Catalogue New York Shorts 2021

OUR MISSION These are principles that we try to follow.

BE truthful. THINK independently.

PURSUE excellence. INSPIRE imagination.

LIVE courageous. STAND for freedom.

EMBRACE individuality. MAKE a difference.

KING OF SHORTS

info@NYshorts.net www.NYshorts.net www.filmfreeway.com/NYShorts

Tickets GENERAL INFO Seating is unreserved. No refunds. All credit card transactions must be done online prior to your arrival to the theater.

Film programs are subject to change at any time. Films do NOT screen in order listed on the website. Be sure to arrive on time and be seated in the theater at the start of each program. This will ensure you do not miss the film you came to see.

RUSH LINE If a film program is SOLD OUT it means we’re out of tickets online and at the box office. Once badge holders are let in 15 minutes before the screening, any empty seats are sold to patrons in the rush line on a first-come-first-serve basis.

An important reminder for ticket holders: to guarantee your seat, you must be present in line at the venue at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time! After that time, we reserve the right to sell any empty seats.

No refunds - only exchanges.

Please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices during the film presentation. For the pleasure of all guests, there is no talking or texting permitted during the film presentation.

Those arriving late will be seated between short films.

Theater Venue 22 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003 (212) 924-3364

New York’s Greenwich Village theater specializing in provocative foreign and independent films plus documentaries.

Cinema Village THEATER POLICY - Proof of vaccine is required to enter the theater. Face covering is NOT required.

The theater is operating at 100% capacity.

WHO WE ARE Ben Proudfoot Advisory Committee

Ben Proudfoot is the creative force behind Breakwater Studios. An awardwinning short-documentary director and entrepreneur. Proudfoot was named one of Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30” for his leadership and innovation in the brandfunded documentary space.

Jon Amiel Advisory Committee

After receiving a BAFTA Award nomination for the BBC series The Singing Detective (1986), he went on to direct films receiving critical and commercial success, including Sommersby (1993) starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere, Copycat (1995) starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter, Entrapment (1999) starring Sean Connery and Catherine ZetaJones, and The Core (2003) starring Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. His most recent feature was Creation (2009) with Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly.

Breakwater’s 2021 Academy Award® Nominated “A Concerto is a Conversation” made in collaboration with The New York Times and executive produced by Ava DuVernay, premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Other recent works include the Emmynominated series New York Times OpDocs “Almost Famous”, a collection of short films featuring people who nearly made history.

Barbara Vásconez Advisory Committee

Barbara Vásconez is the Program Manager at New York Women in Film & Television.

Before joining NYWIFT, she was the General Manager at the Quad Cinema in New York City. She has worked for a variety of film festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Hamptons Film Festival, Montclair Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, DOC NYC, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Her spare time is spent programming panels and creating unique community engagement opportunities for the New York Latino Film Festival.

Her educational goals include working to develop film programs in New Jersey that improve film education for lowincome students. She is committed to the importance of film as a means of community engagement.

Jon Amiel is an acclaimed English director who has worked in film and television in both the UK and the US.

K. Lorrel Manning Advisory Committee

K. Lorrel Manning is an award-winning writer/ director, actor and musician who works in both film and theatre.

He recently completed the documentary/ performance film Trouble In Mind: Black American Playwrights from the 1800’s to Now. His critically acclaimed play Awake, which he also directed, received its world premiere at the Barrow Group in January 2019. He is currently shooting Lost & Found, a featurelength documentary on young Cameroonian painter Ludovic Nkoth and prepping his second narrative feature film, Sheila & The Punk Rock.

Manning has an MFA in Film from Columbia University and a BFA in Drama from the University of Georgia. He currently teaches screenwriting and advanced acting at Sarah Lawrence College, and he is a resident director and instructor at the Barrow Group Theatre Company and School.

WHO WE ARE Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri Advisory Committee

Indrani is a United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Distinguished Fellow, and a Max Mark-Cranbrook 2019 Global Peacemaker.

She co-founded and executive directs Shakti Empowerment Foundation (SEEschool.org) for women and children in India, is Co-Host of the Global People’s Summit at the UN

Tom Brown Advisory Committee

Brown served as VP of Production and Operations at Emmy Award winning NYC studio, Little Airplane Productions where his clients included BBC, Disney and Nickelodeon. He presently serves as VP of Business Operations at Retro Report, a documentary news organization and partnerships include PBS, The New York Times, American Experience, Quartz and Frontline. Brown is a member of the NY PGA and has been recognized by the production community to conduct international production workshops in Britain, Canada, Germany, Korea, Qatar and Turkey.

Tribeca Film Festival 2019 award-winning director, photographer, and social justice activist Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri is known by a single name for her “Iconic imagery and storytelling” (Huffington Post) “at the crossroads of pop culture and critical acclaim”(Lincoln Center).

David Bowie commissioned her first album cover and her directorial debut, exploring the mind of a mass shooter, featured in the HBO Movie The Last 5 Years, and Indrani helped launch Beyonce and Lady Gaga, photographing their solo debut album art. Her work has won 43 awards including two gold lions at Cannes Festival of Creativity

Tianna Lawrence Festival Coordinator

Tom Brown is an Emmy nominated producer and an experienced television and film operations executive. He specializes in live-action and animation in the formats of scripted, non-scripted and factual/ documentary.

Nicole Márquez Salamanca Festival Operations Tianna Lawrence is an experienced film festival coordinator. She has been with New York Shorts since its inaugural year in 2012 at Landmark Sunshine Cinema.

She has performed production and operational duties with the Tribeca Film Festival and Just for Laughs comedy festival.

She oversees filmmaker communication, event sponsor correspondence, volunteer management, film programming, and attendee interactions at New York Shorts International Film Festival.

Nicole Marsal has been overseeing the day-to-day operations for New York Shorts International Film Festival since 2019. She has collaborated with Bogotá Short Film Festival / Festival de Cortos de Bogotá, Planet On, and MIDBO. I​n addition, she has participated in numerous international film festivals as a director, cinematographer, and programmer. She believes in the importance of cinema and is working to expand Latin American films to other regions through her personal project Avi Lab. Content Creator / Strategist.

New York Shorts International Film Festival A qualifying film festival for the Canadian Screen Awards, presented by The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television

2021 FESTIVAL ON DEMAND

IN-PERSON

The festival’s digital experience is presented

by The Shorts Network, films are available on-demand at The Shorts Network YouTube Channel.

New York Shorts is committed to bringing the theatrical experience back to New York City. The festival has established a reputation amplifying underrepresented voices in shortform cinema from around the globe.

Digital Film Pass includes access to 200 films during the month of October.

Join to become a Member on the YouTube Channel and get access to digital films for ONLY $2.99/month

IN-PERSON screenings will be held at the Cinema Village located at 22 E 12th St. New York, NY 10003

Content Jury - 12 ON DEMAND ANIMATION PROGRAM - 14 Program 1 - 16 Program 2 - 20 Program 3 - 23 ON DEMAND DRAMA PROGRAM - 28 Program 1 - 32 Program 2 - 35 Program 3 - 39 Program 4 - 42 Program 5 - 45 Program 6 - 49 Program 7 - 52 Program 8 - 56 Program 9 - 60 ON DEMAND COMEDY PROGRAM - 62 Program 1 - 64 Program 2 - 67 Program 3 - 69 ON DEMAND SCI-FI PROGRAM - 72 Program 1 - 74 Program 2 - 76 Program 3 - 78 ON DEMAND HORROR PROGRAM - 80 Program 1 - 82 Program 2 - 84 Program 3 - 86

IN-PERSON October 29, 2021 - 90 Program 1 - 92 Program 2 - 95 Program 3 - 97 Program 4 - 99 Program 5 - 101

IN-PERSON November 3, 2021 - 150 Program 26 - 152 Program 27 - 153 Program 28 - 155 Program 29 - 157 Program 30 - 159

IN-PERSON October 30, 2021 - 104 Program 6 - 106 Program 7 - 107 Program 8 - 109 Program 9 - 111 Program 10 - 113

IN-PERSON November 4, 2021 - 162 Program 31 - 164 Program 32 - 166 Program 33 - 167 Program 34 - 169 Program 35 - 171

IN-PERSON October 31, 2021 - 116 Program 11 - 118 Program 12 - 119 Program 13 - 121 Program 14 - 123 Program 15 - 125

WINNERS - 174

IN-PERSON November 1, 2021 - 126 Program 16 - 128 Program 17 - 130 Program 18 - 132 Program 19 - 134 Program 20 - 135 IN-PERSON November 2, 2021 - 138 Program 21 - 140 Program 22 - 142 Program 23 - 144 Program 24 - 146 Program 25 - 148

JURY

Seigo Tono Jury Committee

Easmanie Michel Jury Committee

Senior festival director at the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Academy Awards® accredited festival) dedicated to promoting and supporting Asian short films. He is also an active film producer, having made a dozen of short films with directors from Japan and abroad.

Finance and Special Projects Associates at New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT). Easmanie has produced and directed several short films. Her script for Caroline’s Wedding was a finalist for the New York University Fusion Film Festival and it was also one of the scripts selected to participate in the Women at Sundance Financing and Strategy Intensive in 2016. In 2018 the script was the Grand Prize Winner of the American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest.

Easmanie has a Master’s Degree in Cinema Studies from New York University.

12

JURY

Tom Van Avermaet Jury Committee

Easmanie Michel Jury Committee

Oscar-Nominated & European Film Award-winning writer/director short film Death of a Shadow. In addition to filmmaking, Tom is active as an art curator focusing on surreal and melancholic art.

This activity also led him to become one of the founders of MOCDA, the Museum of Contemporary Digital Art, an online art space and museum focusing on digital art. His main motivation is to support and promote artists and their work on as many different and varied platforms as possible.

Greek-Italian actress and model studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York City.

She made her cinema debut in the Greek film “The Attack of the Giant Mousaka”(1996), directed by Panos Koutras. Her first leading role was in the independent film “And She Was” (2002) by Frank Rainone and later, in the Greek-American film “Lisa and The Others” (2003) by Nikos Perakis . “What Will Happen To Us” (2004) Italy, directed by Giovanni Veronesi.

“Fishtales” (2006) by Aliki David and “Without Borders”(2011) Greek/US co-production, by Nicos Gaitatjis.

13

ANIMATION ANIMATION ON-DEMAND

14

Animation Program | ON DEMAND Program 1

Program 2

Program 3

A Bite of Bone / Honami Yano Japan / Animation / 10 mins

Hoverman / Vincent Lin United States / Animation / 12 mins

Praising the Lost / Abigael Kurtz United States / Animation / 4 mins

Affairs of the Art / Joanna Quinn United Kingdom / Animation / 16 mins

How to Make Electronic Music / Rob Thompson United States / Animation / 7 mins

Princess Perfect / Amy Chang United States / Animation / 2 mins

Altötting / Andreas Hykade Germany / Animation / 11 mins

I am not an Angel / Joe Chang Canada / Animation / 11 mins

Room 5 / Francis Y. Brown Ghana / Animation / 3 mins

Bad Seeds / Claude Cloutier Canada / Animation / 6 mins

Lambo / Martin Bastian Canada / Animation / 4 mins

Save Ralph / Spencer Susser United Kingdom / Animation / 4 mins

Blush / Joe Mateo United States / Animation / 11 mins

Mila / Cinzia Angelini United States / Animation / 20 mins

Step into the river / MA Weijia China / Animation / 15 mins

Brunch / Marnik Loysen United Kingdom / Animation / 6 mins

Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat / William Joyce United Kingdom / Animation / 13 mins

Tango Through Life / Zsofia Opra-Szabo Canada / Animation / 7 mins

Death and the Lady / Geoff Bailey, Lucy Struever United States / Animation / 7 mins

Origin of Man / Pjotr Sapegin Norway / Animation / 13 mins

The Book / Sherif Radwan Egypt / Animation / 7 mins

EP / Pat Campo United States / Animation / 10 mins

Paddy / Zhou Haoran China / Animation / 15 mins

The Boy and The Mountain / Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal / Chile / Animation / 11 mins

Flowing Home (Nhu môt dòng sông) / Sandra Desmazieres / France / Animation / 15 mins

Peek-A-Boom / Maya Zankoul, Toni Yammine Lebanon / Animation / 5 mins

The Hangman at Home / Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot / Denmark / Animation / 14 mins

Hide / Daniel Gray France / Animation / 11 mins

The White Nightingale / Madeleine Rorke Australia / Animation / 7 mins Vesak / Ina Chen China / Animation / 8 mins

15

Animation Program 1 | ON DEMAND

A Bite of Bone

Affairs of the Art

Altötting

Director: Honami Yano

Director: Joanna Quinn

Director: Andreas Hykade

A little girl reflects on her last summer with her father at his funeral.

How many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.

Mesmerizing, haunting, and deeply personal, Altötting is a coming-of-age story about love, faith, mortality, and shattered illusions.

Japan / Animation / 10 mins

Writer: Honami Yano/ Producer: Koji Yamamura, sanae Animation: Honami Yano / Voice: Ayamo Tano / Sound Design: Masumi Takino

United Kingdom / Animation / 16 mins

Germany / Animation / 11 mins

Writers: Andreas Hykade / Producer: Thomas MeyerHermann, Marc Bertrand, Abi Feijó

Writer: Les Mills / Producer: Les Mills, Michael Fukushima

Honami Yano

Honami Yano was born in 1991 on a small island in Japan.

During her college years spent in Kyoto, she went on an exchange program to the Rhode Island School of Design, which led her to discover independent animation.

Joanna Quinn

One of Britain’s most distinctive animators. Her first film, Girls Night Out (1987), featuring working-class heroine Beryl, was a humorous riposte to machismo and a celebration of uninhibited female sexuality that won three major awards at Annecy. Since introducing audiences to Beryl, Joanna and her writing and producing partner, Les Mills, have created three more personal films about her: Body Beautiful, Dreams and Desires: Family Ties, and Beryl’s newest adventure, Affairs of the Art. The politics of gender and

At Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, she studied under Koji Yamamura and created her graduation project, “Chromosome Sweetheart”(2017). That was nominated for Frameline and many other film festivals. After graduation, she worked as a researcher assistant for three years.

oppression, along with Joanna’s obsessive fascination and delight with exploring the eccentricities of the female body, remain the central themes of their work together.

Contact: Honami Yano / beansb773.g@gmail.com

Contact: Élise Labbé / festivals@nfb.ca

Andreas Hykade

Andreas Hykade was born during the summer of love in the Bavarian town of Altötting, “the Lourdes of Germany,” famous for its chapel housing a popular shrine to the Virgin Mary. He’s been directing animated films for grown-ups since he became one himself; now that he’s a dad, he creates animated films for children as well.

Hykade has been the director of the Animationsinstitut at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and the Conference Chair of FMX since 2015.

Contact: Élise Labbé / festivals@nfb.ca

16

Animation Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Bad Seeds

Blush

Brunch

Director: Claude Cloutier

Director: Joe Mateo

Director: Marnik Loysen

Bad Seeds takes us to a bizarre world populated by carnivorous plants that can change shapes the way a chameleon changes colors.

After an asteroid knocks his spaceship off course and he crash-lands on a desolate dwarf planet, a stranded horticulturist-astronaut’s chances for survival dwindle with each breath. But when an ethereal visitor arrives, the once-lone traveler discovers the joy in building a new life and realizes the universe has delivered astonishing salvation.

A stop-motion animated comedy which looks at the generational disputes between millennials and baby boomers.

Canada / Animation / 6 mins

Writer: Claude Cloutier / Producer: Galilé MarionGauvin, Julie Roy

United States / Animation / 11 mins

United Kingdom / Animation / 6 mins

Writer: Marnik Loysen / Producer: Simon Marriott / Cast: David Schaal, Maddie Rice, Joe Bolland, Phillipa Flynn

Writer: Joe Mateo / Producer: Heather Schmidt, Feng Yanu Claude Cloutier

Joe Mateo

Claude Cloutier originally gained fame as a comic-book artist and cartoonist, penning the series La légende des Jean-Guy, which appeared in the 1980s in Croc magazine, and Gilles la Jungle contre Méchant-Man, first published in 1989 and reissued 2014. He went on to make several animation films: The Persistent Peddler (1988; in competition at Cannes), Overdose (1994), and From the Big Bang to Tuesday Morning (2000). In 2002 he won a Gémeaux award for the series Science Please! In 2007 he directed Sleeping Betty, a hilarious parody of the Perrault fairy tale, which won some twenty awards including both the Genie and the Jutra for best animated short. He next made The Trenches (2010), about Canadian soldiers in World War I. In 2014 he completed Interférence, part of the Free Jafar Panahi! project. His Carface (2015) marked a return to the cartoon spirit.

For almost three decades, Emmy Award winner JOE MATEO has made his career in feature animation. In 2019, was recruited as a storyboard artist for Skydance Animation and, in 2021, his Short Film Blush will become the studio’s very first release. A proud Filipino-American who immigrated to the United States in 1992, Mateo got his first big break on Pocahontas, and his 25 years at Walt Disney Feature Animation took him from in-between work on beloved classics from Mulan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan—as well as The Emperor’s New Groove and Treasure Planet—to his role as story artist on such hits as Bolt, Tangled, Zootopia and Wreck-It Ralph.

Contact: Élise Labbé / festivals@nfb.ca

Contact: Dawn Lach / dlach@skydance.com

Marnik Loysen

Marnik Loysen is a British stop-motion animator and filmmaker based in Bristol, UK. He studied animation at the Bristol School of Animation for one year before beginning his job at Aardman features. He has been a senior assistant animator on many of their recent features and series.

Contact: Marnik Loysen / marnikboy@hotmail.co.uk

17

Animation Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Death and the Lady

EP

Flowing Home (Nhu môt dòng sông)

Director: Geoff Bailey, Lucy Struever

Director/Writer: Pat Campo

Director/Writer: Sandra Desmazieres

On a dark and stormy night, Death pays a visit to a very old lady and her dog.

An AI robot and his owner make a living by hacking into computers and stealing important electronic files.

During their usual escapade, they stumble upon a hard drive containing EP. But what is EP?

Two sisters in Vietnam are separated after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Their separation will last nearly 20 years, and the letters they exchange are their only way to connect and relieve their loneliness.

Producer: Pat Campo / Cast: Aaron Groben, Carolyn Deskin, Del Mak, Pat Campo, Brian Katz, Tyra Morrison, Erica Larose, Carl Strand

Producer: Dora Benousilio, Julie Roy

United States / Animation / 7 mins

Writer: Geoff Bailey, Lucy Struever

Geoff Bailey

United States / Animation / 10 mins

Pat Campo

France / Animation / 15 mins

Sandra Desmazieres

I’m a director and designer based in Brooklyn, NY. I’m equally at home behind a camera or behind a workstation—and happiest on projects where I get to do both, blending narrative filmmaking with CG design. I’ve both directed Emmy and Academy Award-winning talent and I know the technical details of how those images move through even the most complex CG pipeline.

Over the years, I’ve worked with a range of wonderful clients including Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Google, Youtube, HBO, Showtime, ABC, ESPN, EY, HP, BMW, Julie Taymor, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, U2, and many more.

Director and writer Pat Campo hails from Los Angeles where he graduated from the Cinema/TV department at Cal State Northridge. Feeding off the inspiration from family and iconic creators like Alfred Hitchcock and Vince Gilligan, he uses gripping visual aesthetics and a simplistic approach to deliver hard-boiled suspense and compelling storylines. Now complete with his third project, an episodic pilot titled “EP”, Campo hopes to continue his passion for entertaining viewers and has aspirations of becoming a writer and director for episodic television and feature films.

Born in 1978, Sandra Desmazières studied at the Duperré School of Applied Arts in Paris. She then entered the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris, where she discovered animation. Her final-year film, Sans queue ni tête, won the 2003 Cartoon d’or. She went on to make two short films produced by Les Films de l’Arlequin, Le thé de l’oubli (2008) and Bao (2011). In addition to being a filmmaker, Sandra is an illustrator of children’s books and a comic book colourist. She just finished shooting her latest short film, Nhu môt dòng sông (Comme un fleuve).

Contact: Geoff Bailey / g.bailey@madebygeoff.com

Contact: Pat Campo / pat@patcampo.com

Contact: Élise Labbé / festivals@nfb.ca

18

Animation Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Hide

France / Animation / 11 mins

Director/Writer: Daniel Gray Two boys are playing hide and seek. One of them finds the perfect hiding spot....and never comes out. Life carries on outside.

Producer: Maral Mohammadian, Marion Barré, Soyo Giaoui, Bella Szederkenyi, Bálint Gelley

Daniel Gray

UK-born director Daniel Gray is an animation director and writer whose talent is internationally recognised. Daniel’s graduation film “t.o.m.” won numerous awards across international film festivals, including Sundance, Ottawa, Annecy, and the British Animation Awards. TEETH followed with even greater critical and public acclaim, screening at over 40 festivals and garnering awards at some of the top events including Annecy and SXSW. Daniel followed his heart east and hopped on a plane to Budapest where he lives today with his wife and daughters.

Contact: Élise Labbé / festivals@nfb.ca

19

Animation Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Hoverman

How to Make Electronic Music

I Am Not An Angel

Director: Vincent Lin

Director: Rob Thompson

Director: Joe Chang

In the pleasant town of Harmony City, Carl becomes a useless superhero with limited powers known as Hoverman, With the help of a talented and beautiful scientist and black belt martial artist, Jane, they fight crime against a just-as-useless villain, the mysterious, X.

A wandering musician shows you how he makes electronic music in the wild.

A young Nurse Amy, unaware of the severity of the virus, going to work alone, while millions of people don masks as the infection travels through the population.

The nurse comes to realize the patient she is tasked with taking care of, is not a run-of-the-mill case, but is a matter of life and death.

United States / Animation / 12 mins

United States / Animation / 7 mins

Writer: Rob Thompson / Producer: Rob Thompson

Writer: Vincent Lin / Producer: Matthew Damato / Cast: Randall Park, Dana Synder, Rebecca Mader, Jene Hernandez, Frankie Faison Vincent Lin

Vincent is the founder of Valiant Pictures, one of the fastest growing minority-owned commercial production companies. He has directed national commercials for numerous big brands, including spots for the Super Bowl.

Vincent’s commercial recognitions include Clios, D&AD Pencil Award, a Cannes Lion, Best in Show (Mashies Awards), AIAP International Motion Awards, AVA Digital Gold, and various commercials shortlisted for Shots Award.

Contact: Vincent Lin / vince@valiantpictures.com

Canada / Animation / 11 mins

Writers: Joe Chang / Producer: Joe Chang, Yang Li

Robert Thompson

My name is Rob Thompson and I’m an animator and music producer from Austin, Texas

Contact: Rob Thompson / rthompson01@mica.edu

Joe Chang

Award-winning Chinese-born Canadian animation director. He studied at Lu-Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang, China and Tama Art University Graduate school in Tokyo, Japan and the animated short the Chinese Violin (2000) was his first animated film with the National Film Board of Canada. His most recent work is I am not an Angel (2021). His animated short films won numerous awards all over the world, A Long-distance Call (2008) and The Music Box (2019) were selected for Short film Corner section of Cannes Film Festival.

Pan Tian Shou (2004) was selected into Annecy, Zagreb, Ottawa and other film festivals. Currently, as an artist , animator and independent filmmaker, Joe lives in Vancouver, Canada and Hangzhou and Shanghai, China.

Contact: Joe Chang / joechang2002@hotmail.com

20

Animation Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Lambo

Mila

Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat

Director: Martin Bastian

Director: Cinzia Angelini

Director: William Joyce

A young man’s effort to talk to the girl of his dreams.

Inspired by World War II stories from the director’s mother, the character of Mila represents the best of humanity. Although she has lost everything - she still clings to hope.

A man with a head full of dreams is beaten down by the foremen in the factory where he works. Then he meets the Woman in the Polka Dot dress who brings meaning, love, and dreams back to his life.

Writer: Cinzia Angelini / Producer: Andrea Emmes, Valerio Oss, Valentina Martelli, Antony Hunt, Adam Nagle / Composer: Flavio Gargano / Cinematographer: Oscar Lo / Art Directors: Alexandra Kavalova, Richard Smitheman / Editors: Tim Denin, Ellery VanDooyeweert / Sound Designer: Chris Pinkston / VFX supervisors: Valerio Oss, Nate Barnard / Animation Supervisor: Eric Cheung / Head of Lighting: Laura Brousseau

Writer: William Joyce / Producer: Shelley Smith, David Prescott

Canada / Animation / 4 mins

Writer: Martin Bastian / Producer: Rehna Bastian

Martin Bastian

Contact: Martin Bastian / martincgartist@gmail.com

United States / Animation / 20 mins

Cinzia Angelini

Cinzia Angelini, a story artist, and director who has collaborated with Imageworks, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, Dreamworks, and Illumination Ent. After writing and directing Mila, a high-quality CG short film produced by the largest independent, world-wide, virtual studio ever created, she joined Cinesite to direct the animated feature film Hitpig.

Contact: Cinzia Angelini / cinziaangelini@milafilm.com

United Kingdom / Animation / 13 mins

Joe Chang

William Joyce has achieved worldwide recognition as an author, illustrator and pioneer in the digital and animation industry.

He began his film career on Toy Story and has since been a producer/director/screenwriter/production designer in both animation and live action. In 2009, he founded Moonbot Studios, a multimedia storytelling company producing books, apps, films and video games. Among his many awards Bill has won 6 Emmys, 3 Annies and an Academy award for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore.He has written and illustrated 50 bestselling children’s books and novels which have been translated into over 40 languages.

Contact: Shelley Smith / mism@dneg.com

21

Animation Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Origin of Man

Paddy

Peek-A-Boom

Director: Pjotr Sapegin

Director: Zhou Haoran

Director: Maya Zankoul, Toni Yammine

A story about how humans are immigrants from another place, a planet square as a box. When a hostile creature threatens the planet, the denizens had to evacuate leaving our identity and memory behind.

Is there always an answer up there? To find his favorite toy, a little scarecrow starts the adventure. Along the way, he encounters a lot of strange sights; a lost paradise, a tide of immigration, an assembly line, a parade...

Surrounded by her loving family on her birthday, an event occurs that shapes Mira’s life forever.

Norway / Animation / 13 mins

Writer: Pjotr Sapegin / Producer: Merete Korsberg / Cast: Dagny Norvoll Sandvik, Merete Korsberg

Pjotr Sapegin

Russian born director Pjotr Sapegin has worked as a stage designer before he moved to Norway in the 90s. He then started writing and directing animation films,and have since become one of Norway`s most awarded and recognized directors.

Contact: Merete Korsberg / merete@krystallplaneten.no

China / Animation / 15 mins

Lebanon / Animation / 5 mins

Writer: Maya Zankoul, Toni Yammine / Producer: Maya Zankoul, Toni Yammine

Writer: Zhou Haoran / Producer: Pu Zhong

Zhou Haoran

Zhou Haoran, an animation director, graduated from the animation department of Tongji University, now lives in Hangzhou. He participated in the production of the animated film A CAT NAMED SCHRODINGER. He is the author of animated short films HARRY, STRAW, etc. His works were awarded at Tokyo International Animation Festival, Montreal Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Beijing Film Academy International Student Film and Television Exhibition (ISFVF), China (Beijing) International Student Animation Festival (AniWow!), and other domestic and foreign film festivals.

Contact: Junliang Dai / tougao@ff1895.com

Maya Zankoul

Lebanese illustrator and author. She’s the creative director at wezank animation studio in Lebanon. She has directed animated webseries Beirut+ TV and currently runs YouTube hit channel Lila TV producing animated content for children in Arabic. She has also published several illustrated books over the last 12 years and exhibited her work worldwide.

Toni Yammine

Lebanese multidisciplinary artist. For the last 20 years, he has been involved in the production of several projects for different media as a producer, writer, and director. He is passionate about photography and music and has been teaching these crafts and giving workshops whenever possible. At the moment, he spends most of his time at wezank, a Lebanese film boutique he co-founded and comanages.

Contact: Maya Zankoul / maya.zankoul@gmail.com

22

Animation Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Praising the Lost

Princess Perfect

Room 5

Director: Abigael Kurtz

Director: Amy Chang

Director: Francis Y. Brown

A spirit moves through an abandoned mansion where it once resided. As the spirit explores each room, clues about the its family begin to surface.

On the night of the royal ball, a micromanaging Fairy Godmother uses her magic to shape her daughter into her image of a “perfect princess”.

A story of how patients are treated by nurses when we visit the hospital but this is coupled with a sub plot of how most people are afraid of injection.

Cast: Laura Welsh / Composer: Ori Shlez / Audio Engineer: Juan Pablo

Writer: Amy Chang / Producer: Ringling College of Art + Design / Cast: Erika Moret, Miriam Millikin

Writers: Francis Y. Brown / Producer: Daty Kaba, Laurene Manaa Addy / Cast: Christy Ukata, Yvonne

United States / Animation / 4 mins

Abigael Kurtz

Abigael Kurtz is a CG Generalist living in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys making 3D environments and hopes after Pratt to get a job working in the industry and being a part of awesome projects. In her time at Pratt Institute she has been on the President’s List many semesters for having a high GPA. Additionally, in freshman year, she was recognized as a finalist by faculty to be a part of the Pratt Institute Foundation Merit Award Competition.

Contact: Abigael Kurtz / abbeykurtz@comcast.net

United States / Animation / 2 mins

Amy Chang

Amy Chang is a Korean American artist graduating from Ringling College of Art + Design in May 2021. She was born in August 1999 in California and has lived there all of her life until attending Ringling in Sarasota, Florida.

Amy first began to pursue art during middle school when asked during that time what she wanted to do when she grew up. Her friend at the time suggested that they pursue animation together and she just kind of went along with it.

Contact: Amy Chang / achang@c.ringling.edu

Ghana / Animation / 3 mins

Francis Y. Brown

Francis is an award winning filmmaker from Ghana, he is the founder and creative director of AnimaxFYB Studios, trained in a number of different cinematic medium and over ten years’ experience in the audio visual industry. He specializes in Animation, Illustration, Filmmaking and Graphic Design. Having attained a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). Francis was shortlisted for the 42nd Student Academy Awards (Oscars), won Best Animation Film at the Africa International Film Festival 2016 (AFFRIF), Black British Entertainment Awards, Best Creative Artist 2017, animator of the year at the 2017 Ghana UK Based Awards (GUBA) and also Best Animation at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards.

Contact: Dante Kaba / dantekaba@gmail.com

23

Animation Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Save Ralph

Step Into The River

Tango Through Life

Director: Spencer Susser

Director: MA Weijia

Director: Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Humane Society International campaign spokesbunny Ralph, voiced by Taika Waititi, as he goes through his daily routine as a “tester” in a lab.

Two young girls living in a village nestled on the banks of a river. As the one-child policy has led some families to drown baby girls, they both have a special relationship with this river, which looks like a cradle of tragic stories.

Life is like a dance where we do not know the dance steps…

United Kingdom / Animation / 4 mins

Writer: Spencer Susser / Producer: Jeff Vespa, Lisa Arianna, Spencer Susser (E): Donna Gadomski, Troy Seidle, Peter Kline / Cast: Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn, Pom Klementieff, Tricia Helfer, Liv Tennet / Set Designer: Andy Gent / Lead Animator: Tobias Fouracre / Cinematographer: Tristan Oliver

Spencer Susser

Spencer Susser is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and editor whose career spans feature films, short films, commercials and music videos. He made his feature film directorial debut at Sundance in 2010 with “HESHER”, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson & Natalie Portman, which Spencer co-wrote, produced, edited & directed. Susser’s short film projects include “I love Sarah Jane” starring Mia Wasikowska (“Alice In Wonderland”), “The Captain” starring Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). Spencer recently directed 2nd Unit and edited the Oscar-nominated “The Greatest Showman”, starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya.

Contact: Donna Gadomski / dgadomski@hsi.org

China / Animation / 15 mins

Canada / Animation / 7 mins

Writer: Zsofia Opra-Szabo / Producer: Zsofia OpraSzabo, Eva Colmers

Writer: MA Weijia / Producer: Damien Megherbi, Justin Pechberty / Animation: Joseph Roth, Jihua Zhu, Mengshi Fang, Marion Chopin, Mathilde Poigniez, Thilbault Dumoulin, Kun Yu, Ziteng Qi, Juanjuan Chen, Samuel Boulitreau, Elsa Parent, Louise Petit / Music: Pablo Pico, Wei Wu

MA Weijia

Is an independent animation artist. She teaches at the University of Shanghai. The same river twice, her graduation film made at the Art Institute of Chicago, has won awards at numerous festivals, including the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the Bucheon International Animation Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival.

Zsofia Opra-Szabo

Theatre designer from Budapest, Hungary. I studied at Hungarian University of Fine Arts and have a degree in costumes, set, and puppet design. After completing my degree, I worked as a designer for many different theatres in Hungary and Romania. My puppet and set designs have been showcased in both Budapest and Prague in multiple exhibitions.

I have a strong belief that all aspects of fine art and theatre are connected. My interests are in visual arts, theater and movement interaction.

Contact: Damien Megherbi / liyan@lesvalseurs.com

Contact: Zsofia Opra-Szabo / opzsofi@gmail.com

24

Animation Program 3 | ON DEMAND

The Book

The Boy and The Mountain

The Hangman at Home

Director: Sherif Radwan

Director: Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal

Director: Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot

Seeking knowledge from forbidden ancient books has its cost, it takes you to the darkside door, the question is, can you ever get back once you cross that door?

A child who likes to daydreaming, but in his studies he is not doing well at all. His father constantly urges him to improve, advising him that he must reach very high to succeed in life.

“What does the hangman think about when he goes home at night from work?” Inspired by the iconic Carl Sandburg poem (1922), The Hangman at Home explores themes of acknowledgement and participation.

Egypt / Animation / 7 mins

Writer: Sherif Radwan / Producer: Sherif Radwan, Ahmed Samir / Creative Director: Mohammed Haytham

Sherif Radwan

My first participate in animation as a director was back in 2003 - Cairo International Cinema and Arts Festival for Children with my first animation short film “ Martyrs School “. Since then I had worked in a lot of projects and Lead more than successful team for 11 years.

In 2014 I decided to increase my 3D animation abilities by studying , so I enrolled in one of the most famous and successful online animation school online ( AnimationMentor.com ) .

In 2016 I started my own studio ( Dumiah Animation Studio ) currently working on a fantastic projects for TV series, game cinematics and short films.

Contact: Sherif Radwan / sherif@dumiah.com

Chile / Animation / 11 mins

Writer: Pablo Aguirre, Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal, Kylie Trupp

Santiago Aguilera

Since 1996 Santiago is VXF & Animation Director for several Audiovisual productions as large films ,short films and also advertising TVC. The Boy & the Mountain is his first film.

Contact: Aaron Navia Campos / distribution@poston.cl

Denmark / Animation / 14 mins

Writer: Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot / Producer: Lana Tankosa, Avi Amar, Katayoun Dibamehr, EmmanuelAlain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, Marc Bertrand

Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot

Michelle and Uri Kranot’s work has expanded beyond traditional animation, fusing painting, drawing, and new technologies into contemporary experiences. Their work is frequently characterized by a poetic sensibility and fragmented narratives exploring past and present, fact and fiction. They enjoy collaborative projects and experimentation.

The Kranots are the founders of TinDrum, a research and development studio.

They are the producers and creative directors of ANIDOX, a program of The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark, that focuses on developing and producing animated documentaries.

Contact: Élise Labbé / festivals@nfb.ca

25

Animation Program 3 | ON DEMAND

The White Nightingale

Vesak

Director: Madeleine Rorke

Director: Ina Chen

A wide-eyed young woman tries working her way the top in the ballet world, but her dreams are put on hold as everything comes crashing down around her.

On the day of Vesak, the biggest Buddhist festival in South and Southeast Asia, a monk carries out annual prayer rites at the Quantum Temple. Artifacts that belong to the past and foretell the future swirl overhead in a hyper-fictional topography made up of hill fort homes, geodesic monuments, haunting projections, and gigantic fish.

Australia / Animation / 7 mins

Writer: Madeleine Rorke / Producer: Paul Fletcher, Robert Stephenson

China / Animation / 8 mins

Writer: Calvin Sin / Producer: Liam Young

Madeleine Rorke

Madeleine Rorke attended the Victorian College of the Arts at the University of Melbourne with her 2D animated film The White Nightingale (2020) being her third year graduating film.

