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Reviews from the latest movies, short films, indie features and more. Check out the UK Film Review Reviews section. Latest Film Reviews The latest movie reviews from UK film critics, this is the page to find the newest reviews from our team. The UK Film Review critics are assembled from around the globe, covering all types of movies. Whether these are movie reviews for films currently in UK cinemas (or even globally) or for films on streaming sites such as Netflix, Prime Video or Disney Plus, we cover them all. On this page you will also find the latest film reviews for indie and short films from the UK and around the world. Every month, UK Film Review receives a large selection of submissions from filmmakers requesting us to watch their independently made film and review it. We treat all movies the same and our reviews are never (ever) paid for! We do receive payment from PR companies and other filmmakers for services such as promoting their film, or skipping to queue, but this has nothing to do with the movie review itself. Whilst you will see our latest movie reviews here you should also follow UK Film Review on our social media profiles, as well as subscribe to our popular film podcast. This will help you stay up-to-date with the latest releases, as well as the goings-on from our community of film lovers and critics. average rating is 2 out of 5 Almost Always Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Funeral Car Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Life Goes On Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 I Am The Prize Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Signal Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Man Baby Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 The Killing Moon Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Serena Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Four Days Left Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Feast or Famine Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 the quiet between us Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Pescador Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Disclosure Day Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 ANIMALS Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 The Dew Before Dawn Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Surfing Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Backrooms Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 A Boy Who Dreamt of Electricity Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Fabric Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Woken Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 English Beasts Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Zombucha Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Cliff Edge. Dr Ashkan the man behind the smiles Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Seven Snipers Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 The Marina Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 The Applecalypse Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Masters of the Universe Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Carolina Caroline Read Review average rating is 1 out of 5 Chum Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Back of the Net Read Review average rating is 1 out of 5 Dear Mum Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Aberration: Deja Reve Read Review average rating is 1 out of 5 The Demoness Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 The Family Recipe Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Concerto for Humanity Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Lennington Evening-Blooming Cellar Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Between Breath & Silence Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 La Bola Negra Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 No Place For Football Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Father's Day Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Dimension Slip Read Review average rating is 1 out of 5 Wolfenstein: Legacy Of Defiance Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 This Conversation Has Been Removed Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Daisy's Amygdala Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Big Stack Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Ethereal Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 La Verbena Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Fjord Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Fatherland Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Maybrick Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 I Love Boosters Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Cage Rage Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Behind the Door Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Saccharine Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Furias Corto Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Language of Life Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Blooming Cellar-Tuesday Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Club Kid Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Wannabe: All Washed Up Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Hog Heaven: The Pigz Brotherz Story Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Holly Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 ForeFans Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 El Ser Querido (The Beloved) Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Semolina Pilchard Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 The Buraq That Can't Fly Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Orphan Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 The Mummy Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 4 Minutes Before Forever Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Pickleball Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Marty, Life Is Short Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Obsession Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 anyone lived in a pretty how town Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 The Thistle in the Kiss Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Demon Dancer: Sua/Nara Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Killer Whale Read Review average rating is 5 out of 5 New Lives Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 No One Can Hear You Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Found Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 APEX PURSUIT Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Fag End: Story of a Smoky Womb Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Over The Board Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 The Manuscript Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Ca Dentro Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Salt Along the Tongue Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Swapped Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Heavy Eyes Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Train Ride Read Review average rating is 1 out of 5 An Ode To A Popstar Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Enter the Room Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Video Dreams: A VHS Massacre Story Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Hokum Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Fyre Rises Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Ashes Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Spoon-Man Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Acting Is My Destiny Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 The Promised End Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Immaterial Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Koko Suzanne Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Julius Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Last Notification Read Review

Film reviews from some of the biggest movies in UK cinemas. We also review short films, indie films, and documentaries. Find a movie review now. Film Reviews Here at UK Film Review we like to tackle all kinds film reviews. Our writers come from all walks of life, and feel passionate about critiquing the movies they watch. From the latest Theatrical Releases to Short Films, Indie Films, Documentaries and even Animation, the contributors of UK Film Review are as eager to please as Dev Patel in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011). If you are a filmmaker, or are working in film PR and want to promote one of your clients, please get in touch using the Submit Your Film button under the drop-down menu for Home. Take a look at our list of film reviews below from some of the hottest releases in UK cinemas. Simply click the image of the review you would like, or the title of the movie. Or use the search button to find the movie you are looking for. We have given any feature length film a star rating (out of 5) in order to help viewers sort the Citizen Kanes from the Waterworlds, the Inceptions from the Transformers. Michael Bay will be given a fair film review from our writers, but that probably will not go in his favour. Speaking of Filmmakers, head over to our Filmmaker Features page for awesome articles about some of the best filmmaking geniuses who ever lived. Movie Trailers are also available, either underneath the film reviews, or on the Movie Trailers page. And lastly, if you like your film reviews verbalised. Simply because reading is boring and listening is marvellous, then make sure you Subscribe to the UK Film Review Podcast. Our critics offer up some banterous opinions on the best and worst movies across all genres. Head over to the Podcast page, or click this link to go straight to iTunes. If you would like to read or view any of the following, simply use the navigation. Alternatively, you can click on one of the images to read the film reviews here, or simply have a ganders at the lovely movie artwork on display. Remember to listen to film reviews on our regular film podcast. GET REVIEWED average rating is 2 out of 5 Almost Always Read Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Four Days Left Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Pescador Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Disclosure Day Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 The Dew Before Dawn Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Backrooms Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Woken Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 English Beasts Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Seven Snipers Read Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Masters of the Universe Read Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Carolina Caroline Read Review average rating is 1 out of 5 Chum Read Review Spoilers in our film reviews As with all digital forms of expression sometimes people may find something that upsets them online. Spoilers can often be one of these things! Whilst we do our best to ensure that major plot points, twists, character deaths and celebrity cameos are not found in our reviews, it can sometimes be difficult to judge what each and every film lover on the planet would to be a spoiler. If you feel that one of our film reviews contains one too many details then please do let us (politely) know using our social media platforms. We may then take serious action, such as expelling the critic responsible from this and every other movie publication past and present, declaring war against the studio for leading our writer into temptation, or we may do nothing at all. To be honest, it is most likely going to be the latter unless some serious rules have been broken. You may also see some movie trailers in our reviews that could also contain potential spoilers. In which case anyone who is hoping to avoid these should probably not click the play button on them. Or click the play button, turn the sound down on your device, then leave the room for a least 28 minutes whilst the trailer finishes and leaves your life naturally. You may be wondering what you could do with all 28 of those minutes! Why not read some more film reviews on another device? Or make a short film of your cat playing with a piece of string? Spend it wisely guys and gals.

