THE ABSENCE OF HEAT
During a drive, an engaged couple engage in a lighthearted conversation that subtly reveals the dynamics of their relationship.
Directed by Harding & Young
Written by Dave Harding
During a drive, an engaged couple engage in a lighthearted conversation that subtly reveals the dynamics of their relationship.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Harding & Young, a director duo born and bred in East Sussex, with backgrounds in commercial and corporate documentary filmmaking, David Harding and Thomas Young seamlessly transitioned from documenting real-world stories to crafting fiction, thriving on small teams and modest budgets. Their commitment to creative storytelling shines through in every project.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH DAVE
Tell us about the genesis of The Absence of Heat.
The Absence of Heat was born from an evening of doom scrolling. I (Dave) came across a video of Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about how cold doesn’t actually exist. Me and my partner almost never argue and if we do it’s always over the most mundane things. She often remarks on how I can look a little too deeply into the wording of things rather than the actual subject we’re arguing about. I usually see the humour in these arguments before they’ve even finished, much to her enjoyment.
The combination of these two things led to the bulk of the dialogue being written very quickly in my notes app. A quick polish, plus the fact I’d always wanted to shoot a driving scene, and we basically had a full script the next day.
My friend Zach is an amazing filmmaker and a big car guy so it felt like an obvious collab. We put his dad’s beautiful old car on a trailer on the back of Zach’s van and rigged the camera up. We did a few drives down one of our favourite hometown roads during golden hour and had the whole film wrapped in an hour, thanks to the absolute pros and real life couple Ed and Lily.
The edit also came together super fast the next day, along with writing and recording a short piece of music. It’s probably the quickest and most seamless anything I’ve created has ever come together!
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
So far we’ve only shared it on YouTube, but we’re hoping to have it screened at some festivals over the summer.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Based on our experience of this film, I’d say look for something you notice in the everyday that you find some sort of humour, enjoyment or fear in, and write a small, contained moment in a character’s life. Try to keep it in one location and as simple to shoot as possible.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just written a new, longer short script which totally ignores all of the advice above. It’s a lot more ambitious and is going to take a while to get into production but I’m very excited for it!
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
A hugely underrated favourite of mine is A Ghost Story.
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NOW THAT YOU’RE BACK
After losing a childhood friend to suicide, Connor and Liam reunite for the painful task of choosing his burial clothes — a moment that forces old wounds and unspoken truths to surface.
Written & Directed by Seth Hope Barnard Chodzko
Produced by Seth Hope Barnard Chodzko, Cora Needham & Joe Everitt
After losing a childhood friend to suicide, Connor and Liam reunite for the painful task of choosing his burial clothes — a moment that forces old wounds and unspoken truths to surface.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Seth is a writer/director originally from Kent in the UK who studied at the Northern Film School in Leeds, passionate about creating both documentary and fiction films. Through his work’s particular subject matters and forms I hope to raise awareness and provoke questions in the viewer, positively influencing our precarious world. He also likes to blend documentary and fiction, inspired by the stories and people around him, incorporating reality into his narrative projects.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH SETH
Tell us about the genesis of Now That You're Back. Where did the idea come from?
The very initial idea, came to me whilst I was driving on the M62 between Leeds and Manchester, as I often did. It is very scenic and the rolling hills, for some reason, made me think about grief and disconnection, particularly between two men. The first working title was therefore “Rolling Hills” and was about two brothers who had lost their other brother to suicide. Although not directly, suicide has been a consistent event in my life and I have therefore often thought about the culture of it. Further discussing the idea with my mum, she told me about a time she and a friend, had to pick out the funeral clothes for a mutual friend who had died. I found this idea compelling. The unusual process of having to pick out the clothes, to dress a recently deceased loved one. This “task”, also acted as an affective structure for a short film I felt, driving it forward with a clear through line (the task being set at the beginning, and then completed at the end).
How did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
I wrote the script and pitched the idea to my film school (students and tutors) as part of the graduation films that were to be made. Unfortunately, the film was not selected. This was a really important lesson for me, about rejection. I found it difficult at first but in the end, it was a blessing because it gave me more time to develop the script into something, I believe, was stronger. I was determined to make the film and so, thanks to my piers and the Northern Film School, I shot it after everyone had finished their graduation projects! The film would not be what it is, without that initial rejection and extended time to develop it.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
Once the film was finished, I jumped straight into entering it into film festivals. This was mainly done by entering via FilmFreeway. I entered as many as I could afford at the time, but also any free festivals that had a category for our film. Other than that, I tried to push it out wherever I could. I screened it at my film school, in a cinema in my home county of Kent, emailed it to friends and family etc. Of course, I also promoted the film via social media, exposing it to the world and hopefully get audiences interested in seeing it!
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
1. This one is very cliche, but the biggest lesson I learnt with this film is, believe in your idea, even if it gets rejected. That was a big one for me. Take it on the chin and move on with pursuing it! No matter what, you will learn and benefit from making the film.
2. Try not to be precious with your script, even from early development. Share your ideas and drafts with the people around you, including non-film buffs! Have conversations about it. Anything I have made has been strongly influenced by the feedback I get from the people in my life.
3. Start your short film right in the action, and set up the narrative as early as possible. Draw the audience into the world immediately. Let them know what it is roughly about, early on, to keep them engaged, and want to see what happens at the end. In short film, you don’t have time to beat around the bush (in my opinion!).
What are you working on now?