She has had a fascination in animation all her life but never considered becoming an animator until year 12 when she was eighteen and has since directed, written and animated a variety of short films. In the future she aims to become involved with Disney or writing and illustrating children’s books.

Contact: Madimation Animation / madimationanimation@gmail.com

Ina Chen

Born and raised in Suzhou, China. Ina has lived, studied and worked in New York and Berlin. Currently based in Los Angeles. She has a background in Interior Architecture and Speculative Filmmaking.

Contact: Ina Chen / inasuyangchen@gmail.com

26

27

DRAMA DRAMA ON-DEMAND

28

Drama Program | ON DEMAND Program 1

Program 2

Program 3

A Cowboy’s Boys / Sarah B Downey United States / Drama / 17 mins

Break Any Spell / Anton Jøsef Canada / Drama / 13 mins

Dearly Beloved / Edward Douglas United States / Fantasy / 15 mins

A Godless Country / Jesse Richardson Australia / Drama / 20 mins

Bruised Peach / YingChen Shu United States / Drama / 10 mins

Decision Day / Marshall Cooper United States / Drama / 11 mins

A Good Deed / Kevin Scott Ireland / Drama / 18 mins

Buck / Chung-Wei Huang United States / Drama / 14 mins

Denzel / Michael Gamarano Singleton United Kingdom / Drama / 10 mins

Absolution / Duncan Christie United Kingdom / Drama / 14 mins

Camp Tipsy / Jana Stackhouse Canada / Drama / 27 mins

Down (A Terre) / Arnaud Mizzon France / Drama / 16 mins

Attest / Andi Behring United States / Drama / 7 mins

Caravan / William Michael Anderson United Kingdom / Drama / 13 mins

Emma Without Edmund / Nicolas Minas United States / Drama / 13 mins

Back In Five / Stephen Pierce United Kingdom / Drama / 15 mins

Charlie / Matthew Horvat Canada / Drama / 10 mins

Everything in Its Right Place / Williy Lau Japan / Drama / 19 mins

Basurero / Eileen Cabiling Philippines / Drama / 15 mins

Circus Sam / Rayner Wang Japan / Animation / 31 mins

Frankie Jean & the Morning Star / Hannah Marshall / New Zealand / Drama / 17 mins

Beat Lingo / Jose Navas United States / Drama / 16 mins

Cold Wall / Lilly Hu United States / Drama / 19 mins

Bella and Bernie / Rebecca McNamee United States / Drama / 15 mins

Dad and the Fridge Box / Mary Walsh Canada / Drama / 9 mins

From Under The Bridge: When Bullies Become Trolls / Paul James Houghton / United States / Drama / 16 mins

Boys / Luke Benward United States / Drama / 13 mins

Dancing with Shadows / Deborah LaVine United States / Drama / 14 mins

Grace / Brian Patto Australia / Drama / 11 mins Her Majesty / Rebekah Fortune United Kingdom / Drama / 16 mins

29

Drama Program | ON DEMAND Program 4

Program 5

Program 6

In The Woods With A Dead Dog / Vera Graziadei United Kingdom / Drama / 15 mins

Maria Camila’s gift / Andrés Molano Moncada Colombia / Drama / 12 mins

Reasons / Yvette Pabon United States / Drama / 23 mins

Incognito / Jacky Song United States / Drama / 29 mins

Mirror / Faranak Moradi Iran / Drama / 14 mins

Roy / Tom Berkeley, Ross White United Kingdom / Drama / 16 mins

It’s not safe for you in this zoo / John Garet Stoker / United States / Drama / 17 mins

Monkey Business / Everon Jackson Hooi Netherlands / Drama / 14 mins

See Through / Eyal Resh United States / Drama / 9 mins

Jaded / Marcia Carroll United States / Drama / 30 mins

Nexting / Karina Logothetis United States / Drama / 12 mins

Shonda / Ryan Lacen United States / Drama / 13 mins

L For Loser / Dempsey Bryk Canada / Comedy / 13 mins

Off Your Head / Gianlorenzo Albertini United Kingdom / Drama / 29 mins

Silenceless / Mart Sander Estonia / Drama / 20 mins

Lead Me Home / Julien Hosmalin France / Drama / 21 mins

On-Off Licence / Mark Field United Kingdom / Drama / 9 mins

Silent Night / Charis Chu, Ben Liu Hong Kong / Drama / 16 mins

Leylak / Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos United States / Drama / 17 mins

Oranges & Lemons / Robyn Grace New Zealand / Drama / 13 mins

Solo Trekker / Jing-Ye Chang Taiwan / Drama / 25 mins

Locked-In. / Stephanie Boateng United Kingdom / Drama / 11 mins

Patois / Andre Muir, Danielle Alston United States / Drama / 13 mins

Soyka / Anastasiya Sergienya United States / Drama / 15 mins

Love and Joy / Michelle Bossy United States / Drama / 16 mins

Pinky String / Sally Rubin United States / Drama / 9 mins

Swim to Steven / Amy French United States / Drama / 15 mins

Love in Brooklyn / Eric Yang United States / Drama / 9 mins

Pinky’s Dream / Chanel Williams United States / Drama / 10 mins

The Boy in the Snow / Dieter Primig Germany / Drama / 28 mins

30

Drama Program | ON DEMAND Program 7

Program 8

Program 9

The Call / Aisha Schliessler United States / Drama / 14 mins

Trouble Is / EJ Gong United States / Drama / 9 mins

Wuhan Driver / Tiger Ji United States / Drama / 14 mins

The Caretaker / Patrick Elmore United States / Drama / 13 mins

Valeria / Alejandro San Martín Spain / Drama / 15 mins

You are mine / Adi Wojaczek Germany / Drama / 20 mins

The Deed / Raeshib Aggerwhil United States / Drama / 15 mins

Vane / Anton Filipenko Russia / Drama / 19 mins

The Deliberate Death Of My Father / Rose Katché Duez / Canada / Drama / 13 mins

Violet / David Hayes United Kingdom / Drama / 18 mins

Zero Kilometer / Shamas Nawab Siddiqui India / Drama / 14 mins ​

The Gangbuster / Mark Adderley United Kingdom / Comedy / 17 mins

Visible / Maryan Haye, Carol Liu Canada / Drama / 26 mins

The Mother is Back / Rami Al-shatri Iraq / Drama / 8 mins

When The Morning Dawns / Karmen Obrdalj Bosnia Herzegovina / Drama / 23 mins

Blind Ambition: The Wop May Story / Frederick Kroetsch, Tom Robinson Canada / Documentary / 20 mins

The Weight of Perfection / Anabelle D. Munro, Leanne Melissa Bishop / United States / Drama / 16 mins

When This All Ends / Jordan Sommerlad United States / Drama / 15 mins

Gary Kemp - In Solo / Charlie Lightening United Kingdom / Documentary / 24 mins

Whistle / Jen Araki Canada / Drama / 28 mins

Sitting Tall: The Patrick Anderson Story / Ryan Marley / Canada / Documentary / 44 mins

Things I Never Told My Father / Ade O’Adesina, Dumas Haddad / United Kingdom / Drama / 20 mins Think Lovely Thoughts / Stephen Snavely United States / Drama / 15 mins Touchline / Mohammed Saffouri Jordan / Drama / 15 mins

Documentary

Wild Seed / Sunyin Zhang China / Drama / 14 mins Women, Wanting / Rebekah Pahl, Jill Karrenbrock United States / Drama / 18 mins

31

Drama Program 1 | ON DEMAND

A Cowboy’s Boys

A Godless Country

A Good Deed

Director: Sarah B. Downey

Director: Jesse Richardson

Director: Kevin Scott

In this family drama, two brothers, Ty and Merle Woods reunite on the ranch where they were raised after 3 years of not speaking post their fathers funeral. The oldest brother Ty, returns from his city life for one last chance to bring together what’s left of his family and reconnect with his younger brother. Based on true events from the life of KC Deane.

Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. 1832. Finn and Mary O’shea, two Irish convicts, labour under the evils of colonial Australia - a place liberty does not yet exist.

But when fate takes their beloved daughter, Annie, they abscond to the bush in a desperate attempt to find a way back to Ireland - to return ‘home’

A boy’s moral compass is shaken after a decision to help a stranger in need.

United States / Drama / 17 mins

Writer: KC Deane / Producer: KC Deane / Cast: KC Deane

Sarah B. Downey

Sarah Downey was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. A jill-of-alltrades with a background in ballet, modeling, and music, she has been a model since the age of 7 and worked with agencies in Paris, Prague, and Barcelona.

Australia / Drama / 20 mins

Writer: Jesse Richardson / Producer: Jesse Richardson, Dave Redman, Aaron Singfield, Nerida Tyson-Chew / Cast: Samantha McClurg, Jesse Richardson, Brent Dunner, Andrew Lowe / Editing: Dave Redman ASE / Music: Nerida Tyson-Chew / Sound Design: Tony Murtagh / Foley: Les Fidess / Cinematography: Aaron Singfield

Jesse Richardson

Jesse Richardson is a visionary Actor/Writer/Director of film and theatre with a passion for historical stories. He is best known for his productions of White Lines, The Pitch (feature) The Club (theatre), Red (theatre) and A Godless Country.

Ireland / Drama / 18 mins

Writer: Kevin Scott / Producer: Kevin Scott, Jo Heffernan / (AP): Tara O’Farrell / (AP): Jenny Fleming / (EP): Steve O’Reilly / Cast: Jack Galvin, Jo White, Andy Yule / Cinematographer: Rafael de Almeida / Editor: Zoë Boss / Sound Designer: Stephen Sorensen / 1st Assistant Director: David Mullen / Script Supervisor: Liv O’Malley / Production Designer: Aoife Kelly / Wardrobe Consultant: Pheonuh Callan-Layzell / Sound Recordist: Niall O’Sullivan / 1st Assistant Camera: Antonio Pozojevic / Gaffer: Daniel Bolaños Meade / Colourist: Rafael de Almeida / Visual Effects Artist: Zoë Boss / 2nd Assistant Director: Tara Farrell / 3rd Assistant Director: Gearóid Conlon

Kevin Scott

Kevin Scott was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1988. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in Film & Television Production from the National Film School at IADT, Dún Laoghaire in 2021.

Sarah has been a lifetime supporter of gay rights and a proponent of gay marriage. She has traveled all over the world and seen more of Europe than many of the United States. Her favorite city in the world is Prague, the birthplace of her family heritage.

Jesse began his journey as an actor, training at the Actors Workshop under the keen eye of master teacher Lynn Kidd. As his career progressed Jesse found a passion for writing, producing and directing his own stories - tales often neglected by mainstream Australian cinema and with a focus on colonial history.

His first fiction short, ‘A Good Deed’, was developed in conjunction with VIEWFINDER, the Erasmus Mundus Joint MA in Cinematography. Currently completing its festival run, in 2021 it was awarded ‘First Runner-Up’ in the Irish Shorts category of the Light in Motion competition at the Oscar- and BAFTA-affiliated Foyle Film Festival, and has been officially selected by several major national festivals.

Contact: KC Deane / kcdeane@gmail.com

Contact: Jesse Richardson / Jessepatrick.richardson@gmail.com

Contact: Kevin Scott / scottkrc@gmail.com

32

Drama Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Absolution

Attest

Back In Five

Director: Duncan Christie

Director: Andi Behring

Director/Writer: Stephen Pierce

Norfolk. England. Eve, a young nun, leaves her convent for the day to collect Luca from prison. They attempt to re-piece their relationship following a traumatic incident in their past that still haunts both of them.

Two sisters are under harsh investigation as they get their story straight about a fateful encounter at a party the night before.

‘Back in Five’ is a dark comedy centred around Dave, who is trapped in a bar after hours. It’s a strange location, stocked with memories and people from his past. There’s only 1 door out and it’s locked. Between attempts to open it, all he can do is interact with people that he sort of knows and deal with a variety of weirdness as it presents itself.

United Kingdom / Drama / 14 mins

Writer: Duncan Christie / Producer: Al Eales, Elizabeth Bouckley, Raphael Zari / Cast: Elizabeth Bouckley, Raphael Zari

United States / Drama / 7 mins

Writer: Andi Behring / Producer: Andi Behring / Cast: Elaine Hendrix, Alexandra Ficken, Caroline Ficken, Tyler Buckingham

United Kingdom / Drama / 15 mins

Producer: Michael O’Neill, Jude Sharvin / Cast: Stephen Mullan, Bronagh Taggart, Chris Robinson, Christina Nelson, Dara Graham / Cinematographer: Robin Morgan / Production Designer: Holly Pierce

Duncan Christie

Duncan Christie is a London based director working in commercials, music videos and film. Hailing from Brighton, Duncan studied film direction at the Arts Institute of Bournemouth.

Andi Behring

Andi lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. She love to direct and collaborate with fellow creatives. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.

Soon after graduating Duncan was nominated for the D&AD next director award for his film “Power of Play” shot for Chevrolet. The film explores the power of football as a tool to challenge the stigma surrounding HIV in Indonesia.

Contact: Duncan Christie / duncanchristiedirector@gmail.com

Contact: Andrea Behring / andibehring@me.com

Stephen Pierce

Stephen is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he studied Graphic Design and Advertising, moving on to direct TV commercials, and youth programming for UK networks; BBC3, BBCNI and E4. Stephen’s commercial work has been awarded in the UK and Ireland, initially as a student (Channel 4 - D&AD student Yellow Pencil) and professionally (National Trust - The Drum Awards). This is Stephen’s first screenplay and first directed drama, and what he hopes will be a step towards film and television directing.

Contact: Stephen Pierce / stephen@armchairandrocket.com

33

Drama Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Basurero

Beat Lingo

Bella and Bernie

Director: Eileen Cabiling

Director/Writer: Jose Navas

Director/Writer: Rebecca McNamee

Desperate for cash, a Filipino Fisherman dumps bodies into the ocean for the drug war’s faceless vigilantes.

Tension rises when the killings’ hit close to home after he discovers his neighbor has been murdered for selling shabu (crystal meth).

After years of homeschooling, he faces his biggest challenge yet - real school. Suffering from mutism has kept this reserved teenager quiet his entire life. But Marcus holds a special gift that he’s been hiding from the world.

Writer: Eileen Cabiling / Producer: Eileen Cabiling, Darlene Malimas, Jose Carlos Mangual, Eva Husson, Eva Husson, Sascha Brown Rice / Cast: Jericho Rosales / Cinematographer: Jae Hyuk Lee / Composer: Teresa Barrozo / Editor: Lawrence S. Ang

Producer: Maribel Cabrera / Cast: Corvonte Davis

Two 16 year old carefree confidants, Bella and Bernie, tentatively explore independence and sexuality while trying to dodge the ever watchful eye of Mrs. Judge, Bella’s mother. The evangelical Mrs. Judge has concerns over Bella’s friendship with the vibrant Bernie, wary of Bernie’s secret family history repeating itself in Bella.

Philippines / Drama / 15 mins

Eileen Cabiling

United States / Drama / 16 mins

Jose Navas

BASURERO is Eileen’s directorial debut. She is a dual citizen of the Philippines and US - making her home both in Manila and Los Angeles. She is a Filipina-American Social Impact Filmmaker and Storyteller. who has been described by mentor Anna Thomas (Screenwriter Frieda, IFP Founder) as “an artist whose stories magically come to life like in a painting.” A graduate fellow of the prestigious American Film Institute and a recipient of grants like the Women in Film Scholarship Award, the AFI William J. Fadiman award for best screenplay in her graduating class and the ABC/DISNEY Talent Development Grant.

Jose Navas was born in Nicaragua and raised in sunny Miami, Florida. He holds a degree in film from Miami University of Arts and Design. He heads the production company FlickHouse Studios.His feature documentary debut was Miami Our City (2016). His narrative short film, El Balsero went on to win multiple awards at film festivals across the nation. Beat Lingo is his latest entry.

Contact: Eileen Cabiling / eileencabiling@gmail.com

Contact: Jose Navas / jnavas95@yahoo.com

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Producer: Rebecca McNamee, Amy Powell / Cast: Teagan Croft, Mary Tilden, Robyn Coffin / Editor: Lindsay Armstrong

Rebecca McNamee

An independent Australian writer and director, she has transferred her experience from the stage to screen. Rebecca has spent the last 5 years based in Chicago writing, directing and performing, and previous to that, in her hometown of Sydney, Australia.

Contact: Amy Powell / rmcassistant@rattlejackinc.com

34

Drama Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Boys

Break Any Spell

Bruised Peach

Director: Luke Benward

Director: Anton Jøsef

Director: YingChen Shu

Two boys let their imagination run wild in a barren desert, but the fun and games come to a shocking halt.

When April sets off to battle in the the world of live-action-role-playing, her mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s reaches a breaking point.

A fresh-out journalist Suzy trying to uncover the reason behind celebrity Kalli’s death.

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: David Mandell / Producer: Aaron Benward, Ariel Winter, Nicole Smolen, Luke Benward, Sterling Beaumon (EP): Andrew Carlberg, Sy Huq, Mitchell Gossett, Tommy McNamara / Cast: Cameron Crovetti, August Maturo, Jules Willcox, Bart Johnson, Scott Reeves / Cinematographer: Andrew Russo / Editors: Cody Bess, Scott Brignac / Sound Department: Andrew Burns, Micah Wilshire, Juan Campos, Aaron Benward, Blake Christian

Luke Benward

Canada / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: Lisi Purr, Anton Jøsef / Producer: Lisi Purr, Pierre Campbell / Cast: Rachel Boyd, Catherine McGregor, Kelly Seo, Vanessa Mitchell, Tyrnan Driscoll

Anton Jøsef

Luke Benward is an American actor, screenwriter, producer and director. Luke is the son of a musician and actress, and was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Growing up with a strong artistic influence, his heart was set on creating and thus began his lengthy career in the entertainment industry.

At age 5, he was cast in his first movie “We Were Soldiers,” starring alongside industry giant Mel Gibson which landed him his first agent and future manager, Mitchell Gossett. After getting a taste of life in film, he was hooked.

The eldest son of Austrian and Hungarian immigrants, Anton was born in Toronto and played NCAA Division 1 soccer before giving up his athletic career to pursue filmmaking.

After years of shooting wedding videos, Anton had his first breakthrough directing a music video for Canadian indie rock band The Dears, which was featured on Wired Magazine and MTV. Anton’s passion for short format storytelling helped him transition into directing TV commercials across the world. His clients include Starbucks, JEEP, the Asian Games, Century 21, Big Lots! and Samsung.

Contact: Luke Benward / labenward@yahoo.com

Contact: Lisi Purr / elisabethpurr@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Writer: YingChen Shu / Producer: YingChen Shu / Cinematographer: Mahmoud (Khashi) Tahamtan / Cast: Angie Jho Lee, Alice Yu, Tenzin Dhondup / Cam Op/ Stedicam Op: Bedik Bedikian / Gaffer: Randy Nguyen / Sound Mixer: Anthony Gonzalez, Camilo Gomes / Production Designer: Morgan Johnson / Music Composer: Charlie Sun / Colorist: Dan Edwards YingChen Shu

Born And Raised In Taiwan. Ying Chen Finds Herself Flying Across The Ocean To The Land Of Imagination, Moving Pictures And Dreams, L.A. ”Use The Pain To Heal The Pain.” Is Something She Lives By. As An Asian Female Director, Ying Chen Craves To Tell Stories That Need The World’s Attention.

Contact: YingChen Shu / yingchen.shu@gmail.com

35

Drama Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Buck

Camp Tipsy

Caravan

Director/Writer: Chung-Wei Huang

Director: Jana Stackhouse

Director/Writer: William Michael Anderson

When Noah’s irresponsible father, Dave, cancels on him at the last minute on his birthday, he and his mother head to his house for a surprise visit. Noah discovers that his half-sister, Megan, has acquired his dream gift – a puppy named Buck for her birthday.

At age 14, Ellie is struggling with alcoholism when she finds Camp Tipsy, a camp that helps teens quit drinking. It’s here that Ellie is challenged to trust in the process and learn tools that she can take into the real world to help her stay sober.

The film centers on an outcast in a rural English community who draws the attention of a vengeful mother after a chance encounter with her two young boys.

Producer: Chung-Wei Huang / Cast: Nik Polyakov, Adrianne Knapp

Writer: Billy MacLellan / Producer: Jana Stackhouse, Nicholas Bradford-Ewart / Cast: Morgan Neundorf, Billy MacLellan

United States / Drama / 14 mins

Chung-Wei Huang

Canada / Drama / 27 mins

Jana Stackhouse

Chung-Wei Huang is a Taiwanese writer-director based in Baltimore, Maryland. Her creative work focuses primarily on marginalized voices - either from the result of conflicts between race, gender, class, or nationality - with a particular interest in character-driven stories. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Film and Media Arts from Temple University. Her thesis film, Midnight Carnival (2018), premiered at the 41st Asian American International Film Festival in New York and has been selected by film festivals across the nation, and it is currently curated by the Baltimore Museum of Art Screening Room.

Jana Stackhouse is an award-winning director celebrated for her warm and personal films which have screened at festivals internationally including TIFF, FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and LA Femme International Film Festival. Jana has received some of the country’s top awards for her work like The Norman Jewison Award, The Harvey Hart Director’s Award, Best Direction, Most Moving Film and Best Film of the Fest. Jana wrote and directed the short film “Away Home”, which was selected for TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival and won the Best Female Director Award at Hollywood North Film Festival.

Contact: Chung Wei Huang / hchungwei@gmail.com

Contact: Archipelago Productions / janastackhouse@hotmail.com

United Kingdom / Drama / 13 mins

Producer: Neil Clements, William Anderson, Chelsey d’Adesky / Cast: Joerg Stadler, Madeleine Dunbar, John Lynch, Luke Birtwell, Riley Browne, Cinematographer: ET Ng / Editor: Nailah Robinson / Composer: Neil Clements / Production Designer: Andrea Vigoni

William Michael Anderson

Los Angeles native William Michael Anderson earned his MA from The London Film School in January, 2020. He has been a Finalist at LA Shorts Fest and USA Film Festival, Recipient of Panavision’s ‘New Filmmaker’s Program’ and has had his work selected at a number of Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying festivals.

Contact: William Anderson / city.people.film@gmail.com

36

Drama Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Charlie

Circus Sam

Cold Wall

Director: Matthew Horvat

Director/ Writer: Rayner Wang

Director: Lilly Hu

Based on a true story, a young man successfully orchestrates a double-ended rental scam until the weight of his own ego compromises everything.

Set in an American coastal town, Alice Featherston is having a hard time asking her crush, Dave, to be her high school prom date. That changes, however, when she meets a traveling circus clown, Sam. The two strike up a unique rapport.

After a video of a miscarriage suffered by a student goes viral at her high school, a shocked 15-year-old Chinese girl, Katie, attempts to solve a personal crisis in unfamiliar territory.

Canada / Drama / 10 mins

Writer: Matthew Horvat / Producer: Peter Widdrington Cast: James Gagné

Japan / Animation / 31 mins

Producer: Georgina Pope, Roy Finch / Cast: Ellery Sprayberry, Steve Marshall, Cary Elwes, Kyle Card, Edward Zo / Animation: Don Bluth / Editing: Kaitlin Hollingsworth / Music: Chris Anderson / Cinematography: Jitsu Toyoda

Matthew Horvat

Rayner Wang

United States / Drama / 19 mins

Writer: Lilly Hu / Producer: Wenjie Kong / Cast: Jiaxin An

Lilly Hu

Matt is a writer/director based in Toronto. His previous efforts as a creative producer include the short documentary ‘Embers of Varanasi’ which won the jury award at Nova Film Festival. While in film school, two of his projects as director were featured in the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. His directorial debut ‘Charlie’ premiered at the LA SHORTS FEST in October 2020.

Hong Kong-born Rayner Wang spent his early years in the UK. During his teens, he developed a keen interest in filmmaking, particularly in creative storytelling. After completing school, he attended the University of the Arts in London. He earned an Associate’s degree in film and a Bachelor’s degree in animation. Rayner began working briefly for Ridley Scott Associates as a runner, later accepting a chance to work at Imagi Animation Studios in Hong Kong. There, he was involved in conceptualizing and storyboarding web comics, editing the animated TV series ‘Zentrix’, and writing treatments for upcoming films and TV projects.

Born in China, after wandering around in an art school in Taiwan, Lilly Hu decided to devote herself to cinema - an art form beyond borders, trying to uncover truth about individuals. She shot a short documentary about working female photographers in China for the Chinese Women Film Festival in 2017. Currently, she is based in Los Angeles, and completing her MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory.

Contact: Matthew Horvat / matthorvat7@gmail.com

Contact: Rayner Wang / lonelydragonplanet9891@gmail.com

Contact: Lilly Hu / coldwalltheshortfilm@gmail.com

37

Drama Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Dad and the Fridge Box

Dancing with Shadows

Dearly Beloved

Director: Mary Walsh

Director: Deborah LaVine

Director: Edward Douglas

Based on the poem by Agnes Walsh. The story of how the old ones found a use for everything. When Jeannie lost her father, he is waked at home, his pine box laid across two chairs in the parlour. Jeanie’s father has long lived inside a box.

Roxanne, suffering from Alzheimers, is triggered by a radio tribute to a deceased jazz musician who had once been her lover, to blur the past and present.

Her dedicated husband must decide how to lovingly handle her confusing him with that lover.

An eccentric photographer, an incompetent florist, a tactless and unreliable groom — as Ramsey’s perfect plans begin to go awry on the day of her wedding, her world seems to be coming apart... literally.

Writer: Mary Walsh / Producer: Mary Walsh, Gill Dawe Cast: Darryl Hopkins, Deidre Gillard-Rowlings, Grace Pickard, Stephanie Barnes ​

Writer: Dale Griffiths Stamos / Producer: Nonetheless Productions, Venice Sky Productions / Cast: Barbara Bain, Carmen Argenziano, Nicholas Gonzalez, Kelsey Crane

Canada / Drama / 9 mins

Mary Walsh

United States / Drama / 14 mins

Deborah LaVine

Mary Walsh created and starred in This Hour Has 22 Minutes CBC’s wildly popular take on current affairs. The series earned her many of her numerous Gemini awards and showcased her dynamic range of characters, including the flagrantly outspoken ‘Marg Delahunty’.Walsh wrote, produced and starred in the Gemini award winning series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, which returned to CBC in 2017 as a feature length presentation called A Christmas Fury, with Walsh and the original cast reprising their roles. She has also been nominated for two Genies for her performances in feature films Crackie (Official selection at TIFF) and New Waterford Girl.

Deborah LaVine recently became Dean, The School of Filmmaking at University of North Carolina School Of The Arts. Prior to this position, Deborah was Director of the Film Directing Program at CalArts for many years.

Deborah has made many award winning film and theater productions including the feature film, WILD PRAIRIE ROSE, starring Troy Kotsur (CODA). The film premiered at Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival and subsequently played in festivals across the country and internationally to sold out houses spilling into second and third screens. It has won numerous prizes.

Contact: Gillian Dawe / gilldawe@gmail.com

Contact: Dale Griffiths Stamos / dgswriter@gmail.com

United States / Fantasy / 15 mins

Writer: Ruthellen Cheney / Producer: Jesse R. Tendler, Edward Douglas, Ruthellen Cheney / Cast: Ruthellen Cheney, Jesse R. Tendler, Leah Kreitz / Cinematographer: Jolie Kinga

Edward Douglas

After 12 years telling stories in video games like the Mass Effect and Need for Speed series, Edward Douglas is refocusing on film, exploring science-fiction worlds of future technology and neurodiversity. He is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Contact: Ruthellen Cheney / ruthellencheney@gmail.com

38

Drama Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Decision Day

Denzel

Down (a Terre)

Director: Marshall Cooper

Director/Writer: Michael Gamarano Singleton

Director/Writer: Arnaud Mizzon

When the global Pandemic shuts down Highschool basketball, a student must find an alternative way of obtaining his college basketball dreams.

Denzel follows the dating life of a young man with downs syndrome on his journey to self-acceptance.

He uses an alter ego to navigate through his social issues and self worth until finally reaching the perfect conclusion.

Marc lost everything. Without any solution to fill the financial bankruptcy that led to the loss of his relationship, he decided to join a band of outlaws to make a robbery.

United States / Drama / 11 mins

Writer: Marshall Cooper / Producer: Yohana Desta / Cast: Dimitri Carter, Sean Harrison, Janice Diaz / Cinematographer: Christin St. John / Sound: Nile Price / Gaffer: Yeung Tung ​

Marshall Cooper

United Kingdom / Drama / 10 mins

Producer: Michael Gamarano Singleton, Chris Kyriacou / Cast: Karl Queensborough, Melissa Collier, Chris Kyriacou, Jordan Persaud-Walters, Ellie Goldstein

Michael Gamarano Singleton

Marshall Wayne Cooper IV is a director and cinematographer from Harlem, New York. He is currently a part of NYU’s Grad film program and is pursuing his MFA in Directing. In 2019, he left broadcast television to pursue his directing/ cinematography career. His commercial credits include Adidas , Alpha Industries , Reebok and more. Marshall’s stories take a deep look at American culture with a focus on inner city life.

Michael Gamarano Singleton is a half Brazilian, half English Writer/Director/Producer. He grew up on a council estate in the north of England but managed to get a place at London Met Film where he graduated in 2009. His work often revolves around social issues designed to make audiences think. One of his shorts ‘Two Sides’, won 6 awards on its festival run including ‘Best Director’ at the Fort McMurray International Film Festival and ‘Best Short’ at the London International Film Awards. His latest short ‘Denzel’ won the Grand Jury Prize at the 35th Edmonton Film Festival officially qualifying it for an Academy Award.

Contact: Wayne Cooper / mwc8989@nyu.edu

Contact: Michael Gamarano Singleton / michael@mixingproductions.com

France / Drama / 16 mins

Producer: Arnaud Mizzon, Julien Mizzon / Cast: Medi Sadoun, Arnaud Mizzon, Astrid Roos, Walid BenMabrouk

Arnaud Mizzon

Arnaud Mizzon is an actor and director, known for À terre (2019), Nad et Nono (2016) and En Coloc (2016).

Contact: Arnaud Mizzon / arnaud.mizzon@gmail.com

39

Drama Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Emma Without Edmund

Everything in Its Right Place

Frankie Jean & the Morning Star

Director: Marshall Cooper

Director/Writer: Williy Lau

Director/Writer: Hannah Marshall

Lynn Cohen stars as Emma, a widow on a mission to summon the spirit of her dead husband so they can have one last fight.

After serving ten years in prison for accidentally killing their gambling addicted, alcoholic father, KENJI learns that his younger brother is still working for a loan shark as an enforcer, in order to pay back their dead father’s debt.

In the early hours of the morning, a plucky, rugby obsessed 8 year old girl stumbles across a teenager about to end his life.

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: Nicolas Minas / Producer: Elizabeth Balla / Cast: Lynn Cohen, Stuart Rudin, Nathan Cann, Ronald Cohen / Cinematography: ShihChieh Wei / Editor: Lily Kleinman ​

Nicolas Minas

Is a theater, television, and film director based in New York City. He directed the first two episodes of the television comedy HALF LIFE (starring Larisa Oleynik) soon available on WhoHaHa. He was the Assistant Director of Filming on the Emmy Award winning Live at Lincoln Center production of SWEENEY TODD (with Emma Thompson and Audra McDonald, directed by Lonny Price), the Assistant Director on the Broadway production of DRIVING MISS DAISY (with James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave, directed

by David Esbjornson), and held an SDC Observership on the Live at Lincoln Center Production of COMPANY (with Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, directed by Lonny Price).

Contact: Nicolas Minas / minasnick@gmail.com

Japan / Drama / 19 mins

Producer: Williy Lau, Aimi Inoue / Cast: Keita Arai, Keita Jimmy Hara, Masashi Oka, Akihiro Yamamoto, Dai Munetsuna, Editor: Williy Lau / Cinematographer: Mikael Senninge / Music Composer: Ryo Matsushima / Sound Record, Design and Mix: Skirmantas Ivanauskas

Williy Lau

Williy Lau, a writer-director based in Tokyo, Japan. He was born and raised in Hong Kong to a Korean mother and a Hong Konger father. Speaking different languages and living in different places have broadened his way of approaching different subjects.

Contact: Williy Lau / williylau@gmail.com

New Zealand / Drama / 17 mins

Producer: Tara Riddell, Chelsea Winstanley, Gareth Williams / Cast: Mckani-Rose Clarke, Faolan Okan, Xavier Horan

Hannah Marshall

Hannah is a New Zealand writer, director and actor who has lived and worked in New Zealand, Australia and the US. In 2017 Hannah created and directed Sitting Room Only, a docu series that featured some of New Zealand’s most celebrated female public figures - most recently interviewing Jacinda Ardern. Under the banner of Plus6Four, Hannah co-created, produced and wrote Alibi, an award winning, non-linear crime series for which she and her writing partner David de Lautour were nominated for Best Script at the NZTV Awards in 2019. She directed the final episode in the series.

Contact: Tara Riddell / tara@bamberfilms.com

40

Drama Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Grace

Her Majesty

Director/Writer: Paul James Houghton

Director: Brian Patto

Director/Writer: Rebekah Fortune

A lonely high school girl escapes depression and her bullies when she meets the perfect boy online, but is he too good to be true? A multi-faceted bullying & cyberbullying awareness story you won’t believe is inspired by REAL EVENTS.

A father living in war-torn Iraq protects his daughter from violent fanatics, using the innocent game of hideand-seek.

The future Queen of England stands alone in the English countryside, she must find a way to address her subjects. The year is 2020.

Writer: Christopher Gillingham / Producer: Darren McFarlane, Georgia Mappin / Cast: Basel Patto, Lara Matti, Johnny Qaryaqos, Grace Mansour

Writer: Carmela Corbett / Producer: Carmela Corbett, Pete Townshend / Cast: Carmela Corbett, Barbara Marten, Fflyn Edwards

From Under The Bridge: United States / Drama / 16 mins

When Bullies Become Trolls

Producer: Connie Jo Sechrist, Paul James Houghton /Cast: Piper Reese, Luc Clopton, Sara Wolfkind, Rachel Alig, Chris Cimperman, Ryon Thomas, Tezz Yancey, Erick McAllister

Paul James Houghton

Paul James Houghton is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, creative producer and founder of Dreamotion Studios, currently working on a confidential project with WB in Los Angeles, California. Paul wrote and directed the film, ‘From Under The Bridge: When Bullies Become Trolls’, which has earned him multiple awards including ‘best film’, ‘best director’ and ‘best first-time director’. Born and raised near London, England, he moved to the United States following school and now resides in Seal Beach, California. Paul is the proud father of 2 girls, an advocate for awareness on mental health and the dangers of bullying, and a proven supporter of diversity and equality in the film industry.

Contact: Paul James Houghton / paul@dreamotionstudios.com

Australia / Drama / 11 mins

Brian Patto

Brian Patto is an Iraqi born, Melbourne (Australia) based director. He has carved a career in advertising, working with some of the world’s biggest brands to deliver superbly creative TV and Online commercials for over 10 years.

Brian is currently developing a series of films based on his family’s experiences of living under Saddam Hussein, and their terrifying escape from Iraq. The first of these is the short film, GRACE.

Contact: Darren McFarlane / drdarrenmac@gmail.com

United Kingdom / Drama / 16 mins

Rebekah Fortune

Having not being diagnosed with Autism until she was in her 30’s Rebekah struggled to fit in whilst she was growing up.

She always felt on the periphery of any group and used her vivid imagination and creativity to enable her to process her emotions. Rebekah set up production company Seahorse Films in 2011 with longtime collaborator and writer Peter Machen to develop a slate of films that combine creativity with commerciality, and that actively encourages more opportunities for women and disabled artists both in front and behind the camera. Something Blue the story of a transgender teen was her first short film which was selected for film festivals around the world, it was also selected by Channel 4 for their shooting gallery.

Contact: Carmela Corbett / carmelacynthiacorbett@gmail.com

41

Drama Program 4 | ON DEMAND

In The Woods With A Dead Dog

Incognito

It’s Not Safe For You In This Zoo

Director/Writer: Vera Graziadei

Director/Writer: Jacky Song

Director/Writer: John Garet Stoker

Sydney, ex-principal breadwinner for an ex-thriving family finds himself in the pre-dawn woods with an ex-dog in his hands. As he wanders around in the dark, literally and metaphorically, his memory unfurls a series of first world misfortunes that have befallen him of late, alongside more serious concerns about the health of his daughter and the state of his marital relationship, which seems to be no more alive than the lifeless pet in his hands.

