OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: LUKA GALLE’S THE CATCHER TURNS INVISIBLE BIRDS INTO A POWERFUL STORY OF HUMAN CONNECTION

Oscar-qualified Belgian filmmaker Luka Galle opens up about loneliness, feeling invisible in society and how his deeply personal experiences inspired an imaginative and moving short film. What if the very things we cannot see are the ones that understand us best? It is an extraordinary question at the heart of THE CATCHER, the Oscar-qualified Belgian short film from writer and director Luka Galle, whose beautifully … Continue reading OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: LUKA GALLE’S THE CATCHER TURNS INVISIBLE BIRDS INTO A POWERFUL STORY OF HUMAN CONNECTION

OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: NATALIE LAUREN ON WHY UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE PUTS NEED BEFORE PUNISHMENT

The producer behind the Oscar-qualified short talks school distress, neurodivergence, the hidden reality facing families and bringing Anna Maxwell Martin on board for her executive producing debut Oscar-qualified short film Unauthorised Absence takes an intensely personal look at a crisis facing families whose children are struggling to attend school, asking what happens when the systems they turn to for support respond not with understanding, but punishment. Developed … Continue reading OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: NATALIE LAUREN ON WHY UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE PUTS NEED BEFORE PUNISHMENT

OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Cyrus Neshvad on the Journey From The Red Suitcase to I Will Be Alright

From The Red Suitcase to I Will Be Alright, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker continues to explore freedom, identity and the human connections that can transcend borders Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad returns to the Oscar conversation with I Will Be Alright, a deeply human drama about a 16-year-old Iranian refugee facing the possibility of deportation to the country she fled. The film has qualified for consideration at the 99th Academy Awards after winning Best of … Continue reading OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Cyrus Neshvad on the Journey From The Red Suitcase to I Will Be Alright

OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Director Tamás Yvan Topolánszky on Never Give Up!, the Business of Short Film and Why Words Can Outlive the People Who Speak Them

Oscar-qualified filmmaker Tamás Yvan Topolánszky talks independent financing, discovering a remarkable nine-year-old first-time actor, the economics of ambitious short filmmaking and why his latest film asks a deceptively complicated question: who really owns a message? There is a deceptively simple question at the centre of Topolánszky’s Oscar-qualified short Never Give Up!: Do words belong to the person who says them, or to the person who ultimately gives them meaning? Produced by … Continue reading OSCAR SPOTLIGHT: Director Tamás Yvan Topolánszky on Never Give Up!, the Business of Short Film and Why Words Can Outlive the People Who Speak Them

VENICE – Saoirse Ronan’s Paper Plane — A Quiet, Tender Debut

★★★★★ (5/5) There is something wonderfully unforced about Paper Plane, Saoirse Ronan’s 15-minute directorial debut. Rather than announcing itself as the work of a celebrated actor stepping behind the camera, the film settles into its own modest rhythm: observant, tactile and quietly heartbreaking. The story follows a young girl who retreats to a treehouse in silent protest after her mother begins a new relationship with an abusive … Continue reading VENICE – Saoirse Ronan’s Paper Plane — A Quiet, Tender Debut