Private Project

Honours In Attendance

Set within London's neighbourhoods, Honours In Attendance shines a light on the unconventional lives of two live-at-home students, Sean & Raymond. Whilst Raymond happily shuns campus life, Sean haplessly tries to integrate. Following their first lecture, the two students invoke a friendship that transcends a mutual disdain for their tutors and peers. Their camaraderie offers solace in an environment charged by isolation, apathy, identity crises and looming deadlines

  • Shyam Doonga
    Director
  • Shyam Doonga
    Writer
  • Ishmael Norris
    Producer
  • Shyam Doonga
    Producer
  • Richard Ganly
    Key Cast
    "Sean Feltstrom"
  • Ishmael Norris
    Key Cast
    "Raymond"
  • Daniel Emam
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
  • Natalia Douglas
    Key Cast
    "Angela"
  • Melissa Jean Woodside
    Key Cast
  • Shyam Doonga
    Director Of Photography
  • Shyam Doonga
    Editor
  • Zac Calvert
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, coming of age, dark comedy
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 21 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 31, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Super 16mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • London International Motion Picture Awards (L.I.M.P.A) 2019
    London
    United Kingdom
    May 31, 2019
    No
    Semi-Finalist (Best Narrative / Fiction UK Feature Film)
  • Brighton Rocks Film Festival 2018
    Brighton
    United Kingdom
    April 30, 2018
    No
    Honourable Mention
  • London Independent Film Awards 2018
    London
    United Kingdom
    February 28, 2018
    No
    Winner Best Student Film
Director Biography - Shyam Doonga

Born and raised in South West London, I had no experience in filmmaking prior to this project, yet I had always had a desire to make films in order to tell unique stories. During production, I was lucky to be able to work with actors who were students and who also found the film's subject matter more relatable than I had anticipated! Plus, we all had the same experience - not much! - so it was the perfect project for all of us to learn and grow together. Prior to making this film and like its central characters, I was also studying at a London university, but decided that during the summer months off I would try to realise my ambition of making my first feature whilst also living the university experience.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I wanted to make a film about the increasingly common, detached student experience of living at home and off campus, as opposed to the “best years of your life” hedonism, that is often associated with university life and living on campus. Whilst at college, I personally saw many students struggle and leave their courses within the first few months because of the alienation they felt at university. Many had responsibilities to families, jobs and roles other than to their degree and to campus life, which was a balance they found difficult to reconcile. As a fan of college movies, particularly from the 1980s, this alternative college story was one that I was motivated to tell.

I decided early in the writing stage that Honours In Attendance would be a dark, comedy-drama with two main characters, Sean and Raymond. Sean’s character would represent a more realistic experience, whereas Raymond’s world would veer into the surreal. I aimed to present a back and forth comparison between these characters to show that whilst Sean haplessly struggles to adapt to college life, Raymond remains resolute in his routine, thereby highlighting the way that each character deals with similar circumstances. Furthermore, I believed that the subject matter would be suited to a narrative with sparse dialogue, which would capture the sense of isolation and apathy these characters felt. Nonetheless, I also knew that this stylistic choice was going to be a challenge, particularly for showing character development and conveying thoroughly the themes and mood that I wanted to express. With this vision in mind, I chose to use Super 16mm film for its grainy, gritty, textured cinematic look, which paired well with long takes and static camera work, and which helped to create a layer of introspection that was key to the characters’ psyches and to tone of the story.

Honours In Attendance is a story is that I believe students everywhere can resonate with and I wanted to give a voice to those students who are often overlooked and forgotten by the campus majority.