Coming of Age Tag Archive

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Awards, 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Animation, Awards

Tom C J Brown’s Painterly BIFA Animation ‘Christopher at Sea’ Portrays a Nautical Journey of Self-Discovery

Tom C J Brown tells DN why animation was the perfect artistic conduit to convey the melodramatic realism of his BIFA nominated short film.

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Arava

Live Action, Premiere

Sarah Meital Benjamin’s Israeli Road Trip Short ‘Arava’ Eloquently Captures the Confusion of Youth

Sarah Meital Benjamin shares how she created a fresh look at Israel through non-professional casting and improvisation in her stirring road trip short.

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The Song of a Lost Boy Short Film Daniel Quirke

Animation, Awards

Daniel Quirke Explains How Wax, Religion & DIY Instruments Inspired NFTS Short ‘The Song of a Lost Boy’

NFTS grad Daniel Quirke joins us to discuss his BAFTA-nominated stop motion short about a young choir boy's crisis of faith and journey to self-acceptance.

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