Independent Short Film Premieres & Interviews // Directors Notes

Premiere Category

Tomas Gomez Bustillo Curates a Collection of Quotidian Memories in ‘Museum of Fleeting Wonders’

Tomas Gomez Bustillo conveys the challenges of capturing the magical moments of the everyday in vignettes for his enthralling short film collection.

Live Action, Premiere

Will Wightman’s Frenetic Short ‘Heart Failure’ Is a Whip-Smart Gen Z Take on Modern Relationships

Will Wightman speaks about his desire to convey the rollercoaster of romantic turmoil that comes with being a 21-year-old in his musical dating comedy.

Live Action, Premiere

Chloe Sarbib & Amy Taylor Rosenblum Depict the Self-Questioning Fear of Confiding in ‘Go Tell Your Fathers’

Chloe Sarbib and Amy Taylor Rosenblum deconstruct the considered approach behind their portrayal of a woman struggling to confide in her family.

Live Action, Premiere

A Nosy Scholar Encounters Dark Secrets in Ryan Mackfall’s Macabre H. P. Lovecraft Adaptation ‘Backwoods’

Director Ryan Mackfall and Screenwriter Neil Fox walk DN through the literary challenges of adapting H. P. Lovecraft for their chilling horror short.

Live Action, Premiere

The Past Never Leaves You in Mahyar Mandegar’s Melancholic Modern Fairytale ‘White Winged Horse’

Mahyar Mandegar discusses colliding fantasy and reality within floating Russian-inspired long takes for his Iranian war childhood fable short.

Live Action, Premiere

Rachel Stubbings Directs an Explosively Funny Comedy About a Woman Who Gets Stuck in a Toilet in ‘The Bridesmaid’

DN chats to Rachel Stubbings about reality anchored humour and the professional joy of crafting the perfect fart noises for her new comedy short.

Documentary, Premiere

Robert Hope Records the Slow Radicalisation of His Eccentric Neighbour in Personal Doc ‘Heaven on Earth’

Robert Hope explains his motivation to capture the insidious rise of far-right conspiracy ideologies from a personal perspective for his doc short.

Art & Fashion, Premiere

The Struggles of Homelessness Are Gracefully Interpreted Through Dance in Krzysztof Grajper’s ‘Home’

Krzysztof Grajper reveals how intricately rehearsed choreography led to the organic shooting of his one-shot dance polemic on homelessness.

Live Action, Premiere

The Boundaries of an Old Friendship Are Tested in Jonas Grimeland’s Nordic Crime Drama ‘Service’

Jonas Grimeland explains how the personal conflict at the heart of his short film was inspired by conversations he had with a police officer.

Live Action, Premiere

A Dark Family Secret Is Delicately Uncovered in Reiff Gaskell’s Nuanced Father-Son Drama ‘Monster’

Reiff Gaskell explains his use of a shifting lighting scheme and thoroughly-composed score to create the unsettling journey of his family drama.

Art & Fashion, Premiere

Charlie Clift Allegorises the Ups and Downs of the Creative Process in Dance Short ‘Beyond the Horizon’

Charlie Clift explains how his team achieved the graceful, dancer-esque cinematography of his metaphorical short despite shooting on shifting sands.

Live Action, Premiere

A Woman’s Trying Journey of Atonement Unfolds in Uncomfortably Close Quarters in Aiden Arata’s Comedy ‘Powder Room’

Writer/Director Aiden Arata talks to DN about shooting her wry meditation on friendship and forgiveness within the tight confines of a house party bathroom.