Directors Notes
47 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★ - 16 ratingsDirectors Notes is an interview podcast dedicated to independent filmmaking in all its wondrous forms, lengths and styles. The show digs deep into the what, how and why of the world's best filmmaking in the only way that counts - by hearing directly from those talented individuals who have successfully taken their ideas from concept to screen.
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Episodes
DN372: The Passion of Desire Spans Decades in Lucio Castro’s Queer Romance Feature ‘End of the Century’
December 23, 2019 11:15 - 28.5 MBLucio Castro joins DN with decade spanning film 'End of the Century' which reunites 2 men for a one night stand whose seeds were sown two decades earlier.
DN371: Maura Delpero Embarks on an Enthralling Exploration of the Meaning of Motherhood in Dramatic Debut ‘Maternal’
December 20, 2019 10:49 - 28.7 MBMaura Delpero reveals how she built cohesion between the professional, non-professional and child performances needed for her drama debut 'Maternal'.
DN370: Eryk Rocha Captures the Financial and Emotional Struggles of a Nocturnal Rio Cab Driver in ‘Burning Night’
December 08, 2019 20:40 - 29.6 MBEryk Rocha tells DN how the themes of isolation & economic struggle in his story of a Rio cab driver, 'Burning Night' mirror the current crisis in Brazil.
DN369: Henry Blake Exposes the Cruel Exploitation of Britain’s Youth by Drugs Gangs in Shocking Debut ‘County Lines’
November 30, 2019 16:24 - 28.9 MBDirector Henry Blake reveals the many ways his proof-of-concept short paved the way for the creation of his powerful debut feature 'County Lines'.
DN368: A Defiant Teen Discovers the Destructive Power of Lies in Svetla Tsotsorkova’s Bulgarian Drama ‘Sister’
November 16, 2019 19:04 - 16.9 MBSvetla Tsotsorkova joins DN to discuss her drama feature 'Sister' the story of a compulsive liar whose fanciful stories threaten to tear her family apart.
DN367: A Deep Dive into ‘Burning Cane’, Phillip Youmans’ Debut Feature Which Made Tribeca History
November 06, 2019 09:22Phillip Youmans joins DN to discuss the experience of taking on multiple production roles for his Tribeca winning debut feature 'Burning Cane'.
DN366: Hari Sama Returns to the Hedonistic Days of Mexico City’s Post-Punk Scene in ‘This Is Not Berlin’
November 02, 2019 09:52 - 28.2 MBHari Sama talks to DN about heading back to the post-punk days of sexual liberty, outsider art and drugs which helped shape him in 'This Is Not Berlin'.
DN365: Isabella Eklöf Exposes the Rot Beneath the Glitzy Veneer of Power & Money in Unflinching Debut ‘Holiday’
November 30, 2018 17:42 - 30.5 MBIsabella Eklöf discusses 'Holiday', her unflinching depiction of the control and sexual violence lurking beneath the glitzy veneer of power and money.
DN364: Philippe Faucon Contemplates the Loneliness of Economic Migration in French Drama ‘Amin’
November 23, 2018 17:23 - 21.1 MBPhilippe Faucon discusses the integral role non-actors played in bringing authenticity to his story of economic separation and loneliness, 'Amin'.
DN363: Sara Colangelo Tracks a Destructive Spiral of Obsession in Feature Thriller ‘The Kindergarten Teacher’
November 15, 2018 17:31 - 33.4 MBSara Colangelo joins us to discuss her process for working with actors, the advantages of a Netflix release and why directing shouldn't be a dictatorship.
DN362: A Troubled Imposter Tries to Find Her Way Home in Christina Choe’s Psychodrama ‘Nancy’
November 08, 2018 19:19 - 24.1 MBDN speaks to Christina Choe about her debut psychodrama 'Nancy' and the difficulties of bringing stories led by complex female protagonists to screen.
DN361: Erik Poppe Forces Us to Experience Norway’s Terror Attack First Hand in One-Shot Feature ‘Utøya – July 22’
November 02, 2018 15:11 - 35.2 MBDN speaks to director Erik Poppe about the moral and cinematic considerations which led him to recreate Norway's Utøya tragedy in a gruelling single shot.
DN360: London Film Festival 2018 – Female Filmmaker Panel
October 25, 2018 17:02 - 49.5 MBLFF Female Filmmaker panellists discuss the gender barriers they overcame to make their films and strategies to level the filmmaking playing field for all.
DN359: Matthew Jones Charts the Rise, Fall & Redemption of James Lavelle in ‘The Man from Mo’Wax’
August 30, 2018 15:08 - 44.7 MBMatthew Jones takes DN through the hurdles he surmounted to bring the story of seminal record label Mo'Wax and its driven owner James Lavelle to screen.
