Best Live Action Films

Live Action Category

Erik Odom Excavates the Enduring Effects of Shame in Thrilling Horror Drama ‘Box on the Hill’

Actor Erik Odom tells DN why rehearsal time with his scene partner was key to the success of his directorial debut about shame manifest in demon form.

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.

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.

Live Action

An Author’s Hope for Isolation is Disturbed by a Strange Couple in Alex Fofonoff’s Cosmic Horror ‘While Mortals Sleep’

Alex Fofonoff breaks down the refined screenwriting process that birthed his eerie and otherworldly 16mm cosmic horror short.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Animation, 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.

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.

Live Action, Music

Peder Thomas Pedersen Surveys Society’s Dark Underbelly in Noir Thriller ‘Between the Ocean and the Snow’

Peder Thomas Pedersen unpacks the artistic influences that underpin his dark and seedy crime thriller/music video hybrid.

Live Action, Premiere

A Couple Struggle to Redefine Their Relationship in Beck Kitsis & Chris McNabb’s LGBTQ Short ‘Valentine’

Chris McNabb and Beck Kitsis tell DN how they sought to represent trans creatives both on and off screen when making their personal relationship drama.