Directors Notes

FILMFREEWAY: An Interview About Scam Festivals, Fees, Marketing & the Platform's Future

No matter where you are in the film festival landscape – from eager first timer to seasoned award winning pro, or on the other side of the equation, organising your first

MOTHERBOARD: Victoria Mapplebeck on Filming 20 Years of Solo Parenting on iPhones

This week we’re joined by BAFTA winning filmmaker Victoria Mapplebeck to discuss her feature documentary Motherboard which transforms 20 years of solo parenting her son J

GIRLS ON FILM: Anna Smith on the Power of Female Perspectives in Cinema & Film Criticism

We recently sat down with Anna Smith – broadcaster, film critic and co-founder of the Girls on Film podcast and awards. Known for her feminist film criticism and advocacy

HARVEST: Athina Rachel Tsangari on Her 16mm Hallucinatory Tale of a Community’s Collapse

DN first had the pleasure of speaking to filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari back in 2011, following the SXSW screening of Attenberg, a film which cemented her position as a

CACTUS PEARS: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade Dissects His Sundance & SXSW Award-Winning Debut

This week we’re bringing you Nimi’s interview with writer/director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, whose debut feature Cactus Pears – a tender, life-affirming portrait of grie

BETH: Uzo Oleh & Yaw Basoah on Creating Channel 4’s First Digital Original Drama

Last Monday saw the British TV Broadcaster Channel 4 release Beth – a project billed as its first ever digital original drama, which was not only broadcast traditionally

LOLLIPOP: Daisy-May Hudson on Depicting the Heartbreaking Impact of a Failing Care System

In this episode we’re joined by Daisy-May Hudson whom we last spoke to as part of our London Film Festival coverage alongside co-director Sophie Compton for their feature

ROCKET FUEL: Jordon Scott Kennedy on Capturing Childhood Magic Through a Working-Class Lens

Back in October, we headed to the Bolton Film Festival (a favourite, regular stop for us on the UK film festival circuit) to sit on the jury as one of the partners for th

SATU - YEAR OF THE RABBIT: Joshua Trigg on His 16mm Indie Feature Odyssey in Laos

Self-funded with a minuscule budget of just £150,000 and shot on 16mm in Laos with non-actors and a skeleton crew who had to contend with snakes, poisoned well water and

THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA: From Producer to Oscar Winning Director with Molly O’Brien

This episode marks the last of our Oscar winning short film director interviews and features Sarah chat with Molly O’Brien, who joined DN a couple weeks before the Academ

IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS: Inside the Oscar Winning Silent Father-Daughter Short Film

How did a silent, father-daughter animation crafted over six and a half years in Iran defy odds to win an Oscar? We bring you the second part in our series of interviews

SANTOSH: Sandhya Suri on Crafting a Nuanced Crime Thriller About Violence Against Women

A film which has been on the Directors Notes radar since we caught it at the London Film Festival last October, Sarah speaks to Sandhya Suri, writer/director of the BAFTA

SISTER MIDNIGHT: Exploring Misanthropy and Marriage with Director Karan Kandhari

A film for all the misfits who have also misplaced their instruction manuals for life and a filmmaker who first appeared on the Directors Notes pocast back in 2012 with h

I'M NOT A ROBOT: From CAPTCHA Fail to Oscar Win with Filmmakers Victoria Warmerdam & Trent

Defying expectations of being the longshot nominee as the lone genre piece competing for the 2025 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film by triumphantly taking hom

A Roundup of the BFI Future Film Festival 2025

In this instalment of the Director’s Notes podcast, we explore the 18th BFI Future Film Festival, delving into its programme of electrifying moving shorts and speaking to

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS: BAFTA Winner Franz Böhm on Depicting the Horrors of the Ukraine War

Writer/Director Franz Böhm speaks to DN about capturing the all too real horrors of a young man’s experiences on the frontline of the Ukraine-Russia war who is forced to

THE FLOWERS STAND SILENTLY, WITNESSING: How Theo Panagopoulos Reclaimed Archive Films of Palestine

Director/Editor Theo Panagopoulos sits down with DN to discuss his BAFTA nominated documentary short The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing for which he reclaims archival

BAFTA's Anna Higgs on the Awards, Membership & Building an Equitable British Film Industry

Our first episode of 2025 sets the bar pretty high for the episodes to come this year. This week we’re joined by BAFTA film committee chair Anna Higgs who as well as disc

BRING THEM DOWN - Christopher Andrews on Broken Trust, Violence & Toxic Masculinity

In our last episode of the Directors Notes podcast for 2024, we bring you Sarah’s chat with, at the time BIFA nominee and now, The Douglas Hickox Award winning director C

WANDER TO WONDER: Nina Gantz on the Craftsmanship of Her BIFA Winning Short

We sit down with Nina Gantz the talented filmmaker behind this year’s BIFA Best British Short winner Wander to Wonder, a stop-motion tale following a trio of tiny perform