Paper Trail is a top-down puzzle adventure that follows the adventures of Paige, an astrophysicist in the making. We meet her as she leaves home and her worried parents to pursue her dream. Here, players fold the world like origami in order to solve a series of challenging and fun levels. This is a story about creating your own path, metaphorically and literally! Developed by Newfangled Games, this captivating title won Best Game at our first-ever Games Lab in 2023. We caught up with Henry Hoffmann, a BAFTA-winning game designer and founder of the studio, to learn more about Paper Trail’s unique gameplay mechanic, the origins of the plot and what’s next for this exciting indie studio.

ASFF: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey as a Game Designer so far?
HH: I’ve been making games in some form since I was 9 years old! That was when we got our first family computer and I got a copy of this drag and drop game making tool called Klik & Play. After making hundreds of 2D games using that, I upgraded to Blender and made hundreds more 3D games! I then went to University to study videogame art and design, where I founded my first company and made the game Mush. We got a publishing deal with Microsoft, won a BAFTA, and had great fun – all before graduating University! Since then I’ve started a number of indie game studios and worked on games including QUBE, Mortar Melon, Hue and now my most recent game Paper Trail!

ASFF: Paper Trail follows the protagonist Paige, who, against the wishes of her parents, runs away from home to study astrophysics at university. How did you come up with the plot?
HH: Well, it went through many iterations as the idea for the game developed. Originally, we were thinking about what kinds of narrative could be informed by the mechanic, this idea of folding the world and instantly travelling between realms. The idea of being in two places at the same time, that was the seed for our earliest versions of the story. That led us down a bit of a dark path. We had a story about a girl whose parents were going through a divorce, whilst her grandma hides a growing illness – you try to fix both by being in two places at the same time, but ultimately fail to solve anything. This one explored hard lessons about prioritising yourself, understanding your limits and forgiving your inner child. Needless to say, that isn’t the direction we ended up taking.

We instead drew on some personal experiences around feeling trapped in our hometown, of longing for adventure and broader horizons, of being among the first of our peers to leave and about making peace with our pasts too. We were in a small town in Suffolk, dreaming of going to university and leaving home – itching to get out there and start experiencing life. Paige is much the same! In fact the town which Paige grows up in is called Southfold. A play on the seaside town Southwold in East Anglia, where we used to go on holiday as a family.

ASFF: There’s a unique gameplay mechanic that involves players folding paper to create new paths and solutions. Could you tell us more? For instance, how did you come up with the idea?
HH: Yeah! So the folding mechanic is what makes Paper Trail really unique. The world is set out on these individual pieces of paper with levels on the fronts and the backs of the papers. What’s cool is that you can fold these papers, effectively merging the two levels where the front and back meet. You can then seamlessly pass through this rift where you’ve folded paper, as if you&

The year 2024 marks a fortunate moment for Indian cinema as it has a presence at the Cannes Film Festival to talk about. Payal Kapadia’s film, “All We Imagine as Light” (2024), in Malayalam and Hindi, has the distinction of being the first Indian film selected to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or in the past three decades—following Shaji N Karun’s “Swaham” (1994). Additionally, Sandhya Suri’s Hindi film “Santosh” (2024) vies for recognition in the Un Certain Regard section. Notably, Chidananda S Naik’s Kannada short film, “Sunflowers Were the First to Know” (2023), has been chosen to participate in the La Cinef section, which showcases and promotes films from various film schools worldwide, fostering emerging talent. The jury will present the La Cinef awards during a ceremony on May 23 at the Bunuel Theatre.

Chidananda S Naik pursued his passion for filmmaking after completing MBBS at Mysore Medical College. He studied Direction at Film and Television Institute of India Pune. The short fiction film 'Sunflowers Were the First to Know’, created as part of FTII’s year end coordinated exercise of TV- wing, runs for 15 minutes. Directed by Chidananda S Naik, the film features a talented team: Suraj Thakur (Camera), Manoj V (Editing), and Abhishek Kadam (Sound). 'Sunflowers Were the First to Know' portrays a mother’s unwavering love for her son—a love that will go any extent to protect him. She steals the village's prized rooster to shield him. This plunges the entire village into chaos as they embark on a search for the missing rooster. Revealing more risks spoilers, but the film, shot entirely at night, evokes a mysterious ambiance. While it may be loosely categorized as magic realism, Naik draws inspiration from the folk traditions of his Banjara community This captivating film breaks free from typical Indian art-house tropes, charting a fresh path.

In 'Bhule Chuke Tules’ (2023) which translates to ‘To the Forgotten’, a 12 minutes documentary in the Gorboli language, Naik explores his personal identity. As a member of the Banjara tribe - a nomadic community of traders - he visits a Banjara settlement, capturing its songs, folk tales and the tribe’s history as recounted by the elders. The film discovers beauty within the humble settlement through its captivating visuals. This documentary serves as a record of the community’s life, preserved only through oral literature passed down through generations.

