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.

Animation

Natko Stipaničev’s ‘Arka’ Is an Unconventional Interpretation of Life Through the Strata of a Grand Cruise Ship

Natko Stipaničev talks to us about mimicking stop motion with 2D & 3D to create his bizarre animated world aboard a doomed transoceanic cruise ship.

Read more

Documentary, Premiere

James Slater’s ‘Look for the Diamonds’ Encourages Us Grab Life by the Horns No Matter the Circumstances

James Slater talks about the unconventional approach to documenting illness he employed for his documentary celebrating a uniquely positive outlook on life.

Read more

Documentary

Audrey Mascina’s ‘I AM THAT I AM’ Explores Sexuality as Expression and Empowerment Without Constraints

We speak to Audrey Mascina about her strong desire to challenge the limits of how sexuality in all its glory can be captured and presented by filmmakers.

Read more

Live Action

Jimmy Olsson Explores the Delicately Shifting Father-Daughter Bond in ‘Last Weekend With Jenny and John’

Jimmy Olsson speaks to us about drawing on his own fatherhood anxieties when constructing his drama about a maturing daughter pulling away for her father.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Seamus Murphy’s ‘Henry Needs a New Home’ Is a Farcical Tale of One Man’s Battle With a Metallic Antagonist

Filmmaker Seamus Murphy talks to DN about the painstaking production design which set the stage for his absurd comedy short starring Nicholas Hope.

Read more

Awards, Live Action

Cyrus Neshvad Depicts a Young Iranian Woman’s Desperate Battle for Freedom in Oscar Short ‘The Red Suitcase’

Cyrus Neshvad talked to us about the lack of dialogue in his heartbreaking drama following a young woman's desperate fight for freedom.

Read more

Awards, Live Action

A Woman’s Journey Home Takes a Series of Unexpected Turns in Eirik Tveiten’s Oscar Nominated ‘Night Ride’.

Eirik Tveiten discusses abruptly shifting gears from comical caper to an atmosphere of menacing threat in his short about standing up to bigoted prejudice.

Read more

Awards, Documentary

Joshua Seftel’s Oscar Nominated Short ‘Stranger at the Gate’ Documents the Most Inspiring of Redemption Arcs

Joshua Seftel reveals the interview techniques that encouraged reactions which paint a thousand words in his inspirational love over hate documentary short.

Read more

Awards, Live Action

A Young Girl Embarks on a Desperate Search for Answers in Anders Walter’s Heartbreaking Oscar Nominated Drama ‘Ivalu’

Anders Walter talks to DN about the challenges of directing in a different language for his heart-breaking Oscar short centred around sisterly love.

Read more

Live Action

A Mother and Daughter Struggle to Part Company in Emma Branderhorst’s Tender Short ‘Ma Mère et Moi’

Emma Branderhorst talks about drawing from personal experience for her short exploring the nuanced balance of love and annoyance between a mother and daughter.

Read more

Animation, Awards, Live Action

The Philosophical Musings of a One Eyed Shell Delight in Dean Fleischer Camp’s ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’

Director Dean Fleischer Camp joins DN for an in-depth interview about turning his viral YouTube shorts into a beloved Oscar-nominated feature animation.

Read more

Awards, Live Action

An Undersung Political Activist is Given Her Due in Alex Kayode-Kay’s BAFTA Nominated ‘The Ballad of Olive Morris’

Alex Kayode-Kay reveals how he pounded Brixton's pavements to fund his BAFTA nominated short exploring the life of a woefully overlooked Black activist.

Read more