Read the latest short film reviews at UK Film Review. Our house critics give reviews to short films from across the world submitted by independent filmmakers. Latest Short Film Reviews On this page you will find the most recent short film reviews written by the UK Film Review critic. If you are looking for a particular short film review, you can use the search function at the top of the website. The vast majority of short film reviews we write are for films that have been submitted to us by independent filmmakers themselves. So if you have a short film you would like UK Film Review to review, visit the Submit Your Film page. Almost Always A young guy pines for a girl but is unable to tell her how he feels before tragedy strikes. Andrew (Hakim) is in love with Mia (Ooi). They’ve been best friends for a while now and they seem to hang out with each other exclusively on their down-time. Of course, Mia is blind to how Andrew really feels and just takes the relationship for granted, instinctively and permanently placing him in the friendship category of her life without ever questioning why they spend so much time together. Theirs is a story that spans time immemorial and is one which is unlikely to change anytime soon. So, in their young, foolish, and juvenile way, the two of them hang out, have fun, take up hobbies, and spend time shooting the breeze together, all while Andrew keeps his heartfelt secret locked up inside himself and Mia waxes lyrical about the latest in a long line of boys that she’s been seeing, now finally thinking she’s caught ‘the one’. Andrew’s sister, Aeryn (Wong), can’t keep her nose out of his business and tries hard to force him into revealing his true feelings to Mia, very nearly succeeding as he gets himself ready and bigs himself up to actually do it. However, on the day that he decides to come out and tell the truth, Mia never shows, and the opportunity is missed, never to be repeated, as tragedy breaks the two apart forever. In Almost Always , we’re invited to look upon this age-old story as it’s regurgitated for the bazillionth time, but this time transposed to Kuala Lumpur and played by an amalgam of East Asian students. Writer/director, Sanjeev Nair takes the helm for this telling of the story, using his own experiences and real-world conversations he’s had with friends to inform his own personal take on the scenario, while his fellow students play the roles and do the behind the scenes work to make his vision a reality. Unfortunately, because everyone involved in the project is so young, and the scenario being retreaded is so deeply ingrained in YA culture, the whole thing comes across as achingly juvenile and naïve in its aspect. The dialogue is fearfully childish at most points and the painful ways the youngsters interact and flirt with each other is almost too difficult to watch at times. There is never a naturalism to the way the performances are given and most scenes are stilted by one thing or another in the way they are presented. While Nair does manage to show some narrative chops in the way he builds his story and subsequently films it, the vast majority of scenes involve two people in a room saying things to each other that don’t really have a lot of meaning behind them. Throw into the mix the fact that these student filmmakers have not yet honed their craft, and what we get is bare, tinny audio, bad acting, basic cinematography, and an overuse of standard cinematic devices to tell the story. At twenty-two minutes long, Almost Always has enough time to build its narrative and round out its characters a little, with Nair spending enough on each part of the story to keep us looking for what’s coming next, but by the end we can only be disappointed by how little the details diverge from the main retelling of a tale that has been told several hundred times several hundred ways. There is sadly not enough to distinguish Almost Always from other unrequited young love stories that end in tragedy, but in the same breath there’s definitely enough for the filmmakers to take away with them that they can use and build on in future projects. VIEW REVIEW Funeral Car Funeral Car follows a working-class family as they journey together to a crematorium. The piece is set in real time and entirely shot within the confines of a car as the family grapples with grief and reflection. Shot entirely on an iPhone using equipment donated by Danny Boyle directly from the production of 28 Years Later (2025), the short is formally ambitious, employing guerrilla filmmaking techniques to evoke empathy and grief. One of the most memorable aspects of the short piece is its emphasis on reflection and how each character embodies empathy. While the image of a family sitting alone in a silent car may initially seem isolating to the viewer, it is nevertheless compelling to observe how they navigate and cope with grief. The stripped-back approach is commendable, making each performance feel incredibly authentic. While this approach is apt for the themes and ideas the piece presents, the experience can feel like a chore to sit through at times, due to its lack of engagement and repetition. Despite this issue, it's clearly intended to make the audience uncomfortable, which is what ultimately makes the experience wholly unique. The camerawork throughout remains entirely confined to the interior of a car, opening with a wide shot from the rear. However, the switch to close-ups from the front of the car is commendable, making the experience intimate and emotionally engaging with each performer. The choice to shoot the piece entirely on an iPhone is a welcome one and makes the experience formally ambitious, especially within an independent short film. Another apt formal choice is the absence of music for much of the runtime, with the resulting silence becoming almost deafening, mirroring the characters’ own sense of isolation within the situation. While it may be jarring for viewers to witness, it is clearly designed with a naturalistic, restrained approach. The pacing throughout is intentionally slow to allow each character to process their grief and the memories of their loved ones. Sam Gannie, serving as the film's director, allows each performance an opportunity to stand out by ensuring the characters are centred in the frame. His direction is nuanced and deeply engaging throughout. While the opening offers little context for the family’s loss, the performances and direction ultimately communicate the depth of their grief. It's emotionally overwhelming at times, even with the lack of context for the family's loss. The brief inclusion of a musical score is also apt, with its emotionally stirring motifs that fit the piece tonally. While it's hard to pinpoint a standout performance in the piece, each performance is incredibly nuanced and ultimately anchors the experience through its blend of grief and reflection. The stripped-back approach makes each performance incredibly believable and an intimate portrait of a family processing the loss of a family member. The piece concludes in a somewhat haunting manner, allowing the viewer to sit with its themes and grasp the depths of the characters’ emotions. The piece resonates deeply despite its singular set piece and limited dialogue, showcasing the profound effect a naturalistic approach can have on a viewer. Funeral Car is an emotionally stirring portrayal of grief in the wake of loss, with incredible performances to boast. While the musical score and performances do much of the heavy lifting, the unique iPhone camerawork is memorable and makes the experience worthwhile despite its flaws. VIEW REVIEW Life Goes On Life Goes On is a charming yet poignant short film that makes effective use of its 19-minute runtime. The film directed by Daniel Audritt and Kat