WINTER FILM AWARDS

Pukkulapottas And Hours In The Forest

ANIMATED JAPAN ENGLISH 16 MINS

THURSDAY FEB 23 8:30 PM-11:00 PM / MONDAY FEB 20 3:00 PM-4:45 PM

This is my report about a mysterious creature that Watashi found the year that normal came to a stop all around the globe. People were forced to stay at home in the spring of the year, and Watashi decided to stop commuting to the city and stayed home every day. One day, Watashi discovered mysterious traces in the garden and set up a camera which captured a creature about 15cm tall. Watashi named it Pukkulapottas and become absorbed in searching for it. However, as the world gradually returned to normal, Pukkulapottas disappears from sight. Is what we see, all there is to truth?

Takeshi Yashiro joined TAIYO KIKAKU Co., Ltd., a Japanese TV-CM production, after graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1993. He has worked as a director mainly for commercial films and is one of the top stop motion animation specialists. He not only directs but also creates the art and sets by himself. He especially likes creating hand-made, story-telling pieces.

Directed by Takeshi Yashiro

Producted by Masaaki Oikawa

Raw Materials

SHORT JAMAICA/UNITED STATES ENGLISH 33 MINS

TUESDAY FEB 21 5:00 PM-6:45 PM

RAW MATERIALS is a coming-of-age drama. Sixteen year old fashion prodigy Malik struggles to find his direction and overcome an abusive community in order to fully embrace his talent and identity despite his homophobic community automatically labeling him as gay.

Sosiessia Nixon is an award winning Jamaican screenwriter, director and film producer. She is currently the head of film and television at iKon Media and Films. Sosiessia is the creative mind behind many music videos as she serves as treatment writer on music video projects including Shaggy, Buju Banton, Sean Paul, Spice, Conkarah and Dre Island.

Directed by Sosiessia Nixon-Kelly

Producted by Sosiessia Nixon-Kelly

Revelation Ground

The stop-motion animation video for Rachael Sage’s self-produced single REVELATION GROUND was created by Antje Duvekot, who has a two-decade career as both a touring musician and animator. Antje explains: “I wanted to reflect the gentle femininity and also the boldness and strength that the song evokes for me. The scenes are meant to reflect the process. Moving from dark and cold to light and warm, as well as finding your community. I wanted to allude to the metaphor “resilience through music and through self-expression”. The bird flying out of the typewriter and the ice breaker and the opening cocoon and the recurrence of people playing music in various settings is meant to highlight the superpowers that are music and community.

Antje Duvekot has garnered critical acclaim from the animated videos she recently made for Toad The Wet Sprocket - STARTING NOW, Dar Williams - TODAY AND EVERY DAY, Eliot Bronson & Lori McKenna - EVEN THIS IS GOING TO PASS, and Eliza Gylkison - PROMISES TO KEEP. Originally born in Germany and transplanted to the US as a young teen, Antje Duvekot has had a two-decade career as both a touring singer-songwriter and animator.

Directed by Antje Duvekot

Producted by Rachael Sage

Rocco Up

DOCUMENTARY UNITED STATES ENGLISH 22 MINS

SATURDAY FEB 18 2:15 PM-4:10 PM / WED FEB 22 2:45 PM-4:45 PM

Rocco is an autistic boy who has always loved being in the ocean. Over the years, he develops confidence, grace, and remarkable balance on his surfboard. In ROCCO UP, unscripted interviews bear testimony to boundless family love, the stoke of community support, and the neuroscience behind our enchantment with water.

John Madere is a photographer and documentary filmmaker. His approach to directing documentaries is informed by his experience photographing people from every walk of life. John’s clients have entrusted him with assignments in over 50 countries. Pre-pandemic, he completed a seven-week ’roundthe-world journey entailing photography in eleven cities on six continents.

Directed by John Madere

Producted by Ruth Mamaril, Don Intonato

Same Old

SHORT UNITED STATES/CANADA ENGLISH 15 MINS

T UESDAY FEB 21 5:00 PM-6:45 PM / TUESDAY FEB 21 2:30 PM-4:45 PM

Lu is a Chinese immigrant living day to day on tips from his job as a delivery worker. He supports his wife and ailing mother as they desperately try to make ends meet in the unforgiving city. One night, his bicycle, and in essence his livelihood, are stolen from him. He’s forced to embark on a desperate journey to reclaim his bike or shatter the fragile life in America he’s built.

