Grad Short Archives - Directors Notes

A Darkly Obsessed Woman Contemplates the End of Everything in Matthew B.C.’s Comedy Short ‘Death!’

Matthew B.C. tells DN how he and his crew maximised their minimal budget to create a high-quality short that's both funny and unsettling.

Live Action, Premiere

Gregory Shell Manifests the Destructive Nature of Violence and Trauma in His Emotionally Charged Short ‘Fire’

Gregory Shell explains why he was determined to work with non-actors for his film about a young man struggling with life after returning from military service.

Animation, Awards

José Prats Reminds Us To Honour Our Parents With His BAFTA Nominated Short Film ‘Adiós’

When BAFTA recognition means your grandma finally understands your job: José Prats on bridging personal filmmaking and professional acclaim.

Awards, Live Action

A Singular Young Man’s Resiliency Captures the Collective Horrors of War in Franz Böhm’s ‘Rock Paper Scissors’

Franz Böhm breaks down how he built two distinct visual worlds in his BAFTA nominated Ukraine war drama where a makeshift hospital faces enemy attack.

Film Festival

Presenting 10 Emerging Fresh Voices From London Film School’s 2025 Graduate Showcase

DN curates 10 of the most visually arresting and narratively impressive short films from the 2025 London Film School Graduate Showcase.

Live Action, Premiere

Jordan Chandler Plunges Us Into a Mother’s Relentless Surreal Nightmare in Her Psychological Wild Ride ‘Brutal’

Jordan Chandler talks about channelling her righteous indignation into her blistering thriller about a mother on a Sisyphean quest to save her missing child.

Live Action, Premiere

Strut Into the Sordid Fetishised Underworld of LA’s Karaoke Bar Scene in Naomi Christie’s ‘Object of Desire’

Naomi Christie speaks about the micro-aggressions and lived experiences which informed the seedy reality of her darkly comic tale of race objectification.

Animation

Naaman Azhari Explores the Gulf Between a Mother’s Expectations and Her Son’s Reality in Rotoscoped Film ‘Threaded’

Naaman Azhari champions the creative flexibility of the bare bones live action footage underpinning the rotoscoped animation of his mother/son drama.

Live Action, Premiere

Nathan Ginter’s Darkly Comic Body Horror ‘The Third Ear’ Sees a Nude Model’s Self-Image Begin to Spiral

Nathan Ginter takes us inside the ways he and his crew maximised the potential and adaptability of their locations when crafting their body horror grad short.

Live Action

Hazel Mckibbin Scrutinises Intricate Gendered Power Dynamics In Her Subtextual Drama ‘She Always Wins’

Hazel McKibbin talks about building an intricate dance of dominance, deference and self-diminishment between lovers and family in her charged drama short.

Live Action, Premiere

A Desperate Romantic Is Prescribed a Love-Cynical Rebound in Julie Magnaudet’s Conceptual Rom-Com ‘Broken Hearts’

Julie Magnaudet breaks down the colourful, warm and subversive visual language of her conceit-driven romantic comedy about a women seeking love life help.

Awards, Documentary

Miranda Stern’s Cathartic NFTS Documentary ‘milk’ Is an Intimate Exploration of Maternity, Addiction and Loss

Miranda Stern unpacks the cathartic and narrative reasons she opted for an abstract, mixed media scrapbook-style approach for her self-explorative doc short.

Grad Short Tag Archive