In early 90s Los Angeles, a young woman named Isabel claims to have teleported from the past. Authorities remain skeptical of her narrative and later whisk her off to a mental asylum where she confronts her primary doctor, Dr. Phares.

An aimless Angeleno decides to write a pop song, sending his relationship into the deep end.

United Kingdom / Drama / 15 mins

Writer: Michel Faber / Producer: Vera Graziadei, Anya Ryzhenkova / Cast: Adrian Crowley, Vera Graziadei, Terry Mynott Vera Graziadei

United States / Drama / 29 mins

United States / Drama / 17 mins

Producer: Vella Lovell, Victoria Stabile / Cast: Vella Lovell, John Garet Stoker

Writer: Jordan Dotson, Zack Zhang / Producer: Katie Anne Moy, Jacky Song, Jackson Casimiro / Cast: Tom Wade, Autumn Harrison, Jodi Bianca Wise, Greg Kriek / Cinematographer: Logan Fulton / Production Designer: Vlad Aksenov / Music Composer: Kevin Tan

Jacky Song

Vera Graziadei is an actor, writer, director, producer and poet.

A graduate of London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), she’s worked as an actor in feature films, TV, theatre and radio, in the UK and internationally since 2006. She’s mostly recognised for her regular role in UK cult sitcom Peep Show. She’s the founder of Luminous Arts Productions and recently co-produced and acted in The Book of Vision, starring Charles Dance and Lotte Verbeek and executively produced by Terrence Malick. The film opened the 2020 Venice Film Festival’s Critics Week and Warsaw International Film Festival and is now going around the festival circuit. www.veragraziadei.art

Jacky Song earned his BA in Film Production & Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. He’s also a recent graduate of UCLA’s School of TFT Professional Producing Program and a first-year MBA student at Chapman University with a concentration in Entertainment Management. His most recent film, Incognito, won the Remi Award at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival and was nominated for the 47th Student Academy Awards and the NFFTY Audience Choice Award along with his other projects The Last Silence and Lonely In the Dusk to be screened at the LA Shorts, Dances With Films, Beverly Hills, and Newport Beach Film Festivals.

Contact: Vera Graziadei / veragraziadei@gmail.com

Contact: Jacky Song / jackysjx@gmail.com

John Garet Stoker

John Garet Stoker is an actor, writer, and director living in Los Angeles. “It’s not safe for you in this zoo” is his first film.

Contact: John Garet Stoker / jgstoker@gmail.com

42

Drama Program 4 | ON DEMAND

Jaded

L For Loser

Lead Me Home

Director/Writer: Marcia Carroll

Director/Writer: Dempsey Bryk

Director/Writer: Julien Hosmalin

“And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief;” a week in the life of a family wrought by tragedy.

In this Torontonian comedy boasting some of the biggest Canadian star names, a lowly young trophy shop employee who has never won anything other than a participation ribbon, is in love with his manager and stages a robbery to try to prove to her that he is in fact “a winner.”

One night, two men stop at a food truck at the entrance of the town of Kalwin. As the conversation goes on with the lonely cook, a trap is woven between the three men, as they are all linked to a pedophile network that raged 30 years ago in this city...

United States / Drama / 30 mins

Producer: Marcia Carroll, Edward Burzair / Cast: Marcia Carroll, Todd Terry, Austin Terry, Isabella Burzair, Earl Browning III, Ashley Wood, Susan Sargeant, Anna Terry, Mallory Culbert, Morgana Shaw, Jason Small, Randy Pearlman, Joanna Schellenberg, Sue Loncar

Marcia Carroll

Canada / Comedy / 13 mins

Producer: Dempsey Bryk, William Bryk / Cast: William Bryk, Sydney Meyer, Greg Bryk, Alex Ozerov, Jonathan Koensgen, Sana Asad, Jonas Chernick, Jake Sim

Dempsey Bryk

France / Drama / 21 mins

Producer: Pierre André Marion, Judith Rochelois, Julien Morin / Cast: François Pouron, François Le Mao, Garance Thenault, Pascal Elso, Nathan Georgelin, Lucas Georgelin, Julien Morin

Julien Hosmalin

Marcia believes in living spherically artistically, professionally and personally. She’s currently in pre-production for a documentary she will be producing/directing later this year, and is celebrating the completion/success of her SAG short film, JADED, a project she wrote, produced, directed and acted in. A former news writer/associate producer/undercover investigator for both CBS and NBC News, show host for the QVC Shopping Channel, and community columnist for the Dallas Morning News, she now freelances providing copy and website content.

Dempsey Bryk is one of Canada’s top young actors (and has now completed his debut film as a writer/ director). He can be seen in Black Mirror, Netflix’s The Silence and V-Wars, as the lead of the play Punkplay originated at the Atwater Village Theatre in LA, and leading a new Disney Plus show premiering in 2022. “L for Loser” is his directorial debut (and film debut as a writer) and stars his brother, William Bryk. It is the brother duo’s first film together, and one to watch... literally. Watch it.

Julien Hosmalin is a French director and screenwriter.

Just before his cinema degree, he was noticed with his first project « Thalis » which won the « Prix de la Ville de Nice ».

At the end of his studies in 2008, Julien worked as a cameraman for the TV channels Al-Jazeera and El-Arabya.

With a journalist, he has covered many geopolitical topics between Europe and Middle East.

In 2011, he started directing music videos. Today, all of his music videos cumulate over 500 million views on YouTube.

Since 2015, he has directed several short films, including « Magic World », which won several awards including « Les Films du Monde » de Montréal.

Contact: Marcia Carroll / burzair1@msn.com

Contact: Dempsey Bryk / dempseybryk@gmail.com

Contact: Pierre-André Marion / pierre.a.marion@gmail.com

43

Drama Program 4 | ON DEMAND

Leylak

Locked-in.

Love and Joy

Director: Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos

Director: Stephanie Boateng

Director: Michelle Bossy

In present day Queens, New York, a Turkish gravedigger is unable to face a shattering truth, and risks losing the dearest connection left in his life.

Two friends Mike and Kwesi take a journey to Ghana to seek pastures new. While en-route to complete a lucrative land deal, they encounter an array of issues.

After dropping her daughter off at her ex-husband’s for Christmas, a loving Mom searches for joy in her absence.

Writer: Mustafa Kaymak / Producer: Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos, Mustafa Kaymak / Cast: Nadir Saribacak, Isabella Haddock / DP: Laura Valladao / Original Music: Ahmet Kenan Bilgiç

Writer: Kwame Augustine / Producer: Kwame Augustine, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Stephanie Boateng / Cast: Eric Kofi Abrefa, Kwame Augustine

Writer: Brian Pracht / Producer: Michelle Bossy, Brian Pracht, Melissa Burke-Termini / Cast: Melissa BurkeTermini, Anna LaMadrid

United States / Drama / 17 mins

Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos

United Kingdom / Drama / 11 mins

Stephanie Boateng

United States / Drama / 16 mins

Michelle Bossy

Scott Aharoni & Dennis Latos are a directing duo based out of New York. The DUO have produced a diversified slate of ad campaigns for international brands and have produced several award winning films that have garnered international success under their budding production company, DUO Entertainment. Scott & Dennis were also recently featured on New York’s CBS News Small Business Spotlight to discuss the growth of their production company, and their upcoming projects and goals in the industry.

Stephanie Boateng is a London born, Director based in Accra, Ghana.

Stephanie is known for ‘Misconception’ which has won 3 awards within international film festivals, including the title of best U.S film at the European Cinematography awards.

Stephanie has also won best music video for directing ‘One

by One’ by the artist Rodrael.

She is currently working on a her debut feature film entitled ‘DUMSOR LIGHTS OFF’, which is being shot and produced in Ghana.

Michelle Bossy is a bicoastal Mexican-American film, television, and theater director. Recent films Michelle has directed include Under the Lantern Lit Sky (feature), Chance of Showers (Dances with Films, Burbank International Film Festival) by Julie Craig and Alex Ellis, The Trespassed (Santa Fe Film Festival) by Raul Garza, Incurable by Josephine Cashman, Miracle Baby by Steven Fechter (Los Angeles Shorts), Friendly Neighborhood Coven (DUMBO Film Festival, Golden State Film Festival) by Caroline V McGraw, Ladies Lounge (Winner: Los Angeles Cinefest, Oaxaca Film Festival) written

by Caroline V. McGraw, 18 (world premiere, Austin Film Festival), written by Courtney Baron, etc.

Contact: Mustafa Kaymak / micokaymak@gmail.com

Contact:Kwame Augustine / info@kwameaugustine.com

Contact: Melissa Burke-Termini / melitermini@yahoo.com

44

Drama Program 5 | ON DEMAND

Love In Brooklyn

Maria Camila’s Gift

Mirror

Director/Writer: Eric Yang

Director/Writer: Andrés Molano Moncada

Director/Writer: Faranak Moradi

A woman’s affair with a married man is put to the test when she discovers that she’s pregnant.

In a park, Maria Camila, 9 years old, gives any passerby a piece of paper written by her. Immediately after reading it, people begin to impersonate different animals. What power does María Camila have to transform them?

After many years a woman returns to her recently late brother-in-law’s house to reveal family secrets to the two daughters he left behind. Speaking truth to power and sharing her stories, she will transform the paradigm of her family, forever.

Producer: Andrés Molano Moncada / Cast: María Victoria Villarreal, Eduardo Castro, Sandra Matheus / Original music: David Saldarriaga / Cinematographer: Andrés Prieto

Producer: Faranak Moradi, Jason Zavaleta / Cast: Behnaz Jafari / Cinematographer: Koohyar Kalari / Still Photographer: Habib Majidi / Editor: Hamid Najafirad

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Producer: Eric Yang / Cast: David Ginlet, Briana Cortesiano / Cinematographer: Bennett Cerf

Eric Yang

Eric Yang is a graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory. He is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Colombia / Drama / 12 mins

Andrés Molano Moncada

Andrés Molano Moncada was born in Bogotá, Colombia.

He graduated as a Social Communicator - Journalism at the Externado University of Colombia (Bogotá).

Iran / Drama / 14 mins

Faranak Moradi

Faranak Moradi is a director and actor, known for M Like Mobius (2018), Mirror (2021) and I zohreh (2019).

Andrés Molano is a film and television director with 20 years of experience. His short film “Breakfast with Tiffany” (2015) won 20 international awards on 5 continents including best short film, best screenplay, best actor, best music, best photography, etc., and has participated in more than 38 festivals.

Contact: Eric Yang / eric.yang712@gmail.com

Contact: Andres Molano Moncada / andresmolano@yahoo.com

Contact: Faranak Moradi / faranak.mrd@gmail.com

45

Drama Program 5 | ON DEMAND

Monkey Business

Nexting

Off Your Head

Director: Everon Jackson Hooi

Director: Karina Logothetis

Director/Writer: Gianlorenzo Albertini

Nila is waiting for her best friend Rein to go to school.

Inside the classroom it appears that Nila is the only black child. The class is busy preparing a musical about animals. When teacher Julian falls over Nila’s skateboard, she gets punished: only when she’ll be quiet the rest of the day, she’ll get her skateboard back.

Lexi has glossed over life without deep commitments or attachments. She joins the online dating world as a fun and easy way to meet people and spend her few nights in town. But what appears to be an exciting journey, soon becomes a draining loop.

On the verge of losing her daughter, a former felon executes one last heist, but when two bull-headed criminals run off with her bucks, she must learn that some things in life can’t be undone and stop the criminals from getting away with her plan.

Writer: Joanna Fyllidou / Producer: Mando Stathi, Dorothea Paschalidou / Cast: Joanna Fyllidou, Connor Tillman, John Senese, Elias Scoufaras, Jeremiah Jahi, Gavin Lee, Benjamin Burt, Charles Farrell, Panos Vlahos, Kimonas Kouris, Synthia Batsi

Producer: Gianlorenzo Albertini (CO): Alessandro Turco / Cast: Kerry Bennett, Craig Conway, Elliot Balchin / DP: Lee Thomas / Editor: Becky Trotman

Netherlands / Drama / 14 mins

Writer: Lysette Rindertsma / Producer: Indra Baars, Kennard Bos, Vincent ter Voert /Cast: Indy-Rose Kroonen, Sam van der Sar, Micha Hulshof, Bas Keijzer, Sosha Duysker

Everon Jackson Hooi

Everon Jackson Hooi was born on May 30, 1982 in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. He is an actor and director, known for Dood eind (2006), Goede tijden, slechte tijden (1990) and Voor Aap (2021).

United States / Drama / 12 mins

KARINA LOGOTHETIS

Karina Logothetis is a photographer who fell in love with the art of filmmaking. For the past decade she has been working in both industries in Los Angeles and Greece in numerous productions in a variety of positions ending up as a writer, director and occasionally script supervisor. Her photography work has been published and exhibited and her first short film Vourvourou has won awards in film festivals.

United Kingdom / Drama / 29 mins

Gianlorenzo Albertini

Gianlorenzo Albertini is a writer, director, producer, and music composer. He studied classical guitar and composition from a young age; ever since, music became his core inspiration and shaped his creative way when working on films.

www.karina.world/

Contact: Lysette Rindertsma / lys.rindertsma@gmail.com

Contact: Mando STATHI / mando@stathitwins.com

Contact: N.U.35 FILMS / n.u.35films@gmail.com

46

Drama Program 5 | ON DEMAND

On-Off Licence

Oranges & Lemons

Patois

Director: Mark Field

Director/Writer: Robyn Grace

Director: Andre Muir, Danielle Alston

From either side of the Brexit divide... two men collide in an intense night of robbery, desperation and fury.

Sometimes staying quiet is not the way forward. After being bullied at school and ignored at home, our girl finally finds her voice in the strangest place. It opens her eyes to the joys that have been right in front of her all along. Set in 1973 with a backdrop of political unrest and social change, a young girl in rural New Zealand questions her place in the world, in a search for her freedom.

Patois is a film that speaks on the importance of identity and self-worth through the coming of age story of a young first generation American girl Khenya, as she navigates being raised in a household with rules and tendencies that reflect the traditions of her parent’s home country, while also trying to find herself and fit in at a typical American school.

United Kingdom / Drama / 9 mins

Writer: Fanos Xenofós, Mark Field / Producer: A.M.N Collective / Cast: Fanos Xenofós, Mark Field, Lucia Tong, Remi Marlena

New Zealand / Drama / 13 mins

Producer: Robyn Grace, Rory MacGillycuddy, Jarl Devine / Cast: Skyler Sylvester, Saskia Shand, Olivia Muller / Cinematographer: John Cavill / Editor: Kerri Roggio

Mark Field

2015 Director)

Mark Field is an Actor & Director, known for: The Crown (Netflix 2019) War of the Worlds (Fox TV 2021) The Sandman (Netflix 2022) Trigger Point (ITV 2021) Fortitude (Sky Atlantic 2015) Brideshead Revisited (Miramax 2008) On-Off Licence (Short 2021 Director) Salisbury House (Short 2020 Director) Are You Ok (Short 2015 Co-Director ) Model Planes (Short

Contact: Mark Field / marksdfield@gmail.com

Robyn Grace

Robyn studied Drama & Film, and English Literature at Victoria University in Wellington, she went straight on to start a career in the theatre, working in lighting, stage management, publicity and eventually Directing, with the critically acclaimed “Dry White and Friendly”. She also directed Alan Brough in his Comedy sensation “You’ve been a bad, bad boy Elvis” which toured from NZ to the Montreal Comedy Festival.

After a stint overseas she returned to work in New Zealand, as a First Assistant Director in the film industry.

Contact: Robyn Grace / robyn@robyngrace.co.nz

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: Jake Hutton, Andre Muir / Producer: Zach Moore, Manny Caston, Cory Proctor / Cast: Mariah Gordon, Ginneh Thomas

Andre Muir

Andre Muir began his film career 6 years ago and has since refined his skills to become one of Chicago’s leading film and music video directors. Born to Jamaican parents, Andre tries to bring a unique experience of being black in America and being treated as such, while still feeling like an outsider to his community, to all aspects of his work.

Contact: Zach Moore / moore.zachary0@gmail.com

47

Drama Program 5 | ON DEMAND

Pinky String

Pinky’s Dream

Director/Writer: Sally Rubin

Director: Chanel Williams

Seventeen-year-old Holly needs to decide between getting serious about her future, and staying attached to memories of the past.

Martin Widmark is a specialist who offers a unique scientific service; he can give his clients the ability to vividly access old memories. His latest clients are a grieving couple Sam and James, whose daughter went missing. But when Martin hooks up his clients to relive the moments before their child disappeared, he discovers an ugly repressed truth.

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Producer: Sally Rubin, Samantha Slaughter / Cast: Madi Hart, Elijah McNally, Emma Fitzgerald

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Writer: David Bornstein, Trevor Davies / Producer: Chanel Williams (CO): Gia Hayes / Cast: Jonathan David, Lorena Jorge, Terrence Prince, Gia Hayes

Sally Rubin

Chanel Williams

Sally Marian Rubin has been writing stories and screenplays since childhood, and recently made her directorial debut with 2021 short film, “Pinky String”. She attended Syracuse University, where she received a degree in Television, Radio, & Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a degree in English & Textual Studies from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Chanel Williams is a Sci-Fi and Action Director. Born and raised in Los Angeles she developed an admiration for super hero cartoons and Sci-Fi films. Chanel loves the Sci-Fi genre for how different worlds and realms of reality could be traveled to and made real to an audience. Despite that, she didn’t see people who looked liked her in many of these Sci Fi films and wanted to bring more people of color to the screen of Sci-Fi.

Contact: Sally Rubin / sallymarianrubin@gmail.com

Contact: Chanel Williams / chan.williams06@gmail.com

48

Drama Program 6 | ON DEMAND

Reasons

Roy

See Through

Director/Writer: Yvette Pabon

Director/Writer: Tom Berkeley, Ross White

Director: Eyal Resh

Reasons follows the life of a young and single mother, Mercy during the late 1950s in rural Georgia. Mercy lives with the difficulty of not having her daughter’s father in their lives and struggles with abandoning the illusion of having “the perfect family.” In a time and place where women had very little authority over their own lives, she is willing to sacrifice her own happiness to give her child the family life she has always longed for.

Trapped in a lonely existence, reclusive widower Roy (BAFTA Winner David Bradley) passes the days by cold calling strangers from the phone book, looking for brief moments of companionship. But when he accidentally calls adult hotline worker Cara (Oscar® winner Rachel Shenton), an unlikely friendship is born that will help them both rediscover the joy of life.

Jessie and Brian, a young Deaf couple, recently discovered they are about to become parents. Their neighborhood coffee shop thrums with everything left unsaid, while they unearth new ways to communicate.

United States / Drama / 23 mins

Producer: Yvette Pabon, Lenny Thomas, Narci Regina, Julie Stackhouse / Cast: Narci Regina, Lenny Thomas, Leland Taylor, Ameerah Briggs, Kisha Elaine Barr, Aliyah Isis

Yvette Pabon

United Kingdom / Drama / 16 mins

Producer: Bryony Pulizzi / Cast: David Bradley, Rachel Shenton, Composer: Anthony Eve / Sound Designer: Fred Pearson / Editor: Stephen Dunne

Tom Berkeley, Ross White

Yvette Pabon who is of Puerto Rican, Italian and Senegalese descent, was born in Delaware and raised in North Philadelphia. As a youth, Yvette enjoyed writing poetry and short stories. If she wasn’t sitting in a corner somewhere with a pencil and paper, then she was probably outside playing basketball or throwing a football around. At age 22, she graduated from Delaware County Community College with an Associate’s degree in behavioral science. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree at West Chester University, Yvette decided she would put her education on hold to explore what she was truly passionate about.

Filmmaking partnership Tom Berkeley and Ross White began collaborating in 2018. Hailing from England and Ireland respectively, their early works were nominated for several prestigious writing awards including the Bruntwood Prize, Papatango Prize & The Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing.

Roy marks the pair’s filmmaking debut, with their next film, the Belfast-set An Irish Goodbye, to be produced by the Tribeca and Sundance selected Wee Buns Films. The script for An Irish Goodbye recently won the inaugural First Flights Short Film Fund Award from Goldfinch UK and is scheduled to begin principal photography in Spring of 2021.

Contact: Yvette Pabon / thefilm.reasons@gmail.com

Contact: Ross White / info@floodlightpictures.co.uk

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Writer: Jacob Marx Rice / Producer: Kiera BrattonLewis / Cast: Lauren Ridloff, Douglas Ridloff

Eyal Resh

Eyal Resh is a live-action and animation filmmaker.

Emerging from Tel Aviv’s art scene, he graduated with excellence in film from Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, and later served as the director of the Israeli Air Force Cinema Unit.

He is a graduate of the MFA Film Directing Program at CalArts.

Eyal’s stories explore the intricacies of the human condition through themes such as intimacy, sex, and communication.

Contact: Eyal Resh / resh.eyal@gmail.com

49

Drama Program 6 | ON DEMAND

Shonda

Silenceless

Silent Night

Director: Ryan Lacen

Director/Writer: Mart Sander

Director/Writer: Charis Chu, Ben Liu

A dispirited thirty-something gets the chance to work with an insta-famous life coach who may have ulterior motives.

A young heiress is tormented by the uncomposed music of the violent lover she has killed, until she meets a violinist who has lost his hearing in the Spanish Civil War.

Kit has smuggled goods for his boss, ManLong for years. It’s just another routine pick up on Christmas Eve when he encounters a familiar face. From then, it soon becomes clear that Kit’s past is not what it seems.

Producer: Mart Sander / Cast: Ingrid Margus, Ingmar Jõela, Gerda Johnson, Mart Sander

Producer: Christy Ip / Cast: Dough-Boy, Belinda Yan / Cinematographer: Timothy A. Richardson / Art Director: Gordon Lau / Costume Designer: Hui Ping Cheung

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: Deidre Scott / Producer: Deidre Scott / Cast: Deidre Scott, Pardis Saremi, Lisie Rosenberg

Ryan Lacen

Estonia / Drama / 20 mins

Mart Sander

Hong Kong / Drama / 16 mins

Charis Chu, Ben Liu

Hailing from New Mexico, Ryan is an award-winning director and writer whose first feature film, “The Dust Storm,” explored the rise and fall of a pair of musicians in a troubled relationship. The film was produced and sold to HULU. His follow up feature, “All the World is Sleeping,” flips the narrative on generational substance abuse with a provocative new look on the growing crisis. Ryan has written and directed for companies like Disney, Fender and Amazon. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he creates content for Normal TV (www.normal.tv).

Popular singer and TV host. Member of the Estonian National Opera (both as a singer and as stage director).

Enthusiast of Gilbert and Sullivan, whose work he often performs in the UK. Has released several albums in many countries. Has also written best selling novels in English and Estonian. Was presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth in 2006.

The knight of the order of St. Stanislaus. Has produced and directed several stage successes at the Estonian National Opera. Established his production company FilMinistry OÜ in 2016, presenting the well received horror drama Behind the Random Denominator and the epic TV history drama The Whores, in 2017.

Graduated from The New York University Tisch School of the Arts and New York Film Academy respectively, Charis Chu and Ben Liu have been active in Hong Kong and New York for the past decade working on films and commercials in all shapes and sizes. They have produced and directed commercials for global brands such as Alibaba, Hennessy, Adidas and Microsoft, etc. Their short films have made into Cannes Film Festival’s Official Selection, and have won multiple awards in the LA Women’s Independent Film Festival , International Film Festival for Peace, and the Los Angeles Movie Awards. They co-founded First Series, a production agency in 2018.

Contact: Deidre Scott / deidre.carolyn.scott@gmail.com

Contact: Mart Sander / mart@martsander.com

Contact: Charis Chu / silentnighttheshort@gmail.com

50

Drama Program 6 | ON DEMAND

Solo Trekker

Soyka

Swim to Steven

Director/Writer: Jing-Ye Chang

Director/Writer: Anastasiya Sergienya

Director/Writer: Amy French

Up in the mountains in the darkness of the night, a young logger who illegally cuts down Formosan cypress trees meets a middle-aged solo trekker who broke his leg after falling off a cliff. The trekker offers the young man ten times the price of a Formosan cypress to carry him down the mountain.

Will the deal help the trekker survive? Will the logger get his reward? The fates of two souls who trek alone intertwine briefly.

Anna, a young woman from Belarus, tries to survive in New York City while dreaming of a better life. This intimate portrait of an individual showcases the experience of the American immigrant: loneliness, fear, happiness, self-realization, and ultimately hope.

When a middle-aged mother takes her young son to his first swim class, the handsome instructor jogs a memory from her adolescence and uncovers some unresolved issues in this hilariously awkward short that shows you never really grow up.

Producer: Kacey Montana / Cast: Lyanka Gryu, Marilynn Larkin, Erich Rausch, Andreas Pliatsikas, Zalmem Hertz, Maciej Bartoszewski / Cinematographer: Valentina Caniglia

Producer: Brenda Blair, Diana Gitelman / Cast: Diana Gitelman, Avi Rothman

Taiwan / Drama / 25 mins

Producer: Yi-Hua Wang / Cast: Shan Cheng-Ju, Devin Pan

Chang, Jing-Ye

Chang, Jing-Ye, graduated from the Department of Motion Picture, National Taiwan University of Arts and is currently studying in the Department of Filmmaking, Taipei National University of the Arts. Her works present one’s conflict and reconciliation with oneself in a bleak and fatalistic tone. She worked in the film art department and as a still photographer before becoming an animator, director and scriptwriter.

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Anastasiya Sergienya

Her latest work is Solo Trekker, a 2021 short film funded by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, Ministry of Culture.

Anastasiya Sergienya is honored to make her writing and directorial debut with “Soyka”, a story very close to her heart. She was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus, where ten years ago she discovered her love of photography. In 2012 Anastasiya relocated to London to study English and began taking courses with London’s National Film and Television School. In 2016 she moved to New York City and after Summer Filmmaking courses TISCH, began working in the film and television industry. From production assistant, to wardrobe, assistant director and finally director, Anastasiya Sergienya has worked her way to where she is today.

Contact: Jing-Ye Chang / solotrekkerfilm@gmail.com

Contact: Anastasiya Sergienya / nastya.sergienya@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Amy French

Amy French is a director, writer, and actress from Los Angeles, California. After earning her BFA in Theater from Emerson College, Amy spent a decade writing, directing, and performing theater and sketch comedy in LA and New York, while enjoying a busy career as that-girl-in-those-commercials.

Amy French is represented by Haven Entertainment and Verve Talent and Literary Agency, and is a proud member of Film Fatales and Women In Film.

More at ameliafrench.net and vimeo.com/amyfrench.

Contact: Amy French / ameliaf@me.com

51

Drama Program 7 | ON DEMAND

The Boy in the Snow

The Call

The Caretaker

Director: Dieter Primig

Director/Writer: Aisha Schliessler

Director/Writer: Patrick Elmore

An abandoned soldier finds himself unable to kill a young boy after a bloody raid on an enemy village. Forced to take the boy with him through the surrounding mountains and wilderness, the boy’s presence begins to slowly reawaken his lost humanity. During their arduous journey an unlikely bond forms between the two enemies.

A woman discovers a secret that changes everything.

An impatient man named Carl is waiting on an inheritance from an old relative.

Germany / Drama / 28 mins

United States / Drama / 14 mins

Producer: Aisha Schliessler, Luke Arreguin / Cast: Juno Temple / DP: Jeff Tomcho / Editor: Alex Ivany / Production Designer: Natalie Groce / Composer: Mike Milosh

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Producer: Patrick Elmore / Cast: Sal Rendino, Susan Slatin, Sarah Street, Erik Frandsen

Writer: Samuel Jefferson / Producer: Samuel Jefferson, Dieter Primig / Cast: Claudio Magno, Lukas Stöger

Dieter Primig

Born 1985 in Austria, Dieter is a Freelance Director based in Berlin. He studied Digital Television at the University of Applied Sciences Salzburg and arrived in Germany after a one-year work placement in the USA. Besides assisting on film & TV shoots for major US TV networks like ABC, NBC & CBS, he completed the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting in Los Angeles.

Dieter then chose Berlin to connect with the European film industry and to focus on directing and develop stories for feature film projects and shorts such as “The Memory” (2018) or the multi-award winning documentary “Rule of Nature” (2016).

Contact: Samuel Jefferson / samuel.jefferson@outlook.com

Aisha Schliessler

Aisha Schliessler is a writer and director living in Los Angeles, California.

A third-generation filmmaker, life behind the camera is in her blood. She has worked across a wide range of projects including short films, music videos, and commercials.

Patrick Elmore

I am a filmmaker currently living in Baltimore, MD with experience shooting and directing short films, music videos, commercial content and short documentaries.

In 2017 she wrote and directed THE END , about a lonesome beauty and her unusual dinner date, which won the Audience Choice Award at the New York City Short Film Festival (NYC Shorts).

Contact: Niko Vernic / thecall.short@gmail.com

Contact: Patrick Elmore / pmelmore5@yahoo.com

52

Drama Program 7 | ON DEMAND

The Deed

The Deliberate Death Of My Father

The Gangbuster

Director: Raeshib Aggerwhil

Director/Writer: Rose Katché Duez

Director/Writer: Mark Adderley

Our story celebrates the myriad experiences within the Asian Pacific community by focusing on an Indian American woman who is thrust into the unknown world of Appalachian country. An orphan and an outsider all her life, she inherits a tract of land in the middle of the rural South by an aunt she never knew existed.

Zoey enters a hair salon to dye her hair for the first time. As she questions her decision she replays her recent graduation dinner where an explosive fight becomes a chance to settle an old score. Will changing her hair be a final defiance or the first act of something more meaningful?

Meet OSCAR, an eleven year old boy (with asthma) on a mission to join a “gang”.

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Writer: Seirah Royin / Cast: Seirah Royin

Raeshib Aggerwhil

Contact: Raeshib Aggerwhil / raeshib@gmail.com

Canada / Drama / 13 mins

United Kingdom / Comedy / 17 mins

Producer: Nadia Sawalha / Cast: Oscar Clitheroe, Kush Laing

Producer: Rose Katché Duez, Arran Shearing, Joe Kitson / Cast: Raylene Harewood, Dean McKenzie, Carmel Amit, Sophie Duez

Rose Katché Duez

Rose Katché was born in Paris, France where she studied Performing Arts at Nanterre Université. In 2015 she obtained her second degree from Concordia University for film studies and is an alumnus of the RIDM talent lab 2020. Her work explores family dynamics built on themes of communication and misunderstandings. Her first English language narrative short, THE DELIBERATE DEATH OF MY FATHER (2020), was selected for Telefilm’s Not Short on Talent. She is currently developing her first non-fiction feature film about her family and her roots in Africa.

Contact: Rose Katché / rosekatche@gmail.com

Mark Adderley

Mark Adderley was born on November 20, 1970. He is a producer and director, known for The Masseuse (2014), The Gangbuster (2021).

Contact: Mark Adderley / mark@doghouse-media.co.uk

53

Drama Program 7 | ON DEMAND

The Mother Is Back

The Weight of Perfection

Things I Never Told My Father

Director/Writer: Rami Al-shatri

Director/Writer: Anabelle D. Munro, Leanne Melissa Bishop

Director: Ade O’Adesina, Dumas Haddad

Iraq / Drama / 8 mins

Kidnapped from her village in North Iraq by ISIS, just a few months after marrying Mohammed, a 25- year-old Yazidi woman named Ellan is released from captivity and returns home with a newborn child from the ISIS father.

Producer: Maytham Jbara / Production Company: Purattu film center, Trash Production / Cast: Saja al Bayati, Mohammed AlBadrawi / Cinematography: Ali Hassan / Art-Director: Hader Ali

United States / Drama / 16 mins

A dangerous game of fire begins when an elite level gymnast and her coach become entangled in a web of psychological damage.

Producer: Anabelle D. Munro, Leanne Melissa Bishop, Jennifer Oleff, Marvin Glover, Marisa Vitali, Suzette TrocheStapp / Cast: Leanne Melissa Bishop, Hayden Hishaw, Wyatt Oleff, Anabelle D. Munro, Marvin Glover

United Kingdom / Drama / 20 mins

A road trip. Father and Son. Unanswered questions and things left unsaid as they travel through a distorted reality.

Writer: Letitia Wright / Producer: Amara Rossell, Letitia Wright, Abubakar Salim, Sheila Nortley, Ade O’Adesina / Cast: Nicholas Pinnock, Malcolm Kamulete

​ Rami Al-shatri

Rami is an Iraqi film director, writer, art director and cinematographer. He started his way in arts and filmmaking taking several workshops in journalism, performing arts, producing, writing, film editing, photography and film directing.

Anabelle D. Munro, Leanne Melissa Bishop

Anabelle is an award winning actress, writer, director, singer, producer, as well as the C.E.O of the film production companies Blue Boots Entertainment and HAT productions that she operates together with her husband Huntly Munro in Los Angeles. Since 2017, Anabelle has been serving as the “The Queen of the AOF” at the Action Film Festival and this year, Anabelle proudly presents her own International Film Festival: “Anabelle Munro’s Most Important Films and Scripts in the World.

He then studied film at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Baghdad. In 2015, he joined Iraqi Independent Film Center, and since then, he has worked as an art director, cinematographer, assistant director and writer on 5 featurelength and more than 20 short films, documentary and narrative.

Leanne is a Canadian/American filmmaker, and former National Gymnast. Her past directing credits include; the multi-award winning Candice & Peter’s Smokin’ Hot Date, as well as the upcoming, The Weight Of Perfection. She trained at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in NYC, and has written, produced, and starred in numerous films. She will appear next in the feature film What If, which she also wrote. Leanne is also developing a TV series starring NYC’s own film icon Radioman, and Foxton, an episodic spin-off of her films.

Contact: Purattu Film / Maytham@trashproduction.com

Contact: Marvin Glover / marvinglover@gmail.com

Ade O’Adesina, Dumas Haddad

Adé O Adesina is a London based filmmaker (Producer and Director), with a passion for telling untold stories. He began studying film at The University of Westminster, after graduating. Ade went into directing and producing short films, commercials & music videos for the likes of BFI ,Virgin EMI, Sony, Universal to name a few. He produced his first Feature Film ‘Motel’ in 2018, which premiered in the Chinese Theatre, Hollywood.

Dumas Haddad is a director and photographer raised in London who has developed his craft from the world’s of fashion, music & bleeding edge culture. His work elicits powerful uses of analogies and on-the-pulse narrative and character underpinnings.

Focused on storytelling and dramatic action, his desire to reframe contemporary culture represents a rising generation of filmmaker that are trying to transform both today and tomorrow’s voices.

Contact: 3.16 Productions / info@threesixteenproduction.com

54

Drama Program 7 | ON DEMAND

Think Lovely Thoughts

Touchline

Trouble Is

Director/Writer: Stephen Snavely

Director/Writer: Mohammed Saffouri

Director/Writer: EJ Gong

Exploring the tormenting, and often disorienting experience of living with severe anxiety, depression, and panic, Think Lovely Thoughts is a film about the push/pull for one man’s sanity while his subconscious tears at his grip on reality.

In Haifa, Palestine 1948, Ahmed plays soccer in a local club in his town. He gets an offer to play for the Palestinian National Team after a wonderful performance in a friendly match.

Producer: Amy Yerrington, Stephen Snavely / Cast: Roy Williams Jr., Dayana Rincon

Producer: Tareq Baddar / Cast: Basil Askar, Hasan, Lina Abu Rezeq, Mustafa Murad ​

Trouble Is deals with the complexities of love and fidelity. This 9-minute short film follows the lives of a married couple, Claire and Wayne, and their friend, Stan, as the truth about their complicated relationships slowly unfolds.

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Rami Al-shatri

Rami is an Iraqi film director, writer, art director and cinematographer. He started his way in arts and filmmaking taking several workshops in journalism, performing arts, producing, writing, film editing, photography and film directing.

He then studied film at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Baghdad. In 2015, he joined Iraqi Independent Film Center, and since then, he has worked as an art director, cinematographer, assistant director and writer on 5 featurelength and more than 20 short films, documentary and narrative.

