Since 2006 Directors Notes - a British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) Qualifying Festival - has featured the work of the world’s best filmmakers, sharing the production stories behind their outstanding films with a worldwide audience of industry professionals, festival curators and dedicated film fans. Eclectic in its tastes, Directors Notes is where you can find the most cutting edge films regardless of genre, length or technique.

The Directors Notes team works closely with all accepted filmmakers to create a feature article for the DN website detailing the production story behind their work as well as presenting the film to the thousands of subscribers of our curated WeAreDN Vimeo channel and social media profiles.

What type of films do you feature?
Directors Notes has always been eclectic in our tastes, featuring a broad spectrum of films across all genres and forms, and so the best way to gauge what we’re looking for is to take a look at the work we feature.

Do you accept both shorts & feature submissions?
Yes we do. We consider anything under 40 minutes a short and over that length a feature.

How long until I hear back?
Once submitted, the Directors Notes curation team will respond to your submission within 7 working days.

What if my film is already online?
Not a problem. Directors Notes doesn’t require exclusivity or premiere status to feature your film, although we do give priority to our premiere releases.

Can I submit my unreleased film?
Of course, be sure to include the password in the submissions form so we can watch it.

My film is still on its festival run and not ready for an online release yet, do I have to wait until it is to submit?
Not at all, we regularly run features for films on the festival circuit and not yet available online.

Will a Directors Notes feature earn me a Vimeo Staff Pick?
Whilst many of the films we’ve featured have donned that most coveted of badges, there is no guaranteed route from a Directors Notes feature to a Vimeo Staff Pick. However, as discussed in our How to Get a Vimeo Staff Pick interview, we do know that DN is one of the sites the Staff Pick team regularly check in on when hunting for films so fingers crossed!

Can I get a refund?
The submission fee covers the process of the Directors Notes curation team assessing your film and is therefore non-refundable.

Will you definitely feature my film?
Of the thousands of films submitted to Directors Notes, only a small percentage make it to our pages. We’re very selective about the work we choose to feature – it’s what makes DN what it is – and so submission in no way guarantees coverage.

If selected, when will my film be featured?
Once selected, we will work with you to find the best date to feature your film on Directors Notes. We have a very busy editorial calendar here at DN so if you have a particular date in mind the more notice you can provide, the higher the likelihood of that publication date being available.

What copyright clearances do you require?
By submitting your film to Directors Notes you attest that the work in question is not in breach of any copyright and that all required intellectual property rights have been adhered to.

How will Directors Notes promote my work?
As well as being featured on Directors Notes, your film will be added to the WeAreDN Vimeo channel, our weekly newsletter and shared across our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram). We also suggest that you do the same across your accounts and get cast, crew, friends and family to pitch in spreading the word too.

Can I get feedback?
Sorry, at this point in time Directors Notes does not offer a feedback service for submissions.

Do you grant fee waivers?
No, we do not offer submission fee waivers.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Toni Hipwell

    Director's Notes made our micro short feel incredibly valued and produced a very thoughtful spotlight on it. Can't recommend enough!

    January 2025
  • Andzej Gavriss

    Love you guys! You're the best.

    January 2025
  • Miranda Stern

    This was an immeasurably positive experience, and a real privilege to be featured on DN. I'm so glad a platform like this exists, to champion shorts and independent filmmaking – but also the level of care and detail that goes into the work is second to none, and this is a craft/artform all of its own. So often filmmaking feels like scrambling in the dark, and you never quite know if you got it. Then the privilege of reading something like the DN feature - where someone just gets it and expresses it better than I ever could - that is the best accolade I can think of. So thank you. Very much. Highly recommend.

    January 2025
  • Directors Notes truly champions independent cinema. I'm so grateful for this platform.

    January 2025
  • Greg Cruttwell

    A top platform. I'm very grateful for their help and support.

    January 2025