Coming of Age Archives - Directors Notes

A Reluctant Witch Comes to Realise Her Own Potential in Lauren Pringle’s Atmospheric Movement Film ‘Witch-Hunt’

Lauren Pringle explains how she drew from the rich history of witches and environmental uncertainty for her dance short about a lonely outcast coming of age.

Art & Fashion

Zen Pace’s Poetic Experimental Short ‘Little Mirror’ Is a Therapeutic Love Letter to the Inner Child

Zen Pace breaks down the meticulously crafted emotional architecture of their self-reflexive experimental poetry short film love letter to the inner child.

Live Action, Premiere

A Teen Girl’s Boundaries Are Irrevocably Crossed in Jaja Meloche’s Coming of Age Drama ‘Grown’

Jaja Meloche explains why she wanted a bold female character to lead the narrative in her powerful coming of age drama exploring the grey area of consent.

Live Action, Premiere

Youthful Abandon Clashes Against the Burdens of Impending Adulthood in Melina Valdez’ ‘Weapons and Their Names’

Melina Valdez unpacks her process of weaving magical realism into a grounded narrative informed by personal experience to portray the tumult of teenage grief.

Live Action, Premiere

A High Schooler Has an Unusual Request for His Classmate in Christian Meola’s Drama ‘The Expanding Horizon’

Christian Meola opens up about discovering new narrative territory and a widely diverse range of responses to his emotionally intense coming of age drama.

Live Action, Premiere

Jerome Yoo Encapsulates the Chaotic Abandon of Self-Centred Youth in Fantastical Short ‘River Boy Blues’

Jerome Yoo talks about adopting handheld camera work to express the freedom and abandon of his teenage protagonists on a mission to relocate a significant pet.

Live Action

Kali Kahn Captures the Nuance of a Girl Growing Into a Woman in Her Coming of Age Short ‘Father’s

Kali Kahn breaks down the technical choices that informed the subtly maturing awareness of the teenage girl at the centre of her poolside drama.

Animation

A Rite of Passage Fishing Ritual Challenges a Father-Son Relationship in Ross Stringer’s BAFTA Winner ‘Crab Day’

Ross Stringer breaks down the deceptively minimal monochrome colour palette he used to tell the thematically rich story of his NFTS graduate short.

Live Action

A Dark Secret Threatens to Disrupt a Perfect Family Gathering in Simon Woods’ BAFTA Debut ‘Such a Lovely Day’

Simon Woods walks through the ways he played with dark and light in the telling of his shocking drama about a young boy navigating his parents' marriage.

Live Action

Adolescent Reality Blurs Into the Surreal in Debby Friday & Nathan De Paz Habib’s Hybrid Music Video ‘Good Luck’

Debby Friday & Nathan De Paz Habib break down the experimental approach they took to fully capture the surreal nature of the whirlwind that is adolescence.

Live Action, Premiere

A Knockabout Game of Football Becomes a Playground for Toxic Masculinity in Rumi Kaul’s Coming of Age Drama ‘Cage’

Rumi Kaul breaks down the underlying themes of youth and its progression to toxic masculinity he sought to reckon with in his vibrant playground drama.

Live Action

Kerry O’Neill’s Euphoric Dark Comedy ‘Walk Out Nice and Smooth’ Explores the Moral Ambiguity of a Mother’s Love.

Kerry O’Neill discusses building an atmosphere of chaotic adventure in her short about a mother & her adolescent child's mission to sell a stolen laptop.

Coming of Age Tag Archive