Party Animal

Ali Gill returns to DN and digs into the delicate combination of cinematography, score and performance to arrive at the playful, uncanny tone of his potent allegorical short Party Animal - screening at the upcoming London Film Festival - starring BAFTA-nominated Nabhaan Rizwa as a dispirited barber who witnesses a donkey eared politician openly rising through the ranks in the midst of mass apathy.

Egg Timer

Rosie May Bird Smith talks to us about rejecting CGI in favour of in-camera effects when it came to the opinionated ovarian eggs adding to the "next step" pressure expectations of family and friends in her riotous, surrealist take on fertility anxiety, Egg Timer. Catch it on the big screen at Bolton Film Festival this week.

10 Unmissable Shorts From the 30th Edition of Encounters Film Festival

In celebration of the triumphant return of Encounters Film Festival for its 30th edition, we hand picked 10 outstanding short films from their compelling programme that you should make every effort to track down post-festival.

Wasted

Tobia Passigato explains how building a real trash island at sea instead of in a studio fuelled both the authenticity and punk filmmaking spirit of Wasted, his powerful tale of human and environmental redemption.