Lloyd Lee Choi is a Korean-Canadian New York based director who found a magical escape with cinema early on. Growing up, he was a regular fixture at the local theater, and eventually, began to secretly create films of his own; directing, acting, shooting, and editing. With a number of awards including a Silver Cannes Lion for his Cornetto campaign, “40 Love” featuring Lily Allen, Lloyd has gone on to create global campaigns for Google, Chevrolet, Sony and Peloton. Lloyd also released his first original scripted 30-minute short film, BEFORE MARS, for National Geographic which is streaming on Hulu, iTunes, and Amazon.

Directed by Lloyd Lee Choi

Producted by Tony Yang

Seahorse Zeepaard

SHORT NETHERLANDS DUTCH 21 MINS THURSDAY FEB 23 5:00 PM-6:45 PM

When Dana sees a small dot of light flickering in her uterus in black and white on the ultrasound screen, she has to face facts; she is pregnant. Dana decides to end the pregnancy. On the day of her abortion, Dana meets women who each deal with the procedure in their own way. One is panicked, the other self-assured. Dana does things differently - she wants to study the picture of her embryo. She wants to utter the words “mother” on the day of her abortion. She wants to hear the voice of the partner she’s lying to one last time. She wants to experience everything. It is the only way she will be able to get through this day.

Natalie Bruijns got her Filmmaking degree from the University of the Arts Utrecht in 2012, majoring in Fiction. After graduation, she started her career working chiefly on set as an Assistant Director for television and film. Natalie developed into making documentaries and directed for the Dutch television series TITAANTJES. She is currently working on a big screen documentary for young people. SEAHORSE is her fiction film debut.

Directed by Natalie Bruijns

Producted by Sanne Windig, Iris Lammertsma

Solaris

MUSIC VIDEO BELGIUM ENGLISH 4 MINS

THURSDAY FEB 23 8:30 PM-11:00 PM

In a ghost town as if from the past, the night is suspended. The world of dreams unfolds and reveals mysterious and poetic characters. In this futuristic city where the sun never rises, revolt is near.

Julie Joseph is a French animation film director, illustrator and art director based in Brussels. She directs music videos and commercial films, including for the American channel FX Networks, for luxury brands like Van Cleef & Arpels. She also works for the press: Le Monde, l’Obs, illustrates podcasts for Arte Radio, publishing books for Gallimard Jeunesse.

Directed by Julie Joseph

Producted by Julie Joseph

Spoonful Of Sugar

HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 95 MINS

SUNDAY FEB 19 6:45 PM-8:45 PM

A disturbed babysitter experiences a sexual awakening while using LSD to alternatively treat a seemingly “sick” child from a family with dark secrets of their own.

Mercedes Bryce Morgan is an award-winning queer Latina director. She just completed her feature debut FIXATION which is premiering at TIFF. SPOONFULL OF SUGAR is her second feature film. Mercedes has directed episodic series for different studios such as MGM, Facebook Watch, Snapchat, New Form, Eko, and Project Greenlight/ Adaptive. Her work collectively has over 1.5 billion views.

Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan

Producted by Natalie Metzger, Katrina Kudlick & Matt Miller

Stars

FEB 17 9:00 PM-11:40 PM

A group of homeless women must learn that a glimmer of hope is worth more than all the money in the world. Based on the play by Doron Braunshtein, Bianca is an undercover police officer hiding in a NYC women’s shelter to clean up neighborhood crime and protect women, all while trying to deal with the loss of her family who were recently killed by a drunk driver. The women who share a room with Bianca all have the nicknames of the celebrities they hide from their lives by imitating: Madonna, Oprah, Lauren Hutton, Martha Stewart and Juliette ‘Lucifer’ Lewis. The women are plagued by drug addiction, prostitution, gambling, depression, incest, racism and more but yet need each other for survival.

Funded by We Make Movies as the winner of “Make Your Feature” pitch contest.

Mars Roberge is a Canadian-American dual-citizen filmmaker from Toronto and living in Los Angeles. Mars’ previous films include his documentary THE LITTLE HOUSE THAT COULD about “Sex & the City” stylist Patricia Field (2013 Frameline, Audience Choice Award for Best Film at 2015 NewFilmmakers Los Angeles), the punk comedy SCUMBAG (2017 International Film Festival Rotterdam), the drag dramedy MISTER SISTER (closing film for 2021 Dances With Films + 2021 Winter Film Awards--Best NYC Film).

