Thought Provoking NFTS Documentary 'Happy' Wins 2023 Student BAFTA

Last month the 2023 Yugo BAFTA Student Awards were held in Los Angeles and Happy took home one of the coveted golden masks. This thought provoking documentary made at the National Film and Television School by graduate Laura Rindlisbacher introduces viewers to Happy, the Asian elephant who inspired the biggest animal rights case of the 21st century.

To find out more about what goes into a Student BAFTA winning film, we reached out to Laura to discover her motive to share this unique story, learn about her time at the NFTS and how it felt to receive this incredible award.

How did you decide on Happy as the subject of your documentary?

I was researching for my graduation project, which involved a lot of reading, and one morning I saw a headline in the New Yorker saying “Can An Elephant Be A Person?” At that time I had no idea about the difference between personhood in the legal sense and personhood as we understand it, and I was really intrigued. As I read more into the topic, I realised how philosophical and far-reaching the questions behind Happy’s case were.

I like to open a platform for debate with my films and this case challenged my own way of thinking a lot, so I thought this would be the case for other people. It wasn’t about an elephant in the courtroom. Rather, her case represented the place of all living beings and the natural world in a legal system that was primarily written only for us humans. Of course, there is no easy answer to this question but in this day and age of climate change, it’s time we start thinking about it.

What was the biggest challenge you faced?

The biggest challenge when there was a point where we had to think about an entirely different scenario and we were almost about to shoot a completely different film. We were working with a lot of high-profile lawyers that were in very high demand. Due to time constraints filming the actual court case we weren’t the only ones trying to cover the story so we were shooting next to the likes of Netflix and Vice!

There was only very little time to put the shoot together and until about two days before flying to America, we actually didn’t know if we were going to be able to go! But the amazing NFTS Head of Documentary Peter Dale, Production Department led by Bex Hopkins, and my wonderful team of Production Managers, Mathilda Weaver and Emily Morgan, really worked miracles and made it all come together in the end.

What was your favourite part of the process?

My favourite part was definitely the shoot. I just loved being out there with my Director of Photography, Silvan Giger, who is an absolute wizard on the camera. Together we made a very small team doing everything by ourselves. It was a little bit scary when we arrived in front of the court and were shooting next to several big crews, sometimes consisting of 10 or more people! But we had a lot of fun during the process.

Why did you choose to study at the NFTS?

I did the Summer Docs course with my wonderful mentors at the time, Eleanor Mortimer and Dick Fontaine. I hadn’t done a film before in my life and we were really thrown into the deep end. But the learning that I took from it was massive!

After the screening of our films, I just knew that I wanted to become a documentary filmmaker. The National Film and Television School's Directing Documentary MA gave me the opportunity to explore and experiment, while being under the amazing guidance of Peter Dale (former head of department who spent six years at the NFTS). His advice just always hit the nail on the head. I think he has some kind of special superpower because he doesn’t say much but if he does, he just gets it right all the time. They call him the ‘Godfather of Documentary’ for a very good reason and I am very grateful that I got to be one of his protégés.

What advice would you give to something thinking of doing the same?

I would say to anyone who is studying this course: make the most of it and be vulnerable! I think this is what I really explored with each of my projects: trying something new that I hadn’t done before  – and that can be scary!

Be ok with not being good because only if you have the courage to do so, you can learn the most! Also, I had the best group and we relied on each other so much. I would really advise everyone to make the most of the amazing people that surround you while at the school and to work together!

The facilities there are also quite amazing. I didn’t see it so clearly at the time but looking back, I think this is what makes it so special.

What did it mean to you to win a BAFTA Student Award?

I really was convinced that we wouldn’t win. There were so many amazing filmmakers that were shortlisted - I was so surprised that we even got that far! For me, making a film is kind of giving a piece of your soul to it every time. A lot of energy and heart goes into each project and it’s so personal and vulnerable. Winning the BAFTA just meant so much because it’s honouring the work that all of us in this amazing team have put in but also, it means that Happy’s story is being heard which is so important to me. I think I am still in shock that we won!

What’s next for you?

I’m about to fly to Australia for my next project! I’m very excited to be out filming again.

To find out more about the course visit: nfts.co.uk/directing-documentary

Get a behind the scenes look at game Eros Xavier’s Love Solutions, another NFTS production that took home a Student BAFTA this year! bit.ly/3Yyhfv8

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If you would like to get in touch with any NFTS alumni who worked behind the scenes on this award-winning game please contact alumni@nfts.co.uk.