Shapxo breaks down the surreal, visually lavish Pan-African inspired world he created for his ambitious fashion short shot on the platform of a working subway
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/05/02/shapxo-chasing-the-drums/
Hollie Buhagiar reveals her approach to composition, her feelings about temp score and AI music generation, and the joy of experimenting with new instruments.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/05/01/hollie-buhagiar-composer/
Co-Directors James Button & Kristaps Kazaks talk us through the evolution from short to web series to featurette of their bombastic blood-soaked slasher comedy.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/30/james-button-kristaps-kazaks-the-corpse-series/
Gianna Mazzeo details the importance of queer oral history when creating her film about a uniting and proud symbol of lesbian self-expression and community.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/29/gianna-mazzeo-the-history-of-the-carabiner/
And the WeAreDN Awards winning films are...
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/26/wearedn-awards-winners-announcement/
Photographer/Director Aleksandra Kingo explains the ideas first, technology second creative approach she took for her life imitating art debut short film.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/25/aleksandra-kingo-an-ode-to-procrastination/
Sebastian Delascasas speaks about dropping his audience directly into the thorny heart of the deeply unsettling conversation of his friendship testing drama.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/24/sebastian-delascasas-promise/
Gareth Bowen distils the infusion of gritty, zoom-lensed camerawork and medieval tomfoolery which underpins his paranoid medieval-set dark comedy.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/23/gareth-bowen-the-licensed-fool/
Nick Bentgen reveals the free-flowing, mixed format, organic shooting process of his doc about a group of free spirited teens in the outer boroughs of NYC.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/22/nick-bentgen-loveyourz/
Tomas Kamphuis recounts the physical and technical challenges of shooting in remote parts of Portugal for his ambitious sci-fi fashion crossover short.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/19/tomas-kamphuis-exiles/
Louis Moir talks through the practical challenges of expanding his grad short into his debut feature doc exploring the creative process on stage and on canvas.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/17/louis-moir-a-brush-with-comedy/
Luke Brookner delves into using 16mm & 35mm to represent the dual timelines of his film depicting the struggle of leaving behind an upbringing in foster care.
Nathan Morris reveals the essential role his Disability Coordinator played in ensuring the diversity, inclusion and authenticity of his budding romance short.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/15/nathan-morris-my-eyes-are-up-here/
Cameron Thuman discusses applying an art house lens when capturing a pair of pro skiing friends' exploration of Yukon Territory's majestic landscapes.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/12/cameron-thuman-suspended-in-space/
Freddie Leyden talks us through the surreal inspirations and 70s documentary lenses that fed the eerie atmosphere of his beguiling Bat For Lashes music video.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/11/freddie-leyden-the-dream-of-delphi/
Austin Hutchings speaks to us about the importance of tangibility when creating the ambitious imagery for his train carriage-set music video.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/10/austin-hutchings-so-long/
Josie Charles & Nathan Miller talk to DN about the unwanted attention they garnered filming in public with a taxidermied cat for their quirky comedy short.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/09/josie-charles-nathan-miller-dead-cat-film/
Amaka Lin reveals how the unsettling yet meditative textures of dark ambient music inspired her movement-led exploration of time, nature and the future.
Joel Jay Blacker discusses his love of the comedic tension found in the spaces between conversations as deftly used in his unnerving unwelcome guest comedy.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/05/joel-jay-blacker-dont-let-kyle-sit-down/
Christian Meola opens up about discovering new narrative territory and a widely diverse range of responses to his emotionally intense coming of age drama.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/04/christian-meola-the-expanding-horizon/
Sean Lyons unpacks the on point comedic tone and tension-structured shooting style of his smoky comedy calling out the self-serving doublespeak of politicians.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/03/sean-lyons-smoking-dolphins/
Alison Grasso delves into finding the character driven heart of her film about a UK baker's Sprinklegate fight over the use of illegal American sprinkles.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/04/02/alison-grassos-hope-you-fail/
Colby Day walks DN through the process of adapting the novel 'Spaceman of Bohemia' for his Netflix No. 1 Ranking Adam Sandler science-fiction feature.
Francisco Lezama expresses how a love of Balzac and Argentina's current fraught economic reality shaped his Berlinale Golden Bear-winning short film.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/29/francisco-lezama-an-odd-turn/
Emily Halaka joins DN to discuss how she used animation to promote harmony between humanity and the Earth in her delightfully surreal ecological short.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/28/emily-halaka-organic-matter/
Melanie Cura Daball reveals why an ethical approach was an essential pillar in the making of her hybrid doc about her friend's battle with a bipolar diagnosis.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/27/melanie-cura-daball-trust-me/
Harry Price talks through the close handheld camera work directing the audience to the subtle nuances in his claustrophobic relationship dance short.
Remi R.M. Moses explains the alternate directorial approaches used for the adult and child actors in his intimate drama about a father struggling to find hope.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/25/remi-r-m-moses-saving-art/
Eugene Kolb speaks about striking the right balance between the salacious subject matter and the correlating animations of his doc about self-gratification.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/22/eugene-kolb-ur-heinous-habit/
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.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/21/jerome-yoo-river-boy-blues/
Henry Behel deconstructs the ambitious mix of plane and FPV drone aerial photography choreographed for his contemplative doc about Airshow Pilot Eric Tucker.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/20/henry-behel-26000-days/
Greg Cruttwell explains how his disgust about the horrific violence of football hooliganism galvanised the creation of his blistering monologue revenge short.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/19/greg-cruttwell-animals/
Bianca Poletti explains why she leaned into a grounded comedic style for her short about the self-inflicted mishaps of low budget filmmaking friends.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/18/bianca-poletti-ultra-low/
Charlotte Hamblin talks about making the move into directing for her semi-autobiographical tragicomedy about a woman concerned that she's a catalyst of death.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/16/charlotte-hamblin-everybody-dies-sometimes/
We're delighted to present the WeAreDn Awards, a celebration of the best films from DN's 2023 official submissions, taking place on the 25th of April.
Liliya Syvytska unpacks how her team achieved the astonishing black and white cinematography and striking symbolic choreography of her movement-based short.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/13/liliya-syvytska-roots/
Anna J. Takayama talks shooting in Tokyo and colour as a narrative tool whilst dissecting the creation of her multi-award winning film about an ageing actress.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/11/anna-takayama-the-voice-actress/
A highlight of the annual festival circuit, we take a look at the 2024 line-up of SXSW and champion 10 short films you absolutely have to see.
Nick Aldridge walks through the genesis of his doc which takes a poignant look at male mental health struggles through a series of intimate conversations.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/07/nick-aldridge-the-men-and-the-chair-in-front-of-my-window/
Nicholas Woytuk discusses the organic Black & White 16mm shooting process he employed for his documentary about veteran photographer David Michael Kennedy.
https://directorsnotes.com/2024/03/06/nicholas-woytuk-the-alchemy-of-david/