I am writing two short film scripts whilst I travel around South America, which has been a massive privilege. I work in the film industry as a runner back home and it’s really difficult to find the time to work on my own stuff. Both scripts are dramas and will be around 10 pages long. I hope to make them soon after I get back to the UK!
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
I’m going to try recommend something that hopefully hasn’t been seen by that wide of an audience. Since we’re talking about short films, I would recommend a short by one of my favourite filmmakers, Abbas Kiarostami, called “The Bread And Alley”. It’s simply about a young boy who meets an aggressive stray dog, on his walk home. It forces him into a new situation that he has to deal with on his own. It is such a simple concept yet it takes you through an array of emotions, and is ultimately a great coming of age story! This short, for me, encapsulates exactly what a “strong” short film is, simple and effective in addressing a wider concept/idea.
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STORM CLOUDS
An identical twin takes on his dead brother’s identity to evade responsibility to the family business, which is controlling the weather via masturbation.
Written & Directed by Adrian Delcan
Produced by Henrik Larsen & Adrian Delcan
An identical twin assumes his dead brother’s identity to evade the responsibility involved with his weather-controlling gift; the centerpiece of his family’s business.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Adrian is a writer and director from Southern California. He worked as a writer on Judas, the latest game from BioShock creator Ken Levine. He directed the short film Animal Behavior, which screened at festivals including LA Shorts, NFFTY, and PÖFF in Estonia. He was a YoungArts x Ignite Fellow at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. His debut feature film, Old Man, was released by Gravitas Ventures in January 2025.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ADRIAN
Hi Adrian! Welcome back. Other than making Storm Clouds, what else have you been up to since we featured your previous film Animal Behaviour?
Hi Dustin! It’s a pleasure to be back, thanks for having me. Since we last spoke I’ve moved back and forth between Los Angeles and New York City a few times for work. I’m in New York now. So other than packing and unpacking I’ve been spending my time writing. I’ve actually been working on a feature adaptation of Animal Behavior.
I also completed another short film; that one is titled Early Human Media. It’s a comedic and surrealist take on a guy going up to a girl’s apartment for the first time. It will be premiering at a festival this March.
Your work in general has absurd comedic tones with quite dark sharp edges. It's akin to the work of Aster and Lanthimos, yet unique in its own right. How would you classify your style? What are some of the main influences on your style?
I love the work of Ari Aster and Yorgos Lanthimos, they’re absolutely influences so I’m flattered by the comparison. If I had to point to our shared interest it would probably the be the concern for comedy. I really love going to the movies to laugh, and sometimes the best laughs are the ones that make you second guess if you should’ve at all. I often feel that way watching the movies of Aster and Lanthimos, it may be a performance choice or something deeply disturbing. They’re always heightening the reality in ways I couldn’t have expected but never enough to alienate me, and I think that’s because their stories are anchored in deeply relatable characters. These are things I constantly aim for in my writing and directing.
I would say that I make character-driven comedies, often blending thriller, sci-fi, or crime elements.
Tell us about the genesis of Storm Clouds. Where did the idea come from? How did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
I’m a big fan of science fiction and have always tip-toed around it in my own work, but it wasn’t until I started reading more Stephen King did I feel like there was a way to do it that was true to me. This project came on the heels of that feeling. Before writing there were a few things I knew I wanted to explore in the next project, like having a larger cast, lots of moving camera, and I wanted to involve images of the sky. The sex of it all was something that came later. It was important to me how the family created clouds. There’s a much simpler version of this movie that removes all of the sex and just has the family meditating to conjure the rain, but I felt that framing the ability as shameful and disturbing created good tension. I also thought it would be cinematically interesting to sequence clouds forming this way.
I can imagine that the concept of this film would be difficult to pitch. How did you get collaborators onboard? Did any of the actors have reservations? How do you build trust with your talent to know that they're in safe hands despite the more absurd and crude elements of the story?
I felt pretty strongly that the script was coming from an earnest place, with a keen interest in exploring the Fontaine family, and that the crude elements weren’t employed as spectacle. So a lot of my job as the director was communicating this vision to my collaborators, and it was through lots of practical discussions did they understand how we’d be treating the subject matter. We also had an intimacy coordinator that helped us breakdown the sex scenes so that it felt like we were just following a cookbook. By the time we got to set it all became very technical: you go there, open the window, put your hand in your pants, and the camera will track with you whenever you’re ready.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences? Did you experience much festival rejection? If so, how did you overcome that?
We had Storm Clouds screened at Whammy in Los Angeles and at the Laugh After Dark Festival in Las Vegas. However, the 24 minute runtime and heavy subject matter definitely made it a difficult short to program at festivals. As much as I tried, I never had a chance at getting this movie under 20 minutes. There was a 50 minute cut, 18 minute cut, 10 minute cut, but in the end the story decides how long it should be, and for us that was 24 minutes.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
There’s so much to learn in challenging yourself to make an extremely short cut of your movie, even if you immediately revert back to the original version. The search for the most distilled version of your story reveals who you are as a filmmaker. The elements you can’t bear to lose, the ones that make your stomach turn when they’re not in the movie, is your voice speaking.
What are you working on now?
I have a new short film titled Early Human Media that will have its festival premiere this March 2026!
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
I’ve recently come into the movies of American filmmaker Joseph Losey: The Prowler, The Servant, and many other incredible works of his from the 40s and 50s. If you have a blind spot for this era of cinema, please do yourself a favor and start with his movies.