Contact: Stephen Snavely / stephen.snavely@gmail.com

Jordan / Drama / 15 mins

Mohammed Saffouri

Mohammed Saffouri is a Capital Emmy-winning filmmaker based in Fairfax, Virginia. Saffouri has been working in the media and film industry for 7 years. He graduated from George Mason University in 2020, majoring in Film and Video Studies with a concentration in Film Directing. Mohammed wrote 3 films, produced 3 other films, and directed 2 shorts.

Contact: Mohammed Saffouri / mb.saffouri@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Producer: EJ Gong / Cast: EJ Gong, Tyson Kaup, Victoria Felix

EJ Gong

E.J. Gong was born on December 31, 1965 in Miami, Florida to Sophie Vlachos, a homemaker, and Eddie Gong, a lawyer and the first Chinese-American state senator and state representative in Florida. He is the youngest of five children.

He attended Ransom-Everglades High School and went to Harvard College where he majored in East Asian Studies. Out of college, he went into investment banking at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets on Wall Street. He later returned to Miami where he developed his passion for acting. He landed several national commercials. Since then, his acting career has been a mix of community theatre, small films and commercials.

Contact: EJ Gong / ejgong@yahoo.com

55

Drama Program 8 | ON DEMAND

Valeria

Vane

Violet

Director/Writer: Alejandro San Martín

Director/Writer: Anton Filipenko

Director: David Hayes

Valeria, a 17 year old girl, in the face of bullying and the lack of help from the school and family, faces the decision to continue or not.

Three unknown couples meet in a country house in Finland. For what?

A young nurse lies his way into the home of a vulnerable patient.

Producer: Pavel Fuks / Cast: Ekaterina Shumakova, Aino Sirje, Saana Koivisto, Jaakko Kiljunen, Ilya Savin, Anton Filipenko, Arseniy Kolos / Cinemathographer: Ivan Chengih / Art department: Anna Yaskevich, Galina Sumina / Producers: Timofei Hvostov ​

Writer: John Jeanes / Producer: Ben Johnston, Katie Millner / Cast: Jack Staddon, Gail Sixsmith

Spain / Drama / 15 mins

Producer: Alejandro San Martín / Cast: Sara Vidorreta, Paula de la Nieta / Editor: Borja Azpiroz / Composer: Klermoon / DoP: David Matt

Alejandro San Martín

As a scriptwriter an film director, has made the short films: THE PROMISE. TO THE THIRD. OVERBOOKING. IF.

Contact: YAQ Distribución / alicia@yaqdistribucion.com

Russia / Drama / 19 mins

Anton Filipenko

Mohammed Saffouri is a Capital Emmy-winning filmmaker based in Fairfax, Virginia. Saffouri has been working in the media and film industry for 7 years. He graduated from George Mason University in 2020, majoring in Film and Video Studies with a concentration in Film Directing. Mohammed wrote 3 films, produced 3 other films, and directed 2 shorts.

Contact: Anton Filipenko / fili5@mail.ru

United Kingdom / Drama / 18 mins

David Hayes

David directs documentary and commercial films for a variety of major brands and broadcasters. ‘Violet’ is his first narrative short.

Contact: David Hayes / david@davidhayesfilm.com

56

Drama Program 8 | ON DEMAND

Visible

Canada / Drama / 26 mins

Director/Writer: Maryan Haye, Carol Liu At Aginview Secondary School, Sharon, Mo, and Lee are in their final year of high school. When Mo’s brother, Abdi, is hurt in what seems to be a xenophobic attack, the seniors team up to seek justice from the school administration, but quickly realize that getting justice in their community isn’t as easy as it seems.

Writer: Maryan Haye / Producer: Amreen Kullar, Carol Liu, Maryan Haye, Levi Linton / Cast: Chloe Nava, Terry He, Maryan Haye

Maryan Haye, Carol Liu

Maryan Haye is a Somali-Canadian artist from Toronto, Ontario.

She is a recent graduate of the RTA Media Production program at Ryerson University, specializing in TV and Video. She is an actor and screenwriter having worked on a few short films and other media content.

Carol Liu is a Chinese-Canadian visual artist, designer and media creator. She has just recently completed her degree in Media Production with a concentration in Digital Media, and has found a passion for writing and creative direction. Growing up between the suburbs of Toronto and the bustling streets of Shanghai, Carol feels a strong connection to the multicultural immigrant community.

She hopes to tell stories about the under-represented neighbourhoods she grew up, bringing impactful and positive stories to the big screen.

Contact: Amreen Kullar / amreenkullar@gmail.com

When The Morning Dawns Bosnia Herzegovina / Drama / 23 mins

Director/Writer: Karmen Obrdalj A lonely self-conscious girl spends her days drinking wine on the roof and waiting for her boyfriend to come home. She can sense that something is wrong - he suddenly got cold. Lack of sex and his friendship with another woman worsen her body image. We watch what happens to them that “one more day” that they stay together.

Producer: Karmen Obrdalj, Jana Vuković, Aleksandar Jurić, Nikola Đaković / Cast: Aleksandra Plahin, Milica Janevski, Bojan Kolopić, Slađana Zrnić / Editor: Aleksandar Jurić / Camera: J​ana Vuković

Karmen Obrdalj

Karmen Obrdalj (1999, Split, Croatia). She is a full-time student of film and TV directing at the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When This All Ends United States / Drama / 15 mins

Director: Jordan Sommerlad Two sisters pontificate on the lives they could have led while observing the current guest staying in their family’s vacation home in upstate New York.

Writer: Cory Stonebrook / Producer: Jordan Sommerlad, Cory Stonebrook, Lizzy Miller, Tiffany Trainer / Cast: Lizzy Miller,Tiffany Trainer, Cory Stonebrook

Jordan Sommerlad

She made six student feature films, one student documentary film and one music-video. Her films have been screened at regional and international festivals. She is the author of all her films; as a director and screenwriter. 2019 her student documentary film “Why is mom always crying” has been awarded seven times on regional and international festivals.

After graduating from the Honors Tutorial College Film School at Ohio University in 2013, I moved to Los Angeles where I worked on a variety of projects in different on-set roles, before working primarily as a freelance director of photography. After two years I made the move to New York City and expanded my work to include editing and producing projects.

In addition to professional commercial and narrative work, I’ve also shot and directed number of my own short films, music videos, and other creative projects. I’ve had several shorts play in International Film Festivals, and am currently scripting my next directing project.

Contact: Karmen Obrdalj / karmen.obrdalj1@gmail.com

Contact: Cory Stonebrook / corydstonebrook@gmail.com

57

Drama Program 8 | ON DEMAND

Whistle

Wild Seed

Women, Wanting

Director: Jen Araki

Director/Writer: Sunyin Zhang

Director/Writer: Rebekah Pahl, Jill Karrenbrock

Emma returns to her childhood home upon her father’s death. But what set out to be a simple funeral service becomes a journey down nostalgia lane, making her confront her bittersweet relationship with her father.

During the period of One-Child Policy, Peng, an illegally pregnant mother escapes from her home to avoid getting arrested by the family planning committee and being forced to have an abortion. After escaping, Peng begins her solitary journey to hide from the government’s ruthless members and survives along the vast wilderness in Guizhou Province.

Frankie, a young writer struggling to jumpstart her career in Los Angeles, confronts her Aunt Margie after learning she’s still romantically involved with a phone scammer. Women, Wanting is an exploration of desire and the singular, yet similar ways we go about getting what we want.

Canada / Drama / 28 mins

Writer: Chris Sebastian Joys / Producer: Chris Goldade, Jen Araki, Dylan Playfair, Chris Sebastian Joys / Cast: Dylan Playfair, Aren Buchholz, Jen Araki, Milania Kerr

Jen Araki

China / Drama / 14 mins

Producer: Sunyin Zhang, Yiting Gao / Cast: Tian Xu / DP: Ai Chung

Sunyin Zhang

Jen Araki is the is the founder of Broken Tree Productions in Los Angeles and co-owns the Canadian production company Media Button and Crystal Mountain Films with her fiancé Dylan Playfair.

She has spent 14 years in New York and Los Angeles as a model, actress and her later years as a director and producer. She produced and directed a feature length documentary “We Gotta Get Out Of here” that won best feature documentary at the LA Art Festival, NYC New Filmmakers and the Alt Film Festival, and is currently in distribution on Amazon Prime USA. Jen has directed commercials, documentaries and brand films and has appeared in numerous televisions (Sopranos) shows along with many independent films (The Color Rose) and theatre productions. Jen has recently won Venice Short Film Awards and Chicago’s indie Film awards Best Female director award.

Her first short film Qiushui was screened at LA Shorts International Film Festival; Her Calarts thesis Wild Seed won the Alison Doerner Award for Women Pioneers in Filmmaking and was selected in CAA Moebius Film Festival, DokuFest, OFF - Odense International Film Festival, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, Young Director Award as well as LA Shorts. Sunyin Zhang got her MFA in Film Directing from California Institute of the Arts in 2020.

Contact: Jennifer Araki / jen@crystalmountainfilms.com

Contact: Sunyin Zhang / sunyinzhang@alum.calarts.edu

Sunyin Zhang is a Chinese director, screenwriter and editor now residing in Los Angeles. She works in fiction, documentary and VR. Zhang often focus on gender diversity.

United States / Drama / 18 mins

Producer: Rebekah Pahl, Jill Karrenbrock / Cast: Jill Karrenbrock, Joyce Fidler, Chantelle Gibbs, Nancy Rood, Matthew Moynihan, Rebekah Pahl

Rebekah Pahl, Jill Karrenbrock

Rebekah Pahl is a writer living in Nashville, TN. In 2020, she edited and co-directed Bury Me At Taylor Hollow which won Best Tennessee Short & the Audience Award at the Nashville film fest. Jill Karrenbrock is an actor and proud SAG-AFTRA member based in Los Angeles. They are a sister duo— though they’ve both been creating in their respective fields for nearly a decade, this is their first time collaborating on a film.

Contact: Jill Karrenbrock / jillkarrenbrock@gmail.com

58

Drama Program 9 | ON DEMAND

Wuhan Driver

You Are Mine

Zero Kilometer

Director/Writer: Tiger Ji

Director/Writer: Adi Wojaczek

Director/Writer: Shamas Nawab Siddiqui

At the beginning of the pandemic, a Chinese driver in New York struggles to make ends meet as he picks up passengers on a long and dreary night.

Viktor (12) and Siegfried (15) are friends in the Hitler Youth. While Viktor enjoys exploring nature like a normal child, Siegfried is empowered by Nazi ideology.

Their friendship gets tested, when they suddenly find a young jewish girl, hiding in a barn.

Kajal, a small town villager woman who is always busy with her family and work as labourer in briquette furnace to feed her child, sister and useless husband.

United States / Drama / 14 mins

Producer: Alena Svyatova, Jonathan Sanger / Cast: Wayne Chang

Germany / Drama / 20 mins

Producer: Christine Jezior / Cast: Lucas Herzog, Marlon Heidel, Jasmin Kraze, Laeni Geiseler, Charles Rettinghaus

Tiger Ji

Tiger Ji is a writer and director from Hong Kong, living in New York.

At age 16, he directed his first feature film, PLUTO, premiering at over 30 festivals over the world — including at the Utah Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, and New England Independent Film Festival, where he received the Best Director Award.

This year, at 19 — as the pandemic hit — he gained the attention of Academy Award winning producer Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man), and with his guidance, set out to make his most ambitious project yet, Wuhan Driver.

Contact: Tiger Ji / tigerji.pro@gmail.com

Adi Wojaczek

Adi Wojaczek was born on 8th of April 1983 in Upper Silesia (Poland) and moved with his family to Düsseldorf (Germany) in 1987.From 2008 to 2012 he studied film direction at the Ruhrakademie Schwerte and managed to win several awards for national video competitions.

His first success was winning “Best Film” at the “99FireFilmsAward” during the Berlin International Film Festival 2015 with a 99-second short film “Malou”.

The same year he created the ad “Sodastream: Zombies” which aired a few months in Germany and several countries in Europe.

Contact: Adalbert Wojaczek / adalbert.wojaczek@gmx.de

India / Drama / 14 mins

Producer: Shamas Nawab Siddiqui / Cast: Tanya Desai, Jaihind Kumar

Shamas Nawab Siddiqui

A Silent observant and amazing storyteller. With the Experiance of working in the film-industry for more than a decade, I am ask set to release of my film Hindi Feature Film “ Bole Chudiyan” starring Mr Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tamannah. started my carrier as an Assistant Director, I have traveled a long distance.

My Directorial Short Film “ Mister Come Tomorrow (Miyan Kal Aana) win 14 International awards with official 34 nominations across the globe.

I spends lot of my time in character development and is known to bring out best from my actors, my biggest strength is, I am able to bring local nuances into the film.

Contact: Shamas Nawab Siddiqui / shamaas.n@hotmail.com

59

DOCUMENTARY

Drama Program 9 | ON DEMAND

Blind Ambition: The Wop May Story

Gary Kemp - In Solo

Sitting Tall: The Patrick Anderson Story

Director: Frederick Kroetsch, Tom Robinson

Director/Writer: Charlie Lightening

Director/Writer: Ryan Marley

Shot on 35mm filmstock with an orchestral musical score, Blind Ambition brings to life the story of an inspiring and courageous pilot.

An intimate portrait documentary of Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp which explores an artist’s journey towards making a solo album.

Writer: Tom Robinson / Producer: Frederick Kroetsch, David Baron, Tom Robinson, Jessie Gervais / Cast: Jessie Gervais

Producer: Charlie Lightening / Cast: Gary Kemp, Toby Chapman / DP, Editor: Dan Lightening

Sitting Tall: The Patrick Anderson Story examines the background and career of Patrick Anderson, arguably the greatest wheelchair basketball player of all time, as he prepares for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Canada / Documentary / 20 mins

Frederick Kroetsch, Tom Robinson

Frederick is an Edmonton-based documentary filmmaker. He made Last of the Fur Traders for AMI-tv, which follows the journey of his father returning to the arctic, and also created the TV-series Queen of the Oil Patch for APTN. Frederick has made dozens of documentaries for organizations such as TELUS Originals, CBC Digital, Telefilm, Bravo, NFB, CTV and Shaw. He recently produced the feature documentary The Secret Society and directed the TV-series “Dr. Savanna: Wild Rose Vet for Cottage Life.” Frederick is EP and DOP on Wochiigii lo: End of the Peace, which premiered at TIFF 2021. Tom Robinson is a writer and award winning emerging filmmaker. His past works include several short narrative films, a radio documentary broadcast nationally on ‘Spark’ (CBC Radio One), and an immersive multimedia project featured on ‘Daily Planet’ (Discovery Canada).

Contact: Frederick Kroetsch / colorbarsandtone@hotmail.com

United Kingdom / Documentary / 24 mins

Charlie Lightening

Award winning Filmmaker and Photographer. Known for ‘Liam Gallagher: As It Was’ & ‘Black Sabbath: 13’

Contact: Rebekah Louisa Smith / rebekah@thefilmfestivaldoctor.co.uk

Canada / Documentary / 44 mins

Producer: Katie Lafferty, Michelle Dudas / Cast: Patrick Anderson

Ryan Marley

Ryan Marley is a Television director best know for his work in documentary, factual, and kids TV. He has been nominated for 3 Canadian Screen Awards and has directed over 25 series and documentaries. Ryan’s work has aired on: A&E, TLC, BBC, History Channel, Discovery, Disney XD, the CBC and many more. He is currently in production on his feature length documentary ‘El Candidato’, produced by Hitch Films. Ryan started out directing, editing and shooting documentaries, most notably making short docs for The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, and the award-winning feature length doc, Human Trials: Testing The AIDS Vaccine. Ryan splits his time between Toronto and Los Angeles.

Contact: Katie Lafferty / katesdml@gmail.com

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61

COMEDY COMEDY ON-DEMAND

62

Comedy Program | ON DEMAND Program 1

Program 2

Program 3

500 Calories / Cristina Spina Italy / Comedy / 17 mins

Bubbly / Tom Haines United Kingdom / Comedy / 12 mins

Spell It Out in Neon / Tammy Minoff United States / Comedy / 12 mins

A Final Message / Matthew Pollock United States / Comedy / 4 mins

Ghosted / Tracie Laymon United States / Comedy / 15 mins

The Flexed Arm Hang / Findlay Brown Canada / Comedy / 6 mins

A Very Cobra Christmas / Cameron Rice United States / Comedy / 15 mins

Honeybear / Logan Fields United States / Comedy / 13 mins

The Voice in Your Head / Graham Parkes United States / Comedy / 9 mins

After The Egg / Chelsea Slayter New Zealand / Comedy / 18 mins

Karate Belt / Stephen Huff United States / Comedy / 12 mins

Toshie the Nihilist / Matthew Chozick Japan / Comedy / 15 mins

All The Wives In Attics / Dagmar Scheibenreif United Kingdom / Comedy / 20 mins

Lunachicks / Jess Joy Canada / Comedy / 13 mins

Waiting for Deading / Paul Sestakov United States / Comedy / 28 mins

Antique Heroes / Caroline McQuade Australia / Drama / 14 mins

Piñata / Ted Deacey Australia / Comedy / 11 mins

Welcome to Our Home / Gregory M. Schroeder United States / Comedy / 8 mins

Break Any Spell / Anton Jøsef Canada / Fantasy / 13 mins

63

Comedy Program 1 | ON DEMAND

500 Calories

A Final Message

A Very Cobra Christmas

Director/Writer: Cristina Spina

Director: Matthew Pollock

Director: Cameron Rice

A human being needs at least 1200 calories a day to live. A woman in the middle of an existential crisis confronts her ballet teacher who had forced her, at the age of 13, to restrict her diet to 500 calories a day.

While grieving the passing of his wife, Josh receives a final message from her in the form of a record with her ashes pressed into them.

Producer: Olivia Serafini-Sauli / Cast: Kathleen Chalfant, Yvonne Woods

Writer: Matthew Pollock, Steven LaChioma / Producer: Matthew Pollock / Cast: Avery Monsen, Maria DiDomenico

Cobra Commander, down on his luck, is visited by 3 ghosts who try to teach him the error of his ways. Will he get his life straight in time to give his kid a great Christmas?

Italy / Comedy / 17 mins

Cristina Spina

Cristina Spina is an Italian actor, writer and director based in New York City. She started her career as a dancer and actor in Rome, working with top Italian Theater directors, such as Luca Ronconi, Massimo Castri and Carlo Cecchi. Cristina made her American debut when she was chosen by choreographer and director Martha Clarke for a lead role in the play Kaos

by Frank Pugliese at the New York Theatre Workshop. In 2013, she studied at NYU Tisch School in their film program’s Sight & Sound Course.

United States / Comedy / 4 mins

Matthew Pollock

She then wrote and directed “500 Calories” (2020), and she is now developing her first feature film, “Rose is a Rose”.

Matthew “Matt” Pollock is a Cannes award winning director, as well as a four time Webby, three time Telly, and Lovie award winner. Matthew got his start directing and editing CollegeHumor Originals. He wrote, directed, and edited over 500 sketches that helped turn CollegeHumor into one of the top platforms for online comedy. His work has generated billions of views and comments such as, “funniest thing by CollegeHumor in awhile,” “wow the acting was better than I expected,” and “this was fine, I guess”. Awards Include: 2 Cannes Lions, 4 Webby Awards, 3 Telly Awards, 1 Lovie Award, and 7th place in the 2000 16 year old Babe Ruth World Series. He also has received lots of badges on his Peloton bike.

Contact: Zen Movie / distribuzione.zenmovie@gmail.com

Contact: Matthew Pollock / mpollock84@gmail.com

United States / Comedy / 15 mins

Writers: Eddie Pence, Jenn Sterger, Cody Decker / Producer: Eddie Pence, Jenn Sterger / Cast: Eddie Pence, Jenn Sterger, Colton Pence, Emma Fyffe, Jay Washington, Ralph Garman

Cameron Rice

Cameron Rice is a director, producer and writer, known for The Whirl Girls (2020), Detectin’: Webisodes (2018) and Power Rangers HyperForce (2017).

Contact: Eddie Pence / epence17@aol.com

64

Comedy Program 1 | ON DEMAND

After The Egg

All The Wives In Attics

Antique Heroes

Director/Writer: Chelsea Slayter

Director: Dagmar Scheibenreif

Director/Writer: Caroline McQuade

A young woman becomes an unlikely caregiver for her estranged father and his new chicken friend after he suffers a life altering stroke.

This is a relationship. Following a bad break-up, Stella meets David. Every chance encounter can be the beginning of a great love story. All The Wives In Attics explores the thrill of falling in love, and what people have to overcome to hold on to it.

An alcoholic comedian and her 10 year old nephew discover that anyone can be a hero... with the right theme song.

New Zealand / Comedy / 18 mins

Producer: Jane Davis / Cast: Emily Laurić, William Gruar

United Kingdom / Comedy / 20 mins

Writer: Sarudzayi Marufu / Producer: Sarudzayi Marufu / Cast: Erika Alexander, John Robbins, Greg David Monga

Chelsea Slayter

After graduating NYU with degrees in Cinema Studies and Broadcast Journalism, Chelsea’s filmmaking journey began in the world of documentary. Today, her fictional work continues to reflect an intimate approach rooted in her documentary practices. AFTER THE EGG is her narrative film debut.

Contact: Chelsea Slayter / vaguepics@gmail.com

Dagmar Scheibenreif

Australia / Drama / 14 mins

Producer: Matthew Phillips / Cast: Fletcher Kennedy, Julia Wilson, Robin Royce Queree, Lumka Coleman, Nicholas Foustellis

Caroline McQuade

Dagmar is a Director who focuses on Narrative and Commercials. Her background is in Cinematography, with experience both above and below the water (HSE).

Having started her career as a stills photographer in 1995 in Vienna, she moved to London in 2000 to pursue her career in moving image. Dagmar is a graduate of the National Film & Television School (NFTS) ‘Directing Commercials’ Diploma which helped her to further develop her craft and delve deeper into the world of story and fiction.

Dagmar intuitively works with performers and loves to analyse both story and character.

McQuade has worked repeatedly with director Davo Hardy appearing in four of his feature films. In 2021, McQuade won Best Lead Actress in a Feature Film at the South Film and Arts Academy Festival for her role in Hardy’s Public Eye (2021). Prior to this, McQuade was a two time Actors Awards winner.

Contact: Sarudzayi Marufu / sarudzayi.marufu@eurasfilms.com

Contact: Caroline McQuade / caroline_mcquade@yahoo.com.au

Caroline is a British and Australian actor who has played a wide variety of character roles in feature films and TV series.

She is known for the black comedy TV mini-series Without a Tracey (2020) which premiered at The Mardi Gras Film Festival in 2020, the multiple award winning avant-garde Public Eye (2021), and sci-fi thriller Enter Sanctum.

65

Comedy Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Break Any Spell Canada / Fantasy / 13 mins

Director: Anton Jøsef When April sets off to battle in the the world of live-action-role-playing, her mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s reaches a breaking point.

Writer: Lisi Purr, Anton Jøsef / Producer: Lisi Purr, Pierre Campbell / Cast: Rachel Boyd, Catherine McGregor, Kelly Seo, Vanessa Mitchell, Tyrnan Driscoll

Anton Jøsef

The eldest son of Austrian and Hungarian immigrants, Anton was born in Toronto and played NCAA Division 1 soccer before giving up his athletic career to pursue filmmaking.

After years of shooting wedding videos, Anton had his first breakthrough directing a music video for Canadian indie rock band The Dears, which was featured on Wired Magazine and MTV. Anton’s passion for short format storytelling helped him transition into directing TV commercials across the world. His clients include Starbucks, JEEP, the Asian Games, Century 21, Big Lots! and Samsung. Anton’s short-doc ‘Aftermask’ was featured as the ‘Best of September 2020’ by Shots Creative and screened at numerous festivals.

Contact: Lisi Purr / elisabethpurr@gmail.com

66

Comedy Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Bubbly

Ghosted

Honeybear

Director/Writer: Tom Haines

Director/Writer: Tracie Laymon

Director/Writer: Logan Fields

Barry Ward and Anoushka Lucas star in this dramedy about a small time music manager, Ray, about to make it big with singer-songwriter Cas as she prepares to play her break-out gig. But Cas has other ideas. Backstage, with dreams of fame and fortune flowing like cheap champagne, we witness the festivities and the fireworks as their relationship is tested, and Ray does everything he can to hold on to his one shot.

A woman with a lot of baggage falls in love with a man haunted by his past. Literally.

Two pathological liars in love.

United Kingdom / Comedy / 12 mins

United States / Comedy / 15 mins

Producer: Tracie Laymon, Alex Lake / Cast: Alyssa Suede, Joseph D. Reitman, Elizabeth Anweis, Jim Meskimen

United States / Comedy / 13 mins

Producer: Chris Beyrooty / Cast: Clare McNulty, Nick Rutherford

Producer: Natalia Guarín / Cast: Barry Ward, Anoushka Lucas

Tom Haines

Tracie Laymon

Tom Haines is a writer-director passionate about storytelling, creating worlds and characters, including the coming of age short NIGHT OF THE FOXES (IFFR 2013, BFI London Film Festival 2013), and more recently THE MISSION, which premiered at LA Shorts Fest 2018, and was in competition at Austin Film Festival 2018. He is developing feature films with producer Anna Griffin, (Calibre, Levelling) including BOA CONSTRICTOR which was part of iFeatures (BBC/BFI). His brand of character based music videos have brought him awards and meant working with artists such as Unkle, Jon Hopkins, Temper Trap and New Order.

Named to the Independent Film Channel (IFC) list of emerging “Icons” and Film Innovators, Tracie Laymon is an independent director and screenwriter hailing from Austin, Texas. She interned for Richard Linklater’s Detour Film (“Boyhood”, “Dazed and Confused”) and worked as a photographer and video journalist for Time Warner News while studying Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas at Austin.

Contact: Tom Haines / info@tom-haines.com

Contact: Alex Lake / tracie@laymonsterms.com

Logan Fields

Logan Fields is a director and writer, known for Little One (2020), Honeybear and Darlin’ (2017).

Projects Tracie directed after school have won Jury Awards at South by Southwest (SXSW), Feel Good Film Festival as well as Las Vegas, Houston, and Memphis Film Festivals.

Contact: Logan Fields / loganskie@gmail.com

67

Comedy Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Karate Belt

Lunachicks

Piñata

Director/Writer: Stephen Huff

Director/Writer: Jess Joy

Director: Ted Deacey

An eccentric man finds a discarded karate belt, and when he dons it, becomes the neighborhood vigilante superhero in his own mind. However, his attempts to do good lead him to find out he is not as tough as he thinks he is.

Reclusive Marla Strange longs for a friend, but her infamous father has other ideas.

A mild-mannered man crashes a child’s birthday party where he discovers one last source of joy in his simple existence... the act of destroying piñatas.

United States / Comedy / 12 mins

Canada / Comedy / 13 mins

Producer: Jess Joy / Cast: Pascale Behrman, Joel Fishbane, Rebecca MacDonald

Producer: Sarah Huff / Cast: Dymyll Jones

Stephen Huff

Stephen Huff is an Texan/American film director, cinematographer and screenwriter. He has made a variety music videos and short films including “Lambs” which won the Hollywood Film Festival (2009) and Audience Award at Fantasia Fest (2010). He enjoys narrative filmmaking and has never been to prison...yet.

Contact: Stephen Huff / stephenb.huff@gmail.com

Jess Joy

Jess Joy is a writer/director from the Canadian countryside, just outside Toronto, Ontario. She’s passionate about making dark edged, female-centric stories mixed occasionally with absurd and surreal comedy. Jess loves working in genre and drama as well as with experimental shorts and music videos. She holds a BFA in film and creative writing from York University, and hopes one day to write and direct for TV.

Australia / Comedy / 11 mins

Producer: Sophie Booth, Lauren Nichols / Cast: Francis Greenslade

Ted Deacey

I’m Ted Deacey, a freelance editor & colourist, currently working in Melbourne // Naarm.

Graduated as a designer from the University of Tasmania and relocated to the mainland, where I worked in multiple AGDA award winning design studios, honing skills in typography, branding and motion design.

If Jess isn’t making movies, she’s probably in a dingy bar photographing a local band, or out riding her beloved rescue horse, Prince. She’s also known for her terrible dancing. But hopefully you’ll never witness that.

As a side gig, studied audio production in Ableton & was named in “Top upcoming Australian electronic music producers to watch out for” by Triple J’s Dave Ruby Howe. Also supported Flume, Lunice and Flight Facilities live on local tours.

Contact: Jess Joy / marlaberlinfilm@gmail.com

Contact: Ted Deacey / hello@teddeacey.com

68

Comedy Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Spell It Out in Neon

The Flexed Arm Hang

The Voice in Your Head

Director: Tammy Minoff

Director/Writer: Findlay Brown

Director/Writer: Graham Parkes

Beth, an aspiring young artist, and her charming commitment phobic coworker, Brian, definitely have a “thing”. When he invites her along to a Halloween party, she thinks their relationship might actually move out of the “friend zone” spurring her to take a romantic leap of faith.

A boy attempts to get a silver medal in the most daunting of gym class challenges, the flexed arm hang.

Dan spends his every waking hour tortured by the negative voice in his head, until he learns something shocking that allows him to break free.

United States / Comedy / 12 mins

Canada / Comedy / 6 mins

Producer: Findlay Brown

United States / Comedy / 9 mins

Producer: Brendan Garrett / Cast: Lewis Pullman, Mat Wright, Trian Longsmith

Writer: Samantha Lester / Producer: David Fickas, Samantha Lester / Cast: Samantha Lester, Daniel David Stewart, Sarah Sawyer / DP: Chloe Weaver

Tammy Minoff

After growing up on Broadway, Tammy (a native New Yorker) continued her film and T.V. work in L.A., where she wrote a play that launched her into her next chapter: writing, directing and producing. Her play, PERENNIAL was produced in Los Angeles with a sold out run and was the source material for her directorial debut, LIMERENCE, which won Best Feature at the SOHO Film Festival, Best Audience Award at the other Venice Film Festival and most recently received a Film Threat Best Romantic Comedy Award for 2021. LIMERENCE was picked up by Gravitas and was released worldwide in 2020 and can be seen on most platforms including Amazon Prime Video.

Contact: Samantha Lester / lester.samantha@gmail.com

Findlay Brown

Findlay Brown is finishing a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing/Film) at McGill University where he was a scholarship athlete and Academic All Canadian.

He was the producer, writer and director of The Flexed Arm Hang, his first film.

Graham Parkes

Screenwriter, director and narrative designer from Los Angeles. I currently work as the lead writer and creative director at Goodbye World Games, an indie studio which recently released it’s first title, Before Your Eyes, on April 8th 2021.

I’ve worked as a screenwriter for Paramount Pictures, EKO, Crypt TV, and Pulse Films, among others.

My short films have played at such festivals as SXSW, and have been featured on sites such as Short of the Week and Vimeo Staff Picks.

Contact: Findlay Brown / findlaybrown42@outlook.com

Contact: Graham Parkes / grhmparkes@gmail.com

69

Comedy Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Toshie the Nihilist

Waiting for Deading

Welcome to Our Home

Director: Matthew Chozick

Director/Writer: Paul Sestakov

Director/Writer: Gregory M. Schroeder

Cryptocurrency exchange secretary Toshie (Rino Higa) ought to be celebrating the release of her boyfriend (Taro Yabe) from jail. Instead, a freak accident compels her to swim from Japan to Hawaii with the child of an American-Vietcong war hero.

Two apprentice Grim Reapers are sent on their first assignment, but everything turns from bad to even f-ing worse when this bickering duo stray from the protocol.

When Brad brings his liberal girlfriend home to meet his conservative parents, tensions escalate and monsters are unleashed.

Japan / Comedy / 15 mins

Producer: Matt Schley / Cast: Rino Higa, Taro Yabe, Hideo Furukawa, Takato Yonemoto, Matthew Chozick / Original music by: Hiroyuki Onogawa / Sound Recordist: Kôkichi Komoda / Cinematographer: Kohei Soeda, Kenta Kuwabara

Tammy Minoff

After growing up on Broadway, Tammy (a native New Yorker) continued her film and T.V. work in L.A., where she wrote a play that launched her into her next chapter: writing, directing and producing. Her play, PERENNIAL was produced in Los Angeles with a sold out run and was the source material for her directorial debut, LIMERENCE, which won Best Feature at the SOHO Film Festival, Best Audience Award at the other Venice Film Festival and most recently received a Film Threat Best Romantic Comedy Award for 2021. LIMERENCE was picked up by Gravitas and was released worldwide in 2020 and can be seen on most platforms including Amazon Prime Video.

Contact: Matthew Chozick / chozick@gmail.com

United States / Comedy / 28 mins

Producer: Javier Bonafont / Cast: James C. Leary, Angel Cruz, Scott Silverman

Paul Sestakov

Paul Sestakov is a writer and director, known for Waiting for Deading (2021), Marionettes (2021) and Composition (2021).

United States / Comedy / 8 mins

Producer: Zubin Anklesaria / Cast: Danielle Dallas Roosa, Hank Northrop, Cheryl Dent, Christopher Carroll

Gregory M. Schroeder

Gregory M. Schroeder completed his MFA in Producing from AFI Conservatory in 2019. His sci-fi/horror film PROGENY (2019), fantasy/comedy WITCHIN’ (2019) and drama film LIKE FLYING (2020) have won dozens of awards and screened at prestigious festivals worldwide.

Gregory is also a writer/director, interested in genre filmmaking that explores the flaws in human communication and emotionality. His debut short film LAST LIGHT was completed in May 2021, and his second short film WELCOME TO OUR HOME was completed in July 2021.

Contact: Paul Sestakov / nonunambiguous@gmail.com

Contact: Gregory M. Schroeder / greg@firstlightprod.com

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71

SCI-FI SCI-FI

ON-DEMAND

72

Sci-Fi Program | ON DEMAND Program 1

Program 2

Program 3

Birthday Boy / Kamran Rathod United States / Sci-Fi / 25 mins

Orbital Christmas / Mitsuyasu Sakai Japan / Sci-Fi / 16 mins

Stargazer / Arvind Jay United Kingdom / Sci-Fi / 15 mins

Blank Shores / Alex Kyrou United Kingdom / Sci-Fi / 17 mins

Path To The Sky / Sammy Su Canada / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

The Discovery / Jill Von Dae United States / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

Irradiation / Sava Zivkovic Serbia / Sci-Fi / 10 mins

Porter / Travis Hanour United States / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

The Other Side / John DeVries South Africa / Sci-Fi / 13 mins

Kairos, Qualitative Time / Carlos Scasso Spain / Sci-Fi / 17 mins

Remembrance / Shane Joseph Willis Australia / Sci-Fi / 15 mins

The Prospector / Wade Chitwood United States / Sci- Fi / 14 mins

Mars / Raymond J Evans Australia / Sci-Fi / 7 mins

Space Invader / Isaac Bell New Zealand / Sci-Fi / 16 mins

Time Stamp / Robert Butler III, Cade Huseby United States / Sci-Fi / 23 mins

73

Sci-Fi Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Birthday Boy

Blank Shores

Irradiation

Director: Kamran Rathod

Director/Writer: Alex Kyrou

Director/Writer: Sava Zivkovic

A man tries to save his relationship in the middle of a global fertility pandemic by stealing the first ever DIY, in-vitro fertilization kit that claims to grow a child in seconds.

With the police unable to help, Emily takes it upon herself to investigate the disappearance of her partner. A small clue leads her to the discovery of an unregulated world far removed from her own. Soon, Emily’s journey to reconnect becomes a struggle for survival.

While being escorted to a mysteriously irradiated site, a scientist experiences strange visions.

United States / Sci-Fi / 25 mins

Writer: Kamran Rathod, Nick Chang / Producer: Chris Larsen, Kamran Rathod / Cast: Ranbir Sanghera, Alicia Mason, Justin Walker / DP: Freddie Whitman / Production Designer: Guy Olson / Editor: Kamran Rathod / Colorist: Jonny Trimboli / Sound Mixer: Matt Tamariello / Original Score: Alam Khan

Kamran Rathod

Kamran Rathod is a Director born and raised in the Bay Area and loves to combine the expectation of traditional genre with bizarre elements and ideas.

