Here are the films deemed the very best in short-form brilliant filmmaking

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Just three films into his transition from Steadicam Op to Director, Loïc Andrieu has already established a clear artistic vision of the world he wants to explore. Rife with dark symbolism, stylistic depictions of the subconscious mind and teeming with ritualistic explorations of the eschatological, his work is compelling and unsettling in equal measures. 1.4 had the pleasure of delving into the depths of Loic’s creative mind to explore the meaning behind his powerful imagery.

Johannesburg-based Nare Mokgotho has a sharp eye for comic timing. Emily d'Silva catches up with the creative-turned-new director

Visual trickster and master of wonder Grégory Ohrel has crafted a distinctive live action style that bends the rules of perception to beguiling effect. While commercial spots for Samsung, Seat and Strongbow have catapulted his music video aesthetic into the mainstream, his style and substance remain anything but. His work blends technique with creative vision to craft a unique perspective that is both playful and ripe for interpretation. We jumped down the rabbit hole to catch up with Gregory and find out more about his incredible wonderland.

Chances are you already know Hannah Lux Davis. You may not think you do, but trust us when we say, you do. For just over a decade the relentless LA native has ascended the ranks of the pop music elite, crafting video after video for everyone from Halsey to Fifth Harmony, Jason Derulo, Nicki Minaj, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Demi Lovato and Anne-Marie… It’s fair to say that in parallel to crafting the visual identities of a significant clique of leading pop artists, Lux Davis has also managed to create space for her own phenomenal talent as an artist to shine

The powerfully poetic films of Iggy LDN bravely explore issues of masculinity, intersectionality and parenthood through a specifically Gen Y lens. There’s an unfiltered optimism that belies the often sombering subject matter under the microscope in Iggy’s work, a drive towards self-definition, new ways of association and an almost unfettered sense of possibility in the power of action. From his music videos for JNR Williams to short films Velvet, Black Boys Don’t Cry and Fatherhood, Iggy’s multifaceted creativity as a writer, actor and director radiates in all directions and demands to be heard. 1.4 spoke with the Iconoclast polymath to find out more...

Zoe McIntosh’s film, The World in Your Window, has picked up a goldmine in awards from international festivals. It’s a very powerful visual narrative driven by beautifully framed sweeps interspersed with intimate close-ups. We love it. We’ve watched it often. And cry a little every time. Now the New Zealand director, always one to explore interesting characters, has released her latest short documentary My Breakup With God.

Across her short films and commercial work, director Elle Ginter has built a style that balances visual precision and sharp narrative efficiency to emotionally resonant effect. Playing with memories, internal monologues and life changing moments of self-realisation, Elle’s films are deeply personal yet profoundly human at the same time. In her spots for Nike and Comcast she shines a spotlight on important moments of social change that break stereotypes and invite us to rethink assumptions about female identity. Alongside this she has explored themes of mental health and the determination of one individual to bring former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré to justice. 1.4 spoke with Elle to find out more.

Lily Rose Thomas delves deeply into the psyche of three very typical and normal characters who drink too much.

Multidisciplinary creative studio DE-YAN, fronted by Dejan Jovanovic, crafts elegant artistic visions across design, branding, architecture, events and visuals. Their credits include breathtaking work for luxury brands Dior and Omega, and tech monoliths such as Google and Samsung. It’s their latest music video work for the ever-exemplary Brooke Candy that caught our attention, however, so we slid into their IG DM’s and got chatting with Dejan about the art and craft behind the studio’s stunning output.

Here's your start to the week dose of sex, drugs, punch-ups and laughs - all fabulously produced and shot of course

Directing duo Bradley and Pablo cut their teeth in the UK working on promos for pop music collective PC Music and Charli XCX, crafting a unique new vision of hyper-real, critically self-aware music videos that referenced and reinterpreted the icons of the 90s – from TLC though Britney Spears – and shooting Dua Lipa for Pepsi. But don’t let that fool you into thinking their style and references are only skin deep. Since making the jump to LA to sign with Prettybird they’ve gone on to experiment across formats and genres, shooting the Porn Hub awards creative directed by Kanye West, directing Motorsport for Migos feat. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj and cementing ongoing collaborations with Charli XCX and Dua Lipa, all the while adding Mark Ronson and Camilla Cabelo to their reel. 1.4 caught up with the guys across the interweb to find out more about pop’s exciting new look.