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STILL GOT IT
A cheeky Grandpa seizes a moment of freedom while the nurse is out.
Starring Ronald Pickup & Jackie Howe
Written & Directed by Miles Dickinson
Produced by Sam Simmons-Betts & Matt Ashworth
A cheeky Grandpa seizes a moment of freedom while the nurse is out.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Miles Dickinson is a Leeds based filmmaker with a background in commercial production across branded content, TV commercials, radio and social campaigns. He currently works for the University of Leeds as a Production Lead in their Digital Education team.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH MILES
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
Thank you for having me. My name is Miles Dickinson and I’m a UK-based filmmaker. It feels strange to describe myself like this because it’s been so long since I last made a film, and so much of my life has changed since I shot this back at the start of 2019. I started out making short films and music videos after graduating from university in 2015. Over time, I slowly moved away from narrative filmmaking and into agency life, working in commercial production across branded content, TV commercials, radio and social campaigns. During the pandemic, my wife and I relocated from London to Leeds, and sadly the filmmaking side of my life gradually faded away.
Short films have always been a really important part of my development, though, and I’ve often said that one day I’d return and make another short. Some of my best memories are scraping money together and working with friends to create something we felt was worth sharing with the world. That’s exactly what this film is. A passion project made between friends, and at the time it was an opportunity for me to continue honing my writing and directing skills. I made Still Got It over seven years ago, but it genuinely feels like yesterday. Making short films gave me the freedom to experiment with tone and storytelling, while also focusing on performance, pacing and visual language, all without the pressure of scale or commercial clients.
Tell us about the genesis of Still Got It. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
The idea came from spending time with my grandparents and noticing how much of their identity had quietly faded from view as they got older. You meet someone late in their life and you rarely get any sense of who they were before age, illness or routine took over. I kept thinking about how many elderly people are walking around with entire histories, passions, talents and stories that never get acknowledged. With Still Got It, I wanted to tell a story that reveals that hidden inner life in a playful way, rather than something overly sentimental or bleak.
Once I landed on the idea of an older man secretly dancing, the rest of the film grew quite naturally around that. The relationship with Karen, his daughter and carer, became the emotional framework. She isn’t a villain; she loves him. But her care has become controlling. This dynamic gave the film both its humour and its heart. The film I made before Still Got It was called Orchid, which also featured an elderly character. That film was much more serious in tone, exploring grief. After making these two films, it became clear to me that I’m drawn to hidden stories and the emotional depth that comes with ageing and having most of your life behind you. I’m drawn to themes of nostalgia, memory and past experience. You learn things about yourself when you make films!
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Still Got it and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges was working with an elderly lead and building a physically demanding dance sequence around him. Ron Pickup was extraordinary, and it was an absolute privilege to work with such an established actor, especially at that early stage of my career. Ron did'nt have to say yes to this film. He chose to do it purely to support me as a young filmmaker, and he did so with immense generosity and kindness. He worked without any ego, without expectation, and with total commitment to the story. Over the course of the shoot, Ron and I became genuine friends, and that trust was fundamental to how the film came together.
Because of his age and the physicality required, his safety was always the priority for us. We approached the dance sequence with careful planning, rehearsal and flexibility, adapting the choreography and coverage to suit Ron rather than forcing the performance to meet a preconceived idea. That allowed the scene to feel joyful and liberated while remaining safe and respectful.
Still Got It became one of Ron’s final screen performances before his tragic passing, which makes the film incredibly special to me. He was a kind, gentle soul, and I feel truly honoured that I had the opportunity to work with him and to capture such a beautiful, playful performance so late in his life.
Another major challenge for me was working with a Director of Photography whom I’d not worked with before, whose creative approach was different to mine. Due to scheduling, I hadn’t been able to spend much time with him prior to the shoot, as I normally would with DoPs I’d previously worked with. On set, we had different ideas around framing, blocking and action, which threw off my process. I’m not taking anything away from his clear talent and all of his ideas were strong, but in my inexperience I didn’t know how or when to push back on those differing opinions. It was a valuable learning experience because, ultimately, I do wish that I’d held firm and stuck to my storyboard. You live and learn!
There were also the usual short-film realities: an extremely tight budget, limited shoot days and a small crew. But we were lucky to have an incredibly committed team who genuinely believed in the project. That belief made a huge difference, and everyone went the extra mile to make sure the film felt polished and emotionally honest.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights?
We didn't screen the film at any festivals. Mainly due to financial restrictions! It's amazing that the film is now starting to be seen all these years later.
We understand that you've sat on this project for quite a while before releasing it online. Would you mind telling us why?
Yes, it's been in a metaphorical dusty box for many years! In all honesty, for a long time I really wasn't proud of this film. I must stress that my disappointment is not a result of any lack of talent or ability in my crew. Far from it. I was blown away by the quality of work they brought to this. I was just disappointed in the decisions I made during the creation of the film and the direction I took it. I felt for a long time that it didn't represent my original vision, and I was frustrated that I'd decided to take a departure from a style of filmmaking I'd worked so hard to hone in my other works.
Letting it breathe allowed me to gain some distance from it and start to appreciate it for what it is, rather than constantly thinking about what I would have changed. All these years later, I now smile when I watch it because these are great memories for me, and I really am now proud of what we achieved with it. Yes, it's not exactly how I'd imagined it, but it has plenty of charm, it looks beautiful, and it's an entertaining short film – in my humble opinion, of course!
