Writer, actor, drag performer, and newly-signed Knucklehead director Amrou Al-Kadhi’s debut feature film, Layla, is a vibrant celebration of queer Arab joy — unapologetically messy, beautiful, and profoundly human. At its core, the film seeks to challenge the trauma-heavy narratives that frequently dominate Arab and queer stories, instead showcasing a life full of love, contradictions, and abundance. 1.4 attended a preview screening, and the following is a very cut down version of the inspiring conversation between Amrou and writer Shon Payne. Layla, which opened Sundance earlier this year, opens in Curzon Cinemas this week.

Whether it’s picking up litter, recycling plastic, or carrying a bag for life, we’re all increasingly mindful of doing our bit to protect the planet. But those efforts pale in comparison to the real green champions – the ‘Earth Defenders’ from Indigenous communities around the world - who are, quite literally, laying down their lives in the fight against environmental destruction: every 48 hours, an Earth Defender goes missing or is murdered while protecting nature. It’s this shocking statistic that underlies a haunting new music film exposing the true human costs of nature protection – and calling for global recognition of the role and rights of Indigenous Peoples. Set within the forests of Sungai Utik, Indonesia, the film lays bare the life-and-death reality of the Iban community’s commitment to preserving their lands - an incredible story of sacrifice and courage, sensitively and authentically captured by co-directors Jorik Dozy and Sil Van der Woerd of Studio Birthplace, and Indigenous filmmaker Kynan Tegar. As the film premieres at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, they talk to 1.4 about the power of cross-cultural collaboration, flooded rivers, and going with the flow

We love fashion films that are much more than just aesthetics like these stunners we selected from the Berlin Fashion Film nominees. We’re on a bit of a fashion roll with more top drawer work to show you over the next couple of weeks but meanwhile pack your glad rags for Berlin - the show kicks off this week.

Born and raised in London, Joe Howat has been turning heads with his keen eye for kinetic visuals and a natural instinct for rhythm. With a path to directing that has been shaped by a love of music, skate culture, and a DIY spirit, the recently-signed CANADA director sits down with 1.4 to discuss the city he calls home, building creative partnerships, and what’s next.

What constitutes “home” to you - is it your birthplace, where you grew up, or where you are now? Director Victoria Rivera has spent her career exploring the meaning of identity pull between birthplace, family, and chosen paths. In her latest short film, Amma, this manifests in a young woman navigating family expectations from afar through the medium of answer-phone messages.. Sitting down with 1.4, Rivera reflects on her journey into filmmaking, the influence of her bicultural experiences, and working with a real family.

Tonight’s the night we’ll find out the winners of the UKMVAs, and our final Special Visual Project nominee post is an absolute beaut — Yeah The Boys for Australian band The Avalanches. Directed by Exit Films’ Stefan Hunt along with his choreographer wife, Vanessa Marian, the film "follows six young Aussie men as they sink beers over an afternoon and well into the night. Emoting only through movement—lewd gestures, chokeholds, crowd surfs, and chugging shoeys—they somehow say everything without uttering a single word." We caught up with Stefan on how his upbringing shaped his thought-provoking and uplifting human stories, his unconventional path into filmmaking, and how working with Vanessa has influenced his creative process. Magic.

How is our industry responding to the global political climate? Are we ignoring it, or do we, as creatives, feel a responsibility to speak up and challenge what we find unacceptable? Fresh from a win at Ciclope 2024, director Rachel McDonald - known for her work across commercials, music videos and narrative work - sits down with Niccolò Montanari to reflect on the human consequences of immigration, the responsibility of storytellers, and the impending U.S. elections alongside the release of her new short film Hermanos, which tells the story of two brothers fleeing Mexico with their mother, only to be separated at the U.S. border.

Last Friday, 1.4 was lucky enough to attend a Dazed + SMUGGLER screening and Q+A for a transformative new short combining the multi-hyphenate talents of 1.4 Award-winning director C Prinz and cultural powerhouse Jeremy Pope. The piece takes us to both extremes of genre, theme, gender and sound exploring the murky grey waters between blackness, queerness and spirituality. Author and journalist Jason Okundaye sits down with them to discuss the personal and creative momentum behind the project, and the lessons learned during its creation.