Directed by Mars Roberge

Producted by Mars Roberge, Kenneth Shaw

Step Into The River

ANIMATED CHINA/FRANCE/SPAIN CHINESE

15 MINS

WEDNESDAY FEB 22 8:30 PM-10:55 PM / MON FEB 20 3:00 PM-4:45 PM

Lu and Wei are two young girls living in a village nestled on the banks of a river where some families drown baby girls in the river in order to have boys. The two girls have a special bond with this river. Together, they will find a magical strength to overcome the traumas of the past.

Weijia Ma is an independent animation artist and college professor. Her documentary short film MY QUARANTINE BEAR has won the Special Mention at Vision du Réel. Her animation short STEP INTO THE RIVER has won the Best Animation Short at Palm Springs International Shortfest, Tricky Realities award at Tricky Women Film Festival, Silver Hugo award at Chicago International Film Festival and Silver Dove Audience Award at DOK Leipzig.

Directed by Weijia Ma

Producted by Weijia Ma

Studio Ukraine

DOCUMENTARY US/GERMANY ENG/RUSSIAN/UKRAINIAN 11 MINS

SATURDAY FEB 18 4:25 PM-6:30 PM / WED FEB 22 2:45 PM-4:45 PM

Studio Ukraine, a collective of artists from Ukraine who have found refuge in Berlin, are working together to make a political statement about the war, using scrap fabric to create cathartic works of art that express their situation. This short documentary introduces the viewer to three members of the group and gives us a glimpse into their lives after recently being displaced in Berlin.

Jack Wingate is a queer filmmaker from Tallahassee, Florida now based in Brooklyn. In December of 2020, he graduated from FSU with his B.A. in Digital Media Production and Creative Writing. His work has been shown at Miami Independent and Student LA Film Awards. In his current work, Jack focuses on art, urbanism, and workers’ rights. He most recently was awarded the Parlamentarisches Patenschafts-Programm as a Filmmaking Fellow which brought him to Berlin, Germany.

Directed by Jack Wingate

Producted by Jack Wingate

Surprise

ANIMATED NETHERLANDS ENGLISH 4 MINS

FRIDAY FEB 17 9:00 PM-11:40 PM / MONDAY FEB 20 3:00 PM-4:45 PM

An astronaut travels in search of alien lifeform. When his board-computer detects a lifeform, the astronaut makes his way to the planet.

Silvester Zwaneveld is a Dutch animator, illustrator and performer. He has made more than 15 theatre plays, performed in the biggest venues in the country and his shows are aired on national television. In his shows he uses animation as a tool.

Directed by Silvester Zwaneveld

Producted by Silvester Zwaneveld

Synthetic Love Amours Synth Tiques

SHORT FRANCE FRENCH 24 MINS

SUNDAY FEB 19 2:15 PM-4:15 PM

Diane realizes that the man she fantasizes about shares his life with someone very peculiar… Diane, in her fifties, fantasizes about the enigmatic Pierre, who works with her at the gas station. When she wins a trip for two around France, she decides to invite him along. But she wasn’t aware that Pierre already has someone quite special in his life…

Sarah Heitz de Chabaneix, a graduate from The National Theater School of Canada, started her cinema career as an assistant director, before launching into script writing and film directing. She has since written and directed several award-winner short movies. Among them: SPOONING (2020), UNDER MOM’S SKIRT (2017), THE WHISPERS (2015), and I’M A BLANK PAGE (2012). She is currently writing feature-length fictions, short films, TV shows, produced in France.

Directed by Sarah Heitz De Chabaneix

Producted by Suzanne Colin, Louison Blaizot

The Call Of Water

HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 19 MINS

SUNDAY FEB 19 4:30 PM-6:30 PM / THURSDAY FEB 23 2:45 PM-4:45 PM

Set in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, THE CALL OF WATER follows Nadia the night before her childhood home is sold. High on mushrooms, she and her friends inadvertently open a portal, plunging them into the astral-plane. There, she must face The Horned One, an ancient keeper of the land and of the water. To return to her body, Nadia must come to terms with her responsibility to her homeland and the water that it protects.