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Great question! My advice would be to work with people more talented than you. When you find them, reach out, be genuine, meet with them, become friends, and make sure that you're creatively aligned. Don't be afraid to send scripts to agents, ask for favours, and wheel and deal. So many of my opportunities came from this way of thinking. I learned so much by surrounding myself with people who were better than me, who had more of an education in the arts than I did. I desperately wanted to study Film Directing at the prestigious National Film and Television School. I applied every year for about five years and heard nothing back. So instead, I decided to work with alumni from the school on many of my short films – what's the difference?
What are you working on now?
Nothing at the moment! Who knows, being selected for KINO's Weekly Pick might bring my inner filmmaker back to the surface. Maybe it's time to dig out some of my old scripts and go again...
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
I've been out of the game for a long time now so nothing hot off the press to recommend. But, doing some digging back through my old liked shorts on vimeo I've found a couple worth mentioning here. Hala (2016) by Minhal Baig is fantastic. I absolutely love Mixtape Marauders (2018) by Peter Edlund. Milton (2019) by Tim Wilkime is great fun too. My good friend Mark Van Heusden makes great films too.
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CRUSTS
Words and sandwiches are shared round a grave as an Irish family tries to grieve the untimely death of a loved one.
Directed by Alfie Dale | Written by Ben Ferrity
Produced by Archie Sinclair, Chuckie McEwan, Ben Jacob-Smith & Ben Ferrity
Words and sandwiches are shared round a grave as an Irish family tries to grieve the untimely death of a loved one.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Alfie Dale is an award winning director from London. He is drawn to character driven films. Alfie’s last short was 'My Brother Is A Mermaid' premiered at the BAFTA qualifying Iris Prize Film Festival, where it won Best British Short Film, the Audience Award and the Youth Jury AwardThe film went on to win the main prize at the BAFTA qualifying Norwich Film Festival, received a Special Mention at Academy Qualifying Flickerfest, and won Best Short at The Casting Director’s Association Awards. The film received nominations at over 15 other BAFTA/Academy qualifying festivals, and played at over 50 other festivals globally, picking up several more awards, before being picked up online by Director’s Notes and Omeleto.
Ben Ferrity - Born and bred in Belfast, Ben is a Northern Irish Writer-Producer with a passion for using comedy drama as a means to explore painful and sensitive issues. Outside of writing, Ben develops and script edits TV dramas and feature films as a Development Executive for Working Title Films. His credits include The Iron Claw (A24), The Zones of Interest (A24), Sherwood (BBC1), Six Four (ITVX), and the hit true crime documentary series Accused: Guilty or Innocent (A&E Networks).
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH BEN
Tell us about the genesis of Crusts. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
Crusts was inspired my (Ben's) family's experiences with grief and loss. Before I had ever been to a wedding I'd unfortunately been to too many funerals to count and I always found myself remembering the awkward mundane chatting over shitty sandwiches after the burial rather than any of the service or outpourings of grief and I thought there was something profoundly funny and sad about that - about getting emotional remembering an egg and cress sandwich as a touchpoint for someone's funeral.
Northern Ireland has one of the highest suicide rates in the world and if you speak to anyone there they've likely experienced it or know someone closely who has. Grief is always experienced individually and it's particularly stark after a suicide. The characterS in Crusts are loosely based off members of my own family and their reactions to a tragic death. Some prefer to go into overdrive with busying themselves rather than sit with their pain, others like to make light of tragedy as a shield, some are angry at the circumstances of the death, and others may just be too young to fully process things.
I wanted to combine these two elements - the banality of some our rituals surrounding death and the individual grieving processes of others that sometimes collide - into a snapshot that captured how I felt when a family member of mine tragically passed away and that's when I came up with the idea and setting for Crusts. I got emotional once walking through a graveyard on my way back from work eating a crappy meal deal sandwich. It made me remember my uncle for some reason and I knew there and then what the final scene of the film would be. Eating and crying. It's oddly cathartic.
Once you had the script how did you go about finding your key collaborators
Alfie and I met at one of CenterFrame's networking events and together pitched the film to a community of filmmakers who then voted to allocate funding.
I was aware of Alfie’s commercial work and the success of his previous BAFTA Long listed short MY BROTHER IS A MERMAID. After securing funding with CenterFrame, Alfie introduced us to Grey Moth who have a brilliant track record of producing some of the UKs top short films. That's how we met Archie and Chuckie - such a pleasure to work with and bring on as producers. Their relationships with crew, kit houses, and post production facilities was instrumental and they were just a delight to have on board throughout!
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Crusts and how did you overcome them?
Honestly, the weather. We wanted to strike an beautiful, slightly jarring, slightly ethereal aesthetic for the film and once we found the church in Ballintoy it was clear that we needed to shoot there at whatever costs. Unfortunately, up on the North Coast of Ireland, one moment you've got thick fog where you can't see a metre in front and then next it's splitting sunshine as we encounter. Makes continuity a nightmare but in the end it was differently worth it for the scenery!
The other big obstacle was cast. We were so drawn to Claire, Anna, Louis, and Riona as performers that once we'd seen their tapes we would have moved heaven and earth to make sure their availabilities all matched up. Especially with Louis and Riona, who play the younger characters Fergal and Sorcha, you need actors with such incredibly maturity to pull off those complex emotional shifts and so we felt very lucky to have found such rising stars.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights and/or online release.
We couldn't have done as well as we have on the festival circuit without the support and knowledge of Grey Moth Films who have had such success with their other short films, and of CenterFrame, who have boldly reframed how short films can secure funding.
