A Muslim mother and her drag queen son go to war for cinematic immortality in Amrou Al-Kadhi's WePresent commissioned chamber piece.

Will Mayo and Ian Scott McGregor explore the imagined melodrama behind a real-life viral video, using sharp visual storytelling to blend humour and pathos.

Laura Carreira explains why removing antagonists sharpened her film's critique of the gig economy and its deleterious effect on an isolated Portuguese migrant.

With a varied, engrossing programme sure to delight one and all playing at Bolton Film Festival next month, DN compiles our list of 10 choice, riveting shorts.

The Newman Brothers reveal how their rent-a-friend satire evolved from TV pilot to a sharp social commentary comedy about convenient, predatory tech platforms.

As the 24th edition of Tribeca draws to a close, DN shares a choice selection of 10 of our favourites from the festival's biggest ever showcase of short films.

Gerardo Coello Escalante dissects how he confronted cultural malinchismo through his story of a sneaker revelation that unravels a Mexican boy's worldview.

Director Uzo Oleh & producer Yaw Basoah discuss the impact of subtext in their emotionally charged short made as Channel 4's first digital original drama.

Daisy-May Hudson opens up about turning pain into power in her feature where a young woman struggles against a broken system to regain custody of her kids.

Exploring the invisible grip of social and parental power, Véras Fawaz reveals how a news story inspired his tension fuelled psychological thriller.

Jeroen Kooistra recounts how a shared creative itch evolved into his stark short exploring how our need for belonging can be manipulated to serve others.

Jordon Scott Kennedy shares his frustration with typical social realist films and his desire to tell joyful working class stories which embrace a child's POV.

From abandoned snakes to abandoned morals: Jack King discusses crafting a dark, child-led world of ethical ambiguity in his BFI-backed suburban short.

Drawn to the faded heyday glamour of Blackpool, Olivier Richomme explains how he transformed seaside banality into a surrealist meditation on monstrosity.

VERSUS breakdown the collaborations at the heart of their love letter reframing of Opera in Sydney's underground which pays homage to its iconic institution.

Alexander Jeremy trumpets the lofi manifesto which has enabled him to continually develop his filmmaking creativity free from gatekeeping financial barriers.

Julia Godfrey & Will Abbott talk about creating a disorientatingly cohesive world where two friends manically unravel in the 24 hours after a hit and run.

Join us in reflecting on the WeAreDN Awards 2025 winning shorts and learn how all the films went from ideation to completion in the our making of interviews.

After the resounding success of last year’s launch, Directors Notes is thrilled to present our 2025 edition of the WeAreDN Awards.

Dan Braga Ulvestad takes us inside the stripped-back approach, actor trust and delicate existential dialogue which were central to his grounded breakup short.

Giada Bossi reveals how she and musician Arssalendo built a visual/sonic journey capturing the vibrant euphoria and profound introspection of adolescence.

Louisa Connolly-Burnham discusses using long takes to place us in the visceral tension of her depiction of a woman's lack of consent being repeatedly ignored.

Craig Ainsley reveals how a sleep-deprived 4am idea evolved into a sci-fi comedy short grounded in painfully relatable human awkwardness.

Demetri Zujew delves into the importance of representing "strong eat the weak" culture for what it is and his use of origami as a potent narrative symbol.

Martin Marko talks about the multi-year journey across sea, editing, sound and image to create his enveloping, unpredictable epic maritime adventure short.

Riccardo Fusetti walks through the construction of his lifestyle short which uses 80 AI VFX shots to subvert our expectations of a model's carefree existence.

Johannes Moe talks about balancing the line between clinical detachment and dangerous emotional investment in his tragic short.

Marxism, melting cheese, and mayhem: Talia Shea Levin takes us inside the saucy structural logic of her deliciously absurdist pizza porno parody.

Leah Lofitn unpacks the rapid, bare-bones process used to create her expressionistic non-fiction short portraying first-person Ukrainian wartime experiences.

Sam Baron reveals how camerawork, coordinated stunts and top-notch performances combined to enhance the dark comedy of his bloody office survival short.

Colin O'Toole talks about using tension as the narrative fuel of his comedy where a couple in a waning marriage try an unconventional method of reconnection.

Dave Paige shares the inciting awkward massage which triggered his amusement, sparking the idea for his darkly comedic tale of socially anxious politeness.

Love, hope and apples on the Kashmiri border, DN speaks to Onir about surmounting censorship for his tale of forbidden romance amid the chaos of conflict.

As BFI Flare the UK's largest queer film festival gets underway we share our top 9 short films and tease some of the most exciting world premieres screening.

Leve Kühl explains the power that POV had to place viewers within the perspective of someone seeking safety and stability for his refugee's journey short.

Leo McGuigan discusses blending nostalgia with realism in his short which captures the complexities of childhood as 3 boys attempt a daring cigarette heist.

Alex Bush talks about reappropriating tropes of classic melodramas for their proof-of-concept short where two friends begin exploring their gender variance.

David Leon reveals how he tonally distinguished the three worlds of his allegorical tale cautioning against making the same mistakes as those who came before.

Matthew B.C. tells DN how he and his crew maximised their minimal budget to create a high-quality short that's both funny and unsettling.

If you’re attending SXSW 2025 in person or beaming in virtually via the online platform, these are the 13 short films you won’t want to miss.

Lucas Vilicich unravels how his short evolved from screaming frustrations at the world to engaging audiences with a comedic forewarning against technology.

Having explored the inspiring programme of diverse films at the 18th BFI Future Film Festival here is DN's selection of 11 stand-out shorts you have to see.