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the Talent

Agency

From Junior Creatives to ECDs, delve into career highlights (and lowlights) in our in-depth profiles.

Production

The people who make the spots you love, covering all aspects of production, post and sound.

28th Aug Production
How Stink Films cares for directors who care

How Stink Films cares for directors who care

Daniel Bergmann, founder and president of Stink Films, explains why his company, which won a Gold Screen producers award at this year’s YDA, has always had a mission to nurture new directors and why they seek creatives who genuinely care about the work.

27th Aug Production
A YDA delivery for Vanessa Stachel

A YDA delivery for Vanessa Stachel

German director Vanessa Stachel secured a Gold in the YDA Animation, and Film School category for her short film Delivery For Mr. Frogula. Here, she talks about making the miniatures, the team involved in bringing the film to life, and hopes and dreams for the future.

23rd Aug Production
Love Song’s soul-enriching search for new talent

Love Song’s soul-enriching search for new talent

Love Song Films was one of two companies to win a Gold Screen Production Company of the Year at the YDA this year. Founders Kelly Bayett and Daniel Wolfe talk to shots about the rewards of seeking shining stars and listening out for that distinctive voice.

23rd Aug Production
How Victoria Warmerdam tackled bodily-autonomy through comedy

How Victoria Warmerdam tackled bodily-autonomy through comedy

Clinching not just one but four YDA Golds, plus the Special Jury Prize, OAK Motion Pictures director Victoria Warmerdam's darkly comedy short, I'm Not a Robot, draws inspiration from CAPTCHA technology, vintage sci-fi aesthetics and psychological thrillers to address feminist themes of identity and objectification.

22nd Aug Production
Will Wightman's certain success

Will Wightman's certain success

Picking up a YDA Gold Screen award in the Commercial category, BlinkInk director Will Wightman's campaign for Ore-Ida is a "super-weird" spot that celebrates the predictable. Here, he discusses Hollywood's Golden Age, embracing the unusual, and getting thrown into the deep end.

21st Aug Production
Why anonymity and channeled rage were essential for SHIRZAN to Rise

Why anonymity and channeled rage were essential for SHIRZAN to Rise

Despite winning the Changing the World Frame by Frame gold at this year's YDA, director SHIRZAN could not claim it; the anonymous alias essential in the tale of Iranian persecution. We caught up with them to speak about the origins of the story, the perilous shoot, and why it was important to share such heartbreak.

Creative Correspondence

Celebrating shots' 30th anniversary, industry luminaries pair up with up-and-comers in the field to talk shop and interview each other.

20th Aug Production
How Sindre Haram crafted a poignant tale of childhood isolation

How Sindre Haram crafted a poignant tale of childhood isolation

Sindre Haram won a Gold screen YDA for his naturalistic portrait of a boy caught in the crosshairs of his parents’ divorce. Here he explains how he created a powerful narrative by mining the past, and recalling, then detaching from, his father’s story.

19th Aug Production
All things change with Davide Vicari

All things change with Davide Vicari

Italian director Davide Vicari secured a Gold in the YDA Music Video category for Massimo Pericolo's Le Cose Cambiano album trailer. Here, he talks about connecting the artist with the audience, using FPV drones, and thriving in the commercial world.

16th Aug Production
Good things come in threes; ​Emma Branderhorst's Cannes winning streak

Good things come in threes; ​Emma Branderhorst's Cannes winning streak

In just three years, director Emma Branderhorst has clinched two YDA Golds, a D&AD award, and a Cannes Grand Prix; all before her graduation film debuted online. Here, we dive into her knack for tackling social issues, making a mark with young people, and casting non-actors effectively.

16th Aug Production
How LOOSE got tight with Football Beyond Borders

How LOOSE got tight with Football Beyond Borders

Picking up the Charity Commercial gold award at this year's YDA, Stink director LOOSE's authentic slice of footballing life hit the target. Here, she discusses how to score with a one-day shoot.

15th Aug Production
LIAKH's artistic endeavour

LIAKH's artistic endeavour

Spindle director LIAKH picked up a YDA Gold award at this year's ceremony for his carefully curated and brilliantly comedic spot for the Sainsbury Centre. Here, he explains how the film is a "loveletter with a bit of darkness mixed in", and why comedy is hard.

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14th Aug Production
Emma Foley's tone-perfect, blackly-comedic Sound & Colour

Emma Foley's tone-perfect, blackly-comedic Sound & Colour

Picking up the Short Film [10 minutes and over] prize at this year's YDA, writer/director Emma Foley's painfully honest account of a Irish family in denial hit the judges heartstrings. Here, we find out how the authentic relationships were brought to the screen, and how an enigmatic title can open viewers to challenging stories.

13th Aug Production
Liam LoPinto on the power of returning to your roots

Liam LoPinto on the power of returning to your roots

Winning Gold in the short film category at this year's Young Directors Awards, Liam LoPinto's sublime film The Old Young Crow is a captivating fusion of live-action and animation, nature and spirituality, and Iranian and Japanese culture.

12th Aug Production
Hugh Mulhern dishes the dirt on Doolally

Hugh Mulhern dishes the dirt on Doolally

Director Hugh Mulhern grabbed a Gold in the YDA Music Video category with their Riff Raff Films aided promo for Hak Baker - Doolally. Here, He talks about jumping Prime Ministers in public, big weekends, and his future projects.

9th Aug Production
YDA winner LI Shuqin on frog-themed dreams and dealing with loss

YDA winner LI Shuqin on frog-themed dreams and dealing with loss

LI Shuqin's moving and whimsical short To The Moon and Back scooped up a Gold Young Directors Award in the Animation category. Here, Shuqin talks us through the inspirations behind the film, from childhood memories to traditional Chinese nursery rhymes.

8th Aug Production
YDA-winner Michael Hili on finding both beauty and pain in the story of a mother’s loss

YDA-winner Michael Hili on finding both beauty and pain in the story of a mother’s loss

The Public Diagnosis justly won YDA Golds in two categories – Creative Use of Sound and Branded Content. Here director Michael Hili explains how he came to use an innovative theatrical visual language to tell the real-life story of a mother and son coping with terminal illness.

7th Aug Production
Kiarash Dadgar's food for thought

Kiarash Dadgar's food for thought

The Steak is a quietly powerful film about the harsh realities of war and the fragility of life amid chaos. Director Kiarash Dadgar discusses his debut film, which picked up Gold at this year's Young Director Award.

6th Aug Production
YDA winner Alan Bradley on filming a tale of heartbreaking loss

YDA winner Alan Bradley on filming a tale of heartbreaking loss

Alan Bradley won Gold for his documentary Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost, which explores the shocking statistic that more than one in ten Irish Travellers die by suicide, many of them being males aged 15-25, some are even younger. The film follows the parents of one tragic case – 12-year-old Patrick McDonagh – as they process their grief.

5th Aug Production
YDA winner Onda talks Precision

YDA winner Onda talks Precision

Director Onda grabbed a Gold in the YDA Music Video category with their promo for Big Sean - Precision. Here, he chat's about what made them pick up a camera, trusting the process and working in ad-land.