EMERGING FILMMAKER ALUMNI SHOWCASE 2023 EMERGING FILMMAKER SHOWCASE 2023

WARRIORS: THE BERNIE MAC DISEASE

2023, 24:10 min., USA, Documentary

DIRECTOR: Nicholas Markart

PRODUCER: Steve Hilfiker

CAST: Rhonda McCullough, Bernie Mac, Papa Yaw Annan Addo-Boateng, Marilyn Aponsah Annan, Stefan Brixner, Andrea Budde, Chasta Posey, Dr. Bettina Heidecker, Dr. Nadera Sweiss

Bernie Mac’s widow, Rhonda, takes us on a deeply personal journey through the life and legacy of the beloved comedian and the impact that sarcoidosis had on his rise to fame. Patients from the USA, Germany and Ghana describe their fight.

All In

2023, 14:51 min., USA, Drama

WRITER /DIRECTOR: Dusan Brown

PRODUCER: James Kexian Lee, Joyce Kelly-Brown

CAST: Dusan Brown, Daniel Chernish, Rolando Boyce, Staci Ashley, Dante Brown

When an enterprising teen is left with a $130,000 debt by his unscrupulous, late father, he must play poker to either make the money back and save what’s left of his family... or die trying.

INCOMPLETE

2022, 10:11 min., USA, Thriller

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Zoey Martinson

PRODUCER: 20th Digital, Korey Jackson, Anne Troup

CAST: Marchant Davis, David Costabile

Evan is on house arrest in a haunted house. Or so he thinks?

Handwritten

2022, 8:48 min., USA, Animation/Documentary

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jaime Sunwoo

PRODUCE: Alex Griffin, Jessica Simon, Jaime Sunwoo

CAST: Jaime Sunwoo

After discovering old diaries and notebooks, artist Jaime Sunwoo examines her shapeshifting penmanship and wonders why she’s never had a consistent style. Through playful paper puppetry and animation, she reflects on what handwriting means to her personally, its significance throughout history, and its relevance in our computerized world.

Scam

2022, 7:30 min., USA, Comedy

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Julie Sharbutt

PRODUCER: Whitney Wolanin

CAST: Julie Sharbutt, Jackie Welch

When a phone scammer makes one last late night call, the woman on the other end gives her much more than she bargained for.

De Closin Night

2022, 19:35 min., USA, Drama

DIRECTOR: Shicong Zhu

WRITER: Ella Rouwen Chen

PRODUCER: Ella Rouwen Chen, Brielle Yuke Li

CAST: Ella Rouwen Chen, Rod Menzies, Jocelyn Liu, Claire Liu, Cooper Reynolds

A Chinese theater student in America risks losing her first role due to her accent. Determined to succeed, she vows to eliminate it at any cost.

Choices

2022, 12:50 min., USA, Coming-of-Age/Dramedy

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Kameishia D. Wooten

PRODUCER: Janae Greene, Meagann Pallares, Victoria Brown

CAST: Marajanai Kirby, Nandi Chapman, Maxcianna Saintilus, Keith Arthur Bolden

Three very different friends find renewed connection as they await pregnancy results at their Los Angeles High School.

New Shoes

2023, 18:40 min., USA, Drama

DIRECTOR: Thommy Kane, Bojan Vanovac

WRITER: Thommy Kane

PRODUCER: Susan Hollander, Bojan Vanovac, Laura Whiteley

CAST: Jacob Moran, Laura Whiteley, David Afflick, Joe Vingi, Courtney Rush, Denise Monteiro

Young Tristan (Jacob Moran) desperately needs new shoes, but his mother struggles between feeding her drug addiction and providing for her child.

Latchkey

2022, 10:47 min., Canada, Drama

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Nathalie Therriault

PRODUCER: Nneka Kidada Croal, Fabian Aspell Morales, Nathalie Therriault

CAST: Ashley Cartwright, Hanna Moon

Two seven-year-olds negotiate their after school life without adult supervision which slowly chips away at their innocence.

Shower Boys

2022, 9:20 min., Sweden, Coming-of-Age/Drama

DIRECTOR: Christian Zetterberg

WRITER: Christian Zetterberg, Albin Abrahamsson

PRODUCER: Liselotte Persson

CAST: David Ramirez Knezevic, Lucas Andreasson

After a heated training match with the team, twelve-year-old Viggo and Noel go home to challenge each other’s limits and masculinity. A sudden stop to an innocent game questions what a male friendship is allowed to be.

Lunchbox

2022, 16:15 min., USA, Drama

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Anne Hu

PRODUCER: Anne Hu, Gilana Lobel, Oliver Brooks, Rachel Liu, Chenney Chen, Gabriella Murillo

CAST: Anne Hu, Dawn Ying Yuen, Elizabeth Gao, Audrey Liao

When a Taiwanese American woman prepares lunches from her childhood, she struggles to forgive herself for pushing away her immigrant mother.

