Author

About the Author /

Sarah is a true multi-hyphenate within the film industry. Alongside her role as Associate Editor & Head of Outreach for Directors Notes, her extensive festival experience ranges from MC and juror duties to previously serving as Deputy Director of Brighton Rocks, where she helped steer its growth into a BIFA-qualifying event. Sarah also produces for Brighton film collective The Imaginary Project and contributes as a freelance writer for publications including 1.4 and Shots Magazine.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Live Action

Chi Thai Transforms Her Personal Refugee Trauma Into a Haunting Meditation on Survivor’s Guilt in ‘Lullaby’

Chi Thai explains why genre filmmaking was the only framework able to hold the horrific weight of her short depicting the trauma of a tragic refugee crossing.

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Live Action, Premiere

Max Kane Excavates the Unknowable Complexity of Love and Loss in Visceral Short ‘Ah-Ma Burns’

From static shots to controlled chaos, Max Kane breaks down how he used dynamic cinematography to mirror his protagonist's emotional psychological journey.

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Film Festival

Ten Essential Short Films to Watch From Tribeca’s 2025 Lineup

As the 24th edition of Tribeca draws to a close, DN shares a choice selection of 10 of our favourites from the festival's biggest ever showcase of short films.

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Live Action, Premiere

Gerardo Coello Escalante Transforms Childhood Status Symbols Into Devastating Class Commentary in ‘Business Trip’

Gerardo Coello Escalante dissects how he confronted cultural malinchismo through his story of a sneaker revelation that unravels a Mexican boy's worldview.

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Live Action

Daisy-May Hudson’s ‘Lollipop’ Is a Heartbreaking Portrait of Maternal Resilience and Devastating Systemic Failure

Daisy-May Hudson opens up about turning pain into power in her feature where a young woman struggles against a broken system to regain custody of her kids.

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Live Action, Premiere

Nat Gee Explores the Invisible Violence of Dismissed Female Pain in Her Atmospheric Psychological Thriller ‘Buried’

Nat Gee details shooting on 16mm & cutting 4 minutes from her edit to help audiences deeply connect with her maverick winemaker's psychological fragmentation.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Lovelorn Girl Vies for Her Boyfriend’s Attention in Ada Player & Bron Waugh’s Whimsical Comedy ‘Spare Part’

Ada Player & Bron Waugh explain how they adapted their stage monologue for film, found London's loneliest brutalist locations and crafted a loveable doormat.

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Documentary, Premiere

Lily Baldwin Challenges Cinematic Voyeurism Through Intimate Collaboration in Her Boundary-Pushing Doc ‘Ecstasie’

Lily Baldwin discusses fusing documentary and performance art to reinvent film conventions in this captivating experimental hybrid film.

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