Directors Notes // The Home of Independent Filmmaking

Guilherme Proença Crafts a Liminal Performance Testing Ground in Fashion Film ‘Human Trials’

In his experimental fashion film, Guilherme Proença explores the endless pursuit of perfection & optimisation of human experience across a trio of odd tests.

Animation

How Being an “Extreme Daydreamer” Inspires the Work of Sacha Beeley and Her Short Film ‘Babyface’

With a spoon as its central character, we speak to animator Sacha Beeley about her love of oddball characters and her short film, Babyface.

Live Action

Two Men, One Doorstep and a Whole Lot of Unbearable Tension Collide in Elliott Power’s Short Film ‘K-9INE!’

Shot on 35mm in a single house, writer/director Elliott Power straddles menace and humour in a psychological standoff short disguised as suburban mundanity.

Documentary, Premiere

Grace Anna Cardona’s ‘Born To Hustle’ Refuses to Slow Down, Explain Itself or Wait for Audiences to Catch Up

Grace Anna Cardona's portrait of artist Emma Addams, Heart of Bone's macabre jeweller and accommodator of no one, gives the rest of us permission to let rip.

Art & Fashion

Rachel McDonald Harnesses the Power of Movement and Radical Tenderness in Wordless Dance Short ‘Ternura’

Rachel McDonald orchestrates a transfeminist manifesto from Mexico City into a striking wordless dance short rooted in radical vulnerability and resistance.

Animation, Documentary

Eoin Duffy’s ‘Christine Sinclair: Kind of a Big Deal’ Finds Inspiration in the Quiet Leadership of a Football Icon

Eoin Duffy returns to Directors Notes to discuss meeting the animated challenge of documenting the most prolific goal scorer in international soccer history.

Live Action, Premiere

Elias Suhail Follows a Young Mother to the Excruciating Edge of an Impossible Decision in ‘Beneath a Mother’s Feet’

Through near-wordless accumulation and visions of djinn and dread, Elias Suhail honours the gravity of a departure his film refuses to make easy.

Live Action

Camila de Ilhéus Turns the Agony of Online Dating, Language Slips and a Brazilian Wax Into Cringe Comedy ‘Sofia’

Static frames, held beats and a sly aspect ratio shift power Camila de Ilhéus' squirm-inducing story of first impressions gone excruciatingly wrong.

Animation, Live Action, Premiere

Live-Action Grime Meets Hand-Drawn Whimsy in Cameron Macgowan’s Silent Eco-Fable of Scavengers and Sprouts ‘Seed’

Shot with friends in Kananaskis wilderness dressed in scavenged junk, Cameron Macgowan's charming wordless short grew through years of unhurried collaboration.