Contact: Kamran Rathod / kamran.71.94@gmail.com

United Kingdom / Sci-Fi / 17 mins

Serbia / Sci-Fi / 10 mins

Producer: Sava Zivkovic, Jama Jurabaev, TakeOne / Cast: Nebojsa Jez, Lazar Djukic, Dejan Jovanovic

Producer: Clare Shields / Cast: Georgina Campbell, Gary Beadle, James Farrar / DP: Benjamin Wearing / Editor: Alex Kyrou

Alex Kyrou

Sava Zivkovic

Alex has directed three short films that have screened at prestigious international film festivals including HollyShorts and LA Shorts. His “Blank Shores” screenplay won the Grand Prize in the Vortex Horror/Sci-Fi category at the Oscarand BAFTA-affiliated Flickers’ Rhode Island International Screenplay Competition. The screenplay was awarded funding by the BFI Network and attracted the attention of BAFTA-winning Georgina Campbell to play the leading role.

The emotionally raw short film “White Awake” showcased at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles and the TriForce Film Festival in London, winning Best BAME Short Film and Best Cinematography in the FILMSshort competition.

Sava Zivkovic is a Director based in Belgrade, Serbia. Born in 1989, he graduated from the Belgrade University of Arts in the department of Interior and Furniture design in 2012.

Having developed a strong passion for film and animation, he decides to take on this career path and focuses on all things motion picture. He has a strong belief in devoting time to personal projects, has received several awards and recognitions from the CG industry and has also given back to the industry by publishing some of his insights and behind the scenes processes from his personal projects.

Contact: Alex Kyrou / akyrou@gmail.com

Contact: Sava Zivkovic / savuljaga@gmail.com

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Sci-Fi Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Kairos, Qualitative Time

Mars

Director/Writer: Carlos Scasso

Director/Writer: Raymond J Evans

To curtail the spread of revolts against the System, the “Kairós Programme” has been activated. Isacaar, one of the insurgents, will find himself faced with the chance of preserving something more important than his ideals.

Mars is a drama/sci-fi short film based in a not too distant future. Ethan and Violet are standing on opposite train platforms. They are set to travel in different directions yet a common interest undeniably entwines their destinies. Without speaking a word they must find a means of connection before their trains arrive to whisk them away.

Spain / Sci-Fi / 17 mins

Producer: Carlos Scasso / Cast: Edgar Córcoles, German Scasso

Carlos Scasso

Australia / Sci-Fi / 7 mins

Producer: Janine Kaiser / Cast: Jack Doherty, Abbey-Rose Leed / DP: Adam Lynch / Editor: Raymond J Evans / Composer: Josh Mitchell

Alex Kyrou

The short film “Kairós, the qualitative time” is his debut feature and first experience in audiovisuals, the result of his interest in cinema and cuttingedge techniques for creating images, all self-taught, to tell stories set in any time and place.

Alex has directed three short films that have screened at prestigious international film festivals including HollyShorts and LA Shorts. His “Blank Shores” screenplay won the Grand Prize in the Vortex Horror/Sci-Fi category at the Oscarand BAFTA-affiliated Flickers’ Rhode Island International Screenplay Competition. The screenplay was awarded funding by the BFI Network and attracted the attention of BAFTA-winning Georgina Campbell to play the leading role.

The emotionally raw short film “White Awake” showcased at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles and the TriForce Film Festival in London, winning Best BAME Short Film and Best Cinematography in the FILMSshort competition.

Contact: Carlos Scasso / filmestudioab@gmail.com

Contact: Janine Kaiser / janine.kaiser@kaiserinfilms.com

75

Sci-Fi Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Orbital Christmas

Path To The Sky

Porter

Director/Writer: Mitsuyasu Sakai

Director/Writer: Sammy Su

Director/Writer: Travis Hanour

In near future, ALI, a Muslim space pilot, is working alone on a space station during the Christmas season, because all other crew is back to the Earth for holidays.

One day, TAKAKO, a Japanese girl lives in the city on the Moon, stows away in an unmanned cargo ship and gets on board the space station.

Path To The Sky is a 15-minute short film that tells the story of a post-apocalypse survivor’s encounter with a mysterious messenger from outer space who is sent from the last surviving city of humanity - an orbiting space station - to recruit her back to ‘civilisation’.

Through their new-found relationship, they both learn to see the universe quite differently.

Our sky “died” fifteen years ago, ending flight, slowing the world to a crawl, and leaving Klaus Shepherd a widower. And while the discovery of teleportation eight years later allows for global travel once again, it also breeds corruption and lawlessness.

Japan / Sci-Fi / 16 mins

Producer: Dennis Castello, Tetsuro Satomi, Mitsuyasu Sakai / Cast: Ryan Shrime, Kaori Neville, Eijiro Ozaki, Jenna Parker

Mitsuyasu Sakai

Canada / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

Producer: Sammy Su, Steven Hu / Cast: Kristina Lao, Ryan Mah

Sammy Su

United States / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

Producer: Travis Hanour, Emily Hanour, Nick Ocean, Davis Priestley, Aimee Lynn Barneburg / Cast: Bryan Veronneau, Jade Lorna Sullivan, Ted Rooney, Kathryn Brown

Travis Hanour

Mitsuyasu Sakai was born in 1963 in Osaka, Japan. He went to Kansai University and got master’s degree for Electronics in 1988. Then, he started both working at NTT DATA as an engineer after graduation and writing articles about Sci-Fi novels and movies for magazines as a critic. In 1995, he quit a job and became a fulltime writer, then started writing for TV ANIME shows. Since then, he has been working as a script writer and a Sci-Fi supervisor for over 20 shows from OUTLAW STAR (1998) to BATMAN NINJA (2018). Meanwhile, he went to USC: School of Cinematic Arts to study movie/ TV production from 2007 and got Master of Arts in 2010. ORBITAL CHRISTMAS is his first short film after he graduated USC.

Storyteller, Artist, Filmmaker. Even from an early age, Sam has always shown interests and talent in visual art. From painting classes as early as 8 years old to photography at 12, Sam has never stopped the process of bringing his unique vision to life. Born in China and raised in North America, Sam graduated from Emily Carr University’s Film and Integrated Media program in 2016 at the top of his class. In addition to working on many award winning high-budget films and commercials as a member of IATSE Local 891 and ICG 669, Sam has independently produced and shot many short films, commercials and music videos across the globe.

Sava Zivkovic is a Director based in Belgrade, Serbia. Born Travis Hanour is an award-winning director whose work is characterized by a unique balance of pristine visuals, considered composition, and nuanced storytelling. Hailed as one of the most promising newcomers in film, Travis was recently named one of SHOOT Magazine’s 5 Up-and-Coming Directors. Having begun his career directing animation and VFX, Travis created content for major studios including Warner Bros, Disney, and Universal. His abilities as a designer and director then led him to work on the agency side, where he spent over ten years as a Creative Director.

Contact: Mitsuyasu Sakai / mitsuhiro.sakai@gmail.com

Contact: Wanzheng Lyu / wanzhenglyu@gmail.com

Contact: Travis Hanour / travishanour@gmail.com

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Sci-Fi Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Remembrance

Space Invader

Director/Writer: Shane Joseph Willis

Director: Isaac Bell

In near future, ALI, a Muslim space pilot, is working A thief who downloads memories and information to sell to the highest bidder is cornered by a mysterious woman who wants information of her own; but the woman is not all that she appears.

Max is a small boy with a big imagination. Him and his Dad form a tight knit crew. But when Dad gets a new girlfriend, Max must find a way to confront this new menace before she steals his dad forever.”

Australia / Sci-Fi / 15 mins

Producer: Vikki Blinks / Cast: Michael Shanahan, Alice Chaston

Shane Joseph Willis

New Zealand / Sci-Fi / 16 mins

Producer: Lissandra Leite, Isaac Bell / Cast: Common Ruka, James Jennings, Pamela Sidhu, Phil Brown

Isaac Bell

Shane was born in Dublin, Ireland and now lives in Melbourne, Australia. He has been writing and making films for over ten years and his screenplays have landed on several Hollywood end-of year-lists and his films have played at numerous international film festivals. Shane is currently adapting the novel The Lost Boy to the screen for Penguin Publishing. He is represented by Rosa Entertainment in Los Angeles, California.

Isaac (Ngāpuhi) is filmmaker of 14 years and founder of Zakapotatoes. He got his introduction to the TV industry in 2004 at the age of 15 when he was cast on Shortland Street as Eti Kawaka. When Isaac had down time on set, he would find himself in the edit suit at SPP watching and learning.

Since then, Isaac has gone on to produce and direct more than 50 music videos, a bunch of TVC’s and two short films. Isaac is more commonly known for being a long time music video collaborator with Troy Kingi. His dream is to be able to quit his day job and create original content full time.

Contact: Shane Joseph Willis / shanejosephwillis@gmail.com

Contact: Lissandra Leite / spaceinvadershortfilm@gmail.com

77

Sci-Fi Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Stargazer

The Discovery

The Other Side

Director/Writer: Arvind Jay

Director/Writer: Jill Von Dae

Director/Writer: John DeVries

STARGAZER follows an estranged, disconnected family on a journey through the stars as they come together after a recent loss.

Captain Esson Halser of the U.S.S Centauri is alone on Planet Aurelia, Earth’s nearest inhabited planet. He is on a mission to extract all organic life forms to send back to New Earth, where humanity has since settled - or so he thinks.

A young woman and her pursuer are transported into an alternate dimension that challenges their view on reality. After coming into contact with an ancient being, their lives are transformed forever.

United Kingdom / Sci-Fi / 15 mins

Producer: Anjishnu Noor Purnota / Cast: Micheal D Douglas, Nicola Brome, Kevin Pako / Production Designer: Athena Papworth / DP: Sarah Cunningham / Camera Operator: Connor Baskerville / Editor: James Jameson / Sound Designer & Mixers: Ohm Vaewuthinand, Tom Christie

Arvind Jay

United States / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

Producer: Anirudh Pisharody / Cast: Anirudh Pisharody, Isabel Zhong, Jocelyn Chan

Jill Von Dae

South Africa / Sci-Fi / 13 mins

Producer: Greg Kriek / Cast: Greg Kriek, Jane DeWet

John DeVries

Mitsuyasu Sakai was born in 1963 in Osaka, Japan. He went He has worked on international productions and his resume spans feature films, documentaries, cartoons, TV shows, short films, music videos and even nationally broadcasted events.

He always believes in never settling for the ordinary. Film is the gateway to the extraordinary, so he says, and this is why he always pushes the boundaries in his film concepts. While always aiming for the extravagant spectacle, he never forgets what is most important to film - story. With STARGAZER, Arvind aims to deliver a story set in the stars but grounded in human emotion.

Jill Von Dae is a Chinese-Canadian award winning director, producer, and screenwriter based in Los Angeles.

Having worked in both China and the US over ten years, Jill specializes in handling all facets of challenging productions, including high profile talent relations, on-location filming, and impactful storytelling. From here, she founded Black Velvet Films with producer Anirudh Pisharody, a production company based in Los Angeles specializing in innovative content for the undercurrent eye.

Jill is a member of Women in Film Los Angeles, of which she is a selected mentee of the WIF Mentoring Program. She is also a member Alliance of Women Directors.

John DeVries is a director / writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. He believes in the transformative and culture-shaping power of film and as such, has spent much of his career as a documentary filmmaker in conflict zones. He strives to use his experiences in these environments to tell narrative stories that are engaging, thought-provoking and inspire change in the world around him.

Contact: Anjishnu Noor Purnota / purnota.anjishnu@gmail.com

Contact: Jill Von Dae / jillvond@gmail.com

Contact: John DeVries / john@thfilms.net

78

Sci-Fi Program 3 | ON DEMAND

The Prospector

Time Stamp

Director/Writer: Wade Chitwood

Director/Writer: Robert Butler III, Cade Huseby

A lone man searches for his place in the Universe. This journey takes the prospector to a place where he has to look directly at his soul and decide what he is willing to sacrifice to achieve his ambitions.

Jackie Dixon time travels from 2033 to 2019 in an attempt to save her parents from a tragic death.

United States / Sci- Fi / 14 mins

Producer: Wade Chitwood / Cast: Kevin Janusz, George N. Bukota, Ashley Cozine, Jason Adkins / Cinematographer: Richard A. Williams, Wade Chitwood / Visual Effects: Wade Chitwood / Sound: Michael Goebel

Wade Chitwood

United States / Sci-Fi / 23 mins

Producer: Madison Lin, Ryan Vargas / Visual Effects: Guy Bergman / Cast: Ayana Taylor, Ken Napzok, Cydney Gooch, Parker Huseby, Jay Washington, Nikelola Balogun, Riley Chapman, Benjamin O’Banner / DP: Rudy Pesci / Editors: Robert Butler III, Cade Huseby / Sound Designer: Luis Lopez, Jalen Conway

Robert Butler III, Cade Huseby

Wade Chitwood is a filmmaker and visual effects artist in Bellevue, Washington. Through his production and visual effects company “Hoplight Productions,” he wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning films, “The Prospector”, “The Comet Chronicles,” and “Rocket Man Adventure Series.”

He created the digital effects for the feature films: “ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction,” “Junk,” “The Lost Colony,” and the PBS TV show, “The Artist Toolbox.” Along with filmmaking, Wade is also a fine artist, having produced his own comics and comic books, literary illustrations, and art shows.

Isaac (Ngāpuhi) is filmmaker of 14 years and founder of My name is Robert Butler III. I was born and raised in the city of Compton, CA. I am a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, with a bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Media Studies. My love for cinema bloomed early in my life, and quickly became an aspiration to pursue feature-length narrative directing.

My name is Cade Huseby I am a multi-hyphenate digital artist based in Los Angeles, California. Throughout my 22 years of life, I have been writing and directing films and performances that express truths about myself and the world around me.

Contact: Wade Chitwood / wadechitwood@hotmail.com

Contact: Time Stamp Film / timestampfilm@gmail.com

79

HORROR HORROR

ON-DEMAND

80

Horror Program | ON DEMAND Program 1

Program 2

Program 3

Behind / Yili Li China / Horror / 15 mins

Koreatown Ghost Story / Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum / United States / Horror / 15 mins

Visitors / Kenichi Ugana Japan / Horror / 16 mins

HomeBound / Usher Morgan United States / Thriller / 19 mins In the Company of Crows / Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid / United States / Horror / 19 mins Itch / Susannah Farrugia Malta / Horror / 8 mins

The Henchman of Notre Dame / Timothy Naylor / United States / Horror / 12 mins The Uncredited / Nick Burchard United States / Horror / 12 mins

Waiting for Deading / Paul Sestakov United States / Dark Comedy / 28 mins What Happened Downstairs? / Andrew Nisinson United States / Horror / 16 mins

Unnamed / Valerii Petrov Russia / Horror / 27 mins

81

Horror Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Behind

HomeBound

In the Company of Crows

Director/Writer: Yili Li

Director: Usher Morgan

Director/Writer: Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid

Young Wen’s writing dream was shattered because of lack of inspiration. In order to survive, he became the cleaner of an underground hotel. One day, Wen accidentally broke into a guest room with a “Do Not Clean” sign, and he was surprised to discover the secrets hidden by the guests.

HomeBound is the story of Jamie Rockwell, a woman burdened by severe agoraphobia. After losing her therapy dog, she must muster the courage within, not only to find her dog, but ultimately, to find herself.

As a teenage girl with autism, Mira lives a solitary existence with her single mother Evelyn at their lake house. Mira’s intense focus on crows and their habits has led to a special bond that outweighs her connection to people.

China / Horror / 15 mins

Producer: Wenqiang Li / Cast: Sheng Liu / DP: Xingyuan Chen / Editor: Xingyuan Chen / Production Designer: Yangjie Zhou

Yili Li

Director | Camera Department | Writer.

United States / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

Producer: Usher Morgan, Katie Vincent / Cast: Katie Vincent, Sebastian Arcelus / Cinematographer: Usher Morgan, Louis Obioha / Music by: Christopher North

Usher Morgan

Usher Morgan is an award-winning screenwriter, film director, and producer residing in New York City. He produced his first documentary film “The Thought Exchange” starring David Friedman and Lucie Arnaz in 2012, followed by his directorial debut, the award-winning short film “Prego”. Morgan’s first feature film, “Pickings” was released to wide acclaim and received a limited theatrical release via AMC Independent in March of 2018.

The Los Angeles Times calls Usher Morgan, “a talent to watch”. The 405 listed “Pickings” in its “Top 18 films of 2018” list.

Contact: Xingyuan Chen / chester7@outlook.com

Contact: Usher Morgan / ushermorgan18@gmail.com

United States / Horror / 19 mins

Producer: Seapoint Studios / Cast: Jacqueline Scholl, Will O’Connor, Kimberley Fogelgren

Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid

Rachel is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and independent filmmaker who recently made the ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2021 list. As a storyteller, she likes to explore the darker instincts of human nature to shed light on important subjects. She recently won the Female Filmmaker Award at the Lonely Seal International Film Festival for her film “The Squirrels in the Attic,” which will be going to the Cannes Film Market during the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. She also received Best First Time Director at the New York Movie Awards, Best Narrative Short Film Director at the Mystic Film Festival, Audience Award for Outstanding Short at the Film Invasion Los Angeles Festival, and semi-finalist in the Academy Award Qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International

Film Festival.

Contact: Rachel Thomas-Medwid / thomasrachel946@gmail.com

82

Horror Program 1 | ON DEMAND

Itch

Malta / Horror / 8 mins

Director/Writer: Susannah Farrugia A psychological horror about a novice nun who develops a severe skin condition which continues to worsen along with her mental state as she struggles with her feelings for another nun.

Producer: Catherine Colbourne / Cast: Alexandra Dowling, Loren O’Dair

Yili Li

Director | Camera Department | Writer.

Contact: Xingyuan Chen / chester7@outlook.com

83

Horror Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Koreatown Ghost Story

The Henchman of Notre Dame

The Uncredited

Director/Writer: Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum

Director: Timothy Naylor

Director/Writer: Nick Burchard

In this supernatural horror tale based on a Korean ritual starring Margaret Cho and Lyrica Okano, a woman entertains a macabre marriage offer that would let her pursue her dreams, for better or for much much worse.

A tale about the content of one’s character versus their looks, inspirations include: Victor Hugo, Mel Brooks and The Miami Sound Machine.

After a dead body is discovered in the background of a film she appeared in as a teenager, Isabel’s friends become suspicious of her mysterious past.

Producer: Timothy Naylor / Cast: Kevin Mambo, LeRoy McClain

Producer: Sancha Spiller, Kasey Rae / Cast: Georgia Waehler, Brian Dole, Tyler Sanchez, Emily Dennis / DP: Kewan J. Harrison

United States / Horror / 15 mins

Producer: Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum, Margaret Cho, Jim Wedaa / Cast: Margaret Cho, Lyrica Okano

Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum

United States / Horror / 12 mins

Timothy Naylor

Minsun Park & Teddy Tenenbaum are a writing/directing team with combined experience in features and television, including pilot sales, staff writing, feature spec sales, and feature and television assignments. They have written separately and together, and currently write both as a team and as solo writers. They specialize in genre writing, including horror, thriller, and action, typically with a humorous edge. With Minsun’s background as an Asian-American woman born in Korea and Teddy’s experience as a white dude from Ohio, they cover a lot of bases.

Born in Michigan, Tim’s parents showed him the world, traveling to over 20 countries by his teens. Fast forward, upon receiving his MFA from New York University’s Graduate Film Program, he went on to work as a cinematographer and camera operator, shooting numerous features, documentaries and TV shows - including operating on Steve McQueen’s “Shame”, “Inside Amy Schumer” as well as winning Best Cinematography for Feature at the 2019 Madrid IFF. In the past few years he’s directed a series of short films, notably “Buried Deep” (Palm Springs FF and Urban World FF) and the doc, “Christmas Mission 2016” (Lincoln Center, African FF).

Contact: Teddy Tenenbaum / teddy@earthlink.net

Contact: Timothy Naylor / cinetim@gmail.com

United States / Horror / 12 mins

Nick Burchard

Nick Burchard is a Writer, Director, and Comic Book Artist from The Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. He is the founder of Tiny Viking Productions, a company that focuses on developing stories with the mindset of ‘character first’.

Contact: Nick Burchard / tinyvikingprod@gmail.com

84

Horror Program 2 | ON DEMAND

Unnamed

Russia / Horror / 27 mins

Director/Writer: Valerii Petrov This story is about the struggle of evil forces and good forces within the human mind. The main character turns from a good family man into a cannibal.

Producer: Valerii Petrov / Cast: Evgeny Sannikov, Anna Sannikova, Maria Petro, Ekaterina Maksimova

Valerii Petrov

I’ve been working in movies for 15 years. He graduated from the University of Film and Television in St. Petersburg. During the first wave, the covid wrote two scripts and began shooting.

I realized that everything that is meant to always be realized.

I’m not going to stop there, I keep writing and making movies.

Contact: Valerii Petrov / valera_2505_sp@mail.ru

85

Horror Program 3 | ON DEMAND

Visitors

Waiting for Deading

What Happened Downstairs?

Director/Writer: Kenichi Ugana

Director/Writer: Paul Sestakov

Director/Writer: Andrew Nisinson

Haruka, Nana, and Takanori visit the house of Souta, a band member who has lost contact with them. But Souta’s behavior is a little strange.

Two apprentice Grim Reapers are sent on their first assignment, but everything turns from bad to even f-ing worse when this bickering duo stray from the protocol.

While staying at an Airbnb in upstate New York, Robert and May find themselves in a haunted house.

The problem is, they can’t remember anything that happens downstairs. Strap in for a horror comedy that bends genre, while embracing its core.

Japan / Horror / 16 mins

Producer: Kenichi Ugana / Cast: Shiho, Saki Hirai, Haruki Itabashi, Ryuta Endo

Kenichi Ugana

Born April 20, 1984, from Tokyo.

He made his debut in theaters in 2016, directing the first feature film in the Japanese “GAL” -themed movie “Ganguro Gal`s Riot”.His series of short films, “Extraneous Matter,” has been screened at more than 75 film festivals in 20 countries and has won more than 11 top awards.”Extraneous MatterComplete Edition”, has been screened at the Torino Film Festival, the Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma, and the Etrange Festival. His latest short horror comedy, “Visitors,” was selected for over 22 film festivals including the Porto International Film Festival | Fantasporto and the Leeds International Film Festival and the Slamdance Film Festival and the LA Shorts International Film Festival. NY Shorts International FilmFestival, where it won the top prize.

Contact: Kenichi Ugana / wildvirgin.movie@gmail.com

United States / Dark Comedy / 28 mins

Producer: Javier Bonafont / Cast: James C. Leary, Angel Cruz, Scott Silverman

Paul Sestakov

Paul Sestakov is a writer and director, known for Waiting for Deading (2021), Marionettes (2021) and Composition (2021).

Contact: Paul Sestakov / nonunambiguous@gmail.com

United States / Horror / 16 mins

Producer: Andrew Nisinson, Meilin Gray, Michaela Dunphy-McMahon / Cast: Meilin Gray

Andrew Nisinson

Andrew Nisinson is a writer/director/producer residing in Brooklyn, a mere train ride away from the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he was born and raised by a family of secular, Jewish artists and weirdos. As a child, he acted in plays like The Victory Project with Kevin Kline, Henry V in the park and The Christmas Revels. As a teen he moved to Los Angeles to attend USC where he studied Theatre and Film. Upon graduating, Andrew began working as a cinematographer through most of his 20’s, shooting commercials and music videos for pop and hip hop stars. At 28, he began his directing career when the rappers J Cole and Bas, tapped him to direct music videos, and he was hired to do a global holiday campaign for Beats by Dre.

Contact: Andrew Nisinson / andrew@pyramyd.studio

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Thanks to Our Partners 2021

ACADEMY AWARDS® ACCREDITED FESTIVAL IS ONE OF THE LARGEST FILM FESTIVAL IN ASIA

88

Thanks to Our Partners 2021

89

FRIDAY OCT, 29 IN-PERSON

90

FRIDAY. October 29, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P1

4:45 PM

P2

6:30 PM

P3

8:15 PM

P4

10:00 PM

P5

FOLLOWING THE COMET

SAVE RALPH

BREAK ANY SPELL

BELLA AND BERNIE

DENZEL

Rebecca McNamee USA / Drama / 15 mins

Michael Gamarano Singleton United Kingdom / Drama / 10 mins

WHITE DONKEY, NATASHA, AND I

BEA, SERIOUSLY

AFTER THE EGG

Fin Handel United States / Animation / 4 mins

Anton Jøsef Canada / Drama / 13 mins

Donggyun Han United States / Drama / 15 mins

Spencer Susser United Kingdom / Animation / 4 mins

Hanna Gray Organschi United States / Drama / 10 mins

BEYOND OUR CONTROL Alexander Garcia Mallarini United States / Drama / 21 mins

NO FUTURE HERE J.A. Cruz, Jennifer Goodridge United States / Animation / 7 mins

BRUNCH

Marnik Loysen United Kingdom / Animation / 4 mins

PADDY

Zhou Haoran China / Animation / 15 mins

Chelsea Slayter New Zealand / Drama / 18 mins

EMMA WITHOUT EDMUND Nicolas Minas United States / Drama / 13 mins

THE GREAT ARTIST

Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri United States / Drama / 23 mins

REVERB

Yoo Lee United States / Animation / 6 mins

WHATEVER IT TAKES

Minkyu Kang United States / Drama / 7 mins

THE BOY AND THE MOUNTAIN

Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal Chile / Animation / 11 mins

Sean Michael Bradley United States / Drama / 6 mins

MR. SPAM GETS A NEW HAT

William Joyce United Kingdom / Animation / 13 mins

I STILL AM

Simon O’Keefe, Tara Lynn Rye United States / Horror / 10 mins

VAL

Ursula Monteiro, Bruno Sabongi Brazil / Drama / 15 mins

MARIE, MY FIRST

Zaha Alieva United States / Drama / 24 mins

WORK

A POEM BY ALBA

Aoife Williamson United States / Comedy / 15 mins

LINGER

Dan Bricker United States / Drama / 7 mins

BLAME THEM

Eliza McKenna United States / Drama / 11 mins

UNDRESSED

Elina Street United States / Drama / 10 mins

91

FRIDAY. October 29

3:00 Program 1 | IN-PERSON

Following the Comet

Save Ralph

Brunch

Director/Writer: Fin Handel

Director: Spencer Susser

Director: Marnik Loysen

Facing the possibility of the end, we follow a young man’s coming to terms with his life. The reflection upon what living means; how all of the miniscule things in our lives lead down the same path.

Humane Society International campaign spokesbunny Ralph, voiced by Taika Waititi, as he goes through his daily routine as a “tester” in a lab.

A stop-motion animated comedy which looks at the generational disputes between millennials and baby boomers.

Producer: School of Visual Arts / Cast: Fin Handel / Composer: Laura Platt / Sound Effects: Chris Warren

Writer: Spencer Susser / Producer: Jeff Vespa, Lisa Arianna, Spencer Susser (E): Donna Gadomski, Troy Seidle, Peter Kline / Cast: Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn, Pom Klementieff, Tricia Helfer, Liv Tennet / Set Designer: Andy Gent / Lead Animator: Tobias Fouracre / Cinematographer: Tristan Oliver

Writer: Marnik Loysen / Producer: Simon Marriott / Cast: David Schaal, Maddie Rice, Joe Bolland, Phillipa Flynn

United States / Animation / 4 mins

Fin Handel

interpretations.

Fin fostered his passion for art and filmmaking through growing up on the coast of southern New Jersey. Whether he was watching the clouds float along or listening to seagulls fly over him, Fin could always find meaning in the little things.

He expresses his thoughts, dreams and feelings through his work; often allowing room for the viewers to make open

Contact: Fin Handel / finhandel09@gmail.com

United Kingdom / Animation / 4 mins

Spencer Susser

Spencer Susser is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and editor whose career spans feature films, short films, commercials and music videos. He made his feature film directorial debut at Sundance in 2010 with “HESHER”, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson & Natalie Portman, which Spencer co-wrote, produced, edited & directed. Susser’s short film projects include “I love Sarah Jane” starring Mia Wasikowska (“Alice In Wonderland”), “The Captain” starring Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit). Spencer recently directed 2nd Unit and edited the Oscar-nominated “The Greatest Showman”, starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya.

Contact: Donna Gadomski / dgadomski@hsi.org

United Kingdom / Animation / 6 mins

Marnik Loysen

Marnik Loysen is a British stop-motion animator and filmmaker based in Bristol, UK. He studied animation at the Bristol School of Animation for one year before beginning his job at Aardman features. He has been a senior assistant animator on many of their recent features and series.

Contact: Marnik Loysen / marnikboy@hotmail.co.uk

92

FRIDAY. October 29

3:00 Program 1 | IN-PERSON

Paddy

A Poem by Alba

The Boy and The Mountain

Director: Zhou Haoran

Director: Yoo Lee

Director: Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal

Is there always an answer up there? To find his favorite toy, a little scarecrow starts the adventure. Along the way, he encounters a lot of strange sights; a lost paradise, a tide of immigration, an assembly line, a parade...

An elderly woman living alone in her apartment deals with loneliness and her eventual end.

A child who likes to daydreaming, but in his studies he is not doing well at all. His father constantly urges him to improve, advising him that he must reach very high to succeed in life.

China / Animation / 15 mins

Writer: Zhou Haoran / Producer: Pu Zhong

Zhou Haoran

United States / Animation / 6 mins

Producer: Sam Retzer / Cast: Robert Condon, Robin Daniels / Sound Designer: Matthew Schoenfeld / Composer: Sam Retzer / Post Composite: Jarrod Chatham / 2D Matte Paintin: Elizabeth Hwang

Yoo Lee

Zhou Haoran, an animation director, graduated from the animation department of Tongji University, now lives in Hangzhou. He participated in the production of the animated film A CAT NAMED SCHRODINGER. He is the author of animated short films HARRY, STRAW, etc. His works were awarded at Tokyo International Animation Festival, Montreal Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Beijing Film Academy International Student Film and Television Exhibition (ISFVF), China (Beijing) International Student Animation Festival (AniWow!), and other domestic and foreign film festivals.

Yoo Lee is a visual storyteller using stop motion animation as her medium based in Los Angeles. After spending twenty years working as a fashion designer, Lee decided to move on from the industry she was no longer passionate about and go after her true passion, storytelling. Lee is currently a Project Involve Fellow who received Laika Animation Fellowship and working on her 3rd animated shorts.

Contact: Junliang Dai / tougao@ff1895.com

Contact: Yoo Lee / leeyoo@usc.edu

Chile / Animation / 11 mins

Writer: Pablo Aguirre, Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal, Kylie Trupp

Santiago Aguilera

Since 1996 Santiago is VXF & Animation Director for several Audiovisual productions as large films ,short films and also advertising TVC. The Boy & the Mountain is his first film.

Contact: Aaron Navia Campos / distribution@poston.cl

93

FRIDAY. October 29

3:00 Program 1 | IN-PERSON

Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat United Kingdom / Animation / 13 mins

Director: William Joyce A man with a head full of dreams is beaten down by the foremen in the factory where he works. Then he meets the Woman in the Polka Dot dress who brings meaning, love, and dreams back to his life.

Writer: William Joyce / Producer: Shelley Smith, David Prescott

Joe Chang

William Joyce has achieved worldwide recognition as an author, illustrator and pioneer in the digital and animation industry.

He began his film career on Toy Story and has since been a producer/director/screenwriter/production designer in both animation and live action. In 2009, he founded Moonbot Studios, a multimedia storytelling company producing books, apps, films and video games. Among his many awards Bill has won 6 Emmys, 3 Annies and an Academy award for his short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore.He has written and illustrated 50 bestselling children’s books and novels which have been translated into over 40 languages.

Contact: Shelley Smith / mism@dneg.com

94

FRIDAY. October 29

4:45 Program 2 | IN-PERSON

Break Any Spell

Bella and Bernie

Denzel

Director: Anton Jøsef

Director/Writer: Rebecca McNamee

Director/Writer: Michael Gamarano Singleton

When April sets off to battle in the the world of live-action-role-playing, her mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s reaches a breaking point.

Two 16 year old carefree confidants, Bella and Bernie, tentatively explore independence and sexuality while trying to dodge the ever watchful eye of Mrs. Judge, Bella’s mother. The evangelical Mrs. Judge has concerns over Bella’s friendship with the vibrant Bernie, wary of Bernie’s secret family history repeating itself in Bella.

Denzel follows the dating life of a young man with downs syndrome on his journey to self-acceptance.

He uses an alter ego to navigate through his social issues and self worth until finally reaching the perfect conclusion.

Canada / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: Lisi Purr, Anton Jøsef / Producer: Lisi Purr, Pierre Campbell / Cast: Rachel Boyd, Catherine McGregor, Kelly Seo, Vanessa Mitchell, Tyrnan Driscoll

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Producer: Rebecca McNamee, Amy Powell / Cast: Teagan Croft, Mary Tilden, Robyn Coffin / Editor: Lindsay Armstrong

Anton Jøsef

The eldest son of Austrian and Hungarian immigrants, Anton was born in Toronto and played NCAA Division 1 soccer before giving up his athletic career to pursue filmmaking.

After years of shooting wedding videos, Anton had his first breakthrough directing a music video for Canadian indie rock band The Dears, which was featured on Wired Magazine and MTV. Anton’s passion for short format storytelling helped him transition into directing TV commercials across the world. His clients include Starbucks, JEEP, the Asian Games, Century 21, Big Lots! and Samsung.

Contact: Lisi Purr / elisabethpurr@gmail.com

Rebecca McNamee

An independent Australian writer and director, she has transferred her experience from the stage to screen. Rebecca has spent the last 5 years based in Chicago writing, directing and performing, and previous to that, in her hometown of Sydney, Australia.

Contact: Amy Powell / rmcassistant@rattlejackinc.com

United Kingdom / Drama / 10 mins

Producer: Michael Gamarano Singleton, Chris Kyriacou / Cast: Karl Queensborough, Melissa Collier, Chris Kyriacou, Jordan Persaud-Walters, Ellie Goldstein

Michael Gamarano Singleton

Michael Gamarano Singleton is a half Brazilian, half English Writer/Director/Producer. He grew up on a council estate in the north of England but managed to get a place at London Met Film where he graduated in 2009. His work often revolves around social issues designed to make audiences think.

One of his shorts ‘Two Sides’, won 6 awards on its festival run including ‘Best Director’ at the Fort McMurray International Film Festival and ‘Best Short’ at the London International Film Awards. His latest short ‘Denzel’ won the Grand Jury Prize at the 35th Edmonton Film Festival officially qualifying it for an Academy Award.

Contact: Michael Gamarano Singleton / michael@mixingproductions.com

95

FRIDAY. October 29

4:45 Program 2 | IN-PERSON

Reverb

Whatever It Takes

I Still Am

Director/Writer: Minkyu Kang

Director/Writer: Sean Michael Bradley

Director/Writer: Simon O’Keefe, Tara Lynn Rye

A 9-years-old pianist, who suffers from a hearing impairment, learns a different way of listening to the world.

In this Action Short, Marcus does what is necessary to get out of a dangerous situation

In 1979, a woman takes refuge from an abusive relationship in a secluded cabin. She can run from her relationship, but in isolation, the stories she deludes herself with won’t keep her safe.

United States / Drama / 7 mins

Producer: Bofan Zhang, Grace Merriman / Cast: Alexa Swinton, Sarah Sandback, David Dotterer

Minkyu Kang

Minkyu Kang is a director, screenwriter, and producer based in both the United States and South Korea. He studied Film and TV Production (BA) at the University of Southern California in 2012. After two-years of military service in South Korea, he worked in the local film and advertising industry, during which time he had directed short films, TV commercials, and art videos. The short films he directed have been selected and screened at multiple international film festivals, including Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival, Bogota Short Film Festival, San Diego International Film Festival, and Foyle Film Festival, etc. He is currently pursuing an MFA degree in Directing/Screenwriting at Columbia University’s School of Arts.

Contact: Bofan Zhang / bofan314@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 6 mins

Producer: David Kelly Crow, John Martin / Cast: Wadi Jones, Matt Flanagan, Doug Graves, Sean Michael Bradley / DP: Andres Torres / Editor: Sergio Herrera / Sound Designer: Dan Halma / Music: Silas Stewart

Sean Michael Bradley

Is an Actor, Stunt Performer, Writer and Director based in New York City. He is a member of both SAG-AFTRA and AEA.He last worked as a Stunt Double for Billy Eichner on the upcoming movie BROS (2022) , and last appeared onscreen as a Stunt Actor for the STARZ series Power Book 3: Raising Kanan.

