Oscars Archives - Directors Notes

Léo Berne & Raphaël Rodriguez Force Us to Consider the Darkest of a Suppressed Subconscious in ‘Censor of Dreams’

Léo Berne & Raphaël Rodriguez reveal how they adapted a surreal short story into a universal exploration of our suppressed psyches.

Animation

Les Mills & Joanna Quinn Return to Their Working Class Heroine for Oscar-Nominated ‘Affairs of the Art’

Les Mills describes the 35 year evolution of his creative partnership with Animator Joanna Quinn which led to their Oscar and BAFTA nominated short film.

Live Action

Tadeusz Lysiak Questions Societal Notions of Beauty and Desirability in Oscar Shortlisted Drama ‘The Dress’

Tadeusz Łysiak discusses working through emotionally demanding scenes with the captivating lead of his prejudice challenging drama.

Live Action

Murad Abu Eisheh Captures a Childlike Perspective of War with Student Oscar Winner ‘Tala’vision’

Murad Abu Eisheh reveals how he protected his child star from the difficult message of his war-torn coming-of-age short while hewing to her perspective.

Live Action

Aneil Karia & Riz Ahmed’s Oscar Winning ‘The Long Goodbye’ Brutally Depicts Britain Sliding into Fascist Violence

We speak to Aneil Karia about the improvisational approaches he took when shooting his scathing short film insight into Britain's worst impulses.

Live Action

Talia Smith Mines Her History of Growing up in South Africa for Oscar-Winning Domestic Motherhood Drama ‘Umama’

Talia Smith recounts how her personal history informed the diasporic tension she exorcised through her Student Academy Award-winning NYU drama 'Umama'.

Animation

Gísli Darri Halldórsson Explains How He Found Beauty Within Repetition for Oscar-Nominated Animation ‘Yes-People’

Made over the course of eight years, Gísli Darri Halldórsson's 'Yes-People' is a delightful mosiac of Icelandic life in a sleepy tenement block.

Live Action

Elvira Lind’s Oscar-Nominated ‘The Letter Room’ Deftly Illustrates the Messiness of Good Intentions

We speak to Elvira Lind about casting her partner Oscar Isaac against type in 'The Letter Room' - a bittersweet comedy set in a maximum security prison.

Live Action

Tomer Shushan’s ‘White Eye’ is a Piercing Exploration of White Privilege in Israel Told in an Epic One-Shot

Tomer Shushan discusses investigating the different layers at play in Israeli society through his tense Oscar shortlisted one-take short 'White Eye'.

Live Action

Marie Mc Court’s ‘I was still there when you left me’ is a Haunting Exploration of Tragedy and Guilt

Inspired by the societal failures that led to the Grenfell Tower Fire, 'I was still there when you left me' shows off the power of street-casting.

Animation

A Forgotten Hawaiian Legend Rises Like a Phoenix in Vibrant Oscar Shortlisted Animation ‘Kapaemahu’

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu explains the extreme care taken to authentically tell a treasured Hawaiian story of old about ancient power forgotten in 'Kapaemahu'.

Live Action

A Transwoman Mechanic’s Compartmentalised Existence Threatens to Crumble in Asher Jelinsky’s ‘Miller & Son’

Asher Jelinsky weighs up the risks & rewards of living as our authentic selves in their story of a transwoman mechanic whose separate lives begin to merge

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