EMERGING FILMMAKER SHOWCASE

STUDENT SHORT FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

BIG MAMA’S ANTIQUES & RESTORATION

2021, 11 min., USA, Documentary, Low Key Arts

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Gabriel Henk

PRODUCER: Low Key Arts

CAST: Stanley Ray Stevenson

Antique store owner, Stanley Ray Stevenson, has a collection that would rival many museums, but many of his objects paint a complex portrait of American History from the civil war to the present.

El Carrito

2021, 15:20 min., USA, Subtitles, Drama, University California Los Angeles

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Zahida Pirani

PRODUCER: Zahida Pirani, Mauricio Piratova, Ran Yan

CAST: Eli Zavala, Idalia Limón, Jose Febus, Eduardo Gonzales, Jayden Toledo, Vanessa Ortiz

Nelly lives alone with her elderly father. The only way she makes ends meet is by working as a street vendor from dawn to dusk. She has learned not to trust anyone until one day she is forced to take a leap of faith or be resigned in her position forever.

AZIZAM

2022, 15 min., USA, (Subtitles), Drama, Santa Monica College

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Alci Rengifo

PRODUCER: José Gutiérrez, Katia Arami

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Salvador Carrasco

CAST: Shahrooz Mahmoodi, Afshin Katanchi, Zina Torab, Wayne Hodges, Rana Ghiassi, Nakta Pahlevan, Ali Azizian

Iran in 1971. Two young students from opposite ends of society meet by the sea in a time where revolution hangs in the air. Bijan, the son of aristocrats close to the regime of the Shah, prepares to leave for college and feels the pressures of a future already decided by his powerful father. He meets Layla, a girl from the wrong side of Tehran, who forces him to question everything. Their bond will challenge class and social divisions in a world soon to disappear.

Beyond The Chair

2022, 8:05 min., USA, Documentary, Florida State University

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Thomas Edward Hindy

CAST: Eden Schroeder

An ambitious college student, EDEN SCHROEDER, is paralyzed from the chest down in a swimming accident and learns to live with her disability.

Backlog

2023, 18.06 min., USA, Drama/Social Justice, University of Southern California

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jacqueline Elyse Rosenthal

PRODUCER: Robin Wang, Marian Cook, Josh Powell

CAST: Jill Renner, Bailey Humiston, Bradley Layne Beachum, Avis Murphy, Gary Daniel Mosher, Ivan Ellis, Natalie D. Woodard, Madeline Rae Heyman, Beth Fraser

The true story of a young collegiate woman who tried to find justice for three years for her shelved rape kit—only to become the key witness in the Senate hearing to end the rape kit backlog. Can she trust the system that betrayed her?

Waves Apart

2022, 24:55 min., USA, Documentary, University of Southern California

DIRECTOR: Josh Greene

PRODUCER: Aslan Dalgic, Ela Passarelli

What happens when your passion conflicts with your heritage? A Jewish surfer confronts the dark, antisemitic history of the sport he once loved.

Fathead

2023, 20 min., USA, Action/Fantasy, University of Southern California

WRITER/DIRECTOR: c. Craig

PRODUCER: Mitchell Graham Colley, Anthony Gaitros, Letia Solomon, Alexa Villarreal, Brandyn Johnson

CAST: Kapri Ladd, Tremari Limbrick, Tika Sumpter, Notlim Taylor

When one of the last free children of Junkyard Paradise has her brother stolen away from her, no Ragamuffin army or vicious beasts will stop her from getting him back.

FEARLESS: JAZMIN THEODORA

2021, 4:36 min., Australia, Documentary/LGBTQ+

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Nicole Sullivan

CAST: Jazmin Theodora

Jazmin is a positive person, a psychic and tarot card reader. All her life she has tried to stay true to herself, paying no mind to those who wanted to tear her down. At 83, she plays an active part in her community, and her psychic abilities attract people from all around Australia.