From the mega stars to fresh out of school directors, our roundup of the quirky and magnificent

CANADA director Roger Guàrdia elevates seemingly straightforward briefs – a girl goes round and round on a motorbike; a band plays in a studio; sports brands pace the tarmac – into mesmerising visual feats of technical wizardry.   He’s pretty damn good at writing his own narratives too.

Jo Motoyo, fluent in Japanese, English and Chinese, claims she was brought up in a preposterously ordinary family in Japan. Healthy parents, brother, sister and a dog with an ordinary name too. I have come to think that there’s more value in being normal than in being special, she says. Especially on social media people are so desperate to be special, but I want to say that there is value and attractiveness in being just the way you are. It’s this sensibility, which Jo Motoyo captures in her YDA / Adfest winning film, Midnight, about an emergency call operator who receives an unnerving cry for help from a young girl.

After such intense collaborative long-term relationships with artists such as Sevdaliza – and we’re talking about a run up of films before the gob-smackingly cinematic and justifiably celebrated Shahamaran  – Emmanuel Adjei then signed up to make two films with Madonna. Wham. Bang.  Just like that. The first is brilliantly epic and huge in its message: Madonna’s consistent theme of the repression of the Catholic church played out with Mykki Blanco as  Joan of Arc. It’s faultless in its multi layers of visual narrative. And then joy oh joy, the second film, this time for  Madonna’s track Batuka is simply a beautifully uplifting, uncomplicated celebration of women and their love of music and faith to their own spirit.

Dani Pearce’s unique visual eye and sharp mind for narrative nuances had us hooked with her short film, Backpedal. We catch up with the Australian filmmaker about her creative process and how she probably inherited her parents’ insatiable spirit of inquiry by a childhood spent living in a new country every two years

The Fridman Sisters are here! The São Paulo directing siblings, Lina and Maria, have brought their canny knack of reinventing reality with fabulously surreal production design to their first commercial out of London for McDonald’s. But it’s not all about raining baked beans and flipping office desks – their film for Nike, The Doll I Never Asked For, is sharp-witted live-action story-telling at its best.

Diego Nuñez Irigoyen has won 20 or so Cannes Lions not to mention winning a place on the prestigious 1.4 Awards Showcase! He’s recently signed to Knucklehead in the States and London – thank goodness because we really could do with some more laughs.

The films out of HALAL usually take you to some place you’ve never been before. The Amsterdam-based production company’s directing roster of unpronounceable names has become synonymous with quirky, skilfully crafted filmmaking with original visual narratives. Honoured with the Gold Producers Award in Cannes by the YDA jury, we talk with HALAL partner and EP Gijs Determeijer about their nine-year approach to encouraging its talent to be distinctive rather than relentlessly commercial.

Division Paris director Sacha Barbin chats with Amelie Lambert about his latest music video Miracle for Labrinth

Blink director Fred Rowson gets to grips with the multitude of stories and events chronicling the victories and setbacks of the LGBT+ movement

As a young girl Thessa Meijer had a knack for competitions, winning crazy prizes such as air freshners until fortuitously she won a video camera. The die was cast. Her short film, The Walking Fish, a tragicomic about ambition, perfection and self-acceptance, unanimously won the YDA Special Jury Award in Cannes. Here we talk with the new director about her intense two months creating her stunningly original narrative in Japan

Mackenzie Sheppard's intrigue with man's alienation with nature leads him to the nursery of Monarch butterflies in Mexico

Multidisciplinary artist and Kode Media director Anna Radchenko talks with Nicco Montanari about her latest film Kokosmos, a tribute to her Russian childhood fascination with space

A selection from the Saatchi New Creators Showcase with an emphasis on different ways of filmmaking for social platforms

Director Eve Mahoney gives us a glimpse into the lives of dance-pop outfit Nimmo as they finish their album The Power

Writer / director Clara Aranovich has a way of delving into the human psyche with a wry talent for storytelling whether it’s for music videos, short films or commercials for Major League Baseball.

Director Taylor Cohen and cinematographer Larkin Sieple team up on this brilliantly creepy film about a troubled, teenage girl who goes to extreme lengths on Twitter to make contact with a famous DJ.

Lief director Savanah Leaf talks about her mini-doc on the rise of a young Italian Trap artist, Priestess, which opened the recent Tribeca Film Festival.