Kaya Tone was raised in the mountains outside of Boulder, CO. She moved to NYC to attend NYU Tisch for her BFA in Film & TV with a minor in Religious Studies. She started her own production company in 2020, Tone Productions, with her sister and long time collaborator, Siena Tone. Together, the Tone sisters are excited to present their films, and hope to use them to educate and inspire people around the world.

Directed by Kaya Tone

Producted by David Maire, Brian Plain & Tim Preston

The Fragile King

FEATURE SOUTH AFRICA ENGLISH 98 MINS

SUNDAY FEB 19 12:00 PM-2:00 PM

THE FRAGILE KING tells the story of an older white man, Gerald King, who is closer to death than life. His 15 year-old grandson is dumped on Gerald when the child’s mother dies in a drunken car crash. The boy, who barely knows this old man, is shocked into a new reality when he arrives at Gerald’s flat in Durban by Social Services. The film pays homage to the filmmaker’s grandfather.

Student Oscar Award winner Tristan Holmes is a director and writer, known for ELALINI (2005) and INNOCENT TIMES (2008). Hailing from the Johannesburg South Africa, Tristan was brought up a nomad. With a bohemian mother in tow, early life was an undulating tapestry of strange places, people and faces, a complex collection of anthropological opposites unique to a life in Africa.

Directed by Tristan Holmes

Producted by Cati Weinek, Dumi Gumbi

The Guest

SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH AND HINDI 15 MINS

WEDNESDAY FEB 22 5:00 PM-6:45 PM

A surprise guest arrives to remind a young Indian bride in America of all that she has left behind.

Vignesh Vaithyanathan is an actor and filmmaker who is committed to the art of narrative storytelling. Having previously worked as an architect, he continues to tell stories through different mediums. He has also written, directed and produced CURVE BALL and BEHIND THE DOOR, which were screened in multiple film festivals across India. His current Film OPEN LOVE is in post-production.

Directed by Vignesh ‘Kaushik’ Vaithyanathan

Producted by Sheldon Larry, Natalie Gimon

The Letter Room

SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 32 MINS MONDAY FEB 20 5:00 PM-6:45 PM

When a kind-hearted prison officer is transferred to the letter room, he soon gets involved in an inmate’s personal affairs.

Elvira Lind is a Danish director from Copenhagen based in New York. She finished film school in Cape Town, in 2006, majoring in documentary film and has worked within that field since directing and shooting documentaries of various lengths for TV, cinema and web so far on 4 different continents. Although making documentaries is her primary love, she crosses over and has random but passionate affairs with fiction from time to time.

Directed by Elvira Lind

Producted by Sofia Sondervan-Bild

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM - A MUSICABRE

HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH/LATIN 30 MINS SUNDAY FEB 19 4:30 PM-6:30 PM / THURSDAY FEB 23 2:45 PM-4:45 PM

Musical short film adaptation of the classic Poe story. A desperate composer imagines himself both the victim and the Inquisition in Poe’s THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM. Reality and fantasy converge with frightening consequences.

Danny Ashkenasi is an American theater/film director, composer, actor, writer and producer born in Berlin, Germany. His short film Poe adaptation THE TELL-TALE HEART - A MUSICABRE played over 80 film festivals, winning over 65 awards. His follow-up THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM - A MUSICABRE, currently playing festivals, has already received many awards. In addition to Poe, Ashkenasi has musically adapted Twain, Melville, Langston Hughes, Lewis Carroll, and The Book of Job.

Directed by Danny Ashkenasi

Producted by Danny Ashkenasi, Edward Elder

THE PRINCIPAL’S ASSEMBLY

SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 18 MINS

MONDAY FEB 20 5:00 PM-6:45 PM

A high school principal’s grief over the loss of a student spirals into substance abuse. To escape her anguish, she slides into a summer habit of frequenting an out-of-the-way bar whose bartender reminds her of the student until she suffers the harsh reality of her delusion. Once discovered, her husband and best friend confront her alcohol consumption, abuse of prescription antidepressants, and emotional stability, yet she insists on delivering a sobering speech at an assembly on the first day of school.

Jordan Ancel is a multi-award-winning Film and TV director/producer/writer whose films have been in over 100 festivals worldwide. He recently wrapped production on the feature film THE UNSEEN, a psychological horror/thriller, starring R. J. Mitte (“Breaking Bad”), which is an allegory for school bullying. His dark comedy short film, GOOD GUYS WITH GUNS, a commentary on the overwhelming gun violence epidemic, can be seen on Amazon Prime.