The funding from CentreFrame enabled us to apply to a substantial number of festivals (and make the film itself!) which, combined with Grey Moth's understanding of the market, enabled to screen the film in numerous countries, at Oscar, BAFTA, and BIFA qualifies across the world, pick up several awards, and have the film Longlisted for the British Independent Film Award for Best Short. All of that helped us secure a final home for the film on Omeleto which we couldn't have been happier about and it's been amazing to see online audiences engage with the film and comment such lovely feedback to us!
A festival highlight would have to be Fastnet Film Festival in Cork. They turn the whole village into a cinema, with pubs, churches and even farms putting up screens. It's also a complete laugh with everyone at the pub in between screenings, whether you're Paul Mescal or a first time filmmaker!
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
Keep your short short! There are times when shorts need be over 15 minutes but most of the time you're going to better retain your audience (and likely have better success with festival programmers) when they're under that runtime. If you can spare it, a little payment for the crew - even if it's symbolic - across the board can go a long way to creating a fun, productive atmosphere on set. Oh and make sure you don't skimp on catering!
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
I love shorts when they have a sense of scale - whether in the backdrop, genre, or ambitious premise. Some of my favourites are below:
- Meat Puppet by Eros V
- The Golden West by Tom Berkely and Ross White
- Le censeur des reves by Leo Berne
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The World Beyond Me
In the unforgiving world of Kamathipura, Mumbai’s notorious red-light district, a young woman clings to fragile moments of hope while trapped by sex-debt bondage in the grip of her ruthless pimp.
Written & Directed by Ashwin Agrawal
Produced by Julia Verdin
In the unforgiving world of Kamathipura, Mumbai’s notorious red-light district, a young woman clings to fragile moments of hope while trapped by sex-debt bondage in the grip of her ruthless pimp.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Ashwin Agrawal is a Mumbai-based indie filmmaker. He studied filmmaking at the Sundance Collab Program and Raindance Film School, and is currently mentored by Peter Markham, the renowned filmmaking coach from the AFI Conservatory.
His first short film, Crossroad, won numerous awards at international film festivals. His debut feature, Broken Mirror, received recognition at the Los Angeles Film Awards in 2024. He also won the Audience Choice Award for his short film Half a Bite at the Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival in Canada, a Canadian Screen Award-qualifying festival.
As an independent filmmaker, Ashwin often seeks collaboration to reduce the cost of production while building meaningful creative connections. He believes filmmaking is an multi-functional craft, where every person involved is essential to the life of the film.
Under Peter Markham’s mentorship, Ashwin has delved deeply into the craft of cinematic storytelling—studying the rarely taught discipline of narrative point of view and its articulation on screen. His work explores the flow of energy within a film, the resonance of images, tonal shifts, and the shaping of theme through cinematic language.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ASHWIN
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I am an acting coach and film director based in India. I began my filmmaking journey in 2022 with my short film Crossroad, which I wrote and directed, casting my own students in the lead roles. The film performed well across several smaller festivals and marked the start of my directorial path.
Following that, I directed my first feature film, Broken Mirror, a story centered on body dysmorphia. The film reached the final stages of consideration at Directors’ Fortnight but, though it did not make the official selection, the experience deeply shaped my artistic growth.
I went on to direct The World Beyond, and soon after, I joined the Sundance Collab program for film directing. There, I met my current mentor, Peter Markham — a former AFI Conservatory coach and teacher of acclaimed director Ari Aster. I have been training with Peter remotely for over a year now, and his guidance has significantly refined my craft and cinematic vision.
Most recently, I directed a poetic short film titled Where the Waves Forget. Peter Markham loved the film and is serving as its Creative Consultant, continuing to mentor me on the project’s artistic development.
Tell us about the genesis of The World Beyond Me. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that’s now made its way out into the world?
One ordinary day, I parked my car near Mumbai’s Kamathipura at 4 PM and noticed a sex worker standing by a wall. When I returned at 8 PM, she was still there—her face weary, her expression sombre, untouched by the passing hours. That moment struck me deeply. It wasn’t just her exhaustion; it was the realization that her world and mine, though physically separated by mere steps, were universes apart. While I could move freely, she seemed confined to those lanes, locked out of the life many take for granted.
This haunting realization gave birth to The World Beyond Me. I wanted to go beyond the surface, beyond what society sees and labels. Who was she behind the Prostitute Label, behind the weary face and the stereotypes? What were her dreams, hopes, and desires?
Too often, filmmakers dehumanize sex workers, portraying them as mere objects, stripping away their dignity and identity by using derogatory terms like “whore”. I wanted to change that narrative. The World Beyond Me tells the story of Sangam, not as a victim but as a person a woman with a longing for freedom, for something beyond the confines of her world.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making The World Beyond Me and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was balancing authenticity and sensitivity. We were very mindful of how we portrayed trauma and violence—most of it is conveyed through close-ups of Sangam’s face, focusing on her emotional state rather than the physical acts. Working with a low budget and ensuring that we did justice to the complexity of Sangam’s story also posed logistical and creative challenges, but it was a deeply fulfilling experience.
Another challenge was changing weather we were shooting at the end of rainy season so there was a lot of inconsistency in the lighting conditions.
The budget forced us to get creative. For the crucial beach scenes, our crew stripped down to just the essentials: me on camera, my assistant, and our lead actress. It was a marathon of multitasking—directing, operating the heavy gimbal, and problem-solving with a team of three. We captured the magic, though I felt the strain in my back long after the shoot wrapped.