United States / Horror / 10 mins

Producer: Simon O’Keefe, Tara Lynn Rye, Jodi Daley, John Manna, Joe & Jenny Ferraro / Cast: Tara Lynn Rye / Original Score: Jeff Palmiotti / Cinematographer: Simon O’Keefe / Editor: Simon O’Keefe, Tara Lynn Rye

Simon O’Keefe, Tara Lynn Rye

Simon and Tara run a production house based in New York and Los Angeles. With over a decade of combined experience, they’ve produced countless award-winning narratives, documentaries, music videos, commercials, and concept pieces.

His first short film, Whatever It Takes, has premiered in film festivals in LA, London, Toronto, and New York.He holds an MA with Honors from University College Dublin Ireland and a BFA from The University of the Arts.

Contact: Sean Bradley / seanbradley213@gmail.com

Contact: Tara Rye / tara@taralynnrye.com

96

FRIDAY. October 29

6:30 Program 3 | IN-PERSON

White Donkey, Natasha, and I

Bea, Seriously

After The Egg

Director/Writer: Donggyun Han

Director/Writer: Hanna Gray Organschi

Director/Writer: Chelsea Slayter

December 1991, few weeks to the fall of the Soviet Union, a North Korean woman sent to spy on an exiled South Korean writer living in New York City. As her mission goes, she is gradually transformed by reading the banned poems the exile was studying.

Bea shows up at her mother’s house to decide what to do about an unexpected pregnancy.

A young woman becomes an unlikely caregiver for her estranged father and his new chicken friend after he suffers a life altering stroke.

United States / Drama / 15 mins

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Producer: Karen Madar, Hanna Gray Organschi / Cast: Giovanna Drummond, Elizabeth Keifer

New Zealand / Drama / 18 mins

Producer: Jane Davis / Cast: Emily Laurić, William Gruar

Producer: Chengzhi Jin / Cast: Chaeyoung Kang, Jeonghwan Oh, Hyojin Park

Donggyun Han

Hanna Gray Organschi

Han Donggyun received a BA in Film from Hanyang University and earned his MFA in Film Directing at Columbia University. He is also a participant of Talents Tokyo 2018 and 2013 alumni of Film Leaders incubator. Besides his directorial works, he also works as the chief editor of film magazine [anno.], and teaches at the film department of Myongji University.

Is a New England-raised, New York-based filmmaker, currently pursuing her MFA in Film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

After graduating from Brown University with a Bachelors in International Relations and French Literature, Hanna got her start in film working alongside Academy Award-winning director/producer/actor Fisher Stevens, who she supported across his narrative, documentary and short-form political activism projects for major platforms like Netflix, HBO, and National Geographic. She went on to assist director Antonio Campos on his Netflix original film THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME. She is a recipient of the 2021 New York Women in Film & Television Scholarship.

Contact: Donggyun Han / d.han@columbia.edu

Contact: Hanna Gray Organschi / hgo215@nyu.edu

Chelsea Slayter

After graduating NYU with degrees in Cinema Studies and Broadcast Journalism, Chelsea’s filmmaking journey began in the world of documentary. Today, her fictional work continues to reflect an intimate approach rooted in her documentary practices. AFTER THE EGG is her narrative film debut.

Contact: Chelsea Slayter / vaguepics@gmail.com

97

FRIDAY. October 29

6:30 Program 3 | IN-PERSON

VAL

Brazil / Drama / 15 mins

Director: Ursula Monteiro, Bruno Sabongi The story of Valeria (Ursula Monteiro) who after a very troubling breakup has grown frustrated with her family.

Just as the Coronavirus pandemic is beginning, Valeria’s life is doubly turned upside down when her convicted exboyfriend suddenly shows up, forcing her to face her life head-on and make big decisions for her future.

Writer: Ursula Monteiro / Producer: Lisa Kalil de Almeida, Henrique Osse, Paulo Silvio / Cast: Ursula Monteiro, Victor Silveira, Luiz Ratto, Luciana Camargo, Wladimir José Pereira

Ursula Monteiro, Bruno Sabongi

Ursula Monteiro is a Brazilian born actor, director, screenwriter and photographer. She began her acting career at eight years old in her hometown Taubate, Sao Paulo. At the age of eighteen, Ursula moved to New York City to pursue her dream of working in theater and film; in 2016 she graduated from Marymount Manhattan College where she earned a B.A in Theatre, with a concentration in Performing Arts and Directing.

Bruno Sabongi is a Brazilian born filmmaker, founder of PhonoXXI Filmes, production company in Sao Paulo hired to assist Ursula Monteiro in her film VAL. Bruno holds a degree in Film and Advertising from FAAP - Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado. He has directed six other short-films, some of which have been selected to various film festivals around the world, such as: FAN CHILE, ICFF - (Indian Cine Film Fest), Bakatá - IX Festival de Cine: Infancia y Adolescencia “Ciudad de Bogotá.”

Contact: Ursula Monteiro / info@ursulamonteiro.com

98

FRIDAY. October 29

8:15 Program 4 | IN-PERSON

Beyond Our Control

Emma Without Edmund

Marie, My First

Director/Writer: Alexander Garcia Mallarini

Director: Marshall Cooper

Director: Zaha Alieva

When Isabela and Santiago meet they start exploring the complexity of love and unrealistic expectations that come with it. There is this illusion that if you love deep enough, you can conquer anything. But many times love disappoints; it changes, it evolves. And along the way, something or someone crosses your path, because you really need to go through the process of confronting the parts of yourself that you never knew existed.

Lynn Cohen stars as Emma, a widow on a mission to summon the spirit of her dead husband so they can have one last fight.

Erik, a young procrastinating writer, lives a lonely life in New York and works at a job he hates. In a desperate need for love and acceptance he approaches a local prostitute, Marie. She inadvertently pushes Erik to create his first story and, in a way, becomes his first reader.

United States / Drama / 21 mins

Producer: Alexander Garcia Mallarini, Robert Blink / Cast: Ela Damaro,Tomás Ignacio Faber, Amina Summers

Alexander Garcia Mallarini

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Writer: Nicolas Minas / Producer: Elizabeth Balla / Cast: Lynn Cohen, Stuart Rudin, Nathan Cann, Ronald Cohen / Cinematography: ShihChieh Wei / Editor: Lily Kleinman ​

Nicolas Minas

Director Alexander Garcia Mallarini was born in New York City but moved with his family at the age of 7 to Montevideo, Uruguay. Upon his return to the States at the age of 18 he pursued a degree in Art Direction focusing in Advertising. He worked for various agencies but his true passion was in film and photography. In 2017 he quit his job and traveled the world for a year, which gave him the time to craft and find his style during various passion projects. His career goal is to direct more short films and grow his production company Madman Creative Lab.

Is a theater, television, and film director based in New York City. He directed the first two episodes of the television comedy HALF LIFE (starring Larisa Oleynik) soon available on WhoHaHa. He was the Assistant Director of Filming on the Emmy Award winning Live at Lincoln Center production of SWEENEY TODD (with Emma Thompson and Audra McDonald, directed by Lonny Price), the Assistant Director on the Broadway production of DRIVING MISS DAISY (with James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave, directed

by David Esbjornson), and held an SDC Observership on the Live at Lincoln Center Production of COMPANY (with Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, directed by Lonny Price).

Contact: Alexander Garcia / madmancreativelab@gmail.com

Contact: Nicolas Minas / minasnick@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 24 mins

Writers: Zaha Alieva, Isaac Babel / Producer: Zaha Alieva / Cast: Warren Cockrell, Nahar Aminov

Zaha Alieva

Zaha is originally from Kazakhstan. In 2014 she moved to New York to pursue a career in photography and filmmaking.

Zaha graduated from Digital Film Academy New York in 2019.

“Marie, my first”, her fourth short film, is based on the short story by her favorite writer Isaac Babel. Copyright to the story is obtained.

Contact: Zaha Alieva / zaha.alieva@gmail.com

99

FRIDAY. October 29

8:15 Program 4 | IN-PERSON

Linger

United States / Drama / 7 mins

Director: Dan Bricker What happens when a one-night-stand overstays his welcome.

Writer: Abbie Richards / Producer: Dan Bricker, Abbie Richards / Cast: Alex MacNicoll, Abbie Richards

Dan Bricker

Dan Bricker is an award winning Canadian Filmmaker from Toronto. He studied psychology in Canada and found he was spending more of his energy in his elective film classes than paying attention in his 500-person intro to psych lecture. He took the plunge and moved to New York City to pursue a career in directing comedy. He found his niche in directing sketch and narrative films and is currently developing two feature films.

Contact: Abbie Richards / abbierichards31@gmail.com

100

FRIDAY. October 29

10:00 Program 5 | IN-PERSON

No Future Here

The Great Artist

Work

Director/Writer: J.A. Cruz, Jennifer Goodridge

Director: Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri

Director/Writer: Aoife Williamson

The fearless bassist of a quirky punk band, shakes things up when she performs a seance that will forever alter the future.

A gifted artist finds himself in a broken balance between creating world class art and the all too silent struggle of self care as his life begins to unravel because of his Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Lilith is our heroine. She has the task of creating a song in one day to submit for a commercial that could potentially be a big break in her musical career. It just so happens that that “one day” is a very busy day at her money job. And it just so happens that that “money job” is as a sex worker named “Eve”.

United States / Animation / 7 mins

Producer: J.A. Cruz, Jennifer Goodridge / Cast: Cleopatra Coleman, Justin Warfield, Frankie Loyal, Jennifer Goodridge, Boots, Seth Charles, Keith Buckley

J.A. Cruz, Jennifer Goodridge

J.A. Cruz, a.k.a. BOOTS, is a 2x Grammy nominated producer, artist, writer, director & Co-Founder of 13Lux Films.

He initially rose to prominence after producing and writing for Beyoncé Knowles’ self-titled 2013 LP Beyoncé & 2016’s Lemonade, which both received widespread critical acclaim and have sold more than 10.5 million copies worldwide.

Jennifer is an Emmy nominated and Sundance Film Festival alumni multihyphenate Producer, Director & Writer. Before founding Beyond Ideas, Jennifer worked in-house at Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris’ company, Bob Industries collaborating with rostered Directors Davis Guggenheim, Doug Pray, Jason Reitman, Miguel Arteta & Bob Odenkirk, among others.

Contact: Jennifer Goodridge / jennifergoodridge@me.com

United States / Drama / 23 mins

Writer: Matthew Postlethwaite, Sunny Vachher / Producer: Sunny Vachher, Matthew Postlethwaite / Cast: Matthew Postlethwaite, Marimar Vega, Rain Valdez, Benjamin Patterson ​ Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri

Disruptive Innovator, Tribeca Film Festival 2019 awardwinning director, photographer, and social justice advocate, Max Mark-Cranbrook 2019 Global Peacemaker and United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Distinguished Fellow, Indrani creates transformative, multi-platform works of art, innovation and social impact. Extensive global expertise leveraging the power of art, media, technology, celebrity, music, fashion, branding, and education, her work consistently empowers diversity, equality, and environmental sustainability. The recipient of 29 awards, and published in media outlets from HBO to CNN and the New York Times to Vogue and Vanity Fair, she has created the image of over 300 brands, from Pepsi and Nike to L’Oreal.

Contact: Sunny Vachher / sunny@purpose.ooo

United States / Comedy / 15 mins

Producer: C Marie O’Connell, Paridhi Rana / Cast: Krystal Renee, Aoife Williamson, Jeffrey Fuller, Vincent Ticali / DP: Yessica Curiel Montoya / Composer: DMac Burns / Editor: Alexandra Boskovich

Aoife Williamson

WORK is Aoife Williamson’s directorial debut.

Aoife has been acting in theatre and film for fifteen years. She has completed a total of five years of conservatory courses in Ireland and in New York. A lover of travel, she has worked in film in places as far reaching as Auckland, New Zealand and Mumbai, India. She was nominated for Best Actress in The Underground Film Festival in Dublin. She is an Irish immigrant and a New York City resident. This is the first film that she has written and directed.

Contact: Marie O’Connell / moconnellsheehy@gmail.com

101

FRIDAY. October 29

10:00 Program 5 | IN-PERSON

Blame Them

Undressed

Director: Eliza McKenna

Director/Writer: Elina Street

After learning she has chlamydia, a high school student enlists a friend to help call the boys who may have infected her.

Cléo is a struggling actress. She finds it difficult to communicate her new found activity to her girlfriend even though she is empowered by it.

Writer: Eleanor Greene / Producer: Eliza McKenna, Chase Mayo, Josh Rode / Cast: Eleanor Greene, Lucie Allouche, Ellis Cox-Mcallister, Katie Rodgers

Producer: Louise de Nexon / Cast: Malou Coindreau, Marie Zabukovec, Peter Lamarque / Camera: Zoë Simone Yi / Production Designer: Clara Lefebvre / Composer: Baptiste Charvet / Sound Designer: Lee Salevan

United States / Drama / 11 mins

Eliza McKenna

Eliza McKenna is a Brooklyn and Upstate New York based filmmaker. She graduated from Wesleyan University in 2020 with a degree in film studies. Brownie, her first short, premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2020.

Contact: Eliza McKenna / elizarmckenna@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri

Disruptive Innovator, Tribeca Film Festival 2019 awardwinning director, photographer, and social justice advocate, Max Mark-Cranbrook 2019 Global Peacemaker and United Nations Women’s Entrepreneurship Distinguished Fellow, Indrani creates transformative, multi-platform works of art, innovation and social impact. Extensive global expertise leveraging the power of art, media, technology, celebrity, music, fashion, branding, and education, her work consistently empowers diversity, equality, and environmental sustainability. The recipient of 29 awards, and published in media outlets from HBO to CNN and the New York Times to Vogue and Vanity Fair, she has created the image of over 300 brands, from Pepsi and Nike to L’Oreal.

Contact: Elina Street / elina.street@gmail.com

102

103

SATURDAY

OCT, 30

IN-PERSON

104

SATURDAY. October 30, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P6

4:45 PM

P7

6:30 PM

P8

8:15 PM

P9

10:00 PM

P10

HARVEST TIME

CLASS

LEYLAK

SEE THROUGH

Anson Williams United States / Comedy / 25 mins

Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos United States / Drama / 17 mins

CLARK!

Claire Dub United States / Drama / 4 mins

SMOKING WET Michael Hilf United States / Comedy / 20 mins

WHEN THIS ALL ENDS

Jordan Sommerlad United States / Drama / 15 mins

Enzo Cellucci, Ash McNair United States / Drama / 18 mins

Eyal Resh United States / Drama / 9 mins

YO ANDREA

Brian Russell United States / Romance / 7 mins

NO DYE

SPEAK NOW

Michelle Somruthai D’Angelo United States / Drama / 17 mins

AMERICAN MORNING

PROMISE ME

JUMP

SILENT PARTNER

Robbie Bryan United States / Drama / 25 mins

Natalia Curea United States / Comedy / 19 mins

Yoni Azulay United States / Comedy / 5 mins

SOMETHING BORROWED

Lydia Bottom United States / Comedy / 9 mins

Bérénice Achille United States / Drama / 10 mins

Aristotle Torres United States / Drama / 16 mins

SOYKA

Anastasiya Sergienya United States / Drama / 15 mins

IN MAX WE TRUST

Sheldon Chau United States / Drama / 20 mins

HEY MAMA!

Pepper Binkley, Delavega United States / Comedy / 11 mins

CONNOR

Hilary Bettis United States / Drama / 9 mins

POLISHED

Colleen Dodge United States / Drama / 6 mins

GOOD TIME

Kingy Wong United States / Drama / 9 mins

105

SATURDAY. October 30

3:00 Program 6 | IN-PERSON

Harvest Time

Class

Speak Now

Director: Anson Williams

Director/Writer: Enzo Cellucci, Ash McNair

Director/Writer: Michelle Somruthai D’Angelo

Don Most and Anson Williams have released their first scripted program that they’ve appeared in together since playing legendary best friends Ralph and Potsie on HAPPY DAYS. This time they play brothers in the dramatic comedy.

New student Max attends his first ever acting class.

He soon discovers that the lines between class and cult begin to blur as he and his fellow students are subjected to the bizarre but brilliant methods of their eccentric teacher, Adam (David Krumholtz).

Spurred by a racist neighbor, immigration services investigates the union of Mr. and Mrs. Porter, an African American citizen and Vietnamese immigrant brought together by family and promises.

Writer: Frederick J Stroppel / Producer: David Levin, Don Most, Anson Williams, Frederick Stroppel, Jory Rosen / Cast: Anson Williams, Don Most, Beth Littleford

Producer: Hank Azaria, David Krumholtz, Ben Stranahan, Joseph Huffman, Jonny Marlow, Philip Nguyen, Clea DeCrane, Srinivas Gopalan, Gayathri Segar / Cast: David Krumholtz, Enzo Cellucci, Alina Carson, Amanda Centeno, Brendan Dalton, Kristin Friedlander

United States / Comedy / 25 mins

United States / Drama / 18 mins

United States / Drama / 17 mins

Producer: Daniel Chelemer / Cast: Thammie Quach, JR Carter, Marianne Goodell, Spencer Steeby, Bob Gallagher, Mindy Fox, Denisse Estefany Mendoza, Greg Mays / DP: Jason Cowan / Editor: Olivia Wyrick

​ Anson Williams

Anson Williams is one of the most prolific and talented Producer-Directors working in television today. Though he is best known to television audiences as Potsie, from the popular ABC television series “HAPPY DAYS”, these days, Anson is usually found behind the camera, having directed more than 200 hours of prime-time television for CBS, NBC, UPN, FOX, ABC and ABC FAMILY. Anson’s body of work includes directing for CHARMED, LOVE BOAT: THE NEXT WAVE, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, 7th HEAVEN, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, BEVERLY HILLS 90210, MELROSE PLACE, L.A. LAW, DIAGNOSIS MURDER, CLUELESS, STAR TREK VOYAGER, PROFILER and JUST THEN TEN OF US. Contact: David Levin / davidbrainstorm@gmail.com

Enzo Cellucci, Ash McNair

Ash McNair is a British-Indian actor and filmmaker from London. Enzo Cellucci is an American actor and filmmaker from Los Angeles, where they both began their acting careers together over a decade ago. In 2017 Ash and Enzo formed their production company, Goosemango Films in New York City. ‘Class’ is their screenwriting and directorial debut.

Michelle Somruthai D’Angelo

Michelle originally hails from Bangkok, Thailand. She is one of seven children with two Thai siblings, three Colombian halfsiblings, and one Puerto-Rican half-sibling. Growing up she spent her school years in Longmeadow, Massachusetts and many summers back in Bangkok where her mother’s family still resides today.

In college her pragmatism caused her to major in business, while her love of stories and the human condition led her to minor in history, psychology, and Spanish.

Contact: Enzo Cellucci / enzo@goosemango.com

Contact: Michelle Somruthai D’Angelo / m.dangelo433@gmail.com

106

SATURDAY. October 30

4:45 Program 7 | IN-PERSON

Leylak

See Through

American Morning

Director: Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos

Director: Eyal Resh

Director: Robbie Bryan

In present day Queens, New York, a Turkish gravedigger is unable to face a shattering truth, and risks losing the dearest connection left in his life.

Jessie and Brian, a young Deaf couple, recently discovered they are about to become parents. Their neighborhood coffee shop thrums with everything left unsaid, while they unearth new ways to communicate.

A former music teacher resorts to desperate measures to reconcile his guilt and affect change after the horrors and aftermath of a mass shooting in a suburban elementary school.

Writer: Jacob Marx Rice / Producer: Kiera BrattonLewis / Cast: Lauren Ridloff, Douglas Ridloff

Writer: Stephen Dexter / Producer: Sarah Wharton, Christie Botelho, Robbie Bryan, Stephen Dexter, Ashley George / Cast: Stephen Dexter, Richard Schiff, Lou Martini Jr., Barbie Leung, Kala Mandrake

United States / Drama / 17 mins

Writer: Mustafa Kaymak / Producer: Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos, Mustafa Kaymak / Cast: Nadir Saribacak, Isabella Haddock / DP: Laura Valladao / Original Music: Ahmet Kenan Bilgiç

Scott Aharoni, Dennis Latos

Scott Aharoni & Dennis Latos are a directing duo based out of New York. The DUO have produced a diversified slate of ad campaigns for international brands and have produced several award winning films that have garnered international success under their budding production company, DUO Entertainment. Scott & Dennis were also recently featured on New York’s CBS News Small Business Spotlight to discuss the growth of their production company, and their upcoming projects and goals in the industry.

Contact: Mustafa Kaymak / micokaymak@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Eyal Resh

Eyal Resh is a live-action and animation filmmaker.

Emerging from Tel Aviv’s art scene, he graduated with excellence in film from Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, and later served as the director of the Israeli Air Force Cinema Unit.

He is a graduate of the MFA Film Directing Program at CalArts.

United States / Drama / 25 mins

Robbie Bryan

iMurders (horror feature starring Frank Grillo, Gabrielle Anwar, Billy Dee Williams, William Forsythe, Charles Durning, Margaret Colin, Tony Todd. Winner at Chicago Horror Fest.)

The Eyes (Psychological thriller starring Nick Turturro, Vincent Pastore, Danny Flaherty and Ana Isabelle, Winner Rhode Island Film Festival and picked up by Showtime.)

Eyal’s stories explore the intricacies of the human condition through themes such as intimacy, sex, and communication.

Choose (Dramatic Short film tackling cancer themes) Appeared at LA Shortsfest, Nominated at Oldenburg Film Fest, Nominated at Soho International Film Fest. Platinum Award Winner at Worldfest Houston.

Contact: Eyal Resh / resh.eyal@gmail.com

Contact: Robbie Bryan / goodtobeseenfilmsllc@yahoo.com

107

SATURDAY. October 30

4:45 Program 7 | IN-PERSON

Promise Me

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Director: Bérénice Achille A young man seamlessly going about his life unexpectedly runs into the love of his life triggering memories of their whirlwind romance.

Producer: Bérénice Achille / Cast: Bérénice Achille, Jamie Dufault

Bérénice Achille

Bérénice is a New York-based Actor and Filmmaker originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Bérénice makes her directorial debut in her first short film “Promise Me”, which she also wrote, produced, and starred in.

Before diving into acting and filmmaking, Bérénice graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S in Health Sciences following the pre-med track. Outside of filmmaking, She loves to dance, travel, and eat great food.

She also loves learning about holistic health.

Contact: Bérénice Achille / contact@bereniceachille.com

108

SATURDAY. October 30

6:30 Program 8 | IN-PERSON

Clark!

Yo Andrea

Jump

Director/Writer: Claire Dub

Director: Brian Russell

Director/Writer: Natalia Curea

On her one-year anniversary with Clark, Nell attempts to write a romantic poem. The task proves impossible... until Nell finds a way to tap into her true inspiration.

A middle-aged man hatches a plan to win the woman of his dreams.

Alfred, a middle-aged party clown leads a somewhat artistic life in New York City, but it’s not quite what he imagined in his youth. As he gets older, Alfred begins to question whether he has failed to achieve his dreams, and compare himself to a former college friend who seems to have it all.

United States / Drama / 4 mins

Cast: Mia Jessup, Marc Phillipe Eskenazi / Editor: Randy Rubin

United States / Romance / 7 mins

Writer: Mike Boland / Producer: Mike Boland, Brian Russell, Megan Smith-Harris, Hannia Guillen / Cast: Mike Boland, Tonya Cornelisse

United States / Comedy / 19 mins

Producer: Cardboard Llama / Cast: Al Pagano, Dasha Dakkuri, Erinn Holmes

Claire Dub

Claire Dub is a Canadian writer and director based in NYC. Claire is drawn to characters that are passionately and comedically preoccupied with their own self-expression and self-image. Her 2018 short, “Art Show,” about a successful artist whose legitimacy is questioned, screened at several North American film festivals, including Tallgrass, New York Shorts, Art of Brooklyn, and the Canadian International Comedy Film Festival, where it was awarded Best International Film. Claire comes from a background in architecture and design, a world that has inspired many of the characters and premises in her work as a filmmaker.

Contact: Claire Dub / claire.dub@gmail.com

Brian Russell

Brian Russell grew up in Connecticut. He is a Director and Director of Photography who knows he should focus, but loves all kinds of production.

He accidentally started shooting and editing video a while back, and realized he could have fun while working for a living!

He has shot over 2,000 interviews, and has hundred’s of credits to his name, ranging from the ESPN 30 for 30 short The Counterfeiter, to celebrities like Arianna Huffington, Ed Burns and the entire cast of Saturday Night Live.

Contact: Brian Russell / Brian@RedShoeFilm.com

Natalia Curea

Born and raised in Moldova, Natalia Curea is a film director and screenwriter, known for Hot Seat (2017), Phenomenal Woman (2018), and Jump (2021). She studied Film and Video Production at City College of New York and graduated magna cum laude. Her recent short film “Jump” has won numerous awards including Best Director, Best Drama, and Best Short.

Her style as a writer-director lies in character-driven, dramatic storytelling that explores the complexity of human nature, featuring protagonists with inner conflicts. Curea presently has feature film and TV scripts in development.

Contact: Natalia Curea / ncurea24@gmail.com

109

SATURDAY. October 30

6:30 Program 8 | IN-PERSON

Silent Partner

Hey Mama!

Director: Aristotle Torres

Director: Pepper Binkley, Delavega

Silas Jones is an accomplished, Black trial attorney on the cusp of making partner at a white-shoe law firm. Upon successfully defending a white woman charged with murdering a Black teen, Silas comes to a crossroads with his wife Kosi, an equally accomplished professor, as they prepare to attend the firm’s celebration. As the night progresses, Silas questions the legitimacy of his promotion.

As strangers stop her to offer advice, a woman, two weeks over due, desperately wants to go into labor, but some things are out of her control.

United States / Drama / 16 mins

Writer: Aristotle Torres, Roderick Lawrence / Producer: Salma Qarnain Shaw, Roderick Lawrence, Dr. Celeste Watkins-Hayes (EP), Rejji Hayes (EP), Eric Nelsen (Co-Producer), Sainty Nelsen (CoProducer) / Cast: Roderick Lawrence, Michael Park, Kara Young, Maia Guest, Jeff Ryan / DP: Eric Branco

Aristotle Torres

Aristotle Torres is a writer, director, from The Bronx, NYC. He has built a career directing music videos, experimenting with photography, and telling award-winning stories. He most recently directed, wrote and produced branded content for a global Starbucks campaign and was chosen as a Sundance Film Festival 2019 Feature Film Fellow, developing his debut feature film, “Story Ave,” which begins production Fall ‘21 and stars Luis Guzmán, with Jamie Foxx and Datari Turner producing.

Contact: Salma Qarnain / salma@blackmanfilms.com

United States / Comedy / 11 mins

Writer: Pepper Binkley / Producer: Pepper Binkley, Delavega, Heath Brandon / Cast: Lindsey Broad, Ashley Williams, Laura Breckenridge, Joanna Christie, Abdiel Vivancos, Daniel Irizarry

Pepper Binkley, Delavega

Pepper is a performer, writer, director and producer who has worked extensively in film, television, theater, and commercials. As a storyteller she loves working collaboratively and experimenting with styles and genres. Her award winning web series, “It’s Freezing Out There” marked her directorial debut in partnership with Delavega.

Delavega is a film, television, commercial and digital content director and producer. Over the past decade, he has directed A-list actors and musicians and produced over 350 projects for major television networks. His work has been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone, The Guardian and Variety.

Contact: Pepper Binkley / pepperbinkley@gmail.com

110

SATURDAY. October 30

8:15 Program 9 | IN-PERSON

Smoking Wet

No Dye

Soyka

Director: Michael Hilf

Director: Yoni Azulay

Director/Writer: Anastasiya Sergienya

When funeral director Lois Yerdun accidentally takes the drug ecstasy her world is completely turned upside-down, as she is alone at the funeral home, and forced to supervise a funeral. The unintended results are life changing as we go for the ride with her in this hilarious comedy.

A Staten Island couple contemplates a last-ditch effort to make their dreams come true.

Anna, a young woman from Belarus, tries to survive in New York City while dreaming of a better life. This intimate portrait of an individual showcases the experience of the American immigrant: loneliness, fear, happiness, self-realization, and ultimately hope.

United States / Comedy / 20 mins

United States / Comedy / 5 mins

Writer: Alex Gehrlein / Producer: Zach Rineer, Yoni Azulay / Cast: Jeff Ayars, Dana Berger

Producer: Kacey Montana / Cast: Lyanka Gryu, Marilynn Larkin, Erich Rausch, Andreas Pliatsikas, Zalmem Hertz, Maciej Bartoszewski / Cinematographer: Valentina Caniglia

Writer: Michael Hilf, Robin McDonald / Producer: Barrett Nicol / Cast: Robin McDonald, Mike Rad

Claire Dub

Claire Dub is a Canadian writer and director based in NYC. Claire is drawn to characters that are passionately and comedically preoccupied with their own self-expression and self-image. Her 2018 short, “Art Show,” about a successful artist whose legitimacy is questioned, screened at several North American film festivals, including Tallgrass, New York Shorts, Art of Brooklyn, and the Canadian International Comedy Film Festival, where it was awarded Best International Film. Claire comes from a background in architecture and design, a world that has inspired many of the characters and premises in her work as a filmmaker.

Contact: Claire Dub / claire.dub@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Brian Russell

Brian Russell grew up in Connecticut. He is a Director and Director of Photography who knows he should focus, but loves all kinds of production.

He accidentally started shooting and editing video a while back, and realized he could have fun while working for a living!

He has shot over 2,000 interviews, and has hundred’s of credits to his name, ranging from the ESPN 30 for 30 short The Counterfeiter, to celebrities like Arianna Huffington, Ed Burns and the entire cast of Saturday Night Live.

Contact: Brian Russell / Brian@RedShoeFilm.com

Anastasiya Sergienya

Anastasiya Sergienya is honored to make her writing and directorial debut with “Soyka”, a story very close to her heart. She was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus, where ten years ago she discovered her love of photography. In 2012 Anastasiya relocated to London to study English and began taking courses with London’s National Film and Television School. In 2016 she moved to New York City and after Summer Filmmaking courses TISCH, began working in the film and television industry. From production assistant, to wardrobe, assistant director and finally director, Anastasiya Sergienya has worked her way to where she is today.

Contact: Anastasiya Sergienya / nastya.sergienya@gmail.com

111

SATURDAY. October 30

8:15 Program 9 | IN-PERSON

Connor

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Director/Writer: Hilary Bettis A woman struggling to cope with her young son’s tragic death finds solace in a balloon that belonged to the child. But this new comfort alienates her from her living son, forcing her to face her unimaginable grief before she loses the child she still has.

Producer: Hilary Bettis, Mara Kassin, Allyson Morgan / Cast: Florencia Lozano, Alfredo Narciso

Hilary Bettis

CONNOR is Hilary Bettis’s directorial debut.

She’s a critically-acclaimed playwright, TV/film writer, and filmmaker. She hails from a Chicana mother who grew up on the border and a Southern father who grew up Methodist.

Her work is a culmination of these cultures, exploring the American identity through a rural Latinx lens. In television, she won a 2019 Writer’s Guild of America Award for her work on the Emmy (Best Writing) and Golden Globe (Best Drama) series “The Americans” on FX, which she wrote on for the final two seasons. Bettis is an alumni of the highlycompetitive Sundance Institute Episodic TV Lab, and is currently developing projects with Hulu, PatMa, and Netflix.

Contact: Hilary Bettis / hilarybettis@gmail.com

112

SATURDAY. October 30

10:00 Program 10 | IN-PERSON

When This All Ends

Something Borrowed

In Max We Trust

Director: Jordan Sommerlad

Director/Writer: Lydia Bottom

Director/Writer: Sheldon Chau

Two sisters pontificate on the lives they could have led while observing the current guest staying in their family’s vacation home in upstate New York.

A neighborhood in Brooklyn “borrows” an old truck.

Max Bryson is the hottest ticket in town as his upstart hedge fund takes the New York financial world by storm. Riding high from his success and true to his underdog nature, Max decides to explore his passion for the arts and sets his sight on supporting unknown artists.

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Writer: Cory Stonebrook / Producer: Jordan Sommerlad, Cory Stonebrook, Lizzy Miller, Tiffany Trainer / Cast: Lizzy Miller,Tiffany Trainer, Cory Stonebrook

Jordan Sommerlad

United States / Comedy / 9 mins

Writer: Corey Wallace / Producer: Corey Wallace / Cast: Maya Koenig, Sawyer Spielberg, Raye Levine Spielberg, Lydia Bottom, Will Clark, Corey Wallace, Matthieu Solignac, DJ Brown, Erin Falconer

United States / Drama / 20 mins

Writers: Tom Castelazo / Producer: Sheldon Chau, Calla Videt, Ashley Michel Hoban / Cast: Ethan Peck, Charlotte Taschen, Alex Landi, Manny Ureña / Cinematographer: Felipe Vara de Rey

Lydia Bottom

After graduating from the Honors Tutorial College Film School at Ohio University in 2013, I moved to Los Angeles where I worked on a variety of projects in different on-set roles, before working primarily as a freelance director of photography. After two years I made the move to New York City and expanded my work to include editing and producing projects.

In addition to professional commercial and narrative work, I’ve also shot and directed number of my own short films, music videos, and other creative projects. I’ve had several shorts play in International Film Festivals, and am currently scripting my next directing project.

Lydia grew up in the horridly humid, yet semi glamorous, southern city of Houston. She studied Theater and Literature in South Carolina. For a while she acted on the side, while doing other things like marketing for an engineering company and overseeing grants and scholarships at a private foundation. Then she quit everything and moved to Chicago, where she became a full-time actress and a part-time snowman.

Besides acting, Lydia has studied with The Second City, played in clowning and shadow puppets and jumped fences into music festivals. She began dabbling in production and directing, and decided to use her writing skills to create her own films.

Contact: Cory Stonebrook / corydstonebrook@gmail.com

Contact: Lydia Bottom / lydia.bottom@gmail.com

Sheldon Chau

Born in Los Angeles of Cantonese descent, Sheldon discovered as a teenager that movies were more than simply entertainment via his introduction to the Criterion Collection.

He was further intrigued by storytelling when he interviewed his father for a documentary and learned of his parents’ tale of survival after the war when they fled Vietnam. Inspired by both this personal family story and the camera as a medium, Sheldon committed to filmmaking and attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where he earned his MFA in directing and cinematography. Sheldon is the winner of the 2015 ARRI Volker Bahnemann Award for Cinematography and his work has screened at major festivals such as Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice, Tribeca, Rotterdam, and Locarno.

Contact: Sheldon Chau / sheldonchau@gmail.com

113

SATURDAY. October 30

10:00 Program 10 | IN-PERSON

Polished

Good Time

Director/Writer: Colleen Dodge

Director/Writer: Kingy Wong

“Polished” is a vulnerable glimpse into the decisions from simple to complex - a young woman must make while navigating through a busy work day in New York City.

Story that shows you the fact that relationships are about work & empathy not just good times. [Been there, Done that]

United States / Drama / 6 mins

Producer: Andrew Wonder, Michelle Moretta / Cast: Jane Stiles / Editor: Betty Jo Moore / Sound Design + Composer: Max Phillips / Colorist: Vlad Kucherov

Colleen Dodge

My mother always hid her artwork in the house. She was a sculptor and her delicate creations were something of fable.

They were artifacts she would mention in passing or I would stumble upon in the back corners of garage cabinets while looking for a spare pantry item. I grew up with the notion of that’s how art was to be kept - a quiet part of you.

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Producer: King Wong (Kingy) / Cast: Corey Calliet, Kate Duffy

Kingy Wong

Producer / Director

I have been working in the film industry in NYC for the last 6 years as a production designer. From commercials to feature films, I have found a deep love for bringing simple ideas into visual fruition.