Butterfield follows Bill (David Bradley) as he is confined to a hospice bed ready to die. However, every time Bill dies, the day resets, and he is trapped in an endless loop much to his exasperation. One of the biggest strengths of the film is the ability of both the direction and David Bradley’s performance to find the balance between humour and tenderness. Despite the dour subject matter, there are quite a good few laughs in the film that do not feel forced but feel like interactions that most people would see in a hospital. The tone is balanced out with a simple yet effective narrative that does not rely on melodrama to convey sadness but rather authenticity. For me this is where the film works best and why I liked it so much. Every interaction Bill has feels lived-in and real, no matter if it is with a nurse, his daughter or some of the other patients. Most of the interactions Bill has are brief apart from his relationship with fellow patient Lizzie (Maggie Steed), which develops throughout the film. David Bradley’s and Maggie Steed’s chemistry adds another element of warmth to the film. The story unfolds with patience, never feeling rushed or that too many ideas were crammed into the short runtime. Every range of emotion from human warmth to hope to grief is delicately told. I found the editing to also be one of the biggest strengths, as scenes are carefully allowed to breathe, whilst the infinite time loop never gets confusing or leaves the audience lost on how many days Bill has been in the time loop. The cinematography by design is nothing over the top, with soft natural light again playing into how authentic this film feels. The use of close-up shots on Bill and some of the other characters to portray their inner emotions was clever and not overdone. I also enjoyed the sequence where time stops still and thought that added a nice visual flair and change of pace. As much as I loved this film, my main criticism was that I wanted slightly more from the side characters. Whilst the pacing of the film is spot on and the 19-minute runtime is made full use of, I thought that the side characters could have had more layers and depth with an extended runtime. Overall Life Goes On is a life-affirming and reflective short film that uses the classic time loop concept in a fresh way that focuses on acceptance rather than trying to break the loop. Powered by a nuanced performance by David Bradley, the film will engage the audiences with a sharp script that blends humour and sadness to create an emotionally satisfying film. VIEW REVIEW I Am The Prize Russell Tovey stars as British influencer Anthony Selvon in Sai Karan Talwar’s short film I AM THE PRIZE. Selvon is a polarising public figure, famous for his work on helping young men become more confident in difficult areas of their lives, such as relationships. His ideas, however, stem from a hate towards women, and encourage male-centrism and sexual violence. Selvon’s corruption is gradually revealed through insights into his life, through the use of several intense, long, uninterrupted takes making up this powerful short. In an era where the manosphere is having an increasingly dangerous impact on young men, taking over areas of the internet, and influencing hateful crimes, short films like this are critical in bringing to light just how many holes are in harmful ‘red pill’ ideologies. The film excellently replicates the methods used by manosphere creators to lure in young, desperate men. Its opening shot perfectly encapsulates how men end up in these harmful spaces, often without even realising how they got there. Viewers are held in a nondescript room, behind several rows of anonymous heads who have also found themselves there. There is then a slow zoom into Anthony, and so deeper into the room, mirroring the way men are gradually groomed into listening to misogynistic ideas. On the surface, Anthony’s ideas might not seem harmful at all. He brings up topics of building men’s confidence and acknowledges the male loneliness epidemic. He even encourages a man to face his emotions, though his own demeanour is cold throughout. This gradual luring is often how men are drawn into the manosphere, viewing influencers’ advice as a form of self-help to reshape their perspective and improve on aspects of themselves they are unhappy with. But as the camera moves closer to Anthony, viewers see him more clearly, becoming aware of the aggressiveness towards women that comes through in his language. He refers to women as things rather than people, categorises women’s thoughts using simplified, male-centric ideas, and uses misogynistic language, indicating his view that women only exist within the context of male ownership. After a painstaking opening scene that quickly establishes Selvon’s character as a hateful public figure, starkly comparable to the real-life manosphere influencers interviewed in Louis Theroux’s documentary Inside the Manosphere, viewers are confronted with an ironic revelation. Selvon is a closeted homosexual; his views towards women are likely a result of internalised homophobia, and his expert advice to men's romantic pursuits of women is therefore utterly fraudulent. Whilst there is no real-life specific evidence that the spread of red-pill content is a result of closeted sexuality, Theroux's documentary provides a useful perspective that buried traumas and emotions contributed to men choosing the path of harmful content creation. The ideas at play here, therefore, fulfil the ironic truth of the manosphere, as they only make men lonelier as they become radicalised away from who they truly are, blaming external factors such as women for their problems, rather than ever taking the time to reflect and work on themselves. The use of long takes gruellingly captivates viewers into every scene. Viewers are forced to be close to Anthony throughout his journey, as he suffers on his journey like a true tragic figure; his downfall a result of his own actions and rejection of his true self. There are times that he is almost pitiful, as Russell Tovey excellently conveys a deep sadness in Anthony which is driving his mental and physical state into oblivion. Faith Alibi’s performance as a journalist and interviewer of Anthony is brilliantly satisfying. After viewers were agonisingly trapped in Anthony’s world, the interviewer’s intellect and well-spokenness provided a moment of relief. The ingenious casting choice of a strong, influential black, disabled woman playing a self-assured character who stands up to Anthony works excellently as a direct contrast to everything that he is. Alibi’s presence here is also an important contradiction, to show how opinionated women, particularly black women, are never welcome in the manosphere due to the sexist and racist beliefs that they hold. Having Alibi here as the only other major character creates an imaginary world where a discussion can take place; however, as the film demonstrates, a productive conversation is impossible. The echo-chamber of the manosphere will always aggressively object to any discussion of the flaws in its logic or the violence that it so blatantly encourages. I Am The Prize is screening at the 2026 Raindance Film Festival. VIEW REVIEW Signal Set to start its festival run in July, this powerful short drama was written and directed by Zak Jarvis and it stars acclaimed actors Jack Rowan and Chrsitopher Eccleston. Quite a dramatic plot: A young man (Rowan) is not doing well. He is at a train station and his intention it to lie down on the tracks and wait for the train to arrive and put him out of his misery. After phoning support services and failing to pick up the courage to talk to them about his issues, he proceeds to carry on with his plan to end it all. Ray (Eccleston) a railway signalman spots the