An Indirect Message

Deploying surreal, theatrical lighting and a dynamic visual language, Hansel Rodrigues and Ieuan Coombs transform a single bedroom into a vibrant, technicolour, sleep-deprived prison of housemate anxiety in their (based in truth) awkward comedy An Indirect Message, where the ceaseless bedroom Olympics of his energetic housemate force a film student into a novel confrontation.

Flock

Mac Nixon joins us to break down the deliberate and powerful use of language in his enigmatic black & white BIFA nominated horror short Flock - the story of a community's desperation curdling into a terrifying mob mentality when a mysterious blight claims every sheep in a village except for one man's flock. Mac explains how Welsh is used not just for authenticity, but as a sharp narrative tool to show division, defiance, and the deep connection to tradition at the heart of the film’s conflict.

I Want My Mommy

Director Jacob Samuels guides us through the delicate tonal tightrope of his dark suburban comedy I Want My Mommy—where a grieving man finds a particularly unique way to speak to his dead mother—and reveals how a commitment to playing the film's bizarre premise with utter sincerity unlocked its unique blend of cringe-inducing confession and existential woe.

On Falling

Laura Carreira sits down with DN to discuss the meticulous construction of her multi BIFA nominated debut feature On Falling (produced by Ken Loach’s Sixteen Film) and details how the camera’s precise, choreographed movement through warehouse aisles visually embodies the crushing monotony and profound isolation of a Portuguese migrant worker’s life trapped in an algorithm-driven gig economy.

My Father’s Shadow

Nominated for 12 BIFA awards, My Father's Shadow writer/director Akinola Davies Jr. returns to our pages to talk about his collaborative process on the feature, from co-writing the deeply personal script with his brother to shooting on Super 16mm in Lagos with DOP Jermaine Edwards, his approach to working with child actors, and how he balanced a tender family story with a tense political backdrop.