Contact: Colleen Dodge / polishedthefilm@gmail.com

Contact: Kingy Wong / kingyw126@gmail.com

114

115

SUNDAY

OCT, 31

IN-PERSON

116

SUNDAY. October 31, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P11

4:45 PM

P12

6:30 PM

P13

8:15 PM

P14

10:00 PM

P15

SPRINGTIME FOREVER

SAFU - FUNGE AND SASHIMI

IT’S ALRIGHT, DAD

AMERIGIRL

CURBSIDE PICKUP

ARCHIVE & THE STORYTELLER

Seanie Sugrue United States / Drama / 22 mins

Lynn Dow United States / Drama / 10 mins

Richard Drutman United States / Comedy / 6 mins

Wilson Mbiavanga United States / Web/New Media / 40 mins

Samina Saifee United States / Drama / 10 mins

Haya Alghanim United States / Drama / 10 mins

Natasha Marie Rivera United States / Drama / 19 mins

LOSE IT

AJ Taylor, Maximilian Clark United States / Horror / 7 mins

STREAMER STALKER Gaelan Draper United States / Horror / 13 mins

LABOR DAY

THE UNCREDITED Nick Burchard United States / Horror / 12 mins

RAVEN

Samuel Kassover United States / Horror / 34 mins

GILES

Aidan Kaye United States / Drama / 15 mins

THE HENCHMAN OF NOTRE DAME Timothy Naylor United States / Comedy / 12 mins

KOREATOWN GHOST STORY Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum United States / Comedy / 15 mins

500 CALORIES

Cristina Spina Italy / Comedy / 17 mins

HOMEBOUND

Usher Morgan United States / Suspense / 19 mins

WHAT HAPPENED DOWNSTAIRS? Andrew Nisinson United States / Horror / 16 mins

HAZEL

Jordan Doig United States / Horror / 18 mins

117

SUNDAY. October 31

3:00 Program 11 | IN-PERSON

Springtime Forever

Safu - Funge and Sashimi

Director/Writer: Seanie Sugrue

Director/Writer: Wilson Mbiavanga

After the sudden death of her husband, Glady is left to fend for herself in an unrecognizable New York City. At her husband’s funeral she reconnects with her granddaughter, Sophie, and she appears to be her only ally.

When superstar NY Chef and notorious playboy, James Masala runs away from his successful career and his overbearing traditionalist father he finds himself “crash landing” in Tokyo, Japan with his only belonging, a mysterious old diary called “Safu”.

Producer: Ashton Clay / Cast: Alix Elias

Writer: Mari Kawade / Producer: Wilson Mbiavanga, Nergis Senturk, Jamaal Green, Thom Sanchez / Cast: Natski, Stephen Cofield Jr., Erica Westgate, Nobu Ishii, Shin Okooji

United States / Drama / 22 mins

Seanie Sugrue

Seanie was born in Tralee, Ireland. He is a writer and director, known for Misty Button (2019), Horrible Time , Lizzy on Leroy and Catch 22.

Contact: Ashton Clay / delashmet@aol.com

United States / Web/New Media / 40 mins

Wilson Mbiavanga

Born in Luanda (Angola), Wilson is an award winning Director and Screenwriter. His short film, “5 Minutes,” which was released in 2012 was selected at NYLA Film Festival, Williamsburg International Film Festival and many more.

Mbiavanga has also won awards at the Los Angeles Movie Awards. He is currently working on the political drama “Enlightenments”

Contact: Wilson Mbiavanga / wilsonsmbi@gmail.com

118

SUNDAY. October 31

4:45 Program 12 | IN-PERSON

It’s Alright, Dad

AmeriGirl

Labor Day

Director/Writer: Lynn Dow

Director/Writer: Samina Saifee

Director/Writer: Haya Alghanim

When a young boy befriends a skateboarder and coaxes him into a nearby church to meet his father, the young man realizes his new found friend has a tragic story.

When cool girl Maheen walks through the door at camp AmeriGirl, 11-year-old Aaliyah Khan will do anything to befriend her and finally fit in.

When Dina is invited to spend Labor Day weekend on a trip to the Hudson Valley with a new group of friends, she slowly realizes these women aren’t what they seem to be.

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Producer: Lynn Dow / Cast: Noble B. Whitted, Mathieu Silverman, Menelik Lee / DP: Tiffany Armour-Tejada

Lynn Dow

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Producer: Shubhi Shekhar / Cast: Anaya Joshi, Syna Bhuva / DP: Idil Eryurekli

Samina Saifee

Lynn Dow was born and raised in Harlem, New York. She became interested in filmmaking at an early age and is a graduate of Columbia University in New York City. After graduating, she worked on Wall Street before leaving to pursue her true passion, filmmaking.

She has produced nine short films and written and directed six of them. Her awards include a Best Screenplay and Audience award in the Chelsea Film Festival, Short Script in the StoryMode International Script Awards, sixth place in the American Gem Literary Festival, a screenplay winner in the Colorado International Film Festival and numerous official selections around the country.

Samina Saifee was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, and is currently living in Brooklyn, NY after graduating from NYU’s Stern-Tisch BS/BFA dual degree program where she studied film and business. There, she produced several thesis films for her peers and was one of two students at NYU to be awarded the Akhtar-Bhutta Fund for Student Producers.

Her first short film, AMERIGIRL, is a recipient of the inaugural NYC Women Filmmakers microgrant and a finalist for the Islamic Scholarship Fund film grant. Her feature script of the same name was a semi-finalist for the Stowe Story Labs Diverse Voices Fellowship, and she was invited to attend the Stowe Writers’ Retreat in September.

Contact: Lynn Dow / dowlynn10@gmail.com

Contact: Samina Saifee / samina@nyu.edu

United States / Drama / 10 mins

Haya Alghanim

Haya Alghanim is a Kuwaiti director and producer based in New York City. Haya also has an art practice in experimental film, new media and projection. Through her artistic and professional practice, Haya aims to preserve and represent modern Arab art and culture. Haya recently received her MFA in Film from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

Contact: Haya Alghanim / hbalghanim@live.com

119

SUNDAY. October 31

4:45 Program 12 | IN-PERSON

Koreatown Ghost Story

500 Calories

Director/Writer: Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum

Director/Writer: Cristina Spina

In this supernatural horror tale based on a Korean ritual starring Margaret Cho and Lyrica Okano, a woman entertains a macabre marriage offer that would let her pursue her dreams, for better or for much much worse.

A human being needs at least 1200 calories a day to live. A woman in the middle of an existential crisis confronts her ballet teacher who had forced her, at the age of 13, to restrict her diet to 500 calories a day.

United States / Horror / 15 mins

Producer: Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum, Margaret Cho, Jim Wedaa / Cast: Margaret Cho, Lyrica Okano

Minsun Park, Teddy Tenenbaum

Italy / Comedy / 17 mins

Producer: Olivia Serafini-Sauli / Cast: Kathleen Chalfant, Yvonne Woods

Cristina Spina

Minsun Park & Teddy Tenenbaum are a writing/directing team with combined experience in features and television, including pilot sales, staff writing, feature spec sales, and feature and television assignments. They have written separately and together, and currently write both as a team and as solo writers. They specialize in genre writing, including horror, thriller, and action, typically with a humorous edge. With Minsun’s background as an Asian-American woman born in Korea and Teddy’s experience as a white dude from Ohio, they cover a lot of bases.

Cristina Spina is an Italian actor, writer and director based in New York City. She started her career as a dancer and actor in Rome, working with top Italian Theater directors, such as Luca Ronconi, Massimo Castri and Carlo Cecchi. Cristina made her American debut when she was chosen by choreographer and director Martha Clarke for a lead role in the play Kaos

by Frank Pugliese at the New York Theatre Workshop. In 2013, she studied at NYU Tisch School in their film program’s Sight & Sound Course.

Contact: Teddy Tenenbaum / teddy@earthlink.net

Contact: Zen Movie / distribuzione.zenmovie@gmail.com

She then wrote and directed “500 Calories” (2020), and she is now developing her first feature film, “Rose is a Rose”.

120

SUNDAY. October 31

6:30 Program 13 | IN-PERSON

Curbside Pickup

Archive & The Storyteller

Giles

Director/Writer: Richard Drutman

Director: Natasha Marie Rivera

Director/Writer: Aidan Kaye

An overly opinionated movie store clerk lets her true feelings about a customer’s choice in movies slip out, as if she were commenting on social media instead of in real life.

On the brink of human extinction, a young couple struggles to secure a spot on the ‘Archive.’

After a breakup, an introverted ice cream truck driver, Giles, sets out to explore a love connection in an overwhelmingly unconnected world.

United States / Comedy / 6 mins

Cast: Ana-Maria Bandean

Richard Drutman

United States / Drama / 19 mins

Writer: Seamus Boyle, Natasha Marie Rivera / Producer: Aaron Simms, Boiling River Productions / Cast: Janice Theard, Seamus Boyle, Dan Kwon / DP: Bruce Mitchell

Natasha Marie Rivera

His short animated/live action film StartlePlex Cinemas we the opening film of the 2020 Coney Island Film festival, an official selection at Portland Comedy Film Festival, and a finalist at Houston Comedy Film festival.

Natasha Rivera is a NYC native Director/ Producer. She got her start in the industry as an Assistant director; most notably working on shows such as the Emmy Award Winning Series: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, “I Feel Pretty”, crime series: “The Godfather of Harlem”, Ryan Murphy’s “The Politician” for Netflix and indie darlings such as “Random Acts of Flyness” (HBO), “Other People” and “Patti Cake$”. She’s been nominated for three DGA Directing Team Awards. Natasha co-created the production company, Boiling River Productions with her husband Seamus. Their first short film: “Pedicab” was the Audience Favorite at the Peekskill Film Festival and their 2nd film: “Archive & The Storyteller” won a grant from Inwood Art Works.

Contact: Richard Drutman / emailists1@yahoo.com

Contact: Boiling River Productions / boilingriverproductions@gmail.com

WRITER -DIRECTOR

Richard produced, directed and edited the feature length performance and doc film distributed by Universal Music: Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players - Off and On Broadway, with David Cross, John Waters, Eugene Mirman, Regina Spector, and Nellie McKay based on the off Broadway show he directed.

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Producer: Lee Elson, Christos Adrianopoulos / Cast: Niccolo Walsh, Emma Mumford, Thomas Booker, Barry Anderson, Robert W. Smith / DP: Chelsea Muscat

Aidan Kaye

Aidan Kaye is a New York City-based filmmaker, photographer, and editor. He is known for Manifestation (2020), Read @12:35AM (2019).

Gaining experience working at Alex Gibney’s documentary studio Jigsaw Productions and the non-profit Flaherty Film Seminar, he went on to study filmmaking at SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory.

After graduating in 2020, he continues to produce narrative and non-fiction work dealing with technology, digital love, and masculinity.

Contact: Aidan Kaye / aidan.kaye@gmail.com

121

SUNDAY. October 31

6:30 Program 13 | IN-PERSON

HomeBound

United States / Sci-Fi / 14 mins

Director: Usher Morgan HomeBound is the story of Jamie Rockwell, a woman burdened by severe agoraphobia. After losing her therapy dog, she must muster the courage within, not only to find her dog, but ultimately, to find herself.

Producer: Usher Morgan, Katie Vincent / Cast: Katie Vincent, Sebastian Arcelus / Cinematographer: Usher Morgan, Louis Obioha / Music by: Christopher North

Usher Morgan

Usher Morgan is an award-winning screenwriter, film director, and producer residing in New York City. He produced his first documentary film “The Thought Exchange” starring David Friedman and Lucie Arnaz in 2012, followed by his directorial debut, the award-winning short film “Prego”. Morgan’s first feature film, “Pickings” was released to wide acclaim and received a limited theatrical release via AMC Independent in March of 2018.

The Los Angeles Times calls Usher Morgan, “a talent to watch”. The 405 listed “Pickings” in its “Top 18 films of 2018” list.

Contact: Usher Morgan / ushermorgan18@gmail.com

122

SUNDAY. October 31

8:15 Program 14 | IN-PERSON

Lose It

The Uncredited

The Henchman of Notre Dame

Director: AJ Taylor, Maximilian Clark

Director/Writer: Nick Burchard

Director/Writer: Timothy Naylor

Trapped in her home, a woman descends into a disorienting panic.

After a dead body is discovered in the background of a film she appeared in as a teenager, Isabel’s friends become suspicious of her mysterious past.

A tale about the content of one’s character versus their looks, inspirations include: Victor Hugo, Mel Brooks and The Miami Sound Machine.

Producer: Sancha Spiller, Kasey Rae / Cast: Georgia Waehler, Brian Dol, Tyler Sanchez, Emily Dennis / DP: Kewan J. Harrison

Producer: Timothy Naylor / Cast: Kevin Mambo, LeRoy McClain

United States / Horror / 7 mins

Writer: AJ Taylor / Producer: AJ Taylor, Ann Lowery / Cast: Akyiaa Wilson, Carla Lerner Montero / DP: Eric Brouse

AJ Taylor

If they don’t let you play, make your own way.

Contact: AJ Taylor / aj@wondaeproductions.com

United States / Horror / 12 mins

Nick Burchard

Nick Burchard is a Writer, Director, and Comic Book Artist from The Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. He is the founder of Tiny Viking Productions, a company that focuses on developing stories with the mindset of ‘character first’.

Contact: Nick Burchard / tinyvikingprod@gmail.com

United States / Comedy / 12 mins

Timothy Naylor

Born in Michigan, Tim’s parents showed him the world, traveling to over 20 countries by his teens. Fast forward, upon receiving his MFA from New York University’s Graduate Film Program, he went on to work as a cinematographer and camera operator, shooting numerous features, documentaries and TV shows - including operating on Steve McQueen’s “Shame”, “Inside Amy Schumer” as well as winning Best Cinematography for Feature at the 2019 Madrid IFF. In the past few years he’s directed a series of short films, notably “Buried Deep” (Palm Springs FF and Urban World FF) and the doc, “Christmas Mission 2016” (Lincoln Center, African FF).

Contact: Timothy Naylor / cinetim@gmail.com

123

SUNDAY. October 31

8:15 Program 14 | IN-PERSON

What Happened Downstairs?

United States / Horror / 16 mins

Director/Writer: Andrew Nisinson While staying at an Airbnb in upstate New York, Robert and May find themselves in a haunted house.

The problem is, they can’t remember anything that happens downstairs. Strap in for a horror comedy that bends genre, while embracing its core.

Producer: Andrew Nisinson, Meilin Gray, Michaela Dunphy-McMahon / Cast: Meilin Gray

Andrew Nisinson

Andrew Nisinson is a writer/director/producer residing in Brooklyn, a mere train ride away from the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he was born and raised by a family of secular, Jewish artists and weirdos. As a child, he acted in plays like The Victory Project with Kevin Kline, Henry V in the park and The Christmas Revels. As a teen he moved to Los Angeles to attend USC where he studied Theatre and Film. Upon graduating, Andrew began working as a cinematographer through most of his 20’s, shooting commercials and music videos for pop and hip hop stars. At 28, he began his directing career when the rappers J Cole and Bas, tapped him to direct music videos, and he was hired to do a global holiday campaign for Beats by Dre.

Contact: Andrew Nisinson / andrew@pyramyd.studio

124

SUNDAY. October 31

10:00 Program 15 | IN-PERSON

Streamer Stalker

Raven

Hazel

Director: Richard Drutman

Director: Samuel Kassover

Director/Writer: Jordan Doig

A horror/comedy film about a successful video game streamer (Connor Del Rio) who finds himself haunted by his new fame and by one of his fans in particular.

When a young painter who moves away from an abusive ex and into a New York apartment to start fresh, she meets her neighbor whose friendship turns more menacing by the minute.

Libby is dealing with an intense postpartum depression while caring for her baby daughter, Hazel. She looks to her husband, Pat, for understanding but his inability to embrace the issue or even acknowledge her mental state sends Libby deeper into a psychosis that threatens harm on the entire family.

United States / Horror / 13 mins

Writer: Gaelan Draper, Connor Del Rio / Producer: Mathew Owen Brady / Cast: Connor Del Rio, Charlie Saxton, Alison Landi, Gaelan Connell, Mathew Owen Brady

Gaelan Draper

United States / Horror / 34 mins

Writer: Jazmine Cornielle / Producer: Jazmine Cornielle, Human Pincushion Productions / Cast: Jazmine Cornielle, Rebi Paganini, Adler Hyatt

Samuel Kassover

Gaelan is a Brooklyn based feature film and commercial director. He was recently named Top 100 Creative in the World

by Adweek. Gaelan started his career in front of the camera, with roles in Chocolat (Miramax), Bandslam (Summit/Walden), and as the lead in Cartoon Network’s television series Level Up. He directed the live-action film, “Blood, Sand and Gold” (2017 theatrical release), which was shot in six countries around the world. He has directed campaigns for Walmart, Campari, Western Union, WordPress, Coinbase, Betterment, Daily Harvest and others. His work has received awards including REGGIE - National Consumer Campaign, IAC - Outstanding Online Video, and W3 - Integrated Campaign, to list a few.

Samuel Kassover is an actor from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Finishing up his degree from the University of Michigan’s BFA Acting program, Sam plans to move to New York and pursue a career in acting, producing and directing in film and theatre.

Having discovered his love for acting at the age of 12 after being cast in the school play, Oliver Twist!, as Mr. Bumble, Sam quickly grew a desire to make people laugh. But it wasn’t until his four years in his high school’s Conservatory Theatre Ensemble, that Sam would decide to make a career in acting. Sam decided to attend the University of Michigan’s BFA Acting program, where his love for theatre and film helped him discover a deep interest in writing, directing and producing.

Contact: Gaelan Draper / gaelanconnell@gmail.com

Contact: Jazmine Cornielle / cornielle02@yahoo.com

United States / Horror / 18 mins

Producer: Ian McGuire, Stephanie Gould / Cast: Griffin Stanton-Ameisen, Dana Kreitz

Aidan Kaye

Aidan Kaye is a New York City-based filmmaker, photographer, and editor. He is known for Manifestation (2020), Read @12:35AM (2019).

Gaining experience working at Alex Gibney’s documentary studio Jigsaw Productions and the non-profit Flaherty Film Seminar, he went on to study filmmaking at SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory.

After graduating in 2020, he continues to produce narrative and non-fiction work dealing with technology, digital love, and masculinity.

Contact: Aidan Kaye / aidan.kaye@gmail.com

125

MONDAY

NOV, 1

IN-PERSON

126

MONDAY. November 1, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P16

4:45 PM

P17

6:30 PM

P18

8:15 PM

P19

10:00 PM

P20

KENNEBECON-HUDSON

Alex Nuñez Caba United States / Documentary / 17 mins

ROOM 5

Francis Y. Brown Ghana / Animation / 3 mins

ALIVE BY ACCIDENT: THE STORY OF MAYDAY HARDWARE Ian Phillips United States / Documentary / 13 mins

THE TOYMAKER John R. Caccamo United States / Drama / 20 mins

CHARLIE

Matthew Horvat Canada / Drama / 10 mins

MATTHEW

SILENT NOTES

TAKE THE VAX

LUKE & IRA

MUJER DE LA CIUDAD

WUHAN DRIVER

Matt Servitto United States / Drama / 34 mins

Alan Barr United States / Drama / 13 mins

ON THE SIDEWALK, AT NIGHT Alexander Deland, Jr. United States / Drama / 9 mins

Kiki Tsakalakis United States / Drama / 11 mins

Lauren Pruitt United States / Drama / 14 mins

CONCRETE ROSE Khalid Sena United States / Drama / 16 mins

HELLO SUNSHINE

SLOW BURN & THE MUSE

Joe Quint United States / Documentary / 13 mins

YOU ARE MINE Adi Wojaczek Germany / Drama / 20 mins

Darah Golub United States / Documentary / 14 mins

WELCOME TO OUR HOME

Gregory M. Schroeder United States / Comedy / 8 mins

Edsta United States / Drama / 16 mins

Tiger Ji United States / Drama / 14 mins

THE DEPENDENTS Jacqueline Christy United States / Comedy / 12 mins

MEDALLION

Ryan Noufer United States / Drama / 22 mins

CHRISTIAN’S LAMENT Matt Cooney United States / Drama / 6 mins

LOVE IN BROOKLYN Eric Yang United States / Drama / 9 mins

AS I LIE AWAKE

Benjamin Tomson United States / Drama / 6 mins

127

MONDAY. November 1

3:00 Program 16 | IN-PERSON

Kennebec-on-Hudson

Alive By Accident: The Story of Mayday Hardware

Hello Sunshine

Director: Alex Nuñez Caba

Director/Writer: Ian Phillips

Director/Writer: Joe Quint

From his 22 foot motorboat studio, a painter recounts bits of history about his life and the ever-changing New York City waterfront.

At 69 Years old, Brooklynite Jerry Walsh’s hardware store is the longest standing business in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. As he reflects on the tumultuous changes he’s seen throughout his life, he prepares for his next chapter- the Covid-19 pandemic.

Roz Pichardo is more than a domestic violence and gun violence survivor, she’s a warrior. Despite of - or because of - being thrown off a bridge by an abusive ex-boyfriend, the unsolved murder of her brother, and the suicide of her identical twin sister, she’s able to channel her trauma into service by helping the oftenforgotten people of North Philadelphia.

United States / Documentary / 17 mins

Producer: Alex Nuñez Caba / Cast: Jim St. Clair / DP: Alex Nuñez Caba

United States / Documentary / 13 mins

Producer: Ian Phillips

United States / Documentary / 13 mins

Producer: Joe Quint / Cast: Roz Pichardo

Alex Núñez Caba

Alex Núñez Caba is a filmmaker and photographer from New York City. He has a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts and majored in visual art at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He’s worked with a number photo industry professionals and film industry scenic artists and designers. Through documentary Alex hopes to become another strong voice among the talented pool of new, upand-coming filmmakers.

Contact: Alex Nuñez Caba / anunez076@gmail.com

Ian Phillips

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.

His latest feature narrative film, “A New York Christmas Wedding” which he Produced and Edited, is distributed by Netflix

Contact: Ian Phillips / ianfilmsnyc@gmail.com

Joe Quint

Joe Quint is a documentary filmmaker and photographer from Brooklyn, NY. Widely exhibited, Joe’s work consists largely of telling well-intentioned and respectful stories about people on journeys - people who either are experiencing great challenges or who have overcome such challenges. His most recent film project, “Hello Sunshine”, profiles a woman who has survived decades of gun violence and domestic violence trauma and has channeled these traumas into service - saving the lives of those in active opioid addiction and supporting the families of murder victims.

Contact: Rebekah Louisa Smith / rebekah@thefilmfestivaldoctor.com

128

MONDAY. November 1

3:00 Program 16 | IN-PERSON

Slow Burn & The Muse United States / Documentary / 14 mins

Director: Darah Golub Two songs, many years and one fruitful night tell the story of a singer/songwriter’s road to success.

Producer: Eric Lense, Jamie Margulies / Cast: Becca Stevens, David Crosby

Darah Golub

Darah Golub is a New York based artist with a BA from Boston University. Golub freelanced as a shooter and editor while studying voice at The New School for Jazz in 2006, where she began filming THE NEW YORK LOVE SONGS. During the 2010s she recorded and toured internationally as part of the band Parlour Tricks (named #1 Pop Band in New York City by The Village Voice in 2014), and co-hosted Billboard’s “Soul Sisters” podcast, interviewing over 100 female artists. She currently works as Vice President and Managing Director at JBS, an educational Jewish non-profit television channel, where she created the short-form series “Jewish NYC.” “Slow Burn & The Muse” is a short taken from THE NEW YORK LOVE SONGS, currently in post-production.

Contact: Darah Golub / darahgolub@gmail.com

129

MONDAY. November 1

4:45 Program 17 | IN-PERSON

Room 5

The Toymaker

Charlie

Director: Francis Y. Brown

Director: John R. Caccamo

Director: Matthew Horvat

A story of how patients are treated by nurses when we visit the hospital but this is coupled with a sub plot of how most people are afraid of injection.

An old toymaker finds an unexpected solution for a young girl who’s in need of an escape from her abusive home life.

Based on a true story, a young man successfully orchestrates a double-ended rental scam until the weight of his own ego compromises everything.

Writers: Francis Y. Brown / Producer: Daty Kaba, Laurene Manaa Addy / Cast: Christy Ukata, Yvonne

Writer: Matthew J. De Pompo, John R Caccamo / Producer: Michelle Edmond, Zach Miller, Dylan J. Tollefson / Cast: Paul Albe, Amanda Abbruzze / DP: Dylan J. Tollefson

Writer: Matthew Horvat / Producer: Peter Widdrington Cast: James Gagné

Ghana / Animation / 3 mins

Francis Y. Brown

Francis is an award winning filmmaker from Ghana, he is the founder and creative director of AnimaxFYB Studios, trained in a number of different cinematic medium and over ten years’ experience in the audio visual industry. He specializes in Animation, Illustration, Filmmaking and Graphic Design.

Having attained a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). Francis was shortlisted for the 42nd Student Academy Awards (Oscars), won Best Animation Film at the Africa International Film Festival 2016 (AFFRIF), Black British Entertainment Awards, Best Creative Artist 2017, animator of the year at the 2017 Ghana UK Based Awards (GUBA) and also Best Animation at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards.

Contact: Dante Kaba / dantekaba@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 20 mins

John R. Caccamo

I am Graduate of the Montclair State University BFA filmmaking program. I have gained experience in set design, editing, visual compositing, and sound design throughout my 4 years of production experience. And my overall goal is become heavily involved in the creative process of the Film Industry.

Contact: John Caccamo / jrcaccamo@gmail.com

Canada / Drama / 10 mins

Matthew Horvat

Matt is a writer/director based in Toronto. His previous efforts as a creative producer include the short documentary ‘Embers of Varanasi’ which won the jury award at Nova Film Festival. While in film school, two of his projects as director were featured in the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. His directorial debut ‘Charlie’ premiered at the LA SHORTS FEST in October 2020.

Contact: Matthew Horvat / matthorvat7@gmail.com

130

MONDAY. November 1

4:45 Program 17 | IN-PERSON

You Are Mine

Welcome to Our Home

Director/Writer: Adi Wojaczek

Director/Writer: Gregory M. Schroeder

Viktor (12) and Siegfried (15) are friends in the Hitler Youth. While Viktor enjoys exploring nature like a normal child, Siegfried is empowered by Nazi ideology.

Their friendship gets tested, when they suddenly find a young jewish girl, hiding in a barn.

When Brad brings his liberal girlfriend home to meet his conservative parents, tensions escalate and monsters are unleashed.

Germany / Drama / 20 mins

Producer: Christine Jezior / Cast: Lucas Herzog, Marlon Heidel, Jasmin Kraze, Laeni Geiseler, Charles Rettinghaus

Adi Wojaczek

Adi Wojaczek was born on 8th of April 1983 in Upper Silesia (Poland) and moved with his family to Düsseldorf (Germany) in 1987.From 2008 to 2012 he studied film direction at the Ruhrakademie Schwerte and managed to win several awards for national video competitions.

United States / Comedy / 8 mins

Producer: Zubin Anklesaria / Cast: Danielle Dallas Roosa, Hank Northrop, Cheryl Dent, Christopher Carroll

Gregory M. Schroeder

Gregory M. Schroeder completed his MFA in Producing from AFI Conservatory in 2019. His sci-fi/horror film PROGENY (2019), fantasy/comedy WITCHIN’ (2019) and drama film LIKE FLYING (2020) have won dozens of awards and screened at prestigious festivals worldwide.

His first success was winning “Best Film” at the “99FireFilmsAward” during the Berlin International Film Festival 2015 with a 99-second short film “Malou”.

The same year he created the ad “Sodastream: Zombies” which aired a few months in Germany and several countries in Europe.

Gregory is also a writer/director, interested in genre filmmaking that explores the flaws in human communication and emotionality. His debut short film LAST LIGHT was completed in May 2021, and his second short film WELCOME TO OUR HOME was completed in July 2021.

Contact: Adalbert Wojaczek / adalbert.wojaczek@gmx.de

Contact: Gregory M. Schroeder / greg@firstlightprod.com

131

MONDAY. November 1

6:30 Program 18 | IN-PERSON

Matthew

Silent Notes

Take the Vax

Director: Matt Servitto

Director/Writer: Kiki Tsakalakis

Director/Writer: Edsta

Matthew is a drama about a father’s struggle to integrate his son back into the family and society after being released from a state psychiatric hospital for a thwarted school shooting.

A misunderstood, deaf, white young man longs to join a black Baptist choir that he secretly admires, in hopes of becoming part of the community.

After the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, and people are getting back to their lives, Mark, a vaccine skeptic, soon realizes that he has no other choice but to take the vax.

United States / Drama / 34 mins

United States / Drama / 11 mins

Producer/Cast: John McGinty

Producer: Fesal Jaber / Cast: Fesal Jaber, Elijah Jaber

Writer: Tom Slevin / Producer: Robert Palumbo, Tom Slevin, Christopher Pasi / Cast: Briane Keane, Ezra Knight, Zachary Zamsky, Kim Yancey, Robert Palumbo, Louisa Erlich, Matthew Palumbo, Tom Slevin Matt Servitto

Canada / Drama / 16 mins

Kiki Tsakalakis

Edsta

Matt has been working on stage and in front of the camera for over thirty years. Called “one of the hardest working actors in show biz,” by Entertainment Weekly, he is probably best known for his role as FBI agent Dwight Harris on the HBO series, “The Sopranos,” a role he played for seven seasons and for which he won a SAG Award in 2007 as a member of the best dramatic ensemble. Other series-regular work includes 4 seasons on Cinemax’s “Banshee”, 3 seasons on Showtime’s Billions, 3 seasons on the Peabody Award-winning series “Brotherhood” on Showtime and finally playing Satan for 4 seasons on the cult favorite “Your Pretty face is Going to Hell” on Adult Swim.

Writer & director, earned a Film Production Certificate from The New School, having a background in graphic design and writing. In 2019 was accepted into the Yale Writer’s Workshop, where she focused on her novel. Kiki worked in New York City as a graphic designer, holding positions at Time Inc. Publishing and Gannett Publications and freelancing for Barnes & Noble, BMG, Graj & Gustavsen, and a number of in-house design firms. “Silent Notes” is her first short film, and she is now at work on her second short film, a feature screenplay, stage play, and novel. She has gained experience on independent films sets as a producer, assistant director, and art director and as a research assistant for the documentary “Decade of Fire,” featured on Apple TV Films.

Born and raised in Romania, is now a filmmaker based in New York City. Since he was little, he always had a big passion for making movies. He would continuously watch the behind-the-scenes videos of each film on DVD, until he realized that filmmaking was all he ever wanted to do in life. During his teenage years, he started getting involved in every possible local film production he could get his hands on. At the age of 21, Edsta moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking, where he quickly discovered his artistic style in both photography and cinematography, with the growth of his social media presence. Now that his first short film, “Take the Vax”, is under his belt, Edsta and his production partner and friend, Fesal Jaber, plan to continue sharpening their writing and directing skills in order to make even greater movies in the future.

Contact: Robert Palumbo / rxpalumbo@yahoo.com

Contact: Kiki Tsakalakis / d.kiriaki@verizon.net

Contact: Eddie Ilie / edstabusiness@gmail.com

132

MONDAY. November 1

8:15 Program 19 | IN-PERSON

Luke & Ira

Mujer De La Ciudad

Wuhan Driver

Director/Writer: Alan Barr

Director/Writer: Lauren Pruitt

Director/Writer: Tiger Ji

A young New Yorker who is losing his vision spends an afternoon being mentored by an elderly blind neighbor - a once famous comedian.

Alone and on the verge of giving birth on public transit, Manuela remembers her first love who was recently detained in an ICE raid.

At the beginning of the pandemic, a Chinese driver in New York struggles to make ends meet as he picks up passengers on a long and dreary night.

Producer: Benedict Manlapaz, Jonathan Barr / Cast: Cam Wenrich, Joseph Rose

Producer: Lindsey Shapiro, Shane Riley, Melissa Danielas / Cast: Diana Florencio, Romeo Sanchez, Rodney Genwright, Ox King

Producer: Alena Svyatova, Jonathan Sanger / Cast: Wayne Chang

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Alan Barr

United States / Drama / 14 mins

Lauren Pruitt

Lauren Pruitt is a Colombian/American filmmaker based in New York City. She conceptualizes, shoots, cuts, and delivers.

United States / Drama / 14 mins

Tiger Ji

Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed telling stories.

From broadcasting sporting events as a Student at Rutgers University to Acting in Film & on the Stage in New York, story has always been paramount. The transition to Screenwriting & Directing has been my latest and most fulfilling endeavor.

Over the past few years through my production company – Leroy Street Productions, I have tried to tell stories filled with comedy, heart, and most importantly – truth & honesty.

My short film, “Three Minutes to Go” was featured in two NYC festivals in 2020: (Chelsea Film Festival, Astoria Film Festival). I hope to continue to work and create more projects that are meaningful to me and all those who view them.

Lauren made her first short film at age 16 entitled “I Always Pictured You Outside” (26 min). She studied screenwriting at the University of Texas and spent time as an editor before working on set as a camera assistant and cinematographer. While Lauren has spent nearly a decade working with cameras, she’s a storyteller at heart and has written and directed three short films entitled “Highsmith” (2013, 12 min), “Dave” (2016, 10 min), and “Mujer de la Ciudad” (2019) as well as 4 spec commercials that garnered 6 Ad Federation awards.

This year, at 19 — as the pandemic hit — he gained the attention of Academy Award winning producer Jonathan Sanger (The Elephant Man), and with his guidance, set out to make his most ambitious project yet, Wuhan Driver.

Contact: Alan Barr / leroystreetproductions@gmail.com

Contact: Lauren Pruitt / laurenepruitt@gmail.com

Contact: Tiger Ji / tigerji.pro@gmail.com

Tiger Ji is a writer and director from Hong Kong, living in New York.

At age 16, he directed his first feature film, PLUTO, premiering at over 30 festivals over the world — including at the Utah Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, and New England Independent Film Festival, where he received the Best Director Award.

133

MONDAY. November 1

8:15 Program 19 | IN-PERSON

The Dependents

Love In Brooklyn

Director: Jacqueline Christy

Director/Writer: Eric Yang

This film was created and performed by a real mother/ son/daughter trio based in NYC. A high-powered, New York City mom as she grapples with her two grown children’s struggle to achieve adulthood and coexist with her new female lover. Her youngest son returns home after two years of traveling with earth-shattering news.

A woman’s affair with a married man is put to the test when she discovers that she’s pregnant.

United States / Comedy / 12 mins

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Producer: Eric Yang / Cast: David Ginlet, Briana Cortesiano / Cinematographer: Bennett Cerf

Writer: Lionel Leede, Lucia Dalla Valle / Producer: Kathleen Leede, Lionel Leede / Cast: Kathleen Leede, Lionel Leede Jacqueline Christy

Jacqueline Christy is a writer, director, and founder of three businesses including Access Manufacturing, Access Theater, and Christy Consulting. At Access Theater, she has produced many plays including the world premiere of The Killing Act, starring Peter Dinklage, written and directed by Tom McCarthy (Spotlight); the world premiere of Aasif Mandvi’s one-man show Sakina’s Restaurant; and the world premiere of Stephen Belber’s Tape.

She is the recipient of a 2017 Sloan Foundation and Women Make Movies research grant. She has produced and directed several short films including her documentary Rehearsal which was in competition at the Austin Film Festival and her upcoming short, Other People.

Contact: Lionel McGloin / lionel.l.mcgloin@gmail.com

Eric Yang

Eric Yang is a graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory. He is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Contact: Eric Yang / eric.yang712@gmail.com

134

MONDAY. November 1

10:00 Program 20 | IN-PERSON

On the Sidewalk, at Night

Concrete Rose

Medallion

Director/Writer: Alexander Deland, Jr.

Director: Khalid Sena

Director/Writer: Ryan Noufer

Two young artists discover that they share more than just a moment on the sidewalk, at night.

Marcus a recently released Ex con has difficulties integrating back into his ever-changing community. He quickly becomes enticed to return to his old life but meets an older woman who welcomes him to work in a garden where he finds redemption and peace.

Ava Trent hunts down a former classmate of hers, Alex Corman, and hires him to make a film for her. She hopes that it will bring the attention of her small home town to the demons she has faced since a troubling high school experience.

Writer: Ramesh / Producer: Mulberry Queens Films Cast: Doron Je’Paul Mitchell, Mariko Takai

Producer: Virgina Ferguson / Cast: Tyler Gentile, Lindsey Dresbach

United States / Drama / 9 mins

Producer: Alexander Deland, Jr. / Cast: Austen Danielle Bohmer, Misha Brooks, Kateryn McReynolds / DP: Adam Hazelton / Editor: Alexander Deland, Jr.

Alexander Deland, Jr.