Directed by Jordan Ancel

Producted by Seth Chitwood, Jordan Ancel & Evan Schneider

THE SEASONS - FOUR LOVE STORIES

FEATURE UNITED STATES ENGLISH 82 MINS

S UNDAY FEB 19 2:15 PM-4:15 PM

Over the course of a year four sets of intertwined characters face turning points in their romantic lives. Each chapter takes place in a different season, with the central characters age appropriate to that season. Thus: Summer, young adults, Autumn, middle aged, Winter, elderly, and Spring, a ten year old girl.

Paul Schwartz is a filmmaker, playwright and composer. His recently completed feature THE SEASONS has been out to festivals since September and has so far won over two dozen awards. His 2021 featurette A NEW YORK STORY also won multiple awards. He is currently at work on his next film, SHADOWS AND LIGHT, which will begin shooting in 2023. He is the composer and producer of the both the ARIA series and the STATE OF GRACE series of recordings which have sold over a million copies world wide.

Directed by Paul Schwartz

Producted by Paul Schwartz

The Sisters Karras

FEATURE UNITED STATES ENGLISH 82 MINS

FRIDAY FEB 17 5:15 PM-7:15 PM

A story about the things that matter: Family, legacy, success, and textiles. Yes, textiles. Two estranged half-sisters form a complicated bond as they work together to retrieve their rare and precious inheritance, which their late father inexplicably leaves to the mysterious Marco.

Micah Stathis was born in the Midwest and raised in Ano Glyfada Greece, just outside Athens. Micah is a decorated veteran who spent three years serving in the US Army, and was deployed in combat in Ramadi, Iraq. Micah then received his Masters in Film Studies at NYU Tisch. He has written and directed many short films, music videos and short documentaries. THE SISTERS KARRA is Micah’s first feature film.

Directed by Micah Stathis

Producted by Clare Louise Frost, Micah Stathis

The Sprayer Sampash

ANIMATED IRAN/UNITED STATES ENGLISH 9 MINS FRIDAY FEB 17 5:15 PM-7:15 PM / MONDAY FEB 20 3:00 PM-4:45 PM

In the land occupied with the Sprayer’s army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how a plant grows or looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.

Farnoosh Abedi was born in 1985 in Isfahan, Iran. He has made more than 20 short animated films and TV series, documentaries and one Feature Animated film. His films have been presented and screened in more than 500 domestic and international film festivals and received 210 awards.

Directed by Farnoosh Abedi

Producted by Farnoosh Abedi

The Unwritten Rule

SHORT UNITED STATES ENGLISH 20 MINS

THURSDAY FEB 23 5:00 PM-6:45 PM

A Black male schoolteacher fatally stops a middle school shooter only to be charged by the state of Missouri for manslaughter.

Kaye Spann is a new filmmaker and schoolteacher whose story telling career began in 2014 at the American Black Film Festival where he pitched to Robert Townsend during a Pitch Contest and won. That vote of confidence by such a respected icon in the field confirmed that filmmaking is his calling. Kaye possesses a strong passion in telling stories through the art of film. He studied at the New York Film Academy and has written screenplays, television scripts and also acted in films and plays.

Directed by Kaye Spann, Kaye Spann

Producted by Kaye Spann

Teo

SHORT CHILE/SPAIN SPANISH 18 MINS

THURSDAY FEB 23 8:30 PM-11:00 PM

A couple goes to a gene-editing clinic to design their first child, hoping that the kid will have the successful and happy life that has eluded them.

Eduardo Bunster is a Chilean director and cinematographer, and has ventured into fiction film, documentary, stop-motion animation and video art. His short film D-CONSTRUIR (best short film at Sydney Fantastic Film Festival and Festival Cine B Santiago), his diptych of short documentaries INNER LANDSCAPES and his collaborations as cinematographer with prominent Chilean film directors stand out. Co-Director Belén Abarza is a first-time filmmaker.

Directed by Eduardo Bunster, Belén Abarza

Producted by Eduardo Bunster

There Goes The Neighborhood

DOCUMENTARY UNITED STATES ENGLISH 74 MINS

SATURDAY FEB 18 9:00 PM-11:00 PM

New York City is currently undergoing a period of Hyper-Gentrification. This is a portrait of the communities that are fighting back.

