Independent Short Film Premieres & Interviews // Directors Notes

Premiere Category

Rally Ridberg Targets Conditioned Homophobia in Painfully Funny Satirical Short ‘Straight Faces’

DN talks to director Rally Ridberg about taking a swipe at conditioned homophobia in his powerfully provocative satirical short 'Straight Faces'.

Art & Fashion, Premiere

Sally Tran’s ‘2020 Brain’ Perfectly Captures the Year’s Strange Mood

Sally Tran shares her experience turning Amazon-bought Jell-O into human anatomy for the fun, horror-inspired '2020 Brain'.

Live Action, Premiere

The Last Man Alive Wrestles With His Will to Survival in Alex Wither’s Apocalyptic Horror Drama ‘Dead Quiet’

Alex Withers walks DN through building his vision of a world in silent despair for his end-of-the-world horror drama 'Dead Quiet'.

Live Action, Premiere

Helen Warner Weaves a Tale of Religious Guilt, Sin & Redemption in Experimental Drama ‘Stigma’

Helen Warner explains how she drew upon real-life experiences of her past to informed the themes and period setting of her 1940s-set Irish drama 'Stigma'.

Live Action, Premiere

Rob Price’s Existential Debut ‘What Is Ian’ Tells a Story of One Middle-Aged Man’s Idyllic Safe Space, His Bath

Rob Price walks DN through the meditative acting techniques he taught his non-actor protagonist for their minimalistic drama short 'What Is Ian'.

Animation, Documentary, Premiere

Kieran Nolan Jones Expresses the Shared Familial Horror of a Life Changing Injury in Deeply Personal Doc ‘Jelly Brain’

Kieran Nolan Jones discusses combining surreal animation with personal interviews to document the aftermath of his family's trauma in 'Jelly Brain'.

Live Action, Premiere

Jens Josephs’ ‘Getting There’ Salvages Art from the Wreckage of a Lost Road Movie

Layering films within films and with actors playing actors, 'Getting There' — shot in an empty parking lot — is a delightfully comic metafictional film.

Live Action, Premiere

A Murderer in the Smallest Town in America Reveals the Gruesome Details of His Crime in James Coyle’s ‘Confession’

Created entirely with miniatures, James Coyle's 'Confession' is a noirish micro-thriller about a murderer's declaration in a small-town police station.

Live Action, Premiere

Yvette Farmer Expands the Cinematic Possibilities of the Monologue Film With Margate Set Short ‘X Anniversary’

A beautifully shot collection of seaside monologues, Yvette Farmer's 'X Anniversary' boasts four very different captivating performances by Keeley Forsyth.

Live Action, Premiere

Michael Kam Acutely Renders the Awkwardness of Young Infatuation in Coming-of-Age Short ‘Melodi’

Inspired by the Indonesian comic book, Michael Kam's 'Melodi' elegantly tells the story of a young boy trying in vain to do the right thing for his crush.

Live Action, Premiere

A Pompous Inventor Meets His Match in Frank Todaro’s Dry Allegorical Comedy ‘Men of Vision’

Frank Todaro discusses going back to the past to take a swipe at modern blowhards peddling bullshit as science in his dry period comedy 'Men of Vision'.

Live Action, Premiere

Ben York Jones Captures the Start of a Bittersweet Friendship in ‘I’m Alright If You’re Alright’

Adapting Arthur Bradford's short story "Mattress", Ben York Jones' 'I'm Alright if You're Alright' is a charming two-hander about making new friends.