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

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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Live Action, Sponsored

Jordon Scott Kennedy Reignites the Joy of Working Class Childhoods in His BBC Comedy Short ‘Rocket Fuel’

Jordon Scott Kennedy shares his frustration with typical social realist films and his desire to tell joyful working class stories which embrace a child's POV.

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Live Action, Premiere

Jack King Traverses the Moral Wilderness of Childhood Cruelty in His Unsettling Drama-Thriller ‘Predators’

From abandoned snakes to abandoned morals: Jack King discusses crafting a dark, child-led world of ethical ambiguity in his BFI-backed suburban short.

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Live Action, Premiere

Eva Blackwell-Rogelj’s ‘Watering Hole’ Scrutinises the Blurred Divide Between Female Empowerment and Exploitation

Eva Blackwell-Rogelj unpacks how she dove deep into the opaquely murky waters of female sexuality vs male objectification in her troublingly familiar short.

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Film Festival, Live Action

A Communication Breakdown Reveals the Simmering Toxicity of a Relationship in Vida Skerk’s Cannes Premiering ‘Ether’

From NFTS first year film to Cannes red carpet: Vida Skerk reflects on embracing subtlety over spectacle for her history making La Cinef selected short film.

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