Directors Notes

// Premiere // "The truth in The Snip is that a large percentage of men feel threatened and uncomfortable with the idea of a vasectomy, and it gives me the opportunity to make fun of that, push the comedy into the absurd and expose how ludicrous that threat on masculinity actually is." Writer/Director @ben_s_hyland shares the real-life inspiration behind his sharp vasectomy comedy 'The Snip', which satirises fragile masculinity with the perfect amount of testicle gags. Watch 'The Snip' & read our full interview with Ben over on DN ⏯️ // CREDITS // Starring @ciarandowdcomedy @rebeccashorrocks @shozzashorty @sunilpatelsolutions Man with Dog @matts_entertainment_ Children Arthur Jack Decourcey Franklyn John Decourcey Lucy Necchi Writer/Director @ben_s_hyland Producers @hiddenartfilms @produceradamsmith @jadenicoleway Exec Producers @bflynnfilms David OCallaghan @Henk_Brugge Mel Mackaron Richard Pate Christian Zeise Elias Savada James Seyer @reginaldwelkin @taggoulet.filmproducer Co-Producer @_hiorns_ Associate Producers Abid Majid Doc Divecchio @rankin01 Barry Vonk @jenniferhaufler @schadowschroeder Paul Slootweg DP @davidcawleydop 1st AC @dannystrasserac 1st AC @marironcalli 2nd AC @shortyninsta 2nd AC @marironcalli Gaffer @daniel_templelighting Spark @tamas.m.szabo Production Manager @carlmasonfilm 1st AD @j.wayfilm 2rd AD Jans Ivans Matvejevs Sound recordist @simonpetrov99 Production Designer @a.dpalma_ Props @kellypyner Costume Designer Leocadia Fandos Make Up Artist Tillie Robindon-Smith @katierebecca.makeup @unluckywednesday13_whmua Unit Stills @nikibruckner_unitstills Unit Stills @maxtuite Editor @iamjimpage VFX Marius @MariusSirliFinnstun Animator @claire_winter_animation Composer @hollieboohiya Sound Designer Micha Theofanopoulou Colourist @georgeneavecolour Poster designer Chris Clayton Picture Post @residencepics

// Premiere // "For centuries, they have been part of Neapolitan life and tradition, embodying a form of gender fluidity that feels both historically rooted and strikingly present." Writer/Director @lorenzklapferfilm invites us into the world of the Femminielli, the revered trans community born of a 13th century Neapolitan miracle, through his stunningly cinematic 'Figlie di Partenope'. He talks to us about the making of this beautiful poetic documentary, the curiosity of societal contradictions and how legends change over time, and how his vision for the short was further shaped when he met his own Femminielli who would go on to star in the film. Watch 'Figlie di Partenope' & read our full interview with Lorenz over on DN ⏯️ // Credits // STARRING @vanalya.lure @malaisernio @alexisatena Giuseppe Guastaferro Vincenzo Lemmo Diego di Natale WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY @lorenzklapferfilm PRESENTED BY @bitteeinenfilm @sandgrain.film DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY @jonasalcher_dop EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS @maecture @engelbart._ @oxmox.ox.mollox @toby_gruber @moritzkluth @lorenzklapferfilm PRODUCED BY @engelbart._ @majdabrecelj @lukass.mayer 1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA @marvin.puscher 2ND ASSISTANT CAMERA @robertograniglia GAFFER @annaarsenia BEST BOY @aquadynamisch @johanngrahamengelhardt EDIT @davidherbst.edit GRADING @franziska.heinemann VFX & Compositing @sirgulliver.art GRAPHICS @oxmox.ox.mollox ORIGINAL SCORE & SOUNDDESIGN @cceestudio Lilian Mikorey @quirinbrunhuber @joaquinfreccia SPECIAL THANKS @studiocnp @christophschaller Don Antonio Chirichella Famiglia Rallo

Forever Yours is now streaming free on Directors Notes. ✨ This ruthless love story has travelled to 60+ festivals around the world over the past two years, and I’m so grateful to every programmer, festival, cinema, and audience who supported it. Thank you. Link in bio.

