A playlist exploring the short film-to-series pipeline - those shorts that evolve into episodic content

With science fiction story-lines and topics of sexuality proving to be big discussion starters here on Short of the Week, it would have seemed like an opportunity missed if we didn't speak to emerging filmmaker Connor Hurley about his short film The Naturalist. Based around concepts of genetically altering sexual orientation and set in an unspecified dystopian future, we talked to the director about the influence of existing work on his narrative/tone and looked at how he went about creating a timeless aesthetic for his film: It's hard not talk about The Naturalist without first looking at the concept - where did the idea for the narrative come from? I remember I was probably around 12 years old, pursuing both my passion for filmmaking and facing questions of my own sexuality.

With the latest edition of the BFI London Film Festival set to begin on the 6th October, we take a look at the S/W filmmakers with titles screening at this year's event

Watch our pick of the best short films that became features in this playlist including Neill Blomkamp, Billy Bob Thornton & more [last updated June 2022].