United States / Drama / 16 mins

Khalid Sena

Alex graduated last May 2021 with a degree in Filmmaking and Certificates in Theater and Music Theater. He’s pursuing filmmaking post-graduation with his upcoming short film, “THE GR-’EIGHT’ ESCAPE”

Khalid Seña was born in New York City and raised in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood. Khalid always had a passion for films, as it’s something he gets from his father who introduced him to the films of Bruce Lee and many other greats like Shaft and the Terminator franchise to name a few. Khalid has always been an artist since a young age he had a knack for painting and writing poetry as well as short stories. His interest in film began to take hold when he would watch DVD special features and watch behind the scenes featurettes, it’s an experience he described as an early film school giving him the knowledge of different departments and how much goes into making a single film.

Contact: Alexander Deland, Jr. / atdeland@gmail.com

Contact: Khalid Sena / ksena1@sva.edu

Originally studying Sociology at Princeton University, Alex discovered a devotion for storytelling his sophomore year in an introductory filmmaking class with Professor Moon Molson (The Bravest, The Boldest). Alex is one of a small cohort of Film majors at the University, and this project, proudly produced by a student team, was the culmination of their collaboration during their junior year.

United States / Drama / 22 mins

Ryan Noufer

I am a filmmaker, from Maui, HI, living in New York City.

Contact: Ryan Noufer / rnoufer@gmail.com

135

MONDAY. November 1

10:00 Program 20 | IN-PERSON

Christian’s Lament

As I Lie Awake

Director/Writer: Matt Cooney

Director/Writer: Benjamin Tomson

A unhappy couple returning home from a friends party engage in a heated argument and use a famous piece of viral audio as a therapeutic mediator.

A dejected father is subject to the questions of a prying social worker. After enough prodding, he tells her the horrific story of his sleep condition, and how it lead him to attack his young son. When she learns the truth, she inquires as to whether his condition still affects him. This is a question, he simply can’t answer... truthfully.

United States / Drama / 6 mins

Producer: Casey Sincic / Cast: Alice Marcondes, Matt Cooney

United States / Drama / 6 mins

Producer: Ben Mannarino / Cast: Drew Bialy, Lina D’Amore, Wah Tah Simba Bug, Max Goldhirsch

Matt Cooney

Born in the suburbs of New Hampshire. Fell in love with films at a young age. Lived a pretty average American middle class childhood otherwise. Went to college and studied film. Left for big city in 2011. The rest is history.

Contact: Matt Cooney / mecooney86@gmail.com

Benjamin Tomson

Benjamin Tomson was raised in small town, rural western NY. He gained his love of the horror genre while staying up late, watching ‘scary movies’ with his eccentric grandmother.

He began his professional film career 10 years ago, in New Orleans, where he co-directed his first feature film, a documentary about an environmental disaster in southern Louisiana. Since then he has worked as a commercial and independent filmmaker on many projects throughout the country. He’s recently moved back to western NY, to explore his creative roots, while immersing himself in the growing film scene.

Contact: Benjamin Tomson / bhtomsonfilms@gmail.com

136

137

TUESDAY

NOV, 2

IN-PERSON

138

TUESDAY. November 2, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P21

4:45 PM

P22

6:30 PM

P23

8:15 PM

P24

10:00 PM

P25

WHAT DAY IS IT?

Jess Elefante Davis United States / Documentary / 19 mins

EN SUITE

Geoffrey Cantor United States / Drama / 13 mins

NEW YORK MINUTE

Lynn Bianchi United States / Experimental / 5 mins

DEATH AND THE LADY

Geoff Bailey United States / Animation / 7 mins

AMERICAN REFUGEES

Willem Holzer United States / Comedy / 6 mins

DELFINA

Priya Sanghvi, Dan Scott Goldstein United States / Experimental / 4 mins

THE CARETAKER Patrick Elmore United States / Drama / 13 mins

STACKS

Emily Eng United States / Drama / 6 mins

LIKE DAUGHTER, LIKE MOTHER Clyde Baldo United States / Comedy / 19 mins

HOW TO BE A SUPER DRIVER Romie Decosta United States / Drama / 8 mins

MUDLARKER

Miles G. Cohen, Seb Tuinder United States / Documentary / 24 mins

JUNIOR

AJ Wilhelm United States / Documentary / 11 mins

MONKEY BUSINESS

A GODLESS COUNTRY

MY NEW PANTS

ATTEST

Everon Jackson Hooi Netherlands / Drama / 14 mins

Gerard Zarra United States / Comedy / 20 mins

MOTIONS

Starr Nathan United States / Drama / 13 mins

Jesse Richardson Australia / Drama / 20 mins

Andi Behring United States / Drama / 7 mins

PARK SLOPE MINSTREL SHOW Chris Beetem United States / Drama / 11 mins

ON THE TABLE

Diana Arnold, Nick Canfield United States / Comedy / 33 mins

RED

Katia Koziara United States / Romance / 8 mins

NEXTING

Karina Logothetis United States / Comedy / 12 mins

ME + LEE

Giorgio Miraflor United States / Drama / 15 mins

I MUSTACHE YOU

Shara Ashley Zeiger United States / Comedy / 14 mins

139

TUESDAY. November 2

3:00 Program 21 | IN-PERSON

What Day Is It?

Delfina

Mudlarker

Director/Writer: Jess Elefante Davis

Director: Priya Sanghvi, Dan Scott Goldstein

Director: Miles G. Cohen, Seb Tuinder

Moments before her capture, Delfina practices her confession. Raised in a cult in rural upstate New York, hell bent on protecting their land and way of life from city people, she was groomed as their assassin. Their leader, The Shepherd, introduced her to supernatural powers and by harnessing them and honing her very own magic, she conjured a crime so efficient and insidious, all of New York City is slowly dying without knowing it.

An injured school bus driver forced into retirement scavenges for survival at a radioactive beach in Brooklyn. An ode to aging — Mudlarker follows 66-yearold Adele Daly as she finds a means and a sense of belonging at Dead Horse Bay, a historic landfill littered with junk.

United States / Documentary / 19 mins

What Day Is It? offers my very human, mother’s perspective on the ever-shifting emotional and mental states of living in NYC during Phase 1 of lockdown.

Producer: Jess Elefante Davis / Editor: Dan Stangl / Designer & Animator: Brooke Pathakis / Cinematography: Jess Elefante Davis, Ilie Mitaru

United States / Experimental / 4 mins

Writer: Priya Sanghvi / Producer: Priya Sanghvi, Dan Scott Goldstein/ Cast: Sarah Armstrong-Brown, Alishanee Chafe-Hearmon

Jess Elefante Davis

Jess Elefante Davis is a writer and creative director living in Brooklyn, NY. As a digital wellbeing thought leader, editor in chief of Folk Rebellion, and renowned creative strategist, her life’s work is focused on the confusing crossroads of humans, real life, and the new modern world. She’s releasing her 1st ever short film on the anniversary of New York City’s lockdown, a personal live journal witness statement of an ordinary family in unordinary times. Hers.

Named a ‘Limit Breaking Founder’ by Arianna Huffington, Jess Davis is a multiplatform storyteller.

Contact: Jess Elefante Davis / jess@folkrebellion.com

Priya Sanghvi, Dan Scott Goldstein

Priya Sanghvi and Dan Scott Goldstein are co-founders of M.A.Y.O. a directing collective that directs music videos, commercials and branded content. They are Pulitzer Prize finalists and have an MTV Movie Award for directing. Their work has been featured in The London Design Museum. The duo began developing features in 2009 with Paramount Pictures as a result of their firstlook deal. M.A.Y.O. music videos have been broadcast internationally on every major music video program — earning them recognition and praise from artists like Kanye West. “Bathtub,” their short film, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and has been exhibited in galleries and festivals worldwide.

Contact: Priya Sanghvi / priya@mindallyouroutsides.com

United States / Documentary / 24 mins

Cast: Adele Daly, Merrill Kazanjian​

Miles G. Cohen , Seb Tuinder

Miles G. Cohen is a permalance producer for ABC’s Good Morning America and a recent graduate from Columbia Journalism School.

He was born and raised in Berkeley, California. He now lives in Chelsea, NYC with his two dogs, his bird and his girlfriend.

Seb Tuinder is a freelance multimedia journalist, and a recent graduate of Columbia Journalism School. He was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Contact: Miles G. Cohen / milescohen14@gmail.com

140

TUESDAY. November 2

3:00 Program 21 | IN-PERSON

Junior

United States / Documentary / 11 mins

Director/Writer: AJ Wilhelm Gifted as a teenager, Jérôme “Junior” Simeon was recruited by top Haitian roots music group “Racine Mapou de Azor” and spent 20 years touring the world. When the lead singer of his band dies unexpectedly Junior’s high-profile career comes to a shocking halt and he suddenly faces an uncertain future for himself and his legacy.

Producer: AJ Wilhelm, Ajayi Jackson, Sandrine Malary, Tatiana MoraLiautaud, Marie Arago / Cast: Jerome “Junior” Simeon, Ajayi Jackson, Immigrés Lafond, Laurent Ansito, Jean Paul Saint Fleur

AJ Wilhelm

Raised in the midwest A.J. Wilhelm attended the University of Michigan studying politics, music and film. Following graduation A.J. took a staff position with the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C while also performing as a touring musician. Since 2006 A.J. has been working out of New York City as a freelance filmmaker and photographer.

“Junior” is AJ’s first film as director, cinematographer and producer.

Contact: AJ Wilhelm / ajwilhelm@gmail.com

141

TUESDAY. November 2

4:45 Program 22 | IN-PERSON

En Suite

The Caretaker

Monkey Business

Director: Geoffrey Cantor

Director/Writer: Patrick Elmore

Director: Everon Jackson Hooi

En Suite offers an emotional glimpse into the personal lives of a seemingly happily married couple following a radical bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. Shot using a single, stationary camera, the months following the procedures that ensue, are seamlessly revealed exposing the loving and often difficult challenges this devastating diagnosis elicit.

An impatient man named Carl is waiting on an inheritance from an old relative.

Nila is waiting for her best friend Rein to go to school.

Inside the classroom it appears that Nila is the only black child. The class is busy preparing a musical about animals. When teacher Julian falls over Nila’s skateboard, she gets punished: only when she’ll be quiet the rest of the day, she’ll get her skateboard back.

United States / Drama / 13 mins

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Producer: Patrick Elmore / Cast: Sal Rendino, Susan Slatin, Sarah Street, Erik Frandsen

Writer: Lainie Ventura, Jennifer Harrison / Producer: Steven Beeson, Roy Havrilack / Cast: Lainie Ventura, Robert Bogue

Geoffrey Cantor

En Suite marks director Geoffrey Cantor’s narrative directorial debut. In London, Geoffrey was on the creative team of England’s first late night TV show, The Night Network (LWT), and founded the play-reading series Readings at One in the West End. Stage directing credits include The Man Who was Peter Pan, Sweet Texas Reckoning, Lone Star and Laundry & Bourbon. As an actor, he is best known as Ellison in Marvel’s Daredevil and The Punisher. He has over 100 TV and film credits, including Call Jane, Hail, Ceasar!, Public Enemies, Man on a Ledge, Fair Game, Apple’s Foundation, Maniac, The Americans, and all of the Law & Order’s. He has been seen on stages from Broadway to London, and can been heard in audio books and video games.

Contact: Lainie Ventura / lainieventura@mac.com

Netherlands / Drama / 14 mins

Writer: Lysette Rindertsma / Producer: Indra Baars, Kennard Bos, Vincent ter Voert /Cast: Indy-Rose Kroonen, Sam van der Sar, Micha Hulshof, Bas Keijzer, Sosha Duysker

Patrick Elmore

I am a filmmaker currently living in Baltimore, MD with experience shooting and directing short films, music videos, commercial content and short documentaries.

Contact: Patrick Elmore / pmelmore5@yahoo.com

Everon Jackson Hooi

Everon Jackson Hooi was born on May 30, 1982 in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. He is an actor and director, known for Dood eind (2006), Goede tijden, slechte tijden (1990) and Voor Aap (2021).

Contact: Lysette Rindertsma / lys.rindertsma@gmail.com

142

TUESDAY. November 2

4:45 Program 22 | IN-PERSON

A Godless Country Australia / Drama / 20 mins

Director: Jesse Richardson Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. 1832. Finn and Mary O’shea, two Irish convicts, labour under the evils of colonial Australia - a place liberty does not yet exist.

But when fate takes their beloved daughter, Annie, they abscond to the bush in a desperate attempt to find a way back to Ireland - to return ‘home’ Writer: Jesse Richardson / Producer: Jesse Richardson, Dave Redman, Aaron Singfield, Nerida Tyson-Chew / Cast: Samantha McClurg, Jesse Richardson, Brent Dunner, Andrew Lowe / Editing: Dave Redman ASE / Music: Nerida Tyson-Chew / Sound Design: Tony Murtagh / Foley: Les Fidess / Cinematography: Aaron Singfield

Jesse Richardson

Jesse Richardson is a visionary Actor/Writer/Director of film and theatre with a passion for historical stories. He is best known for his productions of White Lines, The Pitch (feature) The Club (theatre), Red (theatre) and A Godless Country.

Jesse began his journey as an actor, training at the Actors Workshop under the keen eye of master teacher Lynn Kidd. As his career progressed Jesse found a passion for writing, producing and directing his own stories - tales often neglected by mainstream Australian cinema and with a focus on colonial history.

Contact: Jesse Richardson / Jessepatrick.richardson@gmail.com

143

TUESDAY. November 2

6:30 Program 23 | IN-PERSON

New York Minute

Stacks

My New Pants

Director: Lynn Bianchi

Director/Writer: Emily Eng

Director: Gerard Zarra

This work continues Lynn Bianchi’s relationship with New York City and its inhabitants - her home and inspiration since 1968. New York Minute was developed and created during lockdown - the year of loneliness and isolation - yet Lynn never felt lonely because the city was right outside her window - still alive and forever hopeful. A love letter to New York, this work is an abstraction of one day in the city - from dawn till dusk - moments that last a minute, or maybe a lifetime.

In the middle of a power outage, an ill-tempered 70 year old man gambles while looking after his curious 12 year old granddaughter.

A dark comedy about a man who becomes obsessed with his newly purchased pair of pants.

United States / Experimental / 5 mins

United States / Drama / 6 mins

Producer: Caroline Moore / Cast: Joey Lu, Joe Chan / DP: Derin Celik

Netherlands / Comedy / 20 mins

Producer: Edgar Nevarez, Gerard Zarra / Cast: Michael McBride, Mary Linehan

Cinematography: Lynn Bianchi / Editing: Yana Birykova / Music: Sweet Megg, Hannah Gill

Lynn Bianchi

Emily Eng

Gerard Zarra

Lynn Bianchi is a fine art photographer and multimedia artist who has shown her work in over thirty solo exhibitions and in museums worldwide.

Bianchi’s photographic work has been shown at Brooklyn Museum, Yale Art Gallery, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland; Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto among others. Servitude I from the Heavy In White series was added to the collection of Walker Art Center in 2019. The work is also reproduced in the Walker’s catalogue The Expressionist Figure among such artists as Edgar Degas, Willem de Kooning, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso, etc.

Emily Eng is a filmmaker based in New Jersey who is pursuing her MFA in Creative Producing at Columbia University and is set to graduate in 2023. Several of her short films have been showcased in the 2019 Terminus Conference, Garden State Film Festival, and Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. Emily often builds her stories from her own personal childhood experiences and seeks to showcase a voice for the Asian American community.

Born and raised in New Jersey and a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts - Gerard is a passionate, well-rounded creative who has created content for Showtime, GQ, and RocNation.He is a lover of cinema and has immersed himself in the art form. He frequently shoots projects on Kodak film, has mentored high school film students with Reel Works, and traveled to Peru and Italy for documentary work.

Contact: Lynn Bianchi / bianchilynn@gmail.com

Contact: Emily Eng / eeng98@gmail.com

Contact: Gerard Zarra / gerardzarra11@gmail.com

Gerard also regularly performs improvised comedy at the People’s Improv Theater in Manhattan. His love of performing transcends the stage, creeping into his film work and the occasional odd interview panel.

144

TUESDAY. November 2

6:30 Program 23 | IN-PERSON

Attest

Red

Nexting

Director: Andi Behring

Director: Katia Koziara

Director: Karina Logothetis

Two sisters are under harsh investigation as they get their story straight about a fateful encounter at a party the night before.

A first date gets steamy as desire, consent and power dynamics are discussed in the most unlikely of places.

Lexi has glossed over life without deep commitments or attachments. She joins the online dating world as a fun and easy way to meet people and spend her few nights in town.

United States / Drama / 7 mins

Writer: Andi Behring / Producer: Andi Behring / Cast: Elaine Hendrix, Alexandra Ficken, Caroline Ficken, Tyler Buckingham

Andi Behring

Andi lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. She love to direct and collaborate with fellow creatives. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.

Contact: Andrea Behring / andibehring@me.com

United States / Romance / 8 mins

Writer: Phoebe Dun / Producer: Phoebe Dun, Stuart Ruston / Cast: Phoebe Dunn, Ben Brown, Kerry Warren

Katia Koziara

United States / Comedy / 12 mins

Writer: Joanna Fyllidou / Producer: Mando Stathi, Dorothea Paschalidou / Cast: Joanna Fyllidou, Connor Tillman, John Senese, Elias Scoufaras, Jeremiah Jahi, Gavin Lee, Benjamin Burt, Charles Farrell, Panos Vlahos, Kimonas Kouris, Synthia Batsi KARINA LOGOTHETIS

Katia Koziara is a New York City based filmmaker whose most recent film “The Artist Apartment” premiered at the 2019 Zero Film Festival where it won the Audience Choice Award. Most notably, Katia was the assistant to the DGA/Emmy Award winning director Reed Morano and is currently assisting the showrunner Mark Friedman on the upcoming Apple TV+ series “Severance”. Katia is a winner of the Manhattan Theater Club’s Jonathan Alper Directing Fellowship and a voting member of the National Board of Review.

Katia is a graduate of the Bard College.

Karina Logothetis is a photographer who fell in love with the art of filmmaking. For the past decade she has been working in both industries in Los Angeles and Greece in numerous productions in a variety of positions ending up as a writer, director and occasionally script supervisor. Her photography work has been published and exhibited and her first short film Vourvourou has won awards in film festivals.

Contact: Phoebe Dunn / phoebeldunn@gmail.com

Contact: Mando STATHI / mando@stathitwins.com

website https://www.karina.world/

145

TUESDAY. November 2

8:15 Program 24 | IN-PERSON

Death and the Lady

Like Daughter, Like Mother

Motions

Director: Geoff Bailey, Lucy Struever

Director: Clyde Baldo

Director/Writer: Starr Nathan

On a dark and stormy night, Death pays a visit to a very old lady and her dog.

A mother and daughter navigate the world of online dating together.

Writer: Geoff Bailey, Lucy Struever

Writer: Devi Morgan / Producer: Randi Sloane / Cast: Devi Morgan, Jordan Gosnell, Steve Lichtenstein, Steve Lichtenstein

The energy exchange of three New Yorkers collide on the train in stories of anxiety, heartache and redemption. All are victims to their thoughts and daily life motions. They can rise above it but, it’s never that simple.

United States / Animation / 7 mins

Geoff Bailey

I’m a director and designer based in Brooklyn, NY. I’m equally at home behind a camera or behind a workstation—and happiest on projects where I get to do both, blending narrative filmmaking with CG design. I’ve both directed Emmy and Academy Award-winning talent and I know the technical details of how those images move through even the most complex CG pipeline.

Over the years, I’ve worked with a range of wonderful clients including Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Google, Youtube, HBO, Showtime, ABC, ESPN, EY, HP, BMW, Julie Taymor, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, U2, and many more.

Contact: Geoff Bailey / g.bailey@madebygeoff.com

United States / Comedy / 19 mins

Clyde Baldo

Mr. Baldo is an actor, director, psychotherapist, acting coach, monologue writer and photographer. Clyde has been in over 50 plays, 30 films, 16 commercials and 5 TV Network spots.

He has also directed 16 plays in NYC.

United States / Drama / 13 mins

Producer: Chika Okafor, Kai Bailer / Cast: Anthony Goss, Caro Guzman, Cillian O’Sullivan, Tenisi Davis / DP: Lionel T. Djaowe / Editor: Lionel T. Djawoe

Starr Nathan

Starr Nathan is an award-winning writer, producer and director for the short film, Know Me So Well.

As a Content Producer at BET Networks Starr ushered in a new era of bold and relevant storytelling and marketing for the brand. Over the years as a STARRPOWER Entertainment independent creative, she has worked with BBC America, BMW, NBC, Warner Records, and Superfly. As a Senior Producer at Bleacher Report / WarnerMedia, Starr launched video campaigns and franchises that focused on the intersection of sports and culture.

Starr is bi-coastal between New York City and Los Angeles.

Contact: Devi Morgan / devimorgan1522@gmail.com

Contact: STARRPOWER Entertainment / info@starrpowerent.com

146

TUESDAY. November 2

8:15 Program 24 | IN-PERSON

Park Slope Minstrel Show

Me + Lee

Director: Chris Beetem

Director/Writer: Giorgio Miraflor

Park Slope Minstrel Show seeks to explore the inner workings of a family after they are confronted with a socially uncomfortable situation. After realizing that the neighborhood may have been exposed to their children’s “innocent” play, the disguises come off when their parents’ face-off and rail against each other on a myriad of issues, especially how much the neighborhood they live in has changed them from when they first met.

Current recluse Theo strikes up a conversation that he didn’t realize he needed with his pizza delivery guy.

United States / Drama / 11 mins

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Cast: Johnny Manibusan, Salmo Miraflor, Daphne Monte, Nick Alexander Payne / DP: Bradley Credit

Writer: Eleanor Burgess / Producer: Berman Fenelus / Cast: Sayra Player, Joe B. McCarthy Chris Beetem

Giorgio Miraflor

Chris Beetem is an American filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York.

Chris has worked for years as an actor in television and is an active member of The Collective NY, a New York-based theater company. It is through the Collective NY Chris developed his process as a director, working alongside many talented actors to bring projects to life, and also observing other directors in their work. Chris believes in an extensive rehearsal process before shooting, so actors are comfortable and able to “play” when the cameras start rolling. Park Slope Minstrel Show, based on a short piece by award-winning playwright Eleanor Burgess, was a perfect vehicle for Chris as a director as it is highly behavior-driven and deals with deeply human issues. He partnered with producer Berman Fenelus to help bring this story to life.

After growing up in St. Petersburg and earning a B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Florida, Giorgio took a sharp turn and moved to London to pursue his passion and obsession for filmmaking. From starting off as an actor working on several short films in Florida, to receiving his Masters in Filmmaking from the University of East London, he is now based in Brooklyn continuing to act, make films, and work in post production.

Contact: Berman Fenelus / Berman.Fenelus@gmail.com

Contact: Giorgio Miraflor / itsgiorgiomiraflor@gmail.com

Giorgio is also currently in pre production for another short film called Gorge; his first attempt at the Horror genre.

147

TUESDAY. November 2

10:00 Program 25 | IN-PERSON

American Refugees

How To Be a Super Driver

On The Table

Director: Willem Holzer

Director: Romie Decosta

Director/Writer: Diana Arnold, Nick Canfield

Two travel-banned Americans facing dwindling prospects of solving any of their country’s political crises set their sights on the European promised land.

A how-to video and a reality check on what it takes to be a rideshare driver in New York City.

On The Table is a blend of film, theater, and the dining experience. Breaking the fourth wall, Diana Arnold carries us with her from table to table during a busy night at work in the service industry.

United States / Comedy / 6 mins

Writer: Anthony DiMieri / Producer: Kareem Rahma, Chiara Gerek, Willem Holzer, Anthony DiMieri / Cast: Anthony DiMieri, Kareem Rahma, Ted Junce

Willem Holzer

United States / Drama / 8 mins

Writer: Cyrus Daruwala, Romie Decosta / Producer: Romie Decosta / Cast: Romie Decosta, Danielle Boivin, Viraaj Kapoor / DP: Nick Cline / Editor: Jeff Panilla / Colorist: Dilshad Nanji / Sound Design: Angelo Panetta

Romie Decosta

Willem Holzer is a Director/Producer based in Brooklyn, NY with a diverse background in commercial, documentary and live-action comedy television. Willem strives to give each project an authentic voice like the insightful SCANIMATE documentary, the irreverent humor seen in the award winning sketch show: CHANNEL SURFING, or even the uniquely styled ZEBRAKATZxPAOM collection fashion film. Willem has most recently worked for brands FOOTLOCKER, CHANGE INC., and GEICO that showcase his penchant for comedy with a cinematic focus.

Romie’s professional life started as an Architect in India, which he used as a means to enter the world of film and theatre via set design. He wrote a few horror and crime stories for television, did voice overs for Cartoon Network, hosted a daily entertainment show for a news channel, before moving to the US in 2010. He fast tracked his way to becoming a native New Yorker thanks to three years of (rideshare) driving around the tristate area’s farthest corners. He satiated his love for film making by making wedding films before completing his MFA in Film from City College of New York. He has shot over 200 weddings and still enjoys it.

Contact: Anthony DiMieri / anthony.dimieri@gmail.com

Contact: Romie Decosta / romiedecosta77@gmail.com

United States / Comedy / 33 mins

Writers: Diana Arnold / Producer: Diana Arnold, Nick Canfield / Cast: Diana Arnold, Claire Tyers, Paul Donovan / DP, Editor: David Usui

Diana Arnold, Nick Canfield

Diana Arnold is a New York City playwright and performer. Her original one woman shows 86’d and Session have been produced on Theatre Row, and her most recent play On the Table has been a recurring Main Stage show at Dixon Place over the last two years. She has a unique point of view, and comes at everything from a place of service. A lifelong waitress, and regular in the poetry community, she often blends her wry poetry and comedic long form monologue to tell the New York Stories

that inspire us all.

Nick Canfield is an NYC-born filmmaker who has been working largely in Documentary for over a decade. He developed an observational style while working closely with his mentor, legendary filmmaker Albert Maysles. Together, he and Diana aim to create films that feel authentic and blur the line between observation and narrative. His debut feature film, The Reverend, premiered at DOC NYC 2021 where it won the Audience Award.

Contact: Nick Canfield / dianalarnold@gmail.com

148

TUESDAY. November 2

10:00 Program 25 | IN-PERSON

I Mustache You

United States / Comedy / 14 mins

Director/Writer: Shara Ashley Zeiger A whimsical magical realistic comedy, inspired by Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and NYC about Abby, a woman with social anxiety, OCD and agoraphobic tendencies who receives an invitation to love, self acceptance, and the outside world.

Producer: Shara Ashley Zeiger / Cast: Shara Ashley Zeiger / Editor: Charlie Cusamano / Colorist: Grant Reynolds / Cinematographer: Nolan Roy

Shara Ashley Zeiger

Shara Ashley Zeiger is an award winning Jewish actor/ filmmaker from Philadelphia residing in NYC. Shara’s played roles on “The Plot Against America” (HBO), “BULL” (CBS), “The Last OG” (TBS), various indie films, Off Broadway, Regional Theatre, and National Tours. Shara has screened her work at over 50 film festivals on the circuit, and has been nominated and won awards many times. Shara’s devised dozens of new works with students through various residencies, as a company member with Hivemind Collective, and recently an adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland” for English language learners in Chengdu, China.

Contact: Shara Ashley Zeiger / SharaAshleyZeiger@gmail.com

149

WEDNESDAY

NOV, 3

IN-PERSON

150

WEDNESDAY. November 3, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P26

4:45 PM

P27

6:30 PM

P28

8:15 PM

P29

10:00 PM

P30

HOW CAN I REACH YOU?

Peter Davenport United States / Documentary / 7 mins

BLANK SHORES Alex Kyrou United Kingdom / Sci-Fi / 17 mins

RETURN

Hongying Chen China / Animation / 3 mins

HOVERMAN

Vincent Lin United States / Animation / 12 mins

DOING THE ROBOT Ravi Guru Singh United States / Animation / 5 mins

SCARY TIMES

Connie Honeycutt, Kellan Davidson United States / Documentary / 6 mins

ON-OFF LICENCE Mark Field United Kingdom / Drama / 9 mins

Matt Battaglia United States / Documentary / 33 mins

THINGS I NEVER TOLD MY FATHER

ROY

Ade O’Adesina, Dumas Haddad United Kingdom / Drama / 20 mins

UNTITLED SAM BENNETT PROJECT Daniella Caggiano United States / Comedy / 5 mins

MISSING FIRST PERIOD Chassidy David United States / Drama / 16 mins

PRISONER #1616 Michael Fodera United States / Drama / 20 mins

ALL WE HAVE

MAKE IT EASY

Marshall Cooper United States / Drama / 11 mins

SKELETONS

THE CHAPERONE

HIGHWAYMEN

Ellie Gravitte United States / Drama / 20 mins

DECISION DAY

Tom Berkeley, Ross White United Kingdom / Drama / 16 mins

Victoria DeMartin United States / Dark Comedy / 16 mins

Jamie Spaulding United States / Drama / 15 mins

ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS

Josh Deal United States / Drama / 11 mins

Adam DeCarlo United States / Drama / 18 mins

OTHER BODIES Alyssa Loh United States / Horror / 10 mins

GERI AND RICK

Vincent Turturro, Alena Turturro United States / Drama / 21 mins

151

WEDNESDAY. November 3

3:00 Program 26 | IN-PERSON

How Can I Reach You?

Scary Times

All We Have

Director/Writer: Peter Davenport

Director: Connie Honeycutt, Kellan Davidson

Director/Editor/Producer: Matt Battaglia

Months of quarantine confinement strains the connections within a family as each member attempts to carve out his own space while never leaving each other’s company or the stifling boundaries of their New York City apartment.

In Scary Times, a “ghost town” comes to life. This short documentary explores one neighborhood’s resolve to save Halloween. By embracing the holiday in all of its charm, we meet residents as the kids see them and explore what made this day unique.

The pandemic lockdowns have taken their toll on mom and pop shops across the country. For Schnitzel Haus in Brooklyn, NY, it’s been a year of mandated closures, reduced capacity, dwindling sales, and more regulations than ever before.

Producer: Peter Davenport / Cast: Vlado Nedkov, Peter Davenport, Sebastian Davenport, Oliver Davenport

Producer: Connie Honeycutt, Kellan Davidson / Cinematographer: Kyle Kelley

Cast: Fred Urban, Amber Urban / Cinematography: Sam Martin / DP: Matt Antonucci

United States / Documentary / 7 mins

Peter Davenport

United States / Documentary / 6 mins

Connie Honeycutt, Kellan Davidson

Peter’s directorial debut was his extended short he wrote, acted in and directed, “A Family Dinner,” which he took to the Cannes Short Film Corner in 2013. It was an official selection of several festivals around the globe, winning several awards including Best Narrative Short Mt.Hood Independent Film Festival, Best Drama Honolulu Film Awards, Stephen Susco Award River Bend Film Festival and Award of Merit Lucerne International Film Festival (https://www.facebook.com/AFamilyDinner/). Peter has been a professional actor in film, tv and stage for over 25 years. He received screenwriting certificates from both UCLA and NYU. www.flintboyproductions.com

Connie Honeycutt is a field, archival and post-production producer that specializes in historical narratives for the PBS series, American Experience. She recently produced the four-hour series, The Vote (2020), which premiered at AFI Docs and tells the story of American women’s long-fought battle for the 19th Amendment. She co-produced ESPN’s 30 for 30, Qualified (2019), which premiered at SXSW and Tribeca, and received a 2020 FOCAL Award for use of archival.

Kellan Davidson is a full-time filmmaker at the Google Creative Lab. He recently finished the ~60 minute feature, Trillions of Questions, No Easy Answers: A (home) movie about how Google Search works (2020) that was released on Google’s Youtube page. He is an editor, animator, and director who has worked on short branded content for the web, independent films, and episodic features for PBS.

Contact: Peter Davenport / pdkjr@aol.com

Contact: Connie Honeycutt / honeycuttconnie@gmail.com

United States / Documentary / 33 mins

Matt Battaglia

Matt Battaglia is the Executive Producer at Free the People.

He is a designer, editor, and illustrator with experience in politics, advertising, media, and comics. His graphic novel, Indoctrination, was published by Z2 Comics in 2016, and he’s also worked on books published by BOOM! and Image.

Contact: Sam Martin / mbattaglia@freethepeople.org

152

WEDNESDAY. November 3

4:45 Program 27 | IN-PERSON

Blank Shores

On-Off Licence

Things I Never Told My Father

Director/Writer: Alex Kyrou

Director: Mark Field

Director: Ade O’Adesina, Dumas Haddad

With the police unable to help, Emily takes it upon herself to investigate the disappearance of her partner. A small clue leads her to the discovery of an unregulated world far removed from her own. Soon, Emily’s journey to reconnect becomes a struggle for survival.

From either side of the Brexit divide... two men collide in an intense night of robbery, desperation and fury.

A road trip. Father and Son. Unanswered questions and things left unsaid as they travel through a distorted reality.

United Kingdom / Sci-Fi / 17 mins

United Kingdom / Drama / 9 mins

Writer: Fanos Xenofós, Mark Field / Producer: A.M.N Collective / Cast: Fanos Xenofós, Mark Field, Lucia Tong, Remi Marlena

Producer: Clare Shields / Cast: Georgina Campbell, Gary Beadle, James Farrar / DP: Benjamin Wearing / Editor: Alex Kyrou

Alex Kyrou

Alex has directed three short films that have screened at prestigious international film festivals including HollyShorts and LA Shorts. His “Blank Shores” screenplay won the Grand Prize in the Vortex Horror/Sci-Fi category at the Oscarand BAFTA-affiliated Flickers’ Rhode Island International Screenplay Competition. The screenplay was awarded funding by the BFI Network and attracted the attention of BAFTA-winning Georgina Campbell to play the leading role.

The emotionally raw short film “White Awake” showcased at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles and the TriForce Film Festival in London, winning Best BAME Short Film and Best Cinematography in the FILMSshort competition.

Contact: Alex Kyrou / akyrou@gmail.com

Mark Field

2015 Director)

Mark Field is an Actor & Director, known for: The Crown (Netflix 2019) War of the Worlds (Fox TV 2021) The Sandman (Netflix 2022) Trigger Point (ITV 2021) Fortitude (Sky Atlantic 2015) Brideshead Revisited (Miramax 2008) On-Off Licence (Short 2021 Director) Salisbury House (Short 2020 Director) Are You Ok (Short 2015 Co-Director ) Model Planes (Short

United Kingdom / Drama / 20 mins

Writer: Letitia Wright / Producer: Amara Rossell, Letitia Wright, Abubakar Salim, Sheila Nortley, Ade O’Adesina / Cast: Nicholas Pinnock, Malcolm Kamulete

Ade O’Adesina, Dumas Haddad

Adé O Adesina is a London based filmmaker (Producer and Director), with a passion for telling untold stories. He began studying film at The University of Westminster, after graduating. Ade went into directing and producing short films, commercials & music videos for the likes of BFI ,Virgin EMI, Sony, Universal to name a few. He produced his first Feature Film ‘Motel’ in 2018, which premiered in the Chinese Theatre, Hollywood.

Dumas Haddad is a director and photographer raised in London who has developed his craft from the world’s of fashion, music & bleeding edge culture. His work elicits powerful uses of analogies and on-the-pulse narrative and character underpinnings.

Focused on storytelling and dramatic action, his desire to reframe contemporary culture represents a rising generation of filmmaker that are trying to transform both today and tomorrow’s voices.

Contact: Mark Field / marksdfield@gmail.com

Contact: 3.16 Productions / info@threesixteenproduction.com

153

WEDNESDAY. November 3

4:45 Program 27 | IN-PERSON

Roy

United Kingdom / Drama / 16 mins

Director/Writer: Tom Berkeley, Ross White Trapped in a lonely existence, reclusive widower Roy (BAFTA Winner David Bradley) passes the days by cold calling strangers from the phone book, looking for brief moments of companionship. But when he accidentally calls adult hotline worker Cara (Oscar® winner Rachel Shenton), an unlikely friendship is born that will help them both rediscover the joy of life.

Producer: Bryony Pulizzi / Cast: David Bradley, Rachel Shenton, Composer: Anthony Eve / Sound Designer: Fred Pearson / Editor: Stephen Dunne

Tom Berkeley, Ross White

Filmmaking partnership Tom Berkeley and Ross White began collaborating in 2018. Hailing from England and Ireland respectively, their