Directors Notes // The Home of Independent Filmmaking

The Seven Year Intergalactic Journey of Shahaf Ram and His Independent Animated Space Opera ‘Orange Story’

Shahaf Ram reflects on the seven years in the making solo journey of his animated DIY space opera — an intimate story of heartbreak told on a cosmic scale.

Live Action, Premiere

Jasper Martin Finds Comedy in the Sisyphean Horror of AI Customer Service in ‘Listen Then Repeat’

Jasper Martin maps out using live off-stage cueing and intentional dialogue mistakes to build tension in his satirical AI customer service nightmare.

Brief Somebodies - a short film by Andy Reid

Live Action

Andy Reid Calibrates the Cost of Making Something Honest in His Meta SXSW Short ‘Brief Somebodies’

Andy Reid confronts his own experience of sexual assault by staging a film rehearsal where two actors negotiate the ethical boundaries of depicting trauma.

Live Action

Anna Hopkins Cooks Up Connection After Closing Time in Restaurant Set Two-Hander ‘Dish Pit’

Eschewing restaurant chaos for stillness, Anna Hopkins’ short film finds drama in small gestures, shared meals and intimate conversations after closing.

Live Action

Natural Selection Comes to Homeroom as Kyle Sims Pits Teacher Against Student in His Wordless Thriller ‘Galapagos’

A snake that wouldn't strike, a craigslist rabbit and a wordless script — Kyle Sims takes us inside his unnerving tale of shifting classroom power dynamics.

Documentary, Premiere

Jacque Rabie Sets Aside Judgement to Find the Man Inside Japan’s Museum of Sex Dolls in ‘Hyodo’s Paradise’

Jacque Rabie discusses trust, intimacy and confronting his own relationship with sexuality while making a doc about the man behind Japan's museum of sex dolls.

Film Festival

10 Unforgettable Short Films DN Spotted at Sarajevo Film Festival 2026

A bold, strange and unforgettable selection lights up this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival, bringing fresh voices and unexpected stories to the screen.

Live Action

Two Sisters Fracture Under a Collapsing World in Leandros Braounos & Daniel Howells’ Afrikaans Short ‘Winter Slaap’

Guilt, grief and inherited expectation press down on two sisters in Leandros Braounos & Daniel Howells' wintry portrait of family disintegration.

Film Festival

Filmmakers of the Future: 10 Essential Shorts from the Locarno Film Festival

From war and political unrest to grief, tech and climate crisis, these 10 Locarno shorts showcase the radical, inventive voices shaping cinema's future.