Directors Notes // The Home of Independent Filmmaking

Abigail Wilson Revs up a Visceral Battle Against the Self in Adrenaline-Fuelled Action Short ‘Overdrive’

Abigail Wilson reveals how an apathy to mainstream depictions of menstruation fuelled her high-octane fight for bodily control allegorical short film.

Live Action, Premiere

Dexter Demme & Jack Depp Pit Pride Against Absurdity in Their Tense Couples’ Mexican Standoff Comedy ‘Tug of War’

Dexter Demme & Jack Depp unpack the seemingly absurd marital standoff in their comedy short where a beloved forgotten item exposes relationship fragility.

Article, Live Action

Andzej Gavriss Crafts a Hopeful Ode to Migration, Love and the Universal Concept of Home in ‘Foreign Root’

“I wanted to make a film as naive and honest as a child’s drawing.” Andzej Gavriss on stripping away cynicism to craft a refugee story replete with hope.

Animation

Wednesday Studio Encapsulate the Spirit of Synergised Creative Collaboration in Animated Visual Poem ‘Yin & Yang’

Iria López & Daniela Negrín Ochoa discuss the evolution of their animated visual love letter dedicated to an 11 year anniversary of fruitful collaboration.

Live Action, Premiere

Finegan Sampson Unlocks the Painful Beauty of Acting and Emotional Truth in ‘Teach Me How To Cry’

Finegan Sampson shares how a fascination with the transformation of trauma into performance coalesced into his drama about an actor's need to embrace grief.

Live Action, Premiere

tao/s Present a Raw Portrait of Family Turmoil Born of Mental Illness in Personal Short ‘Very Still, Very Quiet’

tao/s explain why the one-shot was the most authentic way to capture the emotional chaos of a family trying to cope with their mom's mental health disorder.

Live Action, Premiere

The Newman Brothers Expose the Exploitative Absurdity of the Gig Economy in Satirical Short ‘Amigo’

The Newman Brothers reveal how their rent-a-friend satire evolved from TV pilot to a sharp social commentary comedy about convenient, predatory tech platforms.

Live Action, Premiere

A Veteran’s Hallucinatory Homecoming Unfolds in Suad Gara’s Intimate Portrait of Invisible Battle Wounds ‘Qaragh’

Suad Gara opens up about embedding within a Lezgin community to craft her PTSD meditation short, blending ritual, memory and psychological fragmentation.

Live Action

Bailey Tom Bailey Blends Tension and Dark Humour in Revisionist Petticoat Duel Period Comedy ‘Satisfaction’

Bailey Tom Bailey walks DN through the witty showdown in his tale of an aristocratic duel fought between a society lady and her mentor over a trivial insult.