I did the color grading of the film instead of spending money to hire a color artist and I believe I did pretty good job on that.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights and/or online release.
The Jorney was difficult at first some top channels rejected the film and it left me disappointed and then there was this shortframe channel in UK they accepted the film and also Klipist another good platform in UK and recently I released it on my own channel and it seems to be doing pretty good for the start.
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
The biggest advice I’d give to short filmmakers is: let your film begin as soon as possible skip long opening credits. Don’t make the audience wait to enter your story.
Another common misconception is that you need a “hook” at the beginning. Many filmmakers fall into this trap and end up diluting the authenticity of their work. If you watch Miller & Son, the Oscar-winning short by Asher Jelinsky, who also happens to be my coach there’s no flashy hook. It simply begins with a man going about his daily routine in his father’s garage, yet it pulls you in through truth and tone.
One of the most important yet overlooked aspects of directing is understanding the Narrative Point of View (NPOV) who is taking us through the journey, the emotion, the experience of the story. Sometimes it’s a single character, sometimes two (as in buddy stories), or even an ensemble.
The character we’re aligned with should guide the camera its movement, lens choice, and proximity/distance, sound mix, editing. For instance, in a film like American Honey, the NPOV is with Star, the lead girl. It’s what’s called a “Follow and Accompany” NPOV — the camera travels with her, not just after her.
Another great example is in Blue Valentine: when Ryan Gosling’s character pleads not to break up, he’s shot in a close-up — we’re emotionally close to him. Michelle Williams, however, is framed in a medium-wide shot, distancing her both emotionally and visually. Their differing shot sizes express their relational distance.
There’s a lot more to explore in understanding NPOV — it’s one of the most powerful tools a director has to make the audience feel exactly what they intend.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Miller & Son – Short film – Student Oscar winner – Helps understanding how tonal shift happens in film
Contrapello – Short film – Oscar Nominee – Helps understand how simple story with 2 simple location can carry so much depth
Roma- To understand NPOV – 3 rd person objective and 3 rd person intimate only it never shifts to other NPOV styles like first person or other.
Nomadland- Amazing acting great microstories on face and blend of documentary fiction storytelling.
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THE PEARL COMB
In 1893, a fisherman’s wife becomes the first person to cure someone of tuberculosis. A doctor, intent on proving a woman’s place is in the home and not practising medicine, investigates - only to discover the source of her unearthly power.
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Written & Directed by Ali Cook
Produced by Ross Williams & Matthew James Wilkinson
In 1893, a fisherman’s wife becomes the first person to cure someone of tuberculosis. A doctor, intent on proving a woman’s place is in the home and not practising medicine, investigates - only to discover the source of her unearthly power.
ABOUT THE FILM
The Pearl Comb was an Official Selection at our 2025 BIFA Qualifying Kino London Short Film Festival, having been nominated for 6 awards, and winning Best Production Design and Best Cinematography.
It premiered at FrightFest and Tampere, making quite a dent in the festival circuit. Highlights include winning a Méliès d’Argent Award – Best European Fantastic Short Film at Grossmann Fantastic Film and Wine Festival, winning Best Cinematography & Best Horror Short at Flickers Rhode Island’s Vortex, winning Best After Hours Short at Cleveland International Film Festival, and many, many more…
The film was recently Oscar Shortlisted and BAFTA Longlisted.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
The Pearl Comb follows Cook’s BAFTA-longlisted short The Cunning Man, which screened at 88 international festivals, including Cinequest, FrightFest, Cleveland, and the BAFTA- and BIFA-qualifying Norwich Film Festival, winning 33 awards and earning a Méliès d’Argent nomination.
Cook first broke out as a writer-performer with seven of his own comedy series, including Channel 4’s Dirty Tricks, which was nominated for a British Comedy Award. As an actor, he is known for playing Sgt. Paul McMellon in the BAFTA-nominated Kajaki and as series regular DCI Simmons in Ragdoll for AMC/BBC One. He will soon appear as Ben in Channel 4’s Falling, written by Jack Thorne.
Cook’s next directorial project will be the feature The Grimoire, co-written with Eric Garcia (showrunner of Netflix’s Kaleidoscope) and produced by Chris Curling at Zephyr Films. Curling has produced more than 60 films, including Oscar-nominated The Last Station, starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer and James McAvoy, and The Miracle Club with Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH ALI
Hi Ali!
We're excited to be featuring The Pearl Comb as our Weekly Pick. Not only because it's Oscar Shortlisted and BAFTA Longlisted, but because it's a film that we believed in even before its recent success.
Can you tell our audience a bit about yourself and all the hard work tha’s led to this point?
Originally, and for a long time, I was a professional magician. I was very lucky to be on TV as a magician, which is like the holy grail for most of us. I ended up making seven TV series for a company called Objective Productions. My old boss there was Andrew O’Connor who famously invented Peep Show; he’s a very clever TV producer. One day whilst we were making a TV series, he said: “You know I think you’d be a good actor.” And the cameraman said: “I think you’ve got a good face to be a villain”. These comments kind of stuck with me so I started acting, kept writing and here I am.
Tell us about the genesis of The Pearl Comb. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that’s now made its way out into the world?
I’ve always wanted to portray mermaids authentically, as brutal killers like in the original folk tales, not as Disney princesses.