youngster via the CCTV monitors and rushes to save him, thankfully succeeding at the very last second. Ray then brings the unfortunate man inside the office and does not contact the police but tries instead to comfort him. The main concept is a meaningful and life-changing encounter under drastic circumstances and the screenplay focuces significantly on the rapport that develops between these two strangers. Although initially the distressed man is unresponsive, says nothing, Ray constantly attempts to get through to him, to comprehend the situation that led him to believe that his life has no meaning. Eventually, the poor young man breaks down and lets it all out. Twelve minutes filled with very heavy drama. This short would not have this level of impact without the work of composer Michael Llewelyn Barker, who proves his creative skills with dramatic music that creates strong emotions. Two stangers end up in each other's life. One is broken and the other believes in hope and overcoming bad times. Rowan portrays a person who has reached the conclusion that his life has led to a dead end and there is nothing he can do about it. Eccleston plays his savior, a middle-aged supportive and understanding man who is determined that suicide is never the answer. In this story, the suicidal man represents desperation and Ray respresents support. Crucially, the reasons why the youth has resorted to ending his life are not revealed and that is probably because the factors are not the focus here. What this short concentrates on is to communicate the message that people must find the courage to seek help when they are going through tough times. Heavy drama, strong performances and very serious themes. A short film that has quite an impact. VIEW REVIEW Four Days Left Four Days Left is a microbudget short from director and writer Hariprasath Ventakesan that looks to act as a reminder that there each immigration story is a human one. Following a student facing a visa expiration, it demonstrates the reverberating impact of losing a community member as well as the labyrinthine and perilous web that immigrants face when navigating the UK’s visa system. Illa (Ahamed Abdulkhader) is a resident in the UK on a student visa that has only 4 days until it expires. Faced with deportation to his native India, he seeks out official routes to remain in his newly adopted home, but exorbitant fees or complex legal pathways mean the chance of extending his stay is borderline impossible. Less reputable routes open up to him, such as through the ‘services’ of smooth-talking Maran (Surj Kumar) – and Illa is faced with a life-changing decision. It's harder to think of an issue more sensitive than immigration – with virtually every major political party in the UK swept up in a firestorm of zealotry on the subject that usually forgets the human cost of its reduction. Four Days Left is a reminder that whatever your stance, there is a human at the end of every statistic. The ending of Illa’s stay in the UK is not just heartbreaking for himself, but also to his friend Ravi (Shamas Khan) and landlady Karen (Karen Bucknall), who are desperate for their friend to find a way to stay. It is these pressures that threaten to push Illa into unwise choices – ones which blur the lines of legality and create more problems for both the individual and authorities down the line. It is hard not to watch the short and come to a conclusion that an overhaul of the system is needed – given the brick walls Illa runs into when trying to do the right thing. Although it should be said that despite the sadness of his departure, the film doesn’t necessarily convince that student visas in particular are a problem, given that Illa’s pre-agreed timing in the country is concluding and that he has a loving homelife to return to in India. The attached messaging at the end of the film doesn’t really work given this. The film was made on a small budget, and some of the imaginative framing is impressive given these limitations. The opening Zoom call between Illa and an immigration lawyer is a great way to frame Illa’s dilemma – demonstrating how disparate assistance is for him. The film elsewhere is cleanly shot and the director includes some interesting use of light – in which some of the more vibrant settings are where some of the shadier offers are made to Illa, whereas darkly lit scenes offer comfort. It is an interesting way to show the hostility of the official system, and why so many people in desperate situations turn to the shadows. The smaller scale of the film means some imperfections are inevitable. The main cast don’t really enliven their characters and the performances of Ahamed Abdulkhader and Karen Bucknall in particular are quite stiff. Viewers will have empathy with Illa because of his situation, but not particularly through the performance. The film’s ending also feels underwhelming and lessens the objective of the filmmakers in shining a light on the flaws in the system – as it feels there is more of a desire to give Illa a happy ending than to commit to the film’s purpose. Four Days Left is an admirable short made on a shoestring that uses some interesting story framing to examine an immigrant’s dilemma when dealing with the UK system. It is imperfect, but given the political climate, welcome – as it shows an important aspect of a national debate that is too often ignored: that being the people involved in it. VIEW REVIEW the quiet between us the quiet between us is an atmospheric short piece centred on silence, memory, and emotional distance, with an intentionally bare-bones presentation. The short piece is meant to feel like a memory fragment, and this is an incredibly unique narrative device. Set in New Jersey, the piece is part of a larger trilogy that chronicles the city’s nighttime landscape, with a heavy focus on the neon-drenched nightlights. What is perhaps most astounding and frustrating about the piece is its primary focus on the silhouettes, silence and lighting of New Jersey, which not only feels beautiful but also alienating to the viewer. The deliberate repetition of the protagonist roaming the city is stunning yet frustrating to witness as a viewer, given how vague the piece’s intention feels. It frames itself as a short-form music film, and the sensory experience is what ultimately anchors the viewing experience. The visual language is, however, astounding and uniquely evocative, presenting a world steeped in isolation that echoes the themes of stillness and separation. While the silence is isolating to witness at times, the themes and presentation are incredibly nuanced despite its ambiguous visual language. The complete lack of dialogue is also commendable, as the piece entirely rests on what’s not said. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the piece is its camerawork, which ultimately makes the experience worthwhile despite its vagueness. The piece primarily consists of slow tracking shots that move through the streets of New Jersey or follow the protagonist as they wander through the city. While the use of handheld camerawork is commendable, lending the film a visceral sense of intimacy, the repeated reliance on tracking shots becomes somewhat frustrating given the runtime. Despite never overstaying its welcome, the piece feels somewhat rushed, as its repetitive structure limits the sense of progression within the runtime. That said, the editing is astoundingly fluid throughout, making the piece fly by owing to its dynamic pace. The emphasis on silence and the space between two individuals is largely effective, with the sparse presentation reinforcing these themes. However, the material occasionally feels repetitive and stilted, which is unfortunate given how quickly the piece reaches its conclusion. While the ambiguous approach and focus on memory are impactful, a prolonged runtime to flesh out its ideas would've been a better compromise, as the experience can feel alienating at times. Despite these issues, it still manages to feel stunning to experience the neon-drenched streets of New Jersey. It's difficult to fully assess the central performance, as the viewer is rarely given insight into the characters' expressions or inner turmoil beyond their visual isolation as they wander the streets. While the silhouettes, controlled lighting, and emotional tension are merely hinted at through the protagonist's exploration of the city, the piece fails to fully engage the viewer, as the experience ultimately amounts to little. Despite the sensory experience being incredibly nuanced, given that's what the filmmakers intended, it's too ambiguous to a fault and may struggle to linger on viewers' minds. the quiet between us is ultimately a visually stunning yet isolating sensory experience due to its intentionally vague presentation. While its ideas of stillness and the space between two individuals are commendable, the piece struggles to foster an emotional connection, as its emphasis on repetition ultimately distances the viewer. VIEW REVIEW ANIMALS Following her mother’s passing, Zoya invites a stranger, Amelia, to stay in her family home after an Airbnb mixup. What begins as an innocent-seeming mistake gradually transforms into a hostile takeover. ‘Animals ’, by filmmaker Maya Gray, will take audiences on a wild, unpredictable and disturbing ride that will have you hanging on every word. The highlight of the film by far is the excellent central performances. Serine Sianosian brings Zoya to life with a deeply complex performance – limiting her grief and turmoil to subtle micro-expressions. This adds a striking sense of naturalism which ensures viewers’ suspension of disbelief. Rachel Alig, as Amelia, brings an entirely different energy to the piece. At first seeming harmless and naive, Alig crafts a performance that slowly peels back layers over the film’s runtime to eventually reveal a character that is hostile and cunning to the most malevolent extent. The shifting power dynamics between these two characters, who mask so much of their true emotions and intentions, lies emphatically at the heart of the narrative. Despite the spectacle of the central performances, praise should also be given to Gray’s expert direction and understated cinematography by Olugbenga Osikomaiya. The cold colour grading that makes the house feel barren, high visual contrast, tight frames, and cluttered set design all help to provide a palpable feeling of claustrophobia. These things may go unnoticed to the untrained eye, but these choices are essential to the uneasy atmosphere of the piece – whether audiences pick up on it or not. A key reading that one may take away from this story is the very striking parallels to colonialism. This is expressed nowhere better than in the sequence titles throughout the film: Preparation | This is where Amelia lays her foundations. She uses pity and coercive tactics to convince Zoya to let her stay overnight, before gently pushing boundaries and converging on her personal space by sleeping in her bed – much like colonial incursions where access is gained gradually under the guise of cooperation or necessity. Persecution | Echoing how colonial powers often frame expansion as benevolent while extracting further concessions, Amelia then manipulates Zoya by performing a “kind” act (making breakfast). At the moment of delivering this “gift”, she then springs the unreasonable question of moving in permanently, leveraging the breakfast against Zoya and portraying her as the unreasonable party. Hunger | This is where the key mechanism of control comes in, becoming the gatekeeper of Zoya’s sustenance, therefore making herself essential while maintaining all the power in the dynamic. Execution | Taking the first sign of resistance as an excuse, Amelia then brutalises Zoya and disposes of her – a feature of colonial campaigns throughout history which is even present in current world events. Denial | The final step; denying anything ever happened and offering trivial compensation, such as naming the new dog after Zoya, to anyone who speaks out about it. These factors, and the motif of Amelia grotesquely guzzling down water with an unquenchable thirst for more, perfectly portray this theme in a unique and eye opening manner – paralleling procedures used to enter, replace and colonise various cultures throughout history. ‘Animals’ is a slowly unravelling farce of power and control. Gray outlines pertinent themes of colonialism on a scale more easily digestible for viewers by localising it in the conflict between two characters, resulting in a visceral drama that doesn’t waste a single beat. With such a high level of artistry on display, I eagerly await what Maya Gray and company decide to create next… Animals is screening at the 2026 Raindance Film Festival. VIEW REVIEW The Dew Before Dawn A photographer struggles to find the direction or the meaning behind her art. From writer/director, Alexis Scholtz, The Dew Before Dawn is a short arthouse piece musing upon the relationship between the artist and their art. At only six-and-a-half minutes long and shot entirely in black-and-white, it is pulling no punches in settling itself firmly within the arthouse genre. Minimal dialogue and an elusive message also feed into this categorisation of the film, as we ponder over the images presented to us and try to decipher their meaning. A young black photographer tries to capture the feeling and mood of her subject, an older white woman, as she rests within the spaces of her palatial home. A striking main foyer surrounded by a circular mezzanine is used as the main location for the photoshoot, and the photographer grapples with the idea of shooting her subject within different aspects of this space, from different angles, while getting her to play different roles. We see the older woman move into and between these spaces, and also feel her personality shift as she does so. There is a tension between the artist and the subject, with the photographer feeling that she is not quite capturing the authentic nature of what is in front of her camera, while her subject becomes involved and somewhat overbearing in her direction of what she thinks the photoshoot should produce. This smacks loudly of the entire history of patronage within art, where the artist must bow down and concede in certain areas to the perhaps uneducated, uncreative, and philistine nature of the person providing the money. We see this all the time in big-budget creations in film, where producers and studios ruin the director’s vision simply for the reason of appeasing censors, raising the bottom line, or the stroking of their own ego. Here, the photographer is more than ready to stand up for herself, and berates her subject for getting in the way. While there may be some kind of mentorship or expertise on offer, this is dismissed by the artist, and she is left to find her own path through the mire of finding meaning within her art. Director and cinematographer, Alexis Scholtz highlights the themes of light and dark within the photography, expressed also by the decision to shoot in black-and-white, while expanding this idea into the ‘rights and wrongs’ of artistic expression as the photographer tries to find her way. When, eventually, she begins to cut up the photographs and piece them back together with different halves, she perhaps finds the missing piece of her expression that she could not find in the initial frames, allowing her to see more than what was there in the first place. With each section of the film and transference into a new frame or idea punctuated by the ringing