What an incredible night. Twenty years on from the founding of Directors Notes and the third edition of the WeAreDN Awards. We found ourselves in a room full of the filmmakers we've spent two decades championing, and it's safe to say we're still as obsessed with this corner of the industry as we were on day one. To everyone who came, watched, drank, danced, and cheered each other on: thank you. And to all the nominees and the final nine filmmakers whose work was singled out as this year's winners—congratulations 🏆 Watch the films and read the stories behind them via the 🔗 in our bio ⏯️ 🏆 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗲𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗗𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 🏆 🫖 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗛 - Love Is Real by @albrtbullock 🌱 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 - Easy Sell by @ash_mesh87 & @kenstagram45 📻 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢 - Memories by @holow2098 🔎 𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗬 - Ecsstasie by @lilybaldwinseesstuff 🤡 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗬 - An Indirect Message by @hansel.rodrigues & @ieuancoombs 🎭 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔 - Purebred by @purebredshortfilm @calebjfilms ✏️ 𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 - Tortured Artist by @tom.laurance 🤯 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗘 𝗨𝗣 - A Frementing Woman @afermentingwoman by @priscaaapie 🪩 𝗗𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 - Moncalvo by @nikitakkkuz @tanumuino We also want to give a final shout-out and huge thanks to our fierce all-female jury ⚖️ CATH LE COUTEUR (@shootingpeople Co-Founder) ZOE ROTHWELL (@boltonfilmfest Producer & Programmer) MIRANDA STERN (BAFTA-nominated Writer/Director) | To @hiikeindependent the official supporters of our Best Comedy Short Award | Our industry partners @leuchtturm1917 📔 @boltonfilmfest @exit6filmfest @asffestival 📽️ | @lanzaroteworks for hosting us 🍻 | @connor_divita for capturing the evening 📸 | @mrmbrennan for keeping all running smoothly 💻 | @buyyourself & @amispahani for spinning the decks 🎶 Here's to the next 20 of being #WeAreDN together 💚

"The strength of the film becomes something to reckon with because of its nostalgia, the fact that it was made with a kind of depth and a timeless approach to art. Today, everything is in a hurry, and everything is divided too much between people. Nobody really penetrates deep enough into the creative thought." 45 years on from its initial release, filmmaker @muzaffar.ali.kotwara joins DN's @nimiraja to reflect on the organic, intentional craft behind his 19th-century courtesan bio-epic 'Umrao Jaan' — receiving a 4K restoration debut at @britishfilminstitute IMAX as part of the 2026 edition of the @ukasianfilmfest — and makes the case for slowing down and committing to craft in an age of clickbait culture. Watch/Read our full interview with Muzaffar over on DN now ⏯️

MEET THE JURY: MARBELLE 🇬🇧🎬 ΕΝΑΣ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥΣ ΣΗΜΑΝΤΙΚΟΤΕΡΟΥΣ CURATORS ΤΟΥ ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΥ INDIE ΣΙΝΕΜΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΡΙΤΙΚΗ ΜΑΣ ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗ. ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CURATORS OF GLOBAL INDIE CINEMA ON OUR JURY. Με μεγάλη τιμή υποδεχόμαστε στην κριτική επιτροπή του Διεθνούς Διαγωνιστικού Τμήματος ΜΥθοπλασίας τον MarBelle, συνιδρυτή και αρχισυντάκτη της κορυφαίας πλατφόρμας Directors Notes. Από το 2006, το DN αποτελεί τον απόλυτο προορισμό για το ανεξάρτητο σινεμά παγκοσμίως, αποκαλύπτοντας τις ιστορίες πίσω από τις πιο καινοτόμες ταινίες μικρού μήκους. Με εκλεκτικό γούστο και διορατική ματιά, ο MarBelle έχει αναδείξει μερικές από τις πιο τολμηρές κινηματογραφικές φωνές της εποχής μας, καθιστώντας το Directors Notes έναν BIFA-qualifying θεσμό-σταθμό για τους επαγγελματίες του χώρου. We are honored to welcome MarBelle to the International Fiction Competition Jury. As the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Directors Notes, he has spent nearly two decades at the forefront of independent film curation. Since 2006, DN has evolved into one of the world's leading platforms for high-end short cinema, providing a deep dive into the production stories of award-winning filmmakers. With an eye for the cutting edge and a passion for cinematic innovation, MarBelle brings his unparalleled expertise to help us select the standout voices of this year's festival. @marbelle @directorsnotes #PsarokokaloISFF #MeetTheJury #MarBelle #DirectorsNotes #InternationalCompetition #ShortFilmFestival #IndependentCinema #Filmmaking #ShortFilmCurator #Cinephile 🇬🇧📽️✨

