News

For those who didn’t have the pleasure of joining us at last night’s awards ceremony, we’re delighted to share highlights from our celebration of independent filmmaking excellence. The evening brought together a community of visionary filmmakers, dedicated crew members, talented cast and passionate industry partners – all united in celebration of creative innovation and storytelling brilliance. We’re incredibly proud of our award winners (and the Dn community who showed up en masse to cheer them on) and invite everyone to experience their exceptional work firsthand below. Alongside the films themselves, we encourage you to click through to our in-depth interviews with these impressive directors to delve into the creative journeys behind their outstanding productions.

Best Music Video

Gun by Lado Kvataniya

I challenged myself to create within the constraints of a single space, with a moving wall as the central element.

Best Drama Short

Mud Crab by...

After the resounding success of last year’s launch, Directors Notes is thrilled to present our 2025 edition of the WeAreDN Awards. Over the past few weeks we have painstakingly whittled down our 2024 official submissions to a choice list of 28 nominated films, across 9 categories – Drama, Comedy, Buckle Up, New Talent, Animation, Documentary, Music Video, Dance & British – for our expert industry jury – including last year’s only double award winner – to vote on.

Join us on the 1st of May at 7pm, along with our nominated filmmakers, cast, crew and industry professionals for a screening of the winning films, celebratory drinks, networking and, most importantly, dancing.

Sold Out!!!

Please email contact@directorsnotes.com to be added to our ticket standby list.

Our Jury

Dave Taylor-Matthews is an experienced film festival organiser and curator based in Bristol, with over a decade of expertise in film exhibition. Currently serving as the Executive Director of Encounters Film Festival,...

Multi-dn alum Lado Kvataniya returns to Dn with his music video for Manizha’s Gun. It’s an ambitious video that shows two warring communities divided by a large, moveable concrete wall between their homes. Every day they each vie for more square footage through a battle of pure physical exertion, in what seems like a never-ending cycle. The reason we at Dn keep coming back to Kvataniya’s work is twofold. Firstly, because of the eclecticism of the filmmaker’s work, on our pages alone he’s delved into the worlds of animation, horror and noir. But also because of the sheer visual scope of his creations. He’s a filmmaker guided by ambitious ideas who has repeatedly demonstrated his unwavering ability to realise them. Dn spoke with Kvataniya once again, diving into the process behind Gun, covering the concepts of war and conflict that inspired its story and...

The rugged, mountainous, old-timey beauty of the Georgian countryside is excellently evoked in Waltz, a highly innovative music video created for the popular Georgian band Mgzavrebi. For Lado Kvataniya (a welcome regular on Dn’s pages) known for the Russian-language thriller The Execution as well as working with Husky in Russia and Kanye West and Cardi B in the USA, this film was an opportunity to get back to his Georgian roots. Mixing different film stocks as well as shooting in both colour and black and white, moving between the countryside and the city, Waltz is a gorgeous evocation of starting a new family while honouring one’s roots. With intuitive editing and some incredible footage – including the rendering of a baby being born! – it is a deeply emotional music video that betrays a strong willingness to push the music video form forward. We caught up with Kvataniya for a conversation about mixing different media,...

As a regularly featured director on the pages of Dn (today marks his 10th appearance) Lado Kvataniya has time and again shown himself to be no stranger to broaching difficult and controversial topics in his biting work. His latest release, Burn made for Russian singer-songwriter Monetochka is an acerbic polemic which uses its animated visuals to comment on the destructive nature of propaganda which lulls people into a state of inertia, thereby turning everyone into passive objects with little purpose besides feeding the machine which perpetuates the cycle. Collaborating with visual artist and animator Sergey Kolesov, Burn sees this process transform a populace into inanimate objects whose future is then bartered over by soulless corporates. Kvataniya, Kolesov and Monetochka’s shared views on the state of the world and the pernicious nature of propaganda, coalesce into a clarion call against the desire to disconnect from the turbulence of reality, regardless...

