Attack of the Coat

"Let me start by saying that graveyards are my favourite places in the world. I know how emo that sounds but it's true. However, filming in graveyards comes with a lot of limitations!"

In her directorial debut 'Attack of the Coat', SNL UK sketch writer Lola-Rose Maxwell blends classic horror tropes with comedic absurdity to tell the story of a vintage coat with a sinister mind of its own. DN caught up with her to chat through the practicalities of clothing puppetry mechanics, what you can't do in a graveyard and turning an irrational fear into malevolent comedy horror.

Inside the No Man's Land Creative Retreat

"At most industry events, time is neatly structured so that you are running from one workshop to another, one meeting to another, from early morning until late at night. We wanted to design an experience that is the exact opposite, that encourages deeper connections among participants."

What happens when filmmakers are given five days to step away from the pressures of the industry to simply pause and reconnect? That’s the premise behind No Man’s Land, the first in Curation Hour’s Creative Retreat Programme - taking place at the artist residency created by DN alum Daria Geller and Yuval Orr, who’ll host, with Emmy Award-winning director Rachel Leah Jones as mentor. It will bring ten filmmakers to Calabria, Italy, for a week of workshops, reflection and what its organisers describe as “serious play” and “fresh perspectives”. They joined us to discuss why spaces like this are so important to creativity.

Busy Bodies

"I really think our systems of production are absurd when you break them down – very efficient, and very absurd. There’s so much engineering and process behind delivering something as simple as rubber gloves, or even something as natural as a lemon. I’m particularly interested in the production of these mundane, organic objects because their factory journeys contrast so sharply."

What if the everyday objects we consume came from a tiny, surreal factory hidden inside our homes? In ‘Busy Bodies’, animator Kate Renshaw-Lewis turns the hidden complexities of mass production into a charming tactile world of repetition and absurd humour. DN caught up with the director to learn about the meditative quality of repetition and the joys of creating a soundtrack from lemons, vacuums and vintage synthesizers.

PIERRE THE GREAT

"I still hold onto this belief that you can unlock a path for yourself to become your characters, or share their fate, almost like speaking it into existence. I’m not a superstitious person at all, but it’s something I do believe, however ridiculous it sounds."

In Kiyan Ahmadi's darkly comic short 'PIERRE THE GREAT', a simple act of hospitality descends into a chaotic night where tensions begin to spiral into heated recriminations. We speak to the self-taught director about finding humour in discomfort, trusting his characters and knowing when to let go in the edit.