of a Tibetan singing bowl, and the main subject of the film moving around, changing colour of dress, and changing her personality, we are invited to make what we can of the themes and images that we are exposed to as a viewer. These ephemeral aspects are left to float in the air as spectres of something real yet untouchable, and we must give of ourselves to feel what must be felt by the characters and scenario we are witness to. There is plenty to hold onto in The Dew Before Dawn , if not enough for a structured narrative, and as an art piece for the artists it works very well in presenting what it wants to achieve. There is a lot to think about and discuss from what we see, and the images are beautiful and striking enough to keep us captured in the frame with them. VIEW REVIEW Surfing Surfing is a superb, tightly constructed drama. Set in Birmingham in 1969 (effectively the vague backdrop to our story since the action only takes place in one room), a down-on-his-luck musician finds himself sleeping on a friend’s sofa when he receives a phone call about a potential gig. This gig isn’t for him, however, but meant for the person whose sofa he’s crashing on. Our protagonist Pete, played by Harry Clarke in a performance which the whole film hinges on, feels like a British reimagining of the similarly ill-fated, self-sabotaging character of Llewyn Davis in the 2013 Coen Brothers masterpiece. Clarke (who is also the film’s writer-producer) delivers a great performance which is both effectively comedic and holds pathos. And in terms of the technical side of the production, director Duane Adamoli is also the film’s cinematographer and editor. Whilst this is a small-scale production, Adamoli and Clarke have formed a strong collaborative team – with one in charge of story and performance, the other in charge of aesthetics and assembly. Both demonstrate an impressive level of craft in their respective areas, making Surfing a near-faultless cinematic expression. It’s not easy to find anything of note to complain about with regards to this short. The only possible flaw I can find has more to do with the very nature of current short-filmmaking than it does with the movie itself... By deciding to tell a story based around a series of phone calls – set, as I’ve mentioned, in one room – you’re bound to have a critic or two say that the filmmakers have limited themselves in terms of creative scope. While watching, I personally do not find this to be the case. And yet, you can’t help but be reminded that this is what a great proportion of short films are these days. It makes sense since it saves time and money; and out of all the shorts this critic has seen recently that fall into said category, this resides in the very top tier in terms of quality. The cinematography and design of this project appeals to me greatly on a personal and artistic level. What follows is a quote provided in the submission notes for Surfing : “Our aim was to create a character study reminiscent of early 1970s cinema and, through unorthodox methods, such as placing a pair of tights over the lens and make the film feel as though it had genuinely been shot in that period.” For those who maybe aren’t filmmakers or who have little interest in low-budget cinematography techniques, this may even sound gimmicky. But when you see just how well these shots work, and how authentic the grain and the haze feels, it’s incredibly exciting for a fanatic like myself. The very specific period of low-light, low-contrast, murky and desaturated image-making – exemplified through Vilmos Zsigmond’s collaborations with Altman on The Long Goodbye and McCabe & Mrs. Miller (the greatest cinematographer-director combo there ever was or will be) – is the most fun aesthetic to be inspired by and attempt to recreate, even digitally. And why it works is because Surfing is not just trying to resemble film stock, but evoking the messy, textural, rebellious visual experiments of that era. VIEW REVIEW

Directed by: Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese Written by: Leela Varghese, Emma Hough Hobbs Starring: Shabana Azeez, Bernie Van Tiel, Jordan Raskopoulos Film Review by: Holly Baker ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lesbian Space Princess is an Australian animated science fiction comedy written and directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese. The film follows 23-year-old space princess Siara, a socially inept, hopeless-romantic lesbian who lives on the planet Clitopolis with her two mums. Recently dumped by her two-week-long girlfriend, a full of herself, toxic, serial monogamist, Kiki, Siara is devastatingly heartbroken and plagued with low self-esteem. When evil Straight White Malians suddenly kidnap Kiki, Siara’s opportunity to save Kiki and win her back drives her out of her comfort zone, on a quest to defeat Kiki’s kidnappers and overcome her negative feelings about herself. The film has a quirky animation style reminiscent of Rick and Morty with its unique sci- fi creations and character designs. Each character has its own identifiable colour palette allowing for a vibrant viewing experience. Individually, they each make a strong impression on the viewer both aesthetically through the detailed and thematic animation, and through their well-established personalities and performances, each of them satirically fitting into a queer archetype that young queer viewers can easily identify. For instance, Siara is the anxiously attached Lesbian who quickly falls for someone emotionally unavailable, Kiki, and Willow is a goth singer-songwriter who immediately transforms her emotions into inspiration for her music. The film’s soundtrack is made up of original music written for the film by Michael Darren and Matthew Hardley. These composers capture a queer sound with the soft, indie tunes which play throughout the film, appealing well to a young queer audience. Lesbian Space Princess Official Film Trailer The younger, queer audience will also relish in the use of Gen Z humour. For example, Siara travels on a ‘problematicship’ that comically opposes the idea of wokeness through using slightly offensive, politically incorrect language. There is also a large incorporation of sexual humour and satirization of queer stereotypes, which works well, in a similar way to Netflix’s Heartbreak High. For instance, the film contains a young cast and crew, therefore bringing up to date character archetypes, intertextual references and jokes which land in Gen Z audiences. Even the title ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ is immediately eye-catching for queer media enjoyers, hitting the mark of a modern-day queer sci-fi romance. Lesbian Space Princess is a refreshing representation of queer characters, incorporating multiple different queer storylines. The film is rich in its queerness, with an enthralling attention to detail such as Siara’s calendar labelling April as ‘Gaypril’, and the galaxy being referred to as the ‘Gaylexi’ demonstrating a well-thought-out creativity and giving the film a vibrant feel that belongs close to the heart of the queer community. The story itself is an uplifting coming of age, very similar thematically to Pixar’s Inside Out as Siara must battle her inner doubts whilst on a personal quest. There are some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud moments, and a loving dedication to bringing queerness, particularly Lesbianism, to every aspect of the film’s creative design- such as Siara’s home planet being called ‘Clitopolis’. Overall, Lesbian Space Princess is a colourful celebration of queerness, focusing less on romantic love, but more touchingly on self-acceptance and self-love, the most important kind of all. Lesbian Space Princess will be in UK & Irish Cinemas from 19th June.

Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson Great to be interviewing you both! Please tell our readers a bit about yourselves. Claudia Dzienny is an Australian writer-director and comedian whose work blends character-driven comedy with emotionally grounded storytelling. Her latest feature, Zombucha!, is a romcom that explores relationships, fertility anxiety, career pressures, and the realities of millennial adulthood through an unconventional zombie twist. Working alongside longtime collaborator Emma Leonard, Claudia is part of a female-led creative team committed to telling contemporary stories from a distinctly female perspective. CrossBorder Films is a London-based boutique sales studio and production company founded in 2025 by producer and screenwriter Alla May. Built on nearly two decades of experience across the European film and television landscape, CrossBorder champions distinctive stories with cultural specificity and global emotional pull. Thanks! What's the name of the latest film you are working on? Zombucha! How would you describe this film to a new audience? Dreaming of a glow-up before starting a family together, an aspirational millennial couple get their hands on a kombucha strain that promises to kickstart a garage-brewed empire. Plans take a turn when the neighbourhood’s new favourite kombucha becomes sentient. How’s your microbiome? Why did you want to make this film? Claudia: I remember when the writer Emma Leonard pitched me the logline and I thought to myself “I wish I had thought of that.” - a pretty good start for wanting to make a film! As we developed the script together over the following three years, the process was such a joy and we uncovered so many things around the moments and questions immediately before and after becoming a parent, all bundled up in this absurdly ‘aspirational millennial’ package. It felt so timely and cheeky. I found myself very quickly at the pointy end of the third trimester (production) and giving birth to this bonkers thing! Were there any challenges making the film? If so, what were they and how did you overcome them? Claudia: There are always going to be personalities on set that need more management than others as well as the feeling that you always want more time and more resources - and we had our fair share of all those challenges, but by far the largest, most fundamental challenge was that we shot the film at my house. This would’ve been a relatively smaller deal if it weren’t for the fact that I have two young children, a husband and two cats that ended up moving into my mum’s place for three months. But it wasn’t just us there. My mum, my 94-year-old Ukrainian grandmother, my sister and her children, as well as her (now ex) husband, with whom my sister began going through a divorce in the middle of production, our editor and his partner, my mother-in-law from Ohio and my best friend’s dog who needed dog-sitting. We were all staying at my mum’s house. I was waking up in the morning, trying to be a normal mum to my boys, going through footage from the day before with Julien, our editor, then going down to set (my actual house) to shoot for the day/night (read: lovingly destroy my own home) then go back up to mum’s and kiss my kids goodnight (awake or asleep, but already usually asleep) and go to bed myself. Needless to say, the floors were completely resurfaced after we wrapped filming, and the grass outside has never been the same since having 90 zombuchas writhing on it at 3am one night! When we were in pre-production, I remember a ton of people saying ‘wow, that’s a very ambitious project for that budget’ - they were right. But I like ambitious. When we moved our family out of my house, a base crew of about 50 bumped in for two months. Ryan (our lead) was staying in the house from New Zealand for the long haul with sporadic overnight company from various members of our producing team, sound team and art department, to name a few who would sleep in my kids’ beds. Thankfully our immediate neighbours were all absolute legends about us filming, but we did get an angry guy from up the street come and threaten us a few times… which was pretty rattling until we had this incredible art/life moment where we were rolling up for the scene in the film where the angry dad character comes and berates our two leads for throwing a Thirsty Virgin kombucha launch party - and the actual angry neighbour from up the street drives into shot for us all to see from the monitor and starts delivering basically the same lines as our angry dad character. We were all buckled over choking on tears, it was so hilariously perfect. Also, growing about 100 SCOBYs (the slimey monster that makes every bottle of kombucha you’ve ever consumed) at short notice was a very specific and tricky one, but not impossible as it turns out! I ended up making a completely clear SCOBY when I was experimenting with caffeine tablets and simple syrup, but that’s a story for another time! What stage is the film currently in? And how can people get to see it? Festival circuit. Following its premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Zombucha! will have its international premiere at Raindance on 21 June. Why do you make movies? Claudia: I love working with other people, telling stories and laughing together. It’s the best possible way to spend my workday. I love that it seeps into my non-work day - that when I’m deep in a project, it seems like every interaction I have with people, positive or negative, informs the feelings I put on screen. Making movies makes me more conscious of human nature and, I like to think, more accepting of others’ decisions. Always questioning why someone would behave the way the do or did, what brought them to that moment in time makes for more three-dimensional characters on screen, but also has a very positive, empathetic effect in my everyday life. We all get bent out of shape, but it’s hard to stay angry at someone when you frame them into all the textured context of their life. I love to involve others in storytelling and watch how they react - a favourite of mine is to ask couples to tell me about their first kiss. Sounds cheesy, but there’s usually a bit of a different take from each partner. They’re suddenly very vulnerable, and watching the way they fumble their way through that answer together is usually pretty delightful for all involved, and very very human. I like to think I’m making positive propaganda with my filmmaking. Not all sunshine and lollipops, but letting characters be who they are on screen - the good/bad/ugly bits too - then finding a way to make people feel human. Hopefully it helps everyone look at their angry neighbour and go ‘ugh look at this asshole’! Then maybe stop and think ‘they’re just out here giving it a go too’ …and then maybe take them a cookie at Christmas and you’ll end up sitting in their living room sharing a glass of champagne? In storytelling, I always come back to the core theme of ‘all we have is each other’ - and if I have an hour and a half of people’s undivided attention in a black box, I really love the idea of reminding them of that. And reminding myself. I have a background in architecture, so the visual expression side of filmmaking is a huge pleasure for me. It sounds silly now, but I remember when I realised how you can make space unfold with a dolly shot and it knocked my socks off. That said, watching people’s body language and micro expressions when they’re processing a change in real time is impossible not to connect with - that usually steals the show for me, even if they’re feeling those feelings in the most striking space on earth! Filmmaking helps me process life, and bringing other people along for the ride is a massive privilege. I like making people feel stuff - it’s lucky, because that is the ultimate goal of any director: make people feel stuff. Give people the chance to reflect on their own lives. Shake them up. Elicit a reaction. Horror directors like to make people jump, I like to make people laugh… then ambush them with a dose of heart that they didn’t expect. Chris Olson Reviews Zombucha for UK Film Review's YouTube Channel What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the film career you have pursued? Claudia: Make stuff. Be prolific. Make everything you can. Don’t overcook it - just get out there. You will only learn this thing