Naik’s very first exercise film at FTII titled 'Trishna’ (2022) meaning ‘Longing’ hinted at his talent. This 5-minute Marathi film imaginatively delves into a young boy’s world, drawing on mythology. Madhav, an 8-year-old who has spent his days playing in his village, is sent to town for schooling. Naik skillfully avoids the common cinematic trope of portraying children as overly cute or speaking like adults. Living with his admonishing aunt and uncle, he yearns for home. This short film is very well edited with competent cuts from shot to shot. When the teacher scolds Madhav, the camera focuses solely on the boy, capturing his emotional turmoil. While the elders advise the boy against lying, the film’s mythical undertones offer an intriguing dimension. 

On the final day of the ÉCU Independent European Film Festival, a wide array of activities took place, from awarding the festival winners to providing workshops for guests.

Tonight, the 19th edition of the ÉCU Film Festival took place, hosted at the Cinema Les 7 Parnassiens, in Montparnasse. An exciting day full of activities, workshops, conversations, and more importantly, a love for cinema. 

We had the pleasure of being presented with very inspiring films this year and I personally received the opportunity to interview some of the present filmmakers. 

For instance, Emily Niebuhr gave us some insight about her short movie “Won’t Figure It Out Tonight,” shot in Alaska. In her interview with me, she talked about the dangers behind the shooting of her project, including having to run from a bear. She states: “I had to run from moose, I had to run from bears”; adding: “The good thing about Alaska wilderness is that it allows you to go into places you are not the top of the food chain.”

In a talk with Vicent Zhou, on the topic of his film “I  C U”, a dramatic short movie that tells the story of a Shangai hospital where continuous occult accidents occur, only for the truth to be revealed afterwards during sunrise, he expresses his thoughts: “ I use a story to tell the audience: life comes and goes. It’s just like the sunset. If the sun never sets, the sun won’t rise.”   

We also had the pleasure to talk to Samuel Perry-Falvey, co-director of “Ren – Money Game Part 3”. When asked about his relationship with the musical artist Ren, whom he directed the music video with, he said: “ It’s always great to work with him, he is a genius. He is so inspiring to work with, and every ounce of success he gets, he deserves it more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

A very enriching part of the festival was the workshop available for the event attendees. On Sunday, ÉCU had the pleasure to present the Sync Licensing for Filmmakers workshop, whose goal is to give a solid foundation and introductory overview to the process of finding and licensing music for your next film, as well as providing extensive resources and reference materials. This was held, respectively, by Steph Rushton, Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Music Supervisor / Director of Europe & A&R for Seven Seas Music & The Rights Workshop, as well as “Chicago” Mike Beck, Founder and Executive Director for Access Film Music LLC.

The workshop started with a brief presentation of our lecturers, Steph and Mike, who went on to explain to the audience the reasons behind the choice to have (or not to) music on the soundtrack of a film, as well as the importance of Copyright Clearance and the components that make up music publishing. The workshop also taught the audience how to research and understand musical copyrights, in addition to how to organize and document the clearing of said rights.

This workshop would be best described by the words clarifying and didactic, both for filmmakers and musicians alike, as well as for anyone who is interested in cinema, and it ended with the answering of the public personal questions, followed by a round of applause.

Soon after, the #Sheshoots panel took place, where we had the opportunity to listen and learn about being a woman behind the camera, a conversation that was held by our guest-speakers, 8 women in the cinema industry, each one with a very different path, who told us about their story and their work. Lots of issues were discussed, from being a woman in a film set, to the

The night before, the entire focus and effort of the ÉCU crew went unnoticed in the corridors of a Parisian “Les 7 Parnassiens” cinéma in Boulevard de Montparnasse.
Now, however, as the red carpet unveiled – inviting the filmmakers coming from poles apart countries and continents the scene is set. For these 3 days this boutique cinema turns into a site of pilgrimage for all those who want to give a well-deserved thanks to indie filmmakers.

The opening night of the 19th edition of ÉCU film festival greeted the guests with the consistent professionalism, admiration of culture and love for independent film.
For almost a quarter of a century the ÉCU team consists of workers and volunteers – giving all they have with the best compensation being the sight of the joy in the eyes of their guests.

The night opened with strong competition for the Sundays award ceremony, the jurors present and carefully noting every aspect of each film. Guests got to enjoy the results of combined work of independent filmmakers from over 23 countries and the behind the scenes crew.

In between the screenings, our Journalism department got the chance to talk with all the creators and those passionate about film.

