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.

Awards, Live Action

Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh Weaponise Absurdism Against Authoritarianism in ‘Two People Exchanging Saliva’

Oscar-winning writer/directors Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh on building a Swiss-watch satire where a slap is currency and a kiss is a capital offence.

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Awards, Documentary

Joshua Seftel Finds the Weight of Absence in the Specific and Small in Oscar-Winning Doc ‘All the Empty Rooms’

Stripping back commentary and even dialogue, Joshua Seftel builds a documentary film about gun violence from silence and the objects children left behind.

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Awards, Live Action

Meyer Levinson-Blount’s Oscar-Nominated Short ‘Butcher’s Stain’ Asks Who Gets Blamed When Tragedy Strikes

With close-quarters craft, student director Meyer Levinson-Blount transforms collective trauma into an intimate portrait of one man's quiet fight for dignity.

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Awards, Live Action

Sam Davis Crafts an Ode to Vulnerability Via Men Who’d Never Dream of Showing It in Oscar-Winner ‘The Singers’

Through wholly unconventional casting, Sam Davis spotlights the unsung talents at the heart of his genre-bending short about men finally being heard, together.

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Awards, Documentary

Craig Renaud Mines 20 Years of War Journalism in Tribute to His Brother in ‘Armed Only With a Camera’

Craig Renaud discusses facing the impossible task of turning a tragedy into a cinematic tribute while wrestling with the ethical boundaries of showing death.

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Animation, Awards

J.P. Vine Unleashes Boundless Imagination for Kids and a Quiet Gut-Punch for Parents in BAFTA-Nominated ‘Cardboard’

With a considerate dual-audience approach J.P. Vine captivates with a story where kids see a space adventure & adults feel the weight of an overwhelmed father.

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Awards, Documentary

Georgie Wileman & Matt Houghton Transform Personal Pain with Radical Intimacy into BAFTA Doc ‘This Is Endometriosis’

Informed by her lived experience, Georgie Wileman joined forces with Matt Houghton to forge a new documentary language elucidating an invisible illness.

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Awards, Live Action

Julia Aks & Steve Pinder Turned Bloody Shame Into Period Parody in Oscar-Nominated ‘Jane Austen’s Period Drama’

Corset comedy, cramps and Academy glory; co-directors Aks & Pinder unpack the pun-inspired joyfully bloody road of their hilarious Oscar-nominated short.

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Awards, Documentary

Huiju Park Directs Herself Through Family Trauma With Narrative Precision in BAFTA Doc Short ‘Welcome Home Freckles’

The second documentary nominated for Best British Short, Huija Park separates filmmaker from self in an intimate return home after four years of silence.

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Live Action, Premiere

Emotional Repression Becomes Public Health Crisis in Emma Doxiadi’s Allegorical ‘Something Like The End of The World’

Personal heartbreak unfolds into urgent social commentary as Emma Doxiadi's genre-straddling short transforms emotional asymmetry into literal collapse.

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Film Festival

10 Shorts That Left Their Mark from the 48th Edition of Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

DN returned to the world's largest short film festival to uncover 10 standout films from Clermont-Ferrand's expertly curated 48th edition programmes.

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Live Action, Premiere

Radical Vulnerability Powers a Deliriously Earnest Exploration of Selfhood in Collaborative Drama ‘The Unexpressed’

Dancing between sincerity & surrealism 'The Unexpressed's' creative collaborators discuss rejecting conflict in favour of shared unravelling in their sismance.

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