As the number of films featured on Short of the Week continues to grow, and along with it the number of filmmakers we now have a connection with, keeping up with the news from our alums becomes a harder and harder task. Yet, we’re excited and proud of what our previously featured directors continue to achieve and eager to share their good news. In this latest round-up of filmmaker updates, we bring you news of short to feature adaptations, the latest from Jim Cumming (of course) and all the new projects from our filmmakers that you can watch now.

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WATCH NOW

It’s an exciting time for filmmakers who’ve made the step from short film to larger project. With Kate Herron helming the MCU’s latest series Loki and Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor continuing to earn rave reviews, the titles below once again prove how important the format is in helping directors develop their craft and their voice. 

  • Betty (season 2) by Crystal Moselle – With Moselle’s narrative, centred around a female skate crew, beginning in 2016 with short That One Day, before being developed into the feature film Skate Kitchen, the director returns to her epsidoc take on a group of women navigating the male-dominated world of skateboarding in Betty Season 2. Once again consisting of 6 x 30-min episodes, the new season can be caught on HBOMax now.

  • Come True by Anthony Scott Burns – Scott Burns’ 2013 short Manifold, the story of a small-town sheriff investigating a mysterious multiple murder scene, is a distinct, memorable film. If you’ve seen that short (go watch it now if you haven’t) you probably won’t be too shocked to hear that the director has helmed a potential cult classic in his latest feature Come True. Part sci-fi, part horror, this nightmarish dive into the world of dreams is available on Hulu and on-demand platforms now.

  • Cowboys by Anna Kerrigan – With her short Hot Seat proving a real favourite of the Sundance ’17 selection, her debut feature Cowboys has also impressed on the festival circuit, picking up a trio of awards at Tribeca ’20. This touching story of a father who runs away with his transgender son is available on most on-demand platforms worldwide.

  • Drunk Bus by Brandon LaGanke & John Carlucci – With this directorial duo appearing on S/W under the moniker GHOST + COW, with their short film BIG DATA – “L1ZY”, the pair have now made the leap to the world of feature films with this “sweet, late bloomer coming-of-age comedy”. Having played SXSW ’20, the film is now available to watch On Demand (find out where on the Drunk Bus website) and in select theatres (US only).
  • I Blame Society by Gillian Wallace Horvat – If you’ve seen either of the films (KISS KISS FINGERBANK or Whiskey Fist) by Gillian Wallace Horvat that we’ve featured on S/W, it’ll come as no surprise to see her debut feature described as being “as funny and scary as anything Hollywood itself has churned out in recent years”. The story of a struggling filmmaker determined to prove herself by resurrecting her last abandoned film, you can find out where you can now watch the film on the Cranked Up Films website.

  • Nine Films About Technology by Peter Huang – Another alumni project available on Hulu, Huang’s Nine Films About Technology sees the director develop his original 5-min short (5 Films About Technology) into a nine-episode series (each episode around 10-mins long). Once again tackling the pitfalls of technology, this dark-comedy originally aired as the season four anchor program of FXX’s Cake.
  • Nobody by Ilya Naishuller – Probably the most high-profile title in this list, with its Super Bowl trailer and Bob Odenkirk in the lead role, Naishuller made a name for himself with turbo-charged first-person music video Bad Motherf*cker, which led to his feature debut Hardcore Henry (which adopted the same style). Now back with a more traditional blockbuster approach, Nobody is set to be one of the most talked-about films of 2021 and is available to watch now.
  • Some Kind of Heaven by Lance Oppenheim – Another alum with a project you can now watch on Hulu, Oppenheims’ debut feature Some Kind of Heaven has landed on the streaming service – and is still available On Demand, if you don’t have access to Hulu. A documentary set in America’s largest retirement community, if you want to know more about the film and its creator, you can check out our Short List interview with Lance or watch the accompanying short The Paradise Next Door.

  • Surge by Aneil Karia – A favourite here at Short of the Week, having featured two of his short films in BEAT and Work, Karia’s debut feature Surge is something we’ve been anticipating with real fervour since its debut at Sundance ’20. Teaming up once again with BEAT lead Ben Whishaw, this stripped-back thriller is available to rent or buy from a variety of platforms.

  • Time by Lewis Arnold – Since first featuring his work, with NFTS short Echo, back in 2014, Arnold’s career has gone from strength, directing a string of high profile tv shows (including Humans and Broadchurch). In more recent times, Arnold has turned his focus on the mini series, directing every (and producing some) episode of Cleaning Up, Dark Money, Des and now Time. His latest series sees him team up with Sean Bean and Stephen Graham for a highly-rated three-episode prison drama and currently available in the UK, on the BBC.

  • The Outside Story by Casimir Nozkowski – Featured on our site WAY back in 2008, with Checkmate, Nozkowski continued to work in the short film arena for the next 12yrs (or so), directing a series of (mainly documentary) shorts. His debut feature sees him team up with Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry to tell the story of an introverted editor forced to confront the world he’s been hiding from in his apartment. Those of you in the US can stream, rent or buy The Outside Story via a number of online platforms now.

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In Development

Along with the above projects, which are all fully-baked and ready to watch, we’ve had news of more projects from alums, that are currently in the development stage of production:

  • Annick Blanc’s Colour of Your Lips feature – Set in a world where the air has suddenly become impossible to breathe, Blanc’s 2018 short felt primed for development and that potential looks set to be realised, with Alter teaming up with James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Circle of Confusion to develop a feature based on the short. Last time we spoke to Blanc, she was working on her feature-length debut, Grand Nord, so it looks we’ll be seeing a lot more from the talented director in the future.
  • Ben Berman to direct Gladiators doc – Creator of 2020 short The Follow-Up, Berman has been named director of an upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about TV show American Gladiators.
  • Code 8: Part II – With sci-fi short Code 8 already developed into a feature version, the success of that longer film on Netflix has seen director Jeff Chan and Robbie & Stephen Amell return to its universe to expand it further with a sequel. Set to follow the journey of a teenage girl fighting to get justice for her slain brother at the hands of corrupt police officers not much more is known about the project yet, but fans of the original should be excited to see where this new narrative leads.
  • Live-action GUNDAM feature from Jordan Vogt-Roberts – When we featured dark comedy short Successful Alcoholics back in 2011, the directorial talent of Vogt-Roberts were clear to see, but even we could not have imagined his meteoric rise as a director. From his Sundance debut feature The Kings of Summer he went on to direct Hollywood blockbuster Kong: Skull Island and has recently been announced to helm the first-ever live-action GUNDAM feature.
  • Nanny by Nikyatu Jusu – Having made one of our favourite horror shorts – Suicide by Sunlight – in recent years, it came as no surprise to read Jusu’s debut feature Nanny will be financed and produced by Stay Gold Features and Topic Studios. The story of an undocumented nanny who must battle a violent presence that invades her reality will begin shooting this June in New York City.
  • New projects from Gints Zilbalodis & Edmunds Jansons – Animators Zilbalodis and Jansons were both announced as recipients of funding from the National Film Centre of Latvia, as part of a grant to support the production of new feature films and full-length animated and documentary films within the country. Previously featured on S/W, with Inaudible and Priorities, Zilbalodis received money towards his second feature Straume (Flow) – which he explained was “based on one of my first short films called Aqua” and is about a “cat who’s afraid of water, who wakes up to find the whole world is flooded”. While Jansons, who we featured back in 2015 with Choir Tour, was awarded funding for his second feature Laimīgie (The Lucky Ones), after the success of his debut Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking Dogs.
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Miscellaneous

Deals, anthologies and more – this is the news from our alums that doesn’t fit into the above categories.