A short film by AUB graduates Emilie Bouet Conran and Honor West has recently been named a finalist at the 2025 Student Academy Awards – better known as the Oscars.
Synergy was born from the co-directors’ mutual love of electronic dance music (EDM) and the choreographic potential of auditory multi-layering. What began as a collaborative personal project quickly expanded in scale – and has now gained international recognition since its release.
We sat down with both Emilie and Honor to find out more about the film and how it feels to be finalists at the 2025 Student Oscars.
Can you tell us more about Synergy, and what it’s about?
Honor: “Synergy explores identity and self-expression through the mediums of dance and fashion. We follow the journey of August, a gender-fluid person in their early twenties who uses EDM as a means of escape from a mundane, face-paced, urban environment.
Emilie: “Throughout the film they are internally transported to four distinct dimensions, which each reflecting a separate version of themselves. The distinct layers of the music are performed by the different iterations of August using a corresponding movement vocabulary. The amalgamation of the separate versions of themself, and the way they dance represents a synergy, an extended metaphor for the fluid and multi-faceted nature of human identity.”
What, and where, inspired the creation of your film?
Emilie: “I tell stories that represent and reflect on people’s internal worlds. I think choreography is one of the best ways (if not the only way) to truly depict what is experienced internally.
“Honor and I made this film alongside my second-year studies in dance. I felt eager to push the limits of my creative potential, and despite my limited experience in directing, approached Honor with an outline of my vision. Synergy is a translation to screen of my devotion to dance and EDM. Having played the protagonist in the film, alongside my co-directorial role, there is undeniably a piece of me in August, and of them in me.”
“Synergy is a translation to screen of my devotion to dance and EDM. Having played the protagonist in the film, alongside my co-directorial role, there is undeniably a piece of me in August, and of them in me.”
Honor: “Prior to making Synergy I had directed three projects but wanted to push myself further — to create without the constraints of a course outcome. I have an instinctive, almost synesthetic response to music; when I listen, I instantly visualise vivid, cinematic imagery. Translating that into polished, high-concept visuals that heighten a song’s emotional impact is something I’m deeply passionate about.
“I also strive to weave queer experiences subtly into my work – not as the focus, but as an authentic layer of storytelling that reflects the world as I see it and contributes to richer on-screen representation. When imagining the spaces August would escape to, I wanted each to reflect the multi-faceted nature of their identity, and to be inspiring environments where they could fully express themselves.”
“To contrast the grey urban reality, the four dimensions were loosely based on the natural elements, guiding our choices in location, styling, choreography, and soundtrack.”
When did you make Synergy, and can you talk us through how?
Honor: “We first talked about making Synergy in August 2023 (hence the name of our protagonist). Pre-production began in September with our crowdfunding campaign launching in December 2023. By February we had raised our total budget of £1,800, and filming began at the beginning of the Easter holidays in March 2024.
“There were complications throughout production which delayed the release of the film until August 2024. The script was adapted to the changes in choreography and the corresponding camera movement, with any amendments being communicated across all relevant departments.
Emilie: “We had the privilege of working with creative light artist Eiv Hansen who was responsible for the incredible laser design featured in our film. Our Director of Photography, Arnav Sharma, and Editor/Script Supervisor Shrijit Pillai (both 2025 graduates of BA (Hons) Film Production at AUB) did a phenomenal job translating our abstract narrative into something beautiful and cohesive.
“Our producer, Milly May Phillips, was the glue who held everything together, and ultimately made it all possible. Balancing the production of Synergy with uni deadlines and full-time jobs was a challenge for us all – we owe everything to our incredible crew, many of whom worked on this in their final year of university.
“We were able to create Synergy on such a small budget thanks to our access of AUB’s resources and equipment. Technicians and course leaders played a huge role in providing us with everything we needed – namely Jane White, Amy Cope, Scott Everleigh and Joseph Myles.”
What roles did you take on, and how did you decide them?
Honor: “Our artistic backgrounds are very different: Emilie is a ballet dancer turned contemporary dancer, and my competencies lie in commercial photography and creative direction. This made the process of delegating responsibilities very simple because there is limited overlap in our skillsets.
Emilie: “It was wonderful to experience the extent to which our strengths complement one another, and we believe that the success of Synergy can be attributed in part to the harmony within our professional relationship.”
What prompted you to submit for the Oscars, and how does it feels to be official finalists?
Honor: “I saw the entry was free on Film Freeway and decided to enter Synergy without any expectations. Out of 3,127 films, Synergy was chosen as one of the seven finalists for the Student Academy Awards.
Emilie: “I feel immense gratitude. It has proven to me that despite the current climate of the arts, there remains people and institutions that care about emerging artists and want to recognise creative effort and talent.
Honor: “I am in genuine shock – I never thought Synergy would go this far. Not because I don’t believe in the film, but because it always felt so out of reach, especially for a passion project that was simply meant to keep our creativity and collaboration alive after graduation.
“What began as a few friends making a fun video in our spare time has somehow snowballed in the best possible way. It’s amazing to see our story and our incredibly talented crew recognised by The Academy – a surreal and incredibly special moment for all of us.
Are you putting Synergy forward for any more awards?
Honor: “We are waiting to hear from a few festivals but as of July 2025, Synergy has been officially selected for 22 international film festivals and has won 9 awards!”
What have you both been up to since graduating?
Emilie: “Having graduated in July, I am still working on a plan for my next steps. I envision myself working in music video production and projects which involve dance, film and fashion.”
Honor: “I’ve worked as a social media manager and content creator for an international networking event and I’m now planning a move to London to start a new creative role in the advertising industry. I do want to acknowledge that it’s definitely a tough climate for creatives right now, and job-hunting post uni is not for the faint-hearted, but if you’re driven enough, there are fantastic opportunities out there still.”
Do you have any plans for the near future, or any projects you can share with us?
Emilie: “For my final major project, I directed a music video to the song Falling Together by Jamie xx and Oona Doherty. This project won the Director of Schools prize 2025 awarded by Jonathan Carr, director of Bournemouth Film School at AUB. I plan on finding a way of showing my film to Jamie xx and Oona Doherty with the aim of establishing industry affiliations and professional opportunities.”
Honor: “If – by some miracle – we win any prize money, we’ve promised ourselves we’ll use it to fund our next collaboration and keep the cycle going.”
What’s your advice for anyone starting out in their filmmaking career/study?
Emilie: “Who you work with has a huge impact on what you make. Choose your collaborators wisely, communicate, respect boundaries and hold on tight to your creative vision – it’s a precious thing.
“And to the students like me who are interested in exploring film with no prior experience or qualifications… you must go for it. Experiment with the form and don’t be afraid to go wrong. Take everything as an opportunity to learn.”
Honor: “Take every opportunity that excites you with open arms – and if you don’t see any, create your own. AUB’s facilities and cross-course opportunities make collaboration easier than ever, and personal projects are just as valuable as coursework.
“In my experience, the ‘mistakes’ and less successful projects have taught me far more than the ones that went well, so don’t be afraid to experiment. And above all, enjoy what you do. Passion fuels perseverance, and when you truly care about your work, you’ll naturally push yourself to create more and better projects — and there’s nothing more rewarding than that.”
Honor West graduated with a BA (Hons) Commercial Photography from AUB in 2023, while Emilie Bouet Conran graduated with a BA (Hons) Dance from AUB in 2025.
Watch 'Synergy'
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