Brief Somebodies

"I thought it would be cathartic, but I was growing anxious that it might actually be traumatizing in its own way. I found myself in this constant state of negotiating how much of my own comfort I was willing to compromise for the work."

Filmmaking has long provided artists with a means of processing difficult experiences; for Andy Reid, it was a chance to confront his relationship with his own sexual assault. Exploring his SXSW short film, 'Brief Somebodies', the writer/director explains how he went about casting such a personal story and the importance of trusting your audience instead of telling them how to feel.

Listen Then Repeat

"A scare and a laugh are very similar and they probably work on the same psychological underpinning. I think of them being a very similar energetic force. I like my laughs horrifying and I like my scares funny. It’s my sense of humour."

Turning an all-too-familiar AI customer service nightmare into an unsettling comedy, filmmaker Jasper Martin laces humour with a sprinkling of horror in 'Listen Then Repeat' - a relatable tale of technological frustration. We speak to Jasper about striking that delicate balance between comedy and horror and embracing the creative challenges of making a film with a single location and single on-screen performer.

Orange Story

"When I’ve managed to connect with another person completely, to somehow make that person more important than everything else in the universe – which I guess is what we call love – it actually became easier for me to see how cosmic the universe is."

Shahaf Ram returns to DN and speaks to us about the seven year journey behind animated short 'Orange Story', how he built an entire universe largely by himself and the personal heartbreak at the core of the film.