’The Execution’ from Russian filmmaker Lado Kvataniya has been selected for Transilvania’s main competition.

Organisers of this week’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) have defended the programming of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution in the main competition following criticism from Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Oleg Sentsov.

“Our common mission is to make sure the Ukrainian spirit is present and powerful in our festival,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, as already stated by the international filmmaking community, it is important to not direct hate towards individuals based on their nationality.”

In an...

’The Execution’ from Russian filmmaker Lado Kvataniya has been selected for Transilvania’s main competition.

Organisers of this week’s Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) have defended the programming of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution in the main competition following criticism from Ukrainian directors Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk and Oleg Sentsov.

“Our common mission is to make sure the Ukrainian spirit is present and powerful in our festival,” they said in a statement. “At the same time, as already stated by the international filmmaking community, it is important to not direct hate towards individuals based on their nationality.”

In an...

Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, whose feature debut “Pamfir” premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight section, and director and former political prisoner Oleh Sentsov (“Rhino”) are among the Ukrainian filmmakers who say they’re “distraught” by the inclusion of a Russian film in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.

In a statement posted on Monday to the Facebook page for “Pamfir,” the filmmakers spoke out against the selection of Russian director Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution” as one of 12 features competing for the Transilvania Trophy, criticizing the “illusion of cultural reconciliation” created by the festival’s decision and insisting that “art does not exist outside of politics.”

The filmmakers noted that Kvataniya’s psychological thriller was produced with the support of the state-backed Russian Film Fund as well as Kinoprime, the 100 million film fund bankrolled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the U.K. and Europe.

“This film...

Reims Polar, a new international festival set in Northern France and dedicated to police thrillers, has awarded Wen Shipei’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” Adikhan Yerzhanov’s “Assault” and Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution.”

The selection of Reims Polar is curated by Bruno Barde, who is also the artistic director of the Deauville American Film Festival.

“Assault,” a dead-pan thriller set fictional village in rural Kazakhstan and revolving around a school hostage situation, won the festival’s Grand Prize Award. Yerzhanov, a prolific Kazakh director, previously directed “The Gentle Indifference of the World” which played at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2018.

The Reims Polar jury prize went to a pair of feature debuts, “Are You Lonesome Tonight?,” a Chinese film which world premiered out of competition at last year’s Cannes, and Russian filmmaker Lado Kvataniya’s “The Execution,” a thriller inspired by the case of an infamous Soviet-era serial killer.

”Those Russian voices that oppose the aggression committed by their country will always have a place at the San Sebastian Film Festival.”

The San Sebastián International Film festival has issued a statemnet saying it will consider films from Russian filmmakers who “oppose aggression committed by their country”. The festival is due to take place from September 16-24.

“Our selection processes evaluate films on an individual basis, never on the basis of their nationality, even when they come from countries with governments that violate fundamental rights, and we will continue to do so in these turbulent times,” said the festival.

“We...

Netflix has paused all future projects and acquisitions from Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine, Variety has learned.

The streamer had four Russian originals in the pipeline, including a crime thriller series directed by Dasha Zhuk, which was shooting and has been put on hold. The 1990’s set series was Netflix’s second original series filming in Russia, following “Anna K” which wrapped last year.

A source close to Netflix said the company was assessing the impact of current events.

On Monday, The Walt Disney Company announced it will similarly be pausing all theatrical releases in Russia, including Pixar’s “Turning Red,” set to premiere in the country on March 10. A few hours after the announcement, Warner Bros. halted the release of “The Batman” in Russia.

Elsewhere in the film and TV industry, Russia has been barred from major festivals and award shows. The Cannes Film Festival announced on Tuesday...

Follows calls from the Ukrainian Film Academy to boycott Russian cinema

The Glasgow Film Festival has pulled two Russian titles from its upcoming edition following the invasion of Ukraine.

The festival, which runs March 2-13, has withdrawn Kirill Sokolov’s No Looking Back and Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution.