DN358: Luca Dipierro Animates the Death of a Band in ‘Rising. A Requiem For Father Murphy’
April 06, 2018 11:49Luca Dipierro & Father Murphy join us on the podcast to look back at their fruitful collaboration and reveal details of their new stop motion feature film.
DN357: James Erskine Documents the Awe-Inspiring Artistic, Athletic & Societal Struggle of ‘The Ice King’
February 23, 2018 11:01James Erskine shares how he crafted a documentary about the artistic, athletic and societal struggle of John Curry, the world's greatest ice skater.
DN356: Dustin Guy Defa Weaves a Whimsical Tapestry of New York Stories in Ensemble Feature ‘Person to Person’
December 21, 2017 20:36Dustin Guy Defa shares why we had to wait 6 years for his second feature and how short films paved the way for his ensemble New York story.
DN355: A Prima Ballerina Fights for Relevance & Perfection in Birgitte Stærmose’s Psycho Thriller ‘Darling’
November 09, 2017 18:25Denmark's Birgitte Stærmose discusses 'Darling', her intense story of pain and perfection which unfolds in the demanding world of professional ballet.
DN354: An English Boxer Fights to Survive a Brutal Thai Prison in Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’
October 26, 2017 10:51How director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire brought the brutal reality of an English boxer's life in one Thailand's most notorious prisons to screen.
DN353: Rob Curry & Tim Plester Herald the Rebirth of a Folk Legend in ‘The Ballad of Shirley Collins’
October 19, 2017 09:51Rob Curry & Tim Plester craft a lyrical response to the life, work & tragic loss of the High Queene of English Folk music, Shirley Collins.
DN352: In Conversation with Legendary Filmmaker Chris Shepherd
October 04, 2017 15:15DN caught up with Chris Shepherd to reflect on his celebrated career and return to the hybrid world of animated/live action violence in 'Johnno’s Dead'.
DN351: Future Shock! Paul Goodwin & Sean Hogan Unearth the Untold Story of Anarchic Comic 2000AD
August 04, 2017 13:59Director Paul Goodwin & Producer Sean Hogan delve into the creation of their passion fuelled documentary history of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic, 2000AD.
DN350: Nico Edwards Documents a Treacherous 8,000 Mile Pacific Voyage Through Ice & Wind in ‘Sea Gypsies’
May 04, 2017 14:29Nico Edwards' debut documentary follows 16 crew members aboard a 120ft sailing Ketch as they journey through some of the most treacherous seas on earth.
DN349: Matt Hopkins & Ben Lankester Document a Band Stuck in the Middle in ‘A Divorce Before Marriage’
April 13, 2017 14:08Matt Hopkins & Ben Lankester's feature doc follows five-piece rock band I Like Trains as they struggle to breakthrough after losing their record deal.
DN348: Nickolas Duarte Discovers the Painful Past of the Man Who Paints Souls in ‘Jay’
March 16, 2017 17:04Nickolas Duarte's doc provides a glimpse into the extraordinary and complex life of Jay Kyle Peterson, an abstract artist with an even more abstract past.
DN347: Chameleon – Jorge Riquelme Serrano
December 15, 2016 17:57Jorge Riquelme Serrano shares how structured improvisation enabled him to shoot his uninvited guest psychological thriller feature debut in a mere 4 days.
DN346: Chasing Asylum – Eva Orner
December 08, 2016 19:26Eva Orner’s documentary exposes the repugnant, inhumane ways the Australian government treats asylum seekers and its attempts to hide these atrocities.
DN345: The Eyes of My Mother – Nicolas Pesce
November 30, 2016 17:29A young lonely woman is consumed by her deepest & darkest desires after tragedy strikes her quiet country life in Nicolas Pesce's horrifying debut feature.
DN344: United States of Love – Tomasz Wasilewski
November 18, 2016 21:29Tomasz Wasilewski returns to the DN podcast with a tale of lust, isolation and loneliness in which four woman decide it's time to change their lives.
DN343: Indivisible – Edoardo De Angelis
November 10, 2016 16:11Edoardo De Angelis explores themes of individualism and sororal symbiosis in his tale of singing siamese twins who discover the possibility of life apart.
DN342: After Love – Joachim Lafosse
November 04, 2016 16:55Joachim Lafosse discusses how he depicted a couple's acrimonious separation and divorce through the use of long fluid sequence shots of domestic hostility.
DN341: The Day Will Come – Jesper W Nielsen
October 26, 2016 18:40Jesper W Nielsen delivers a painfully honest depiction of a Danish orphanage where two brothers try to escape the wrath of their headmaster’s tyranny.