Then I heard the true story of the Edinburgh Seven: The first seven women to qualify as doctors in the UK. The medical profession did everything they could to stop them from practicing and the female doctors of that time had to come up with inventive lies to justify the work they were doing by claiming to be midwives or natural healers.
It felt like the right time to bring these stories together - especially now, when there’s a bigger conversation happening around gender, power, and the way women have historically been overlooked, misunderstood, or even seen as threatening or strange, just for being different.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced during the making of the film?
Creating a convincing mermaid on screen!
Also, the mermaid shooting out of the water during the boat scene springs to mind. It’s such a pivotal scene and the sequence was shot in a studio, with all the water effects achieved digitally. The challenge of creating that moment, making the digital effects blend seamlessly with the performance, gave me a whole new appreciation for how visual storytelling can transform a scene.
How did you overcome them?
It took months of discussion and inventive work with the SFX and VFX teams. I had to trust my imagination and the brilliance and experience of the team. When you believe in your instincts and you surround yourself with people who bring their own spark, the work starts to flow naturally.
Can you talk a bit about your process and how you balanced your performance with your role as director?
Preparation was crucial for me so that once I was in front of the camera, I could fully focus on the performance. I also found it invaluable to have someone I trust watching the monitor and giving me feedback, which I did.
Being an actor myself, I know how vulnerable it feels when all eyes are on you. Therefore, I know the best approach is to constantly reassure your actors and give them encouragement. Strangely, being in the ring with the other cast makes it feel more like a team effort for me, as if we’re all in it together. It really works well.
Who was the first collaborator to come on board the project and how did their early adoption help propel you forward?
Our storyboard artist Daniel O’Donnell-Smith and Koala FX.
We knew from the outset that the project would involve a significant amount of VFX, so it made sense for us to get to grips with this early on. Having a tight shot list allowed us to have conversations with Koala at an early stage and work out how to approach the work as economically as possible while still giving the story what it demanded.
Can you chat about your producers Ross and Matthew, how they came aboard the project and what they brought to the table?
I first met Ross on a short film I wrote called The Cunning Man. He did such a fantastic job that I knew I wanted to collaborate with him again on this project. When Ross had to jump on to the series Funny Woman, Matt Wilkinson came on board.
I’ve known Matt for years and have acted in several of his films. Even though this project was a short, he treated it the same as a feature and held me accountable to a tight shoot and post-production schedule. It really felt like I was responsible for delivering and that was a good push.
If I’ve done my research correctly, I believe you premiered at FrightFest, yes? How was that experience?
Yes, FrightFest was our first screening and UK premiere. Being recognised by one of the world’s top-reviewed genre festivals means so much. Genre films often push boundaries and take risks, and to have our work acknowledged in that space was so exciting.
At the same time, we premiered at Tampere Festival in Finland which is known for high-end art-house cinema. So, it was an honour to play both on the same weekend.
A lot of filmmakers believe they need to hit the world’s top festivals first. They often blow their submissions budget in the Sundance level festivals, and they wait to submit to (or skip altogether) second tier/genre/community festivals. But that doesn’t seem to be the approach you took.
The Pearl Comb has played quite a range of festivals, almost like working your way up the circuit. Can you chat about the approach you took to festival submissions?
I worked with Rebekah at Film Festival Doctor and trusted her strategy. We mainly hit the genre festivals first. When we started getting reviews that this is just as much a drama as a fantasy, we showed it to the drama festival organisers to expand the range of festivals. We just wanted to get it as far and wide as possible. Anything else was a bonus.
The festival circuit is a whiplash whirlwind - doldrums of rejection vs peaks of awards.
Most filmmakers can’t help but to compare themselves to their peers since we all advertise our successes on social media, but oftentimes keep our struggles hush-hush.
During your festival journey, what has been the hardest pill to swallow, and how did you keep going despite that setback?
I’m also a stand-up comedian, and the experience of trying out brand-new material is very similar and can feel quite scary! Ultimately, you have to say that new joke on stage and the audience either love it or they don’t. It’s the same with a short film. The overall motivation to keep going is that when it does kick in, it’s the greatest feeling in the world!
And now the question everyone has been waiting for... How did you manage to get your film released on Disney+ in multiple countries?
By the time the film had built momentum on the festival circuit, we already felt very happy with where things were. Then I came home one day to an email with an offer to stream on Disney which was completely unexpected. All interest is fantastic, but this was especially exciting.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing emerging filmmakers at the moment, and as someone who’s been able to cut through the noise, what advice would you give to those hoping to follow in your footsteps?
My advice would be to get the story right first within the genre you are trying to master. Even if it’s a film you make on your iPhone with a budget of £500; if it’s a great story with great dialogue it doesn’t matter. The number one issue is people often shoot something where they have a premise or a theme, but no real story or ending.
What aspirations do you have for what’s next?
I have a supernatural horror feature, The Grimoire, in pre-production with Zephyr Films so we’re heading full steams towards that!
How helpful has The Pearl Comb been in getting you on a trajectory of being able to actualise those aspirations?
This was the first film I’ve directed, and pardon the pun, I threw myself in at the deep end by taking on a high-end project with a lot of VFX. I wanted to see if I could handle that level of pressure. Now that I have that experience behind me, and with the encouraging response the film has received, I feel reassured both in myself and in showing others that I can do it again.
FOLLOW ALI COOK ON INSTAGRAM
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Dear Departed
A girl who recently lost her Grandfather discovers a hidden post office where you can send and receive letters to a loved one who has passed on, but… she receives the wrong letter.
