PREMIERE: Molly Lipson’s ‘No Strings’ is released on Million Youth Media with UK Fully Focused

By Natalia Albin Legorreta

Short Stuff founder and Managing Editor Molly Lipson has released her debut short film No Strings on Million Youth Media, the short film streaming platform from UK Fully Focused. The film follows Milly, a climate activist, who’s been called in at the last minute for a live TV interview to represent her climate movement. When her sort-of-boyfriend shows her an article published that morning in which the movement’s leader has minimised the Holocaust, she’s forced to confront multiple hard truths at once. 

The film is not about antisemitism alone – it explores power, betrayal, gender, hierarchy, influencer culture, the climate movement and the way racism and power are misinterpreted and misrepresented for political gain. “In the context of this film, antisemitism was weaponised for a publicity stunt,” Lipson says. “We ended up making it not long after October 7th 2023, a time when antisemitism was starting to be widely weaponised for something much more chilling and violent: the Palestinian genocide, and the subsequent silencing of dissent and protest.” 

For writer-director Molly Lipson, this film was never intended to be a direct piece of activism. “I knew I both could not and should not attempt to convert this film into a statement about Palestine that I was not qualified to make, and to which I certainly couldn’t do justice in a nine-minute narrative short film,” she says. “However, I also couldn’t make a film about antisemitism and not acknowledge the reality of this weaponisation. It wasn’t possible to make No Strings without deep and thoughtful consideration, and it’s not possible to talk about it now without this same attention. It’s hard to articulate how deeply involved and personal this film is, and how inadequate it feels in this moment. I remain hopeful that, in its own small way, and at the very least, No Strings portrays a different perspective and offers some food for thought.”

The film stars Jessica Bedrossian as Milly and Joshua Akehurst as Sam in performances that are both comedic and layered. It also stars Beth Noble as the Assistant Producer and Rachel-Leah Hosker as the make-up artist. It’s produced by Benjamin Jacob Smith from RAW Inventive, and executive produced by Alex Lawther.

No Strings premiered at British Shorts Film Festival Berlin and has been selected for the BIFA-qualifying Worcester Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Screenplay, Ponza Film Festival, where it won Best Short, Cannes Indie Shorts, Tokyo International Shorts, and Femme Filmmakers, where it was in the competition selection. It was also a finalist at LEEDSFlix, a semi-finalist at Fine Line Festival, and a nominee for the Barcelona Indie Festival.

You can now watch the short below.