A statement from the festival said: “This decision is not a reflection on the views and opinions of the makers of these titles. We just believe that it would be inappropriate to proceed as normal with these screenings in the current circumstances.”

The move follows a plea from the Ukrainian Film Academy,...

Due to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian pavilion at the upcoming Biennale arts exhibition in Venice has been scrapped, as the Venice Film Festival continues to mull its response to calls for a boycott of Russian movies at the event’s 77th edition.

Meanwhile, the Locarno Film Festival said on Monday that it will certainly be showing Russian films at its upcoming edition in August.

Kicking off in April, the Venice Biennale, which is the multidisciplinary arts organization behind the Venice Film Festival, expressed solidarity with Russian visual artists Alexandra Sukhareva and Kirill Savchenkov and the exhibition’s curator Raimundas Malašauskas, who on Sunday announced they were pulling out of the art show on their own initiative because “this war is politically and humanly intolerable,” as Malašauskas put it in a statement.

“La Biennale expresses its complete solidarity for this noble act of courage and stands beside the motivations...

The Glasgow Film Festival has withdrawn two Russian titles from its 2022 program in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The films are Kirill Sokolov’s No Looking Back and Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution.

In a statement, the fest said the move was “not a reflection on the views and opinions of the makers of these titles”.

“We just believe that it would be inappropriate to proceed as normal with these screenings in the current circumstances,” it added.

Glasgow runs March 2-13. Organizers said that replacement films would be confirmed in the next few days. Anyone who has purchased a ticket will be eligible for a refund.

Separately, Locarno Film Festival has told Deadline that it does not intend to boycott Russian films this year.

The Swiss festival, which is due to take place August 3-13, said it stood for “freedom of expression and for the cinematographic art...

Our friends at FrightFest have announced the lineup for their event at the Glasgow Film Festival. Finding themselves in the enviable position of being able to host an in person event, the weekend long program features some terrific titles from last year, many making their UK premiere at the festival.    The program kicks off with a stand-alone event, the Russian crime thriller The Execution, from director Lado Kvataniya. From there attendees will get to see Elisha Cuthbert in The Cellar and Christina Ricci in Monstrous. Our own Shelagh was quite taken with Kate Dolan's You Are Not My Mother, "(a) terrific debut, a slow-burn horror of loneliness and fearful anticipation".   Wyrmwood: Apocalypse had only played around the Australian festival circuit after its world premiere at Sitges last...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The festival runs in Glasgow from March 10-12.

Christina Ricci-led supernatural thriller Monstrous and Christopher Lee Parson’s debut A Cloud So High are among the 12 films in the line-up for UK horror festival Glasgow FrightFest, running from March 10-12.

Monstrous receives its international premiere, and tells the story of a mother and son who flee an abusive husband only to encounter a more terrifying monster. Christina Ricci stars in the supernatural thriller, directed by Chris Sivertson.

Christopher Lee Parson’s directorial debut A Cloud So High has its world premiere at the event. It stars The Deer Hunter...

Answering the SunInternational Film Festival Rotterdam have announced the full lineup for their "scaled-down" 51st edition, which will take place online between January 26 — February 6. As part of a full, nationwide lockdown, cinemas will remain closed in the Netherlands until at least 14 January. Tiger COMPETITIONAchrome (Maria Ignatenko)The Cloud Messenger (Rahat Mahajan)The Child (Marguerite de Hillerin/Félix Dutilloy-Liégeois)Eami (Paz Encina)Excess Will Save Us (Morgane Dziurla-Petit)Kafka for Kids (Roee Rosen)Malintzin 17 (Mara Polgovsky/Eugenio Polgovsky)Met mes (Sam de Jong)The Plains (David Easteal)Proyecto Fantasma (Roberto Doveris)Le rêve et la radio (Renaud Després-Larose/Ana Tapia Rousiouk)Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish (Lei Lei)To Love Again (Gao Linyang)Yamabuki (Juichiro Yamasaki)Big Screen COMPETITIONAssault (Adilkhan Yerzhanov)Broadway (Christos Massalas)Third Grade (Jacques Doillon)Daryn’s Gym (Brett Michael Innes)Drifting Petals (Clara Law)The Harbour (Rajeev Ravi)The Island (Anca Damian)Kung Fu Zohra (Mabrouk El Mechri...