// Premiere // "I was incredibly nervous and scared of that version of the story, and cautious about how the lead character would come across. I knew, because I was scared, that this was the best version of the short to make." In her empowering virginity-focused short 'Squash' @squash_short , filmmaker @ruhiradke turns the awkwardness of a first time into something quietly radical: a woman losing her virginity to herself. No glamour, no tragedy—just shame, stubbornness, and a private smile alone in the bathroom. Ruhi joins us to discuss writing through her own nervousness, making male dialogue mundanely awful rather than monstrous, and why the only real intimacy happens when the camera lingers on a face processing everything at once. Watch 'Squash' & read our full interview with Ruhi over on DN ⏯️ // Credits // Zoya: Shubhangi Kuchibhotla @shubhyk Guy: Brendan Lin @brendammmit Writer & Director: Ruhi Radke @ruhiradke Producer: Hayley Ulmer & Ruhi Radke. @_hay.hayley_ Assistant Director: Rachel Debolski @rachel_debolski DP: Anh Vu @_anhdvu_ 1st AC: Jane Yang @jane.m.yang Gaffer: Rutuja Sawant @thatsnotrue_ Grip: Bri Fronczak @fronczilla DIT: Gokul Pann @gokulpann Production Designer: Abe Chan @uberabe Intimacy Coordinator: Brooke Haney @brookemhaneyintimacy Sound Mixers: Teresa-Esmerelda Sanchez & Maximilian Arias @staticsiftingfilms Composer: Hannah Lipton Editors: Kim Su & Ruhi Radke Colorist: Kim Su Sound Designer: Wren Haven @wildshapesound PA's: Gioia Kelleher & Misha Han @gkelle10 @himishahan

"We talked a lot about the cinematography feeling like a chess game - precise movements, nothing wasted, each cut, each frame, a strategic proposition in this mythic Greek war between mother and son." A Muslim mother and her drag queen son battle for the spotlight in @glamrou 's surreal short 'Original Sin' commissioned by @wepresent . Amrou sits down with DN to unpack how the film's tightly choreographed visual language stages their domestic trauma funhouse standoff as something altogether more operatic. Watch 'Original Sin' & read our full interview with Amrou on DN now ⏯️ // Credits // Director & Writer, Amrou Al-Kadhi @glamrou Commissioner, WePresent, @wepresent Producer, Tim Katz at Knucklehead @knucklehead_hq Executive Producer, Holly Fraser @hollymercedes27 Executive Producer, Alex Mattinson @almexsattinon Cast, Mojean Aria and Darina Al Joundi @mojeanaria @darinaaljoundi Director of Photography, Christopher Aoun @chris.aoun_ Production Designer, Soraya Gilanni Viljoen @sorayagilanniviljoen Casting, Shaheen Baig @shaheenbaigcasting Editor, Konstantin Bock @konstantin_bok Original Score, CJ Mirra @cj_mirra Costume Design, Jonathan Lipman Make-Up and Hair, AJ Juttla @ajmakeupman