Live Action Category

Live Action, Premiere

Time Stretches and Fractures in Louisa Connolly-Burnham’s Unflinching Exploration of Consent ‘The Ceiling’

Louisa Connolly-Burnham discusses using long takes to place us in the visceral tension of her depiction of a woman's lack of consent being repeatedly ignored.

Read more

Live Action

Craig Ainsley Blends Sci-Fi and Morning-After Awkwardness in One Night Stand Comedy ‘Everyone Does It’

Craig Ainsley reveals how a sleep-deprived 4am idea evolved into a sci-fi comedy short grounded in painfully relatable human awkwardness.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Demitri Zujew Crafts an Emblematic Tale Denouncing the Cult of Strength in His Disturbing Social Allegory ‘Crease’

Demitri Zujew delves into the importance of representing "strong eat the weak" culture for what it is and his use of origami as a potent narrative symbol.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Johannes Moe Blurs the Psychiatrist-Patient Dynamic With Devastating Consequences in ‘Lighting Up the Darkness’

Johannes Moe unpacks how Denmark’s mental health system failures reshaped his film and why humour was an essential element of its devastating narrative.

Read more

Live Action

Riffy Ahmed’s ‘The Call’ Presents an Improbable Hero in Her Tower Block Meditation on Intergenerational Bonds

Riffy Ahmed discusses integrating magical realism into her short film which offers a fresh take on the emotional dynamics of mother/daughter relationships.

Read more

Live Action

Transactional Intimacy Morphs Into a Surreal Meditation on Consumption in Talia Shea Levin’s ‘Make Me a Pizza’

Marxism, melting cheese, and mayhem: Talia Shea Levin takes us inside the saucy structural logic of her deliciously absurdist pizza porno parody.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Priscilla Galvez Serves up a Fresh Look at Female Creativity in Her Banned Body Horror Debut ‘A Fermenting Woman’

Challenging outmoded perceptions of what’s socially acceptable, Priscilla Galvez explains why being banned by YouTube is a badge of honour for her short.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Sam Baron’s ‘Office Royale’ Is a Scathing Corporate Satire That Will Keep You Guessing Until the Final Bang

Sam Baron reveals how camerawork, coordinated stunts and top-notch performances combined to enhance the dark comedy of his bloody office survival short.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Stuck in Rut a Couple Make a Risky Move To Save Their Marriage in Colin O’Toole’s Comedy ‘Cul-de-sac’

Colin O'Toole talks about using tension as the narrative fuel of his comedy where a couple in a waning marriage try an unconventional method of reconnection.

Read more

Live Action, Premiere

Politeness Becomes Horror in Dave Paige’s Socially Anxious Dark Comedy ‘Deep Tish’

Dave Paige shares the inciting awkward massage which triggered his amusement, sparking the idea for his darkly comedic tale of socially anxious politeness.

Read more

Film Festival, Live Action

Banned in India, Beloved at BFI Flare: Onir’s ‘We Are Faheem & Karun’ Tells Kashmir’s First Queer Love Story

Love, hope and apples on the Kashmiri border, DN speaks to Onir about surmounting censorship for his tale of forbidden romance amid the chaos of conflict.

Read more

Live Action

A Refugee Flees Her War-Torn Home in Leve Kühl’s Empathetic UNHCR Short ‘Through My Eyes’

Leve Kühl explains the power that POV had to place viewers within the perspective of someone seeking safety and stability for his refugee's journey short.

Read more