Show Pony

2021, 17:41 min., USA, Drama/LGBTQ+

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Meghan Lennox

PRODUCER: Meghan Lennox, Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Christian Papierniak

CAST: Britt Lower, Clara McGregor

Kate, a painter who hasn’t created new work in years, finds inspiration when she happens upon an adult ballet class and quickly becomes infatuated with her teacher, Laura. As their lives intertwine, Kate is shocked to discover a side of Laura she struggles to embrace.

Stealth

2021, 23:53 min. USA, Drama/LGBTQ+

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Astor Kim-Stark

PRODUCER: Mona Xia, Sage Sokol-Lanting, Damon Laguna

CAST: Danell Leyva, Kyler O’Neal, Ashton Grooms, Raven Miles

A stealth trans woman has a run-in with the Unicorn Gang.

Ambrosia

2022, 15 min., USA, Documentary/LGBTQ+, Chapman University

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Isabella Miller, Gabe Braden

CAST: Ambrosia Starling

An activist drag queen in rural Alabama is forced to keep her identity secret as she fights for human rights in a race against the systematic erasure of her own history.

A Question Of Service

2022, 24:50 min., USA, Drama/LGBTQ+

DIRECTOR: Erin Brown Thomas

WRITER: Hans Obma

PRODUCER: Elle Shaw

POST PRODUCER: Gabrielle Fernandez

CAST: Hans Obma, Dexter Farren Haag, Zina Badran, Marco Da Silva, Kojo Attah, Caleb Conner, Yessica Sanchez Thurnherr, Roshni Rathore, Lex Quarterman, Trev Fleming

From the cliffs of Wales, to the basement of MI6, to a Wisconsin farmhouse, “A Question of Service” follows Joseph, an MI6 interpreter…who may or may not be a Russian spy.

Seven Minutes

2023, 8:21 min., USA, Drama/LGBTQ+, Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

DIRECTOR: Shawn Ryan, Hannah Madgett, Hannah Baer

WRITER: Shawn Ryan, Hannah Madgett, Diana Glogau

PRODUCER: Shawn Ryan, Valerie Dohrer, John Ainsworth

CAST: Brooke Sanders, Claire Marquette, Ethan Politzer, August Petersen, Mackenzie Brown, Judge Cantrell

When Hailey and Jordan’s friends push them into a game of spin the bottle, they have no idea that their worlds are about to turn upside down. What is said to be a pivotal moment in each teenager’s life turns into a momentous occasion for these two lovebirds. Your whole life can change in just seven short minutes.

BENNY & JAMES

2023, 14:50 min., USA, Drama/LGBTQ+

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Logan Vaughn

PRODUCER: Laurie Bernhard, Ria Pavia, Mayon Denton, Robert Arnold

CAST: Phillip James Brannon, Calvin Leon Smith

A man, unsettled by his imminent life-changing decision, suspects his terrifying dream and his husband’s daunting parallel encounter might be a signal from God to cancel a long-awaited arrival.

The Letter Men

2022, 8:41 min., USA, Drama/LGBTQ+

DIRECTOR: Andy Vallentine

WRITER: Andy Vallentine, Danny Vallentine

PRODUCER: Mike Diaz, Cameron Hutchison, Siddharth Ganji, Garrett Clayton, Matthew Postlethwaite

CAST: Matthew Postlethwaite, Garrett Clayton

Based on the largest collection of queer love letters from WWII, The Letter Men is a window into the untold true story of two gay men desperately in love but torn apart by war.

NANA DARA IS GAY

2023, 7:48 min., USA, Comedy/LGBTQ+

DIRECTOR: Andrea Maxwell

WRITER: Tammy Lynne Stoner, Andrea Maxwell

PRODUCER: Theresa Gallagher, Diana C. Zollicoffer, Andrea Maxwell

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Greg Tally, Tammy Lynn Stoner

CAST: Theresa Burkhart Gallagher, Sheri Mann Stewart, Puppett, Phylliss Bailey Brooks

No amount of sweet tea and vodka will ease the tension when Nana Dara makes the big announcement to her stepchildren: the flamboyant, Bible thumping Miss Debbie and her “sister who’s a mister”, Edna (“Eddie”).