Directors Notes // The Home of Independent Filmmaking

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.

Live Action

A TV Star Reckons With Her True Sexual Identity in Alyssa Aldaz’s Dreamlike Short ‘Beverly Heights’

Dissecting heteronormativity and queer repression in the film industry, Alyssa Aldaz recounts how her liminal queer drama began with an evocative dream.

Live Action

“I Wanted to Create Life on Screen”: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade Dissects His Award-Winning Debut ‘Cactus Pears’

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade reveals how he crafted his Sundance and SXSW London winning debut - a tender, life-affirming portrait of grief and queer love.

Live Action, Premiere

A Pregnancy Scare Descends Into Cinematic Comedy Chaos in Chad Corhan’s Rapid-Fire Absurd Short ‘Gas Station Sushi’

Chad Corhan explains how intensive same-room writing sessions shaped his breakneck surreal comedy about social anxiety during an existential personal crisis.