Nothing like being on the jury for the UKMVA's Special Visual Projects—a front-row seat to some truly beautiful, emotionally engaging, and occasionally hilarious longer-form films. Take a look at these four nominees and you’ll see what we mean.

Judging the Special Visual Project category for the UKMVAs was a feast for the senses - the longer-form projects, set to entire albums, cut deeper than your usual one-track videos. Who knows which films will win? We’ll just have to wait until the splendid UKMVA Awards Show on October 24th. This week we will be showcasing the Special Visual Project nominees beginning today with Baloji’s brilliant imagery and storytelling. 

Sparked by the riddle: “How do you make manga in film without creating anime?”, Mackenzie Sheppard’s intricately crafted spot for Amazon sees manga readers absorbed into magical, monochrome comic-book worlds.

No weddings and a funeral - but it's all about love

Kick off the weekend with our round-up of creative campaigns from around the world.

As the world idolises tigers in culture and commerce, their real-life counterparts inch closer to extinction. Alongside the release of his new charity short The Tyger” Walter Stoehr sits down with 1.4 to talk about using William Blake’s iconic poem to fuse art and activism, the power of images, and the importance of a good shotlist.

Bringing you our weekend round-up of shorts from the Conero Festival, the wonderful outdoor creative retreat of filmmaking in Ancona’s national park.

Like a good whisky or wine tasting, there is no right nor wrong interpretation of Jeremi Durand’s richly textured films, which share one constant: an invitation to the viewer to question everything they see. Drawing on his background in product design, the MYND director, who recently signed to REBEL in the UK, is a master at turning limited time and means into multi-layered masterpieces with themes of social surrealism at their core: from big tech to parallel universes, reincarnation and more. Alongside the release of his latest music video, Mustard ft. Travis Scott Parking Lot, he tells 1.4 about his fascination with the human existence – and which VFX is “like good makeup”

Gone are the days of picking a creative lane and sticking to it, and North London-based director, punk rapper, visual artist (and more) Talia Beale is testament to that. She sits down with 1.4 to discuss her spot for Fred Perry, her view on her variety of creative outputs, and how Gen Z is behind a wider shift in the subculture of our time.

Last weekend we headed to the Conero Film + Adv (CFA) creative retreat in the heart of Italy’s stunning Conero national park. A gloriously relaxed festival vibe of inspiring conversations on sustainable filmmaking and storytelling, delicious food and rosé, outdoor presentations inbetween horse-riding and sailing, and an awards show under the starry sky.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Godar captures that crushing moment of a flirtatious brush off and the painful aftermath with her beautifully layered film for Jennie Lawless’ track Shame. 

You can't be serious? Well, we're not. Apart from an important period piece for Bodyform, this month's collection is a lovable show of the ridiculous.

Everyone’s favourite stomping ground… the 1.4 line-up of brilliant music and films

Hello sunshine, sea and hundreds of excellent films at the Conero Film + ADV festival which runs from 6-8 September in the heart of Conero Park near Ancona on the Adriatic Coast of Italy.

An alumnus of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Michael Hili’s pivot from production design to directing was an ‘exhilarating’ transition from the limitations of theatre; offering him an array of incredible new tools to explore the essence of storytelling and the bounds of his imagination. But this theatrical legacy continues on in his set-driven, process-led approach to filmmaking – creating immersive, tactile worlds which feel ‘handmade’ in the best possible way. He tells 1.4 why foolishness is his superpower, and how settling for making pretty pictures is a filmmaker’s ultimate sin

No straight faces and only a few punches, here's our end of the week line-up of brilliant films

Some of us take our family issues to the therapist’s couch; others, like Pablo Balderas, go behind a camera instead. Premiering on 1.4, SENIOR is a deeply personal exploration of Balderas’ relationship with his biological father – a “kaleidoscopic portrait of a complicated man” that eschews blame for empathy – and raises more questions than it answers

British-Belgian filmmaker Zeb Goriely has his fingers in a never-ending factory line of pies - from his own creative output as a director and editor, to running the Watersprite Film Festival 2024, to an ongoing PhD in computational linguistics (and going viral with how to win at Wordle - according to science). His most recent project, an experimental piece combining film images of his family and everyday life and snippets of audio, is fresh from winning Best Micro Short at this year’s BFI Future Film Festival. 1.4 catches up with Zeb about the beginnings of his creativity, how to film your family, and taking inspiration from all areas of life.

The world is on a roll...