it that far but it became a starting point in defining how heightened the reality of Cloud 99 should feel. Later on, during the grade, Die My Love was released and unexpectedly became a strong reference. Through that, we discovered how expressive blue tint could be. We leaned into those cooler blue tones for the cloudy world of Cloud 99, but we also carried subtle blue into the highlights of the sunnier scenes. That choice helped maintain visual cohesion across the film, ensuring that even moments of warmth still felt connected to the emotional atmosphere of the world.
In a way, I think we kept being influenced by an Ektachrome like look, with its saturated colours and a look that doesn’t feel quite like reality.
A major priority in the grade was ensuring the visual effects felt fully integrated into the world. We worked through a large number of VFX shots, and making the plates sit seamlessly within the photographed reality was arguably the most challenging part of the entire process.
For the digital world, we wanted the advertisements to feel colourful but restrained, leaning towards a pastel palette and letting most of the saturation live in the production design. Our primary reference was Barbie, and that influence naturally carried through into the grade.
Which elements of the film were most challenging to shoot and how did you overcome those obstacles?
When I first read the script, I knew it was going to be challenging throughout, it was one of those ideas where you immediately grasp the scale. There were scenes moving from cloudy to sunny, clouds passing directly over people, characters walking from sun into cloud, and clouds drifting over houses. Right away, you know this isn’t going to be easy to bring to life on a budget, so a big part of the challenge was finding a balance between what we could realistically show and what the story demanded.
We were telling a story that depends on full control of sunlight, yet we were filming in a country not exactly known for reliable weather. For many of the garden shots, we also had 12×12 blue screen frames moving around behind the characters, which added another layer of complexity, especially when combined with special effects like rain.
However, I feel like most of the challenges were overcome by staying present and focusing on solutions as a team. That said, a lot of it also came down to planning, anticipating the unpredictability of natural light, and building in as much flexibility as possible so we could make the most of each day.
What was your proudest moment throughout the production process or which scene/shot are you most proud of?
This was an extremely ambitious project, and I think the fact that we achieved what we set out to do, despite all the constraints, is something the whole team should be proud of.
We also had a huge number of scenes which naturally led to a big number of setups, so I’m really proud of all of us for completing around 200 setups under a lot of pressure. I’m also happy that the whole process was enjoyable, and the collaboration was incredibly fun. I’m grateful too for the guidance of my tutors, Oliver Stapleton BSC and Stuart Harris BSC, and our course coordinator, Duncan Bruce.
What lessons did you learn from this production that you will take with you onto future productions?
Any opportunity to shoot on celluloid is a happy day for me, and this project really helped build my confidence. Shooting on film alongside heavy VFX work, while also dealing with constant lighting transitions and maintaining consistency using mostly natural light, was a great experience.
I’m also incredibly grateful for the collaboration with the visual effects team. Bingqing Li, Cloud 99 VFX supervisor, did a fantastic job. We had around 50 visual effects shots in the film, and many of them are completely seamless. The collaboration between cinematography, visual effects, and colour became an interesting process, and it’s something I’ve learned a great deal from.