Written & Directed by Lauren Sims
Produced by Louise Dennett & Richard Sims
A girl who recently lost her Grandfather discovers a hidden post office where you can send and receive letters to a loved one who has passed on, but, she receives the wrong letter.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Lauren Sims is a writer, director and editor residing in Hampshire. She graduated last year from Ravensbourne University with a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Film Production. She has recently founded her production company 'Blue Bucket Productions' with her family.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN
Welcome to our Short of the Week series. Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I’m Lauren and I am an independent filmmaker from Alton.
I am one of the founders of the production company Blue Bucket Productions and the writer/director and editor of Dear Departed. I am a huge film nerd and would live in the cinema if I could. I also love to play the piano, I composed most of the melodies used in the film that our talented composer, Gary Bamford, turned into the beautiful score that it is.
Tell us about the genesis of Dear Departed. Where did the idea come from and how did you develop that idea into the short that's now made its way out into the world?
The whole genesis of Dear Departed is a letter that I wish I could send to my Grandpa. We lost him almost 3 years ago. There is so much I didn’t get to say. I was on a train thinking about what I would say to him if I could write him a letter that he could receive. Any one who knows me, knows that I am constantly creating stories in my head and looking for the film in everything. So I thought, no one is going to watch a short film about me writing and receiving letters from my Grandpa, where is the story? So I came up with the main protagonist gets the wrong letter and two families are entwined. The floating letters was one of the first things I came up with. I made a pitch deck and pitched it to my dad. I had magical post office stills and The Grinch post office for inspiration. Now, in our family, they will give me their honest opinion. So when my dad told me he loved it I knew I had something. Dear Departed was really born when my grandma said let’s do it. Then we started this magical and crazy whirlwind.
What were some of the main obstacles you experienced when making Dear Departed and how did you overcome them?
One of the main obstacles was making a fantasy world with floating letters on a budget. My mum and I sourced props all over charity shops and a family member even found the golden letterbox whilst on a trip in yorkshire. My dad and boyfriend made the post office door and my sister, who also plays the lead, painted it.
I also had a very delicate subject matter in which it was a year since he passed and the main character, Paige, is based on my sister and myself. The funeral scene was done in one take, from a director’s point of view, it was a perfect take because of the raw emotion. But from a sister’s point of view, it was heart breaking. I was quite distanced emotionally from the reality of the story because I had written it and had created the world. But moments like that affected me massively on set. We overcame this as a team and a family.
Time for shooting the post office was also a big obstacle over two days. the original idea was to wallpaper the whole room, then our DP, Scarlett, came up with the amazing idea of rotating the set 90° for each angle we needed, so the four walls you see of the post office, is the same wall!
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences and some of the festival circuit highlights and/or online release.
We’ve had the most incredible journey of getting our film to audiences and I am so so grateful. We had the premiere at the REEL cinema in Farnham where we celebrated with cast, crew, family and friends from all over. The fact that everyone was there that evening to support us overwhelmed me in the best way. You can tell I had the best time beause I barely took any pictures! I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of submitting to film festivals through FilmFreeway. Some of my favourite highlights is definitely attending Wellsboro film festival in America. Ollie, my boyfriend, and I went there for a few days where I got to be with my people. Talking film all weekend was a dream and you could tell the festival organisers truly cared about independet film. Being nominated for Best Indie Short Film at the Cannes Film Awards in Nice this year and attending the Birmingham Film Festival gala where I was nominated for Best First Time Filmmaker was also a whirlwind. Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton were also amazing to attend and run by truly passionate organisers. A big highlight for me was when a woman at the Crystal Palace film festival came up to me after our screening and said how moved she was and said ‘I’m going to go write my letter when I get home’. Getting the film on Amazon Prime Video was also a very proud moment!
What advice or hacks would you give to other short filmmakers?
My advice is use who you know. I used my whole family; from my dad being executive producer to my mum being script supervisor and props master. What locations do you have access to? Our local bookshop, Goldfinch and St.Peter’s church, where I attended at primary school, were all a huge help and we used my families house for many scenes.
Use creative ways to screen your film. We used the church we filmed in for a screening and Q&A and opened it up to the public.
BTS is golden. We made a bts film that we showed at our premiere, audiences want to see how you made it and you need stills for promotion.
Prep prep prep and know what you want. If you don’t have the answer, communicate and say you’ll get back to them when you know.
Never keep your actors in the dark, go straight up to them after a scene.
Just reach out to people, what’s the worst that can happen?
Never stop developing your craft and learning, my friend and I went to the Raindance Saturday Film school a few weeks ago and we left so fired up that we’ve now written a short film we’re co-directing and producing together early next year!
I was made to make movies and want to keep making them, so please feel free to reach out as there are movies to be made!
Any film recommendations?
Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’ was a big inspiration for me. The black and white scene with Margot Robbie pulls at my heart strings through the beautiful score and symmetrical camera shots and I wanted to convey the same feeling in my film.
Films that have stuck with me over the years have been ‘A Promising Young woman’, ‘The Iron Claw’, ‘Anora’ and ‘The Brutalist’, I think everyone should watch them.
I recently watched ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ and how did I wait so long? It’s brilliant and I can’t wait to watch it again.
‘Sinners’, ‘One Battle After Another’, ‘Weapons’ and ‘I Swear’ have been my highlights in cinema this year.
I personally think that last year was outstanding for movies and I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings.