Author

About the Author /

Obsessed with film, the internet and WordPress, Directors Notes is the place Rob gets to brings all his interests together and really geek out. When not writing for DN he can be found on Short of the Week or Vimeo.

Live Action

Nathan Xia Interrogates Hollywood Representation and Personal Ego in Satirical Short ‘Flavor of the Month’

What do you do when your values are at odds with your own ambitions? Nathan Xia turns that question into a squirming, darkly comic piece of self-scrutiny.

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Live Action

How Jasper Caverly’s ‘Pleasure’ Challenges Masculinity and Queerness Through Australia’s Eshay Subculture.

Frustrated by insincere, offensive contemporary queer characterizations, Jasper Caverly crafts a visceral portrait of young men wrestling with vulnerability.

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Live Action

David Huang & Albie Smith-Chang on Blurring Reality and Fiction in iPhone Short Film ‘WE BUY GOLD’

David Huang & Albie Smith-Chang on how real locations, heavy improvisation and shooting on iPhone gave their short its authentic, unpredictable feel.

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babyface_sacha_beeley

Animation

How Being an “Extreme Daydreamer” Inspires the Work of Sacha Beeley and Her Short Film ‘Babyface’

With a spoon as its central character, we speak to animator Sacha Beeley about her love of oddball characters and her short film, Babyface.

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Animation, Documentary

Eoin Duffy’s ‘Christine Sinclair: Kind of a Big Deal’ Finds Inspiration in the Quiet Leadership of a Football Icon

Eoin Duffy returns to Directors Notes to discuss meeting the animated challenge of documenting the most prolific goal scorer in international soccer history.

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Animation

Exploring Survival Mechanisms and Resilience in Laurence Thérien’s Annecy-Winning Short Film ‘Ball Face’

Fresh from winning the Cristal for a Graduation Film at the 2026 Annecy Festival, Laurence Thérien joins us to discuss RCA short film 'Ball Face'.

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Animation, Film Festival

10 Short Films that Capture the Spirit of Cardiff Animation Festival 2026

Here are the 10 standout shorts from Cardiff Animation Festival - each one showcasing a distinct and exciting voice in animation.

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Animation, Premiere

Inside Mine! – How Louis Morton’s Short Film Explores Capitalism and its Environmental Impacts

Louis Morton on befriending rats underground, adapting a great-grandpa's tale and the hand-drawn process of unearthing a climate parable in his SXSW animation.

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Film Festival

SXSW 2026 Guide: 14 Emerging Filmmakers You Need to Know

With the SXSW Film Festival here again Directors Notes took a deep dive into this year's line-up and selected 14-filmmakers with bright futures ahead of them.

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Article, Live Action

How the BBC Enabled New Voices to Take Creative Risks with Their Long Story Short Initiative

Jess Loveland, Head of New Writing at BBC Writers, and filmmakers Theo James Krekis & Annabel Vine join us to discuss the Long Story Short Initiative.

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forevergreen_short_film

Animation, Awards

How Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears Turned a “Love-Letter to Stop-Motion” into Oscar-Contender ‘Forevergreen’

Challenged by truth to materials, Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears developed a unique replacement animation system to give digital assets a physical weight.

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Animation, Awards

How “Lowering the Stakes” Led John Kelly to Strike Creative Gold with Oscar-Nominated Short ‘Retirement Plan’

John Kelly shares how a realisation he needed “to do more with less” guided him in creating the multi-award-winning animated short film 'Retirement Plan'.

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