Live Action Category

Live Action

“I Wanted to Create Life on Screen”: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade Dissects His Award-Winning Debut ‘Cactus Pears’

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade reveals how he crafted his Sundance and SXSW London winning debut - a tender, life-affirming portrait of grief and queer love.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Pregnancy Scare Descends Into Cinematic Comedy Chaos in Chad Corhan’s Rapid-Fire Absurd Short ‘Gas Station Sushi’

Chad Corhan explains how intensive same-room writing sessions shaped his breakneck surreal comedy about social anxiety during an existential personal crisis.

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Live Action

Chi Thai Transforms Her Personal Refugee Trauma Into a Haunting Meditation on Survivor’s Guilt in ‘Lullaby’

Chi Thai explains why genre filmmaking was the only framework able to hold the horrific weight of her short depicting the trauma of a tragic refugee crossing.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Middle-Aged Woman’s Entire World Slowly Unravels in Nick Richardson’s Powerful Monologue Short ‘Still Life’

Nick Richardson shares how the women he grew up around inspired his intimate character study of a middle-aged woman who suddenly finds her life in freefall.

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Live Action, Premiere

Max Kane Excavates the Unknowable Complexity of Love and Loss in Visceral Short ‘Ah-Ma Burns’

From static shots to controlled chaos, Max Kane breaks down how he used dynamic cinematography to mirror his protagonist's emotional psychological journey.

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Live Action

Louise Weard Confronts Gender, Sex Work and Queer Friendship in Indie Epic ‘Castration Movie i: Traps’

Incels, Intimacy & Infertility: Louise Weard dissects her anarchic approach to directing her gut-punching queer epic.

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Live Action, Premiere

Gerardo Coello Escalante Transforms Childhood Status Symbols Into Devastating Class Commentary in ‘Business Trip’

Gerardo Coello Escalante dissects how he confronted cultural malinchismo through his story of a sneaker revelation that unravels a Mexican boy's worldview.

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Live Action

Sci-Fi IVF Mystery Meets YouTube Storytelling in Uzo Oleh’s ‘Beth’, Channel 4’s First Digital Original Drama

Director Uzo Oleh & producer Yaw Basoah discuss the impact of subtext in their emotionally charged short made as Channel 4's first digital original drama.

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Live Action

Daisy-May Hudson’s ‘Lollipop’ Is a Heartbreaking Portrait of Maternal Resilience and Devastating Systemic Failure

Daisy-May Hudson opens up about turning pain into power in her feature where a young woman struggles against a broken system to regain custody of her kids.

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Live Action, Premiere

Nat Gee Explores the Invisible Violence of Dismissed Female Pain in Her Atmospheric Psychological Thriller ‘Buried’

Nat Gee details shooting on 16mm & cutting 4 minutes from her edit to help audiences deeply connect with her maverick winemaker's psychological fragmentation.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Lovelorn Girl Vies for Her Boyfriend’s Attention in Ada Player & Bron Waugh’s Whimsical Comedy ‘Spare Part’

Ada Player & Bron Waugh explain how they adapted their stage monologue for film, found London's loneliest brutalist locations and crafted a loveable doormat.

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Live Action, Premiere

A Second-Hand Sale Gone Wrong Véras Fawaz’s ‘Warm’ Traps You in a Terrifying Game of Power and Control

Exploring the invisible grip of social and parental power, Véras Fawaz reveals how a news story inspired his tension fuelled psychological thriller.

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