Employee Of The Month

2022, 18:56 min., Nigeria, Drama

PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Goga Clay

CAST: Tope Tedela, Elma Mbadiwe

Ibinabo, a young husband and father-to-be, lives an unremarkable but exemplary life. He strives to prove himself to his boss, but gets caught up in the horrors of the October 2020 protests against police brutality.

Gone

2022, 4:48 min., USA, Documentary, John Marshall High School

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Kyle Ward

CAST: Brandon Masi, Erica Masi, Meredith Masi, Barbara Hees Masi, Christopher Masi, Walter Randig

In Pflugerville, Texas, a community is faced with the challenge of unprecedented devolvement. As housing developers and commercial companies start to inch closer and closer to the farmland, the farmers are forced to wonder how long it will be until their way of life will disappear. Most of the farmers are left with land that has been used for farming over multiple generations. To them, the thought that a housing community would be built on the land they have farmed makes them despondent. Once the land is built on, there is no getting it back. It is gone forever.

ID(IOTS)

2023, 12:48 min., USA, Coming-of-age/Comedy/LGBTQ+, Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

DIRECTOR: Suzan Jones, Spencer Davis

WRITER: Jacob Manning

PRODUCER: Shawn Ryan, Valerie Dohrer, John Ainsworth

CAST: Sam Shenkman, Jazzy Liston, Mason Bradshaw, Kaleah Taylor, Jacquelyn Packard, Riley Brown, Spencer Davis

A gender non-conforming camper struggles to balance the conflicting advice of their ID and Super Ego in order to face their greatest fear... asking their crush to the dance.

Bee The Solution

2022, 8:59 min., USA/UK, Documentary, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Charlotte Quintanar

CAST: Paula Carnell, Nick Tew, Amanda Mahaffey

Leading bee experts explain the causes for declining bee populations around the world and offer approachable solutions individuals can take to support their local pollinators.

One For The Birds

2023, 8:40 min., USA, Drama, Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

DIRECTOR: Max Coddington, Jai Kamra

WRITER: Nathan Adloff

PRODUCER: Shawn Ryan, Valerie Dohrer, John Ainsworth

CAST: Jude Biggers, Teagan Nichols-Marcy, Dylan Arie, Sylvia Imbens, Lee Cummings, Caitlyn Gorman

A camp is in lockdown after a dead body is discovered and Nicholas cannot seem to find his younger brother. Five best friends start a journey into the woods to solve the case.

‘TU:LI:

2022, 11:15 min., USA, Drama, Orange County School of the Arts

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Carrington Holritz

PRODUCER: Melissa Holritz

CAST: John Kerry, Alan Maxson, Naiia Lajoie

An ornithologist loses his lifelong research to a strange and unusual bird. As he seeks to identify its obscure species and origin, the line between nature and nurture becomes hazy.

Hiccup

2023, 10:12 min., USA, Comedy/Drama, Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Elizabeth Popov

PRODUCER: Shawn Ryan, Valerie Dohrer, John Ainsworth

CAST: Chase Nakayama, Myari Adams, Chris Phalen, Hannah Ballew, Leo Dibbelt, Laurel Ames

Max is nervous for his big date with Aimee… but what could go wrong?

Uncontrollable hiccups, that’s what! While the evil Lord Hiccup torments the poor boy, Max’s friends try ever increasingly drastic measures to cure him!

Life Of A Mayfly

2022, 6:30 min., USA, Animation, Orange County School of Arts

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: David Du

ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE COMPOSER: Matthew Blam

A mayfly is an insect that only lives for one day. This film revolves around a curious little mayfly and his adventure through life. It’s a deep take on the meaning of life and finding purpose, told in a sweet and simple story.

Little Witches

2023, 11:46 min., USA, Comedy/Drama, Young Actors’ Theatre Camp

DIRECTOR: Maxim Bouffard, Frances Capel

WRITER: Frances Capel

PRODUCER: Shawn Ryan, Valerie Dohrer, John Ainsworth

CAST: Sofia Alverde, Sydney Alvelda, Natalia Cruciani, Madden Wincentsen, Chase Nakayama, Amelie Pan

A coven of witches run an operation at their school turning spells for quick cash.

MY SISTERS IN THE STARS: THE STORY OF LEE YONG-SOO

2022, 9:55 min., USA/Korea, Animation/Documentary, Harvard-Westlake

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Ian Kim

PRODUCER: Harry Kim, Kay Park, Sophie Kim

ORIGINAL SCORE: Abe Effress

CAST: Yong-soo Lee

An animated documentary about the life story of Lee Yong-soo, one of 11 remaining known survivors in Korea of the Japanese WWII-era Comfort Women system of human trafficking and sexual slavery.

The Audition

2022, 8:10 min., USA, Drama, Saint Ann’s School

PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Eli Berliner

CAST: John Gialitis, Sam Lazzara, Abigail Gampell

A young pianist makes a startling discovery while painting that changes his relationship to music forever.