We had the pleasure to talk to the director – Arwa Damon and her producer – Guldenay Sonumut of the film “Seize The Summit ”. A filmmaking debut Damon was for years a reporter for CNN. Later she chose to pursue documentary – hoping to reach the audience with a deeper message.
Coming straight from Istanbul we got the chance to ask them some questions about the film.
Damon when asked about the biggest fear regarding her first indie production, she replied :

“A lot of people thought I was crazy”. Later adding :

“I’m more afraid of living with ‘what if’ or ‘only if I tried’ than I am of trying and failing”.

The film tells a story of four survivors of different war zones, climbing the Kilimanjaro Mountain.
She mentioned the difficulties of pulling off an indie documentary “It’s the little logistics”.
She adds about the bureaucratic struggles of filming in warzones –

“I need a permission from the Ukrainian military to shoot close to the frontlines, to get that permission I need to start a production company, another, I’m applying for Afghani visas and they want an official company stamp, so I’m calling my friend at home ‘Can you print me a company stamp’ “.

Different, equally interesting characters –Jacob Polat and Chung Hyun Woo also attended the opening ceremony. The two, respectively, the director and the actor for the Dead Man Walking, Turkish-Korean film participating in the Student Film Category.
The film is Polats graduation project, in our interview he mentioned the beginnings of his journey with cinema – “My dad had a cinema house, so as a child I used to watch lots of films at his house.”
Polat graduated from a Korean film university – his family always had connections to Korea, therefore inspiring him to study there.

He mentioned : “I was the only international student at my university….. I wanted to show the Korean people my city”, when asked about the original motivations behind the film.

Chung Hyun Woo, the main actor in the production, was also present at the Opening Ceremony. He talked about how he gets in character during his roles “Acting is all

SIFF announces lineup, tributes & premieres slated for the

50th Seattle International Film Festival, returning May 9-19

261 films with 18 World, 26 North American, and 14 U.S. Premieres make up the lineup for the Festival’s 50th anniversary, screening at venues across Seattle, including SIFF’s newly opened

SIFF Cinema Downtown

SEATTLE – SIFF announced today the lineup of films included in the 50th Seattle International Film Festival, to be held May 9–19 at venues across Seattle and followed by a week of select virtual screenings on the SIFF Channel May 20–27. The Festival will screen 261 films representing 84 countries/regions, including 92 features, 47 documentaries, five archival features, two special tributes, two secret screenings, and 115 short films.

In addition to the full lineup, SIFF announced today that Seattle native and Emmy®, Golden Globe®, SAG Award®, and Critics Choice Award-winning actress Jean Smart will be awarded The Hollywood Reporter’s Trailblazer Award for her contributions to storytelling on film, television, and the stage. The event will feature a screening of an episode from the new season of the Max Original comedy series Hacks, followed by the Trailblazer trophy presentation and a conversation between Smart and THR Contributing Editor Stacey Wilson Hunt. 

The Festival will open with Josh Margolin’s action comedy Thelma from Magnolia Pictures, which will screen at The Paramount Theatre during the Festival's Opening Night on May 9. The film will be followed by a Q&A with Writer & Director Josh Margolin, lead actress June Squibb, and producers Zoë Worth and Chris Kaye. Following the Q&A, there will be an after-party onstage and outside on Ninth Ave.

SIFF will honor June Squibb with the 2024 Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema for the unforgettable work she’s presented throughout the span of her career. The Oscar-nominated actress and lead of the Festival’s Opening Night film,

Thelma, will be presented the award at a special Tribute Event on May 11 at SIFF Cinema Downtown with a conversation moderated by Variety’s Jenelle Riley. Prior to the event, there will be an Honoree Brunch with Squibb at Palace Kitchen.

Closing the Festival is Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing from A24, which will screen on May 18 at SIFF Cinema Downtown. Director and co-writer Greg Kwedar will be in attendance and participate in a Q&A after the screening along with members of the film’s ensemble cast, who will receive a Golden Space Needle Award for excellence in Ensemble Acting. A Closing Night party will follow at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).

Additional highlights showing throughout the Festival include Focus Features’ Sundance award-winner Dìdi (

弟弟), a directorial debut from Oscar® nominee Sean Wang (SIFF 2023 Grand Jury winner for Live Action short); Neon’s Babes written by and starring Ilana Glazer and directed by debut helmer Pamela Adlon; IFC’s stirring and emotional Ghostlight which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; Harmony Korine’s latest boundary-pushing work AGGRO DR1FT; a new 4K restoration of Wim Wenders’ iconic Wings of Desire, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of German Films; and an exciting new slate of cINeDIGENOUS films, including the world premiere of Molokaʻi Bound, directed by Alika Tengan (Kanaka Maoli).

A variety of film and event passes are on sale now. Ticke