How to Film a BAFTA-Nominated Short on the Streets of London | Dir. Edem Kelman 'Terence' Interview @DirectorsNotes

Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

"For the first generation, it's about survival; the second generation tells the stories."

Directors Notes sits down with BAFTA-nominated director Edem Kelman to discuss his film, 'Terence'. Centred on a London security guard who balances a fractured home life with a secret spiritual gift for healing, Edem's powerful short explores the dynamics of faith and family within the African diaspora in the UK. In our exclusive interview, Edem reveals his unique "guerrilla" filmmaking techniques—from directing his lead actor via hidden Amazon headphones on a busy high street, to mixing real people with actors to achieve unscriptable moments of authenticity.

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** VIDEO CHAPTERS **
00:00 Intro
01:08 The Real-Life Inspiration Behind Terence
03:05 African Folklore & Faith in Modern Storytelling
04:15 Diversity in British Cinema: "It’s High Time"
06:51 The State of Representation in the UK Today
07:44 Crafting Terence's Difficult Home Life
09:34 Directing Actor Terence Nzaji Egnie's Lead Performance
11:27 Casting SECRET: Why Use Non-Actors?
13:40 The Magic & Risks of Street Casting
19:02 Directing Non-Actors: A Case-by-Case Method
21:32 Guerrilla Filmmaking on a London High Street
24:46 Inside the Emotional Family Scenes
27:13 The Sound Design of Healing
29:38 The Film's Score
32:33 TV Directing vs. Personal Short Films
36:20 How a 'Star of Tomorrow' Accolade Led to Terence & BAFTA Recognition
38:34 What's Next? The Feature Film 'Chairman'
40:05 Edem's MUST-WATCH Short Film Recommendation

#Terence #EdemKelman #BAFTA #BAFTANominated #ShortFilm #IndependentFilmmaking #BehindTheScenes #MakingOf #DirectorInterview #IndieFilm #GuerrillaFilmmaking #AfricanDiaspora

$How to Film a BAFTA-Nominated Short on the Streets of London | Dir. Edem Kelman Terence Interview For the first generation, its about survival; the second generation tells the stories. Directors Notes sits down with BAFTA-nominated director Edem Kelman to discuss his film, Terence. Centred on a London security guard who balances a fractured home life with a secret spiritual gift for healing, Edems powerful short explores the dynamics of faith and family within the African diaspora in the UK. In our exclusive interview, Edem reveals his unique guerrilla filmmaking techniques—from directing his lead actor via hidden Amazon headphones on a busy high street, to mixing real people with actors to achieve unscriptable moments of authenticity. 🔔 Watch more interviews with visionary filmmakers on our channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/directorsnotes 🎥 Want to see your film here? Submit your work to Directors Notes: https://directorsnotes.com/submit/ 📬 Get filmmaking insights delivered: Subscribe to our free Newsletter: https://directorsnotes.beehiiv.com/subscribe 📷 Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/directorsnotes 🎧 Listen to our Podcast: https://pod.link/192507317 👍 **Loved this deep dive?** Hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and turn on notifications so you never miss a conversation with the worlds best filmmakers. ** VIDEO CHAPTERS ** 00:00 Intro 01:08 The Real-Life Inspiration Behind Terence 03:05 African Folklore & Faith in Modern Storytelling 04:15 Diversity in British Cinema: It’s High Time 06:51 The State of Representation in the UK Today 07:44 Crafting Terences Difficult Home Life 09:34 Directing Actor Terence Nzaji Egnies Lead Performance 11:27 Casting SECRET: Why Use Non-Actors? 13:40 The Magic & Risks of Street Casting 19:02 Directing Non-Actors: A Case-by-Case Method 21:32 Guerrilla Filmmaking on a London High Street 24:46 Inside the Emotional Family Scenes 27:13 The Sound Design of Healing 29:38 The Films Score 32:33 TV Directing vs. Personal Short Films 36:20 How a Star of Tomorrow Accolade Led to Terence & BAFTA Recognition 38:34 Whats Next? The Feature Film Chairman 40:05 Edems MUST-WATCH Short Film Recommendation #Terence #EdemKelman #BAFTA #BAFTANominated #ShortFilm #IndependentFilmmaking #BehindTheScenes #MakingOf #DirectorInterview #IndieFilm #GuerrillaFilmmaking #AfricanDiaspora$

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$Anonymous Tricksters Vault Across a Celestial Cityscape | In the Heart of the Flower Citadel In the Heart of the Flower Citadel is a short fashion film and immersive installation by artist-designer nil00 and filmmaker Adam Muscat that dissolves the boundaries between cinema, clothing, and space. A known world fractures into sublime encounters as anonymous tricksters vault and somersault across a celestial cityscape, their pounding feet carrying the viewer toward moments of awe and terror. Charged with the annihilating force of spiritual revelation, the film unfolds as a wordless study of light and darkness, transcendence and embodiment. 🔔 Love indie films? SUBSCRIBE to Directors Notes for more trailblazing shorts: https://www.youtube.com/c/directorsnotes 🎥 Want to see your film here? Submit your work to Directors Notes: https://directorsnotes.com/submit/ In The Heart Of The Flower Citadel by Adam Muscat https://www.instagram.com/adammuscat / When it came to this film and working with nil00, I already understood her practice quite well. I spent time studying the pieces and looking closely at her work, then I was able to take elements of my own art practice and put them through the lens of nil00’s work and her brand. I think the starting point of the project even came from a recognition of how our practices naturally coincide. I was lucky in that nil00 trusted me with the vision and wasn’t overly hands-on with how I approached it. I’ve always had this drive to start bringing my visual art practice into film, and the way she paints felt very complementary to how I wanted to express the film. 🎙️ Dive deeper into the making of In The Heart Of The Flower Citadel with our exclusive interview with writer Adam Muscat https://directorsnotes.com/2026/04/02/adam-muscat-in-the-heart-of-the-flower-citadel/ 👉 Follow Us for More Short Film Greatness: Newsletter: https://directorsnotes.beehiiv.com/subscribe Instagram: https://instagram.com/directorsnotes Podcast: https://pod.link/192507317 // Credits // Designer: cl0thes by nil00 Director: Adam Muscat Director Of Photography: Dajiana Huang Assistant Director: Johannes Agboifo Movement Director: Ethan Jacobs Production: Studio Private B-Cam: Zmarak Gaffer: Stephen Allwright Sparks: Marc Malilay, Belle Palmano, Romy Roulin Clapper Loader: Aidan Schramm Focuspuller: Ran You On-Set Sound: Cajm Casting: Seekers Stylist: nil00, Gina Corrieri Cast: Folu Odimayo, Alek Walent, Sonny Mihajlovic, Moses Ward, Isaac Glenister Editor: Adam Muscat Sound: Thomas Harrington-Rawle VFX: Gabriel Rolim CGI: Sarah Lou-Maarek Grade: Nathaniel Skeels Film Processing: Digital Orchard Equipment Rental: Focus Canning, One Stop Films ABOUT DIRECTORS NOTES Since 2006 Directors Notes has curated the worlds best independent films alongside exclusive daily deep dive interviews which provide behind the scenes insights into the inspirations and production stories of the most talented filmmakers on the planet. #fashion #fashionfilm #nil00 #fashionshort #shortfilm$