Ian Phillips was born and raised in New York City. His first Feature Documentary COACH JAKE premiered at the Urbanworld Film Festival in September of 2017 and was distributed by First Fun Features. He is also a co-founder of Willful Productions along with his frequent collaborator, Otoja Abit.

Directed by Ian Phillips

Producted by Ian Phillips

TO THE FUTURE, WITH LOVE

ANIMATED UNITED STATES ENGLISH

7 MINS

MONDAY FEB 20 8:30 PM-10:45 PM / MONDAY FEB 20 3:00 PM-4:45 PM

Caught between the expectations of his Guatemalan immigrant family and his desire to live happily ever after with his boyfriend, 19-year-old Hunter “Pixel” Jimenez takes us on an energetic and colorful journey through his life as a trans teen in LA and his dreams for the future.

Shaleece is an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer and a director based in Los Angeles. Her directing credits include REAL BOY (2016; Independent Lens); and TO THE FUTURE, WITH LOVE (2021; POV Shorts). Recently, she was on the producing teams of FOOD AND COUNTRY (Sundance, 2023); DELIKADO (Hot Docs, 2022; POV); LOUDMOUTH (Tribeca, 2022); and ASIAN AMERICANS (PBS; 2020 Peabody Award). TEXAS STRONG, a short doc she produced in 2018, won an Emmy Award for Short Documentary and premiered at SXSW

Directed by Shaleece Haas

Producted by Shaleece Haas

TRACK-MEMORIA

SHORT CANADA ENGLISH 13 MINS

MONDAY FEB 20 8:30 PM-10:45 PM

TRACK-MEMORIA is set in a reality where memories get stored on cassette tapes and sold in stores. This technology allows Emilio to ignore the present and turn to the comfort of the past - he can ignore the people in his present: his boss Thomas, the customers at the store and the man from the corner of the street. When his ability to visit his past gets taken away, Emilio does everything in his power to go back to it but must finally learn how to exist in the present.

Malcolm Judah developed TRACK-MEMORIA since 2021 for his thesis. It has come a long way and undergone many different changes in regard to the story. Each change that was made made him more excited to find ways of telling Emilio’s story effectively, He relates to these struggles with technology. This was his first time directing something of this caliber; the further they got into the making of the film, the more eager he became to get the story right.

Directed by Malcolm Judah

Producted by Martin Restrepo, Ethan Butler

We Mightas Well Be Dead

FEATURE GERMANY GERMAN/ POLISH

TUESDAY FEB 21 8:30 PM-10:45 PM

93 MINS

A high-rise building near the forest is famous for its carefully curated community. When a dog disappears and her daughter refuses to leave the bathroom, a security officer faces an absurd battle against an irrational fear, that slowly spreads amongst the residents and rattles this utopia with a view.

Natalia Sinelnikova is a writer and director based in Berlin. She was born in St. Petersburg in 1989 and emigrated to Germany at the age of 7. In 2013, she graduated from Hildesheim University, with a Bachelor in Culture Studies, the major field of her studies being photography and theatre. Natalia is a member of the Jewish artists‘ network “Dagesh“. WE MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD is her feature debut.

Directed by Natalia Sinelnikova

Producted by Julia Wagner

WHAT’S THE MARK?

Through the lens of an actress unintentionally involved in a controversial commercial, WHAT’S THE MARK explores the power of media and advertisements in influencing public opinion and the perpetuation of stereotypes and its effects.

Stacey Larkins is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and musician residing in the New York City metropolitan area. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Spelman College, and a Masters in Music from New York University. She has shot, written, directed, composed and edited several short films that have played in various film festivals as well as Shorts TV International. Her award winning film JABARI KEATING is currently airing on Aspire TV’s Urban Indie Film Block.

Directed by Stacey Larkins

Producted by Stacey Larkins

Wherever You Go

When Debargo inexplicably bolts from the party where he and Kevin have just met and hit it off, Kevin gamely follows along. The two encounter (and flee) a number of antagonists - a cop, an ex, a bratty kid and his entitled mom - building friendship along the way, but when they run into Debargo’s cousin and Kevin learns why they’ve been running this whole time, Debargo runs away from him too. Kevin follows and helps Debargo find a bit more peace with the fact that wherever you go . . . there you are.