by doing it, making mistakes and making little moments of magic. Accept that there’ll be stuff that sucks. Don’t shy away from it. I still have all my old glorious garbage on my website because it’s who I am and how I got here. This isn’t your magnum opus. Nothing you make will ever be perfect - abandon that idea for now and just follow your core mission of making people feel stuff. What is it that you want to make people feel? Who would you love to work with and why? Claudia: Rose Byrn - a brilliant, hilarious actress with enormous range and the comedy chops that dreams are made of! Bonus points because she’s Aussie! What's next for you in your career after this film? Claudia: A feature film that I have written based around an icebreaker camping trip for new school parents that gets gatecrashed by aliens. A comedy, but it turns out I love to flirt with genre. As a boutique sales studio, what was it about Zombucha! that made you believe it could connect with audiences internationally? Alla: When Danielle Redford, one of the co-producers of Zombucha!, first pitched us the concept at EFM, we immediately felt that it sounded cool, fresh, and very distinctive. Then we watched the screener — and honestly, it was love at first sight. What stood out was the humour, the genre-bending energy, and the way the story almost breaks the rules while still having a huge heart. It felt bold and playful, but also emotionally honest. Beneath the comedy and the madness, the film touches on issues that millennials are going through not only in Australia, but in so many countries: burnout, ambition, identity, anxiety about the future, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels absurd. That combination is exactly what we love: a story that is entertaining and commercially alive, but also emotionally relevant. We believed international audiences would connect with that freshness and sincerity. CrossBorder focuses on films from underrepresented markets. What qualities are you looking for when deciding which projects to champion? Alla: We are genre-agnostic, but we are completely story-driven. For us, the story means everything. Because of my background in script development and writing, it is very hard to surprise me with a genre film or a commercial film. I know the mechanics, I know the expected twists, I know how these stories are usually built. So when something genuinely surprises me, I pay attention. We are looking for stories with heart, meaning, and depth. Stories that can entertain, but also reveal something about a different culture, mindset, or emotional reality. I am especially drawn to films that take risks with tone or genre — films that bend expectations, cross boundaries, or suddenly take you somewhere you did not expect. For us, underrepresented does not mean niche or small. It often means undiscovered, under-seen, or underestimated. We want to champion films that have a strong voice and a clear reason to exist. Why do you do this work? What does the role of a sales agent and producer mean to you personally? When we launched CrossBorder Films with my co-founder Olga, the company was initially built around a development slate I had previously written and created. The long-term plan is still to produce that material over the next few years, while also discovering and supporting projects created by other filmmakers. Because Olga comes from a marketing background, I pitched her the idea of also launching a sales arm — but doing it differently. I wanted us to help producers in a more thoughtful and personal way than what is often expected from traditional sales agents. For us, representing a film is not just about taking a title to market and seeing what happens. We treat every film as if we are co-producers of the next stage of its life. That means care, strategy, honesty, and emotional investment. This approach was very intentional, and it came partly from my own negative experiences with sales teams in the past. I know how painful it can be when a film is not handled with enough attention or respect. So the work is personal to me. A sales agent should be a bridge between the filmmaker and the world — someone who protects the film, understands its value, and helps it find the audience it deserves. Looking at the current independent film landscape, what gives you hope about the future of emerging filmmakers? Alla: The current independent landscape is still very difficult, and in many ways it remains unfair. The same risk-averse structures are still there, and many of the “big guys” at the top continue to follow familiar formulas rather than take real chances on new voices. But what gives me hope is that filmmakers now have more tools to build an audience themselves, especially through social media and direct community-building. You can start creating awareness around an independent film long before it is released. That is powerful. I also think audiences are proving again and again that they want something fresh. They are open to new faces, new voices, and new stories — not only franchises, sequels, or repeated formulas for so-called commercial success. Right now, elevated horror is performing very strongly, but I also believe there is huge potential in crossover genres, romcoms and even in satires or ordinary human dramas, if they are given access to audiences. The frustrating part is that many buyers do not even want to test something fresh. But that also pushes us, as a sales company, to be more creative, more strategic, and more persistent in how we position films. That gives me hope: the audience is there. We just have to find smarter ways to reach them. What inspired your film career? Were there any specific films or events that really lit a fire within you? Alla: I think my passion for storytelling began quite early. When I was in middle school, I was writing essays and reading Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and the Strugatsky brothers at the same time. That combination really shaped my taste — from psychological drama to philosophy to science fiction and genre storytelling. It gave me a very broad sense of what stories can do. I also grew up watching great films on VHS. The town I am from did not have a cinema until I was twelve, so most of my film education came from a VHS rental place. That is how I discovered Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Tarantino, Sidney Lumet, Garry Marshall, Paul Thomas Anderson, and many others. But one of my strongest memories is watching Tarkovsky when I was only six years old. I was completely hypnotised. I think Solaris was the film that made me want to work in cinema. I did not know exactly what role I wanted to have or how I would get there, but I remember thinking: I want to make films that can make people feel like this. That feeling never really left me. 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Star rating: 4/5 Writer: Jack Holman Director: Sean Leahy Starring: Pierce Joseph, Mary T Lynch, and Denis Kiely Written and shot by Jack Holman, An Unnerving Realisation is a thought-provoking super short Irish film, with a run time of just over 5 minutes long. We meet Nicholas, played by Pierce Joseph, who is around 20, looking at pictures with his family at the dinner table. As they do so, he comes up with a question, simple and direct, which is what leads to the unnerving realisation the film title speaks of. Dealing with themes of identity, family origins, and secrets, An Unnerving Realisation poses a difficult and pretty immense question: can being lied to ever protect you? Do lies not always do more harm than good? The film is technically really interesting, utilising framing, and the space and blocking in the frames, to evoke the sensation of deafening silence, of a lot of unknown. Similarly, the characters, which are quite unique and expressive, and the actors performances add to this sense of suspense, of there being more than meets the eye, which contributes to this well-narrated piece. Identity and family are hugely important to Irish culture, and sensitive topics for Irish society. Its history of Celtic civilization, the strong influence of Christianity and the fusion of these for almost a millenium, as well as colonial oppression, the tragedy of mother and baby homes, and the Troubles, all have led to identity and personal history being key. An intelligent film, fully recommended.