Friday night, January 9, 2026, The Bryant Park Hotel hosted an intimate FYC screening of British Oscar-shortlisted short films, bringing filmmakers and audiences together for an evening that celebrated storytelling across genre and form. The screening took place in the hotel’s private cinema and featured post-film Q&As, offering firsthand insight into the creative and logistical journeys behind each project.
The evening opened with A Friend of Dorothy, a comedy-drama written and directed by Lee Knight, followed by Ali Cook’s visually rich supernatural folktale The Pearl Comb. Franz Böhm’s gripping war thriller Rock Paper Scissors came next, before the night concluded with John Kelly’s animated short Retirement Plan. Together, the films created an emotional arc that moved seamlessly from gentle humor to haunting intensity, ending on a surprisingly poignant and reflective note.
During the Q&As, a shared element in the filmmaking process emerged: each filmmaker was driven by a deeply personal connection to their story. Cook drew inspiration from universal folklore to craft a striking period piece, while Knight—primarily known as an actor—spoke about making how he drew inspiration from a real friendship leading to his directorial debut and writing the role of Dorothy specifically for Miriam Margolyes. Böhm revealed that Rock Paper Scissors, a student film from the UK’s National Film and Television School, was based on a true story connected to the ongoing war in Ukraine, developed with direct involvement from the Ukrainian community. Kelly described Retirement Plan as an exploration of life’s inevitable bucket list, closing the night on a resonant, human tone.
It came as no surprise that each film has garnered significant recognition. The evening reaffirmed a fundamental truth of short-form filmmaking: lasting impact begins with a strong script—one rooted not only in a compelling idea, but in fully realized, complete storytelling structure.
