Rob Munday

More pictures from the WeAreDN 2026 Awards last week. Considering @directorsnotes has been going for 20-years, there are very few photos of @marbelle and I together. We always joke that we're more at home behind a computer screen, but you'll find us at every festival, talk or event that we can afford to attend. If you see us at one, please come say hello - we love to talk about film, it's the reason Directors Notes exists in the first place. If you're interested in advertising, brand partnerships, custom curation or a member of the DN team participating in a film jury or panel discussion, you can contact us here: 🔗 /about

🏆 DN Awards 2026 + 20th Anniversary Celebration 🎉 Last night we held our annual WeAreDN awards, which was made even sweeter by the fact that it was also a celebration of 20-years of @directorsnotes Almost 20-years ago now, the one and only @marbelle reached out and asked if I wanted to be part of this new platform he was setting up. I obviously said yes and 20-years later that decision has shaped my whole career (I probably would have gone back to pushing trollies at Asda). We've come so far in that time and the WeAreDN awards allow us a chance to get together with the people love and celebrate the incredible community we've built over the last two decades. Thanks to everyone who came, thanks to the incredible @sezonlyknows for all the event wrangling and bingo calling and thanks to everyone who helped DN on its journey. For people who spend far too much time behind a computer screen this IRL event is everything to us. We can't wait until next year. #wearedn #directorsnotes #shortfilm #filmawards

Really enjoyed dipping into the @cardiffanimfest line-up for @directorsnotes 🎬 If you’re heading to the festival this week, you’re in for a treat - there’s so much great work in the programme. For DN, I picked 10 shorts that really stood out to me and completely grabbed my attention. Give them a look if you’re planning your schedule 👀 🔗 Link in Bio Featuring films by @_anitagill @nim.longley @moonjam3d @lysander_wong @juliacskala @samuelpatthey Nicolas Piret @annisairio & Joonatan Turkki @mkbanimation @anhtulogy #CardiffAnimationFestival #CAF26 #BestofFest #WeAreDN

Whenever someone outside the film world asks what I do, I usually fumble the answer. “Managing Editor at Short of the Week” only lands if you already know it, and “short film programmer” is… pretty niche. But thanks to a new survey from UCSB researchers Madeleine Gross & Jonathan Schooler, I’ve got a better answer: “I expand minds.” Read more about the study: https://linktr.ee/_robmunday “The case isn’t closed, but with evidence like this, the idea that art expands the mind is starting to look less like a metaphor—and more like a measurable psychological effect.” #CreativeThinking #ShortFilm #FilmProgrammer #WatchMoreShorts #DiscoverFilm

If you'll be in London on Thu 7th May, don't miss the chance to join us in celebrating the WeAreDN award winners of 2026 2026 also marks the 20th anniversary of @directorsnotes so this will be an extra special celebration for us. If you're up for a night of screenings, awards supported by @leuchtturm1917 , music and genuine film conversations, tickets available at: /DirectorsNotes/tickets 🎟️ I don't get to London as much as I'd like to, so I'd love to see as many of you there as possible. 📅 Thursday 7th May 2026 🕖 7–11pm 📍 @lanzaroteworks

Excited to be heading back to the mountains this June for @ourayfilmfest 🏔️🎬 Honoured to be presenting the very first @shortoftheweek award at a festival - a big moment for SotW and for me personally. Couldn't be happier that this is happening with OIFF - Can’t wait to be back in Colorado in the summer ✨

🏔️What happens when the film industry slows down?⁠ ⁠ At the @ourayfilmfest Sabbatical, filmmakers, critics, and programmers spent four days in the Colorado mountains stepping away from the daily grind to reflect on collaboration, community, and the pressures shaping creative work today.⁠ ⁠ Fresh from his time in the mountains, S/W's @_robmunday explores how this retreat-style gathering is challenging the productivity-driven culture of filmmaking - and why spaces for rest and conversation might be vital to the future of the industry.⁠ ⁠ Read the full story at Short of the Week⁠ 🔗 Link in Bio

These have been some of my views from the last week, as I travelled into the mountains of Colorado for the inaugural @ourayfilmfest sabbatical. It's an experience I can't recommend enough if you work in the film industry and are looking to replenish your energy banks and shift your perspective. It's hosted by some of the most wonderful people in the world (although I didn't take pictures of any of them!) in one of the most unique locations I've ever been. #ouray #ouraycolorado #colorado #filmfestival #sabbatical

Introducing the Inaugural 2026 Ouray Film Sabbatical Fellows

"As the industry becomes ever more competitive and risk-averse we feel it’s increasingly important to create funded, supported spaces where new voices can experiment, take creative risks, and build credits that genuinely move their careers forward." Jess Loveland - Head of New Writing at @bbcwriters - and directors Theo James Krekis & @annabelvine share insight into the BBC initiative 'Long Story Short'. A project which pairs fresh writing and directing voices with local production companies to create seven ambitious new short films. Available to watch now on @bbciplayer . Read the full interview over on DN ⏯️

"This is the closest I've come to teenage me drawing comics in my room and having the flexibility, trying to make myself laugh." @johnkelly_jnr sits down with DN’s @_robmunday to talk about the creative shift that led him to “do more with less” on Oscar-nominated short 'Retirement Plan' @retirementplan_film — and how making the film became a cathartic way to process his own thoughts on retirement, ageing, and ultimately, mortality. Watch the full interview with John on Directors Notes now ⏯️ // Credits // #DomhnallGleeson as Ray Director: @johnkelly_jnr Co-Writers: John Kelly, @taralawallwritessometimes Animators: @marahcurran @eamostudio Producer: @andrewfreedman @julie_ocean Music by @johncarrollkirby courtesy of @stonesthrow VO Recording: Dean Jones at @scimitarsound VO Record Producer: @jenpenco Supervising Sound Designer: @jon__clarke at @factorystudiosuk Sound Effects Editor: @andrew_isaias Executive Producer (Audio): Deborah Whitfield Audio Producer: Emily Thomas Colourist: Gary Curran at @outerlimitspost Finishing Editor Dominic Lord Type consultancy: Wayne Daly @daly_lyon Image Research: @sparkiemcguinness Character Modelling: lucasdmok Design: John Kelly Executive Producer for Screen Ireland: Emma Scott Executive Producer for RTÉ: Pauline MacNamara Shorts Co-ordinator for Screen Ireland: Jill McGregor Marketing Executive for Screen Ireland: Mags O’Sullivan Digital Marketing & Communications Coordinator: Callie Hardy Funded by @screenireland and Raidió Teilifís Éireann/RTÉ Produced at @antidotefilms Distributed by @networkirelandtelevision PR @londonflairpr @animationshowcase New Yorker @paulmoakley @newyorkermag