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

Matthew Rollins Blends Cosmic Seeking and Earthly Comedy in His Spiritual Sci-Fi Short ‘Stellan and the Stars’

Discover how Matthew Rollins harnessed a kinetic, handheld visual style to place us directly inside a jaded DJ's chemically-assisted, disoriented headspace.

Read more

Awards

Exclusive First Look at the BIFA 2025 Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) Longlist

In partnership with BIFA, Directors Notes brings you a first look at the 2025 longlist for The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director).

Read more

Film Festival, Live Action

10 Striking Shorts From the 69th Edition of the BFI London Film Festival

This year's most exciting LFF shorts trend is a cohesive push into experiential cinema. These 10 titles transport you to their bizarre & brilliant realities.

Read more

Art & Fashion, Premiere

Movement Articulates Unspoken Vulnerability in Jessie Oldfield & Adam Murfet’s Collaborative Healing Short ‘As One’

Co-directors Jessie Oldfield & Adam Murfet detail their use of a wordless dance to express a shared journey from dark isolation to vulnerable connection.

Read more

Live Action

A Bottle to the Head Fractures Reality in Theodore Collatos’s Surreal Slamdance Winning New York Short ‘Palookaville’

Theodore Collatos discusses reflecting the fractured reality suffered following sudden head trauma through the associational editing of his surreal short.

Read more

Live Action

A Fleeting Encounter Unlocks a World of Whimsical Possibility in David Ma’s ‘The Dancing Girl and The Balloon Man’

David Ma reveals how long lenses and a documentary approach grounded his film about a blooming romance between a dim sum shop assistant and a street performer.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Steph Barkley Wrestles With the Volatile, Physical Language of Sibling Rivalry in Murderous Short ‘Sisters’

Steph Barkley explores how a literal messy fight became a narratively rich metaphorical expression of the oft unspoken love and violence of sisterhood.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

A Floating Nation of Trash Becomes an Unlikely Sanctuary for Second Chances in Tobia Passigato’s Eco-Fable ‘Wasted’

Tobia Passigato reveals how building a real trash island at sea fuelled the punk filmmaking spirit of his powerful tale of human and environmental redemption.

Read more

Film Festival

10 Unmissable Shorts Screening at Encounters Film Festival’s Much Anticipated 30th Edition

Marking its triumphant return, Encounters Film Festival is back in full force. Here are 10 hand picked DN faves from the packed programme which stayed with us.

Read more

Live Action

Rosie May Bird Smith Hatches a Surreal Sisterhood From Biological Clock Anxiety in Comedy Short ‘Egg Timer’

Rosie May Bird Smith discusses rejecting CGI in favour of in-camera effects for the opinionated ovarian eggs in her riotous take on fertility anxiety.

Read more

Live Action

Ali Gill Weighs the Nobility of Truth Against the Power of Conformity in Absurdist Satire ‘Party Animal’

Ali Gill details how the voyeuristic cinematography in his allegorical short framed the descent into political madness of a man whose truth falls on deaf ears.

Read more

Live Action

Jim Hosking Unleashes the Absurdist Alchemy of Musical Legends Stevie & Paul in Revisionist Biopic ‘Ebony & Ivory’

Jim Hosking reveals how trusting his unique instincts and fostering intuitive collaborations allows him to create his polarizing, personal brand of comedy.

Read more