Grants

The International Documentary Association (IDA) will award grants totalling $105,000 to five films through its Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund on the theme, “Challenging White Supremacy.”

The films are “Aanikoobijigan”; “Brigidy Bram: The Life and Mind of Kendal Hanna”; “Home Is Somewhere Else”; “The Quiet Part” (working title); and “Yintah”.

In addition, filmmakers Ilse Fernandez (“Exodus Stories”) and Sundance winner Rintu Thomas (“Writing with Fire”), will receive IDA’s Logan Elevate Grants of $25,000 each.

Highlighting IDA’s support for diversity, among the Pare Lorentz grants, one project is directed and/or produced by a non-binary filmmaker and four are directed and/or produced by a woman. Four have a Bipoc director and/or producer and four directors and/or producers identify as LGBTQ+.

Since 2011, IDA has provided over $5.9 million in grants through its documentary funds.

Festival

The International Film Festival Rotterdam (Jan. 26 – Feb. 6) has revealed the first confirmed titles for its 51st edition,...

If there is one thing that I learned from watching Lado Kvataniya’s The Execution, it’s that you don’t want to be on the list of the Russian police. Or anywhere near it. You want to be invisible. Because if they even catch a whiff of you, you’re in for a rough time.

The Execution is a police procedural/revenge story that takes place in the last days of the Soviet Union. In 1991, a woman is found, barely alive and bearing the hallmarks of a serial killer who supposedly has been in jail for years. At the news that his career-making case has not actually been solved, Issa Valentinovich (Nikoloz Tavadze) vows to finally and forever smoke out the real killer, by any means necessary.

“By any means necessary” was the directive that he was given the first time around, which led to a multitude of rough interrogations,...

The Moscow-based company is looking for partners at EFM.

Moscow’s Hype Film, whose credits include Mona Fastvold’s Venice Competition contender The World To Come and Kirill Serebrennikov’s buzzy Petrov’s Flu (sold by Charades), is lining up a project exploring the lives of contemporary Russians with disabilities.

The Carpenter is to be directed by Avdotya (Dunya) Smirnova, whose previous filmmaker credits include Two Days (2011) starring Fedor Bondarchuk, and Andrei Konchalovsky’s 2007 comedy drama Gloss, which she co-wrote.

Smirnova’s drama will look at the experiences of parents who make huge sacrifices to give their disabled child a comfortable life.

With the second wave of Covid-19 crushing hopes of an imminent strong and global restart for the entertainment industry, the resilience of the independent movie business will be tested during AFM’s virtual edition.

The first major market to unfold since the virtual Cannes Marché du Film in June, the AFM was expected to host the launch of a flood of new product, but many companies are now planning to hold back some of their projects for early next year due to the volatile climate brought on by the pandemic.

As cameras are still not rolling everywhere, sellers and buyers won’t board projects unless they have a firm production start date, so more than ever this year, the AFM will showcase finished product, and movies that are either filming or are in post. Initially regarded by many industry players as a one-off global meltdown earlier this year, the coronavirus...

Feature is produced by long-time Kirill Serebrennikov collaborator Hype Film in Moscow.

Paris-based Pulsar Content is launching sales on Russian-language serial killer crime thriller The Execution at TIFF, with XYZ Films on board to handle North American sales. It started shooting in Russia on September 9.

The thriller is inspired by the case of an infamous Soviet-era serial killer who eluded police for a decade.

It is the latest production from Moscow-based company Hype Film, the producer of Kirill Serebrennikov’s Leto and upcoming Petrov’s Flu as well as titles such as Persian Lessons and Sputnik.

The thriller marks the...