DN340: On Call – Alice Diop
October 19, 2016 17:43Alice Diop's latest documentary seeks to put names and faces to the asylum seekers suffering a life of loneliness and fear as they live in exile in Paris.
DN339: TOWER – Keith Maitland
October 14, 2016 16:34Keith Maitland shares how he combined archival footage & rotoscoped animation to place audiences in the crosshairs of his Texas Tower shooting documentary.
DN338: Sheep & Sibling Strife – Grimur Hakonarson on his Cannes Winning Feature ‘Rams’
June 08, 2016 15:50A film filled with deep humour and an even deeper humanity, DN sits down with Icelandic Director Grimur Hakonarson to discuss his Un Certain Regard winning feature ‘Rams’ .
DN337: Jaco Van Dormael Preaches the Gospel According to God’s Daughter in ‘The Brand New Testament’
April 15, 2016 12:45Award winning Director Jaco Van Dormael joins DN to discuss why his irreverent forth feature ’The Brand New Testament‘ isn't about religion.
DN336: Asaf Korman Delves into the Heart of Unhealthy Symbiotic Relationships in Sibling Drama ‘Next to Her’
March 10, 2016 16:47Israeli director Asaf Korman joins us on the podcast with feature debut ‘Next to Her’, an intimate and very personal look at the themes of co-dependence and unhealthy symbiotic relationships.
DN335: Hanna Polak Unearths the Treacherous Journey of Life on a Moscow Rubbish Dump in ’Something Better to Come‘
February 23, 2016 19:23Oscar-nominated Director Hanna Polak reveals why she dedicated 14 years of her life to tell the story of Yula, a young girl who grew up on Europe's largest garbage dump, in the heart wrenching vérité documentary ‘Something Better to Come’.
DN334: Enduring the Violence of Strangers in Stephen Fingleton’s Dystopian Feature ‘The Survivalist’
February 12, 2016 10:29Stephen Fingleton joins DN to discuss the harsh realities of a career in filmmaking and how he created the contained post-apocalyptic world of his debut feature ‘The Survivalist’.
DN333: Passion & Insanity Make for Destructive Bedfellows in Jakob M. Erwa’s Tense Psychodrama ‘Homesick’
December 16, 2015 15:43"Don’t sit & wait for the chance, do it!" Dir. Jakob M. Erwa shares the rallying cry that powered the production of his psychothriller feature ‘Homesick’.
DN332: Maya Newell Explores Society’s Reactions to Same-Sex Parenting in ‘Gayby Baby’
December 11, 2015 17:03Australian Director Maya Newell discusses her exploration of same-sex parenting in her debut documentary ‘Gayby Baby’.
DN331: Matt Sobel Takes an Inverted Look at the Coming of Age Story in ‘Take Me To The River’
November 30, 2015 18:43DN talks to Matt Sobel about his inverted coming of age feature 'Take Me To The River' and discovers how he harnessed the celebrity power of Taylor Swift to craft an impressive performance from his young co-star.
DN330: Nightmares Become Unreality in AKIZ’s Dark Monster Tale ‘Der Nachtmahr’
November 23, 2015 16:57Artist & Director AKIZ shares how he brought realism to his fantastical feature 'Der Nachtmahr' whilst augmenting the film’s abrasive techno soundtrack through the use of sonic experiments.
DN329: Politics & Film Noir Combine in Alexis Alexiou’s Thriller ‘Wednesday 04:45’
November 18, 2015 16:04Greek Director Alexis Alexiou joins us to discuss how he went about creating a lyrical, surreal quality for his crime thriller 'Wednesday 04:45' and why in his opinion good film noir is actually political in nature.
DN328: The Child Assassin Comes of Age in Ariel Kleiman’s Debut Feature ‘Partisan’
November 13, 2015 14:55DN tracked down 'Partisan' Director Ariel Kleiman to talk submarines, scoring Vincent Cassel for his debut feature & why kids can’t point guns in Australian films.
DN327: Johanna Schwartz Documents the Defiant Spirit of Malian Musicians in Sonic Feature ‘They Will Have to Kill Us First’
November 09, 2015 18:43Director Johanna Schwartz joins DN with her feature-length documentary 'They Will Have to Kill Us First' - a film which charts the defiant spirit of Malian musicians willing to risk their lives for the love of their art.
DN326: Joseph Sims-Dennett Embraces the Voyeuristic Darkness in Horror Mystery Feature ‘Observance’
November 03, 2015 19:59Dir. Joseph Sims-Dennett talks to DN about the anxieties of building a directing career and how he took things back to the self-initiated basics for his second feature, the dark horror mystery 'Observance'.