Directors Notes is delighted to present the inaugural edition of the WeAreDn Awards, a celebration of the best films from DN’s 2023 official submissions. Taking place from 6:30pm on the 25th of April at Whirled Cinema London, the DN team have selected 22 films over 8 categories – Drama, Comedy, Music, Documentary, Animation, Buckle Up, British & Student – for our industry jury members to vote on. We welcome all nominees, cast, crew, friends and film lovers to join us as we screen the winning films and present the WeAreDn Awards followed by celebratory networking drinks.
Our Jury
Ella Glendining is a BAFTA-nominated writer and director. Is There Anybody Out There? premiered at Sundance 2023, and has won the Silver Horn for the director of a film on social issues at Krakow Film Festival 2023, the prestigious FIPRESCI International Film Critics Prize, and the Bring the Change award at Biografilm Festival 2023. In 2024 Ella was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer and two 2023 BIFA nominations, Best Debut Director – Documentary Feature, and The Raindance Maverick Award. Ella was one of three recipients of the BFI and Chanel Filmmaker Awards 2023, celebrating ‘creative audacity’, and was named a BAFTA Breakthrough 2023.
Adrian Barber is the festival director of Bolton Film Festival and occasionally a filmmaker and photographer whose practice is centred on long term social documentary. He first began hosting screening events with ‘Sunset Cinema’ which toured the world out of a backpack, sharing indie films with travellers on makeshift pop up screens on beaches, mountain tops and even on a barge on the Ganges. These events were the training ground and genesis of Bolton Film Festival, a festival that is now a BIFA and BAFTA qualifying short film festival.
Giuseppe Garau was born on the Mediterranean island of Sardegna, at 18 he moved to Torino where he started as an editor, and in 2013 he started to direct documentaries. In 2016 he directed his first short film Sette Pizze (Seven Pizzas) which was selected by Directors Notes. His debut narrative feature film is called L’Incidente (The Accident) and won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance 2024.
Our Categories
Music Video
Doolally by Hugh Mulhern
Leaning Into your Palms by David Findlay
The Sister Of by Kyryl Volovych
Two Doors by Turkina Faso
Drama
A Dark Moment of Faith by Zornitsa Dimitrova
Fly-Tipping by Gareth Malone
Immaculate Deception by Emily Lucienne
Outdoors by John Mark Fitzpatrick
Scotty’s Vag by Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz
Comedy
Bleep by Ben S. Hyland
Death & Ramen by Tiger Ji
I Don’t Need To Know by Erin Murray
Norma by Emily Munster
Documentary
Look for the Diamonds by James Slater
Naked Woman by Ross Casswell
TITS: A Voyage Into Objectification by Will & Carly
British
Fly-Tipping by Gareth Malone
Immaculate Deception by Emily Lucienne
Outdoors by John Mark Fitzpatrick
Baby Boy by Greg Hall
Soggy Biscuit by Emma Jesse
Bleep by Ben S. Hyland
Norma by Emily Munster
Silvering by Eilidh Nicoll
Look for the Diamonds by James Slater
Naked Woman by Ross Casswell
TITS: A Voyage Into Objectification by Will & Carly
Doolally by Hugh Mulhern
Two Doors by Turkina Faso
