OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker “Daood grew up in the eastern Syrian desert and lived through the ISIS regime”

With their short film WALUD ولود, co-directors Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker have crafted one of the most arresting and quietly unsettling works to emerge from the international festival circuit this year. Recently qualified for the 2026 Academy Awards, the film continues to gather momentum as it screens at Oscar®-qualifying festivals including Santa Fe, Aesthetica, Norwich, FeFF and EnergaCAMERIMAGE. Set in the rural Syrian desert during the height of ISIS control, … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker “Daood grew up in the eastern Syrian desert and lived through the ISIS regime”

INTERVIEW: BROTHERS

BAFTA Qualifying short film BROTHERS is a heartbreaking dance with morality. We sat down with filmmaker Ross Syner to break down his creative process for the prestige film. INTERVIEW: During lockdown, Leanne and I came across a true-crime story that sparked a simple but unsettling question: what would you do if a family member confessed to a serious crime? Brothers isn’t based on that case at all, but … Continue reading INTERVIEW: BROTHERS

OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES: Ross Syner’s BROTHERS grips with moral ferocity and emotional precision

By Sally Green Few short films possess the narrative control and moral weight of BROTHERS. Ross Syner’s latest work unfolds with the taut precision of a stage play and the emotional intimacy of a confession. A grandfather, two grandsons, and an unspoken secret, that is all the film needs to interrogate the meaning of loyalty and the price of conscience. From the first frame, Syner’s direction … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES: Ross Syner’s BROTHERS grips with moral ferocity and emotional precision

THREE KEENINGS Is a Cultural Resurrection in 10 Minutes

Short films rarely manage to feel as expansive, emotionally resonant, and thematically rich as Three Keenings, Oliver McGoldrick’s striking film, which has earned its place in the 98th Academy Awards® conversation for very good reason. In just 10 minutes, the film offers a full-bodied portrait of grief not as a solitary emotion, but as a communal experience shaped by history, culture, and performance. The setting is … Continue reading THREE KEENINGS Is a Cultural Resurrection in 10 Minutes

OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES – SNIPPED – A Darkly Hilarious Masterstroke with Oscar-Worthy Comic Timing

By Mary Salis In a cinematic landscape often dominated by the loud and the literal, SNIPPED dares to whisper, and somehow, it’s deafening. With a premise as razor-sharp as its title suggests, this Oscar-qualified short film by Alexander Saul slices straight into the absurdities of ritual, identity, and human connection, wielding brilliant comic timing like a scalpel. Produced by Oscar-nominated Rebecca Pruzan and Danish powerhouse Kim Magnusson, … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES – SNIPPED – A Darkly Hilarious Masterstroke with Oscar-Worthy Comic Timing