Eevin Hartsough is an NYC-based, award-winning actor/writer/producer. Eevin began writing with the experimental theater company, the New York Neo-Futurists. She recently completed an MFA in TV Writing at Stonybrook University and is a proud member of Filmshop.

Andrew Ramjattan Beguin is an award-winning Swiss-American writer, director and producer based in New York City. His feature film, NOWHERE, MICHIGAN, has garnered numerous best picture awards at festivals and is currently being distributed by Gravitas Ventures. He recently earned his MFA in TV writing from Stony Brook University and has worked as a writer’s assistant for NBC in addition to pursuing his own writing and directing projects with his wife, Brittany.

Directed by Eevin Hartsough, Andrew Beguin

Producted by Katie Rosin

White Eye

SHORT ISRAEL/BRAZIL HEBREW 21 MINS

WEDNESDAY FEB 22 8:30 PM-10:55 PM

A man finds his stolen bicycle and it now belongs to a stranger. In his attempts to retrieve the bicycle, he struggles to remain human.

Tomer Shushan is a writer and a director from Israel. His film INSIDE SHELLS (2017) screened in FIPA and Sau Paulo international short film festival among others. WHITE EYE, his first independent short film, was nominated for Best-Live Action Short Film in the 93rd Academy Awards. Tomer has participated in more than 100 film festivals (including 30 Oscar qualifying film festivals), won the Best Narrative Short Jury Award in SXSW 2020. He is currently developing his feature film WAITING FOR THE SUN.

Directed by Tomer Shushan

Producted by Shira Hochman, Kobi Mizrahi

Wild Cat Gata Bata

MUSIC VIDEO CHILE SPANISH 3 MINS

WEDNESDAY FEB 22 8:30 PM-10:55 PM

Two girls fall in love playing football. A visual journey towards complicity, desire and eroticism between them.

Katherina Harder is a Chilean film and TV director. She is the co-founder and director of the Iquique International Film Festival and ‘La Gran Pantalla Barcelona’. Her short films have been exhibited in important international film festivals like Tribeca, La Habana, FICGuadalajara, Mar del Plata, Camerimage among others. Her short film DESERT LIGHTS has won more than 24 internationals awards and qualified for the Oscar. She is currently developing projects in Chile and Spain and is writing her debut feature film.

Directed by Katherina Harder

Producted by Francisca Herrera, Francisca Cuevas & Volcánica Films

Yellow Lines

WEB SERIES UNITED STATES ENGLISH

13 MINS

THURSDAY FEB 23 8:30 PM-11:00 PM / TUESDAY FEB 21 2:30 PM-4:45 PM

This short-form series is a dramedy that follows Quinn and Nik, two New York City transplants, best friends, and roommates who enjoy an open and blunt sisterly rapport with one another. In this pilot episode, their friendship is challenged when, after a night full of surprise endings with their respective boyfriends, they are both faced with big emotional life events. Dealing with the aftermath of this night triggers one of them to hold a big secret in a misguided attempt to help mend the other’s broken heart.

Megan Magee is an actress, director, and producer based in Astoria, Queens. Megan has directed numerous theatre productions which have been staged at Teatro Latea, Manhattan Rep, the Arthur Seelen Theatre, and more. Her first short film she directed, HOPE, received an Honorable Mention at New York Lift-Off Film Festival. YELLOW LINES is her first spec pilot, and she could not have asked for a better production team than Carly Wilkins and Kristin Papadopoulos.

Directed by Megan Magee

Producted by Carly Wilkins, Kristin Papadopoulos

YES, MOTHER

HORROR UNITED STATES ENGLISH 5 MINS SUNDAY FEB 19 9:00 PM-11:00 PM / THURSDAY FEB 23 2:45 PM-4:45 PM

In order to survive, a young woman must find a way to live up to her mother’s demands of perfection. After all, mother knows best...

Cynthia Gray is an award-winning actor and writer with short stories and poems published, several scripts produced into films and plays that have shown in film festivals around the world. Besides writing the screenplay for YES, MOTHER, the film is Cynthia’s directorial debut. Jennifer Enskat has worked for decades as an actor, working with directors like Stephen Chbosky and Kevin Smith. She eventually moved to directing, editing and producing, winning film festival awards in various capacities.

Directed by Jennifer Enskat, Cynthia Gray

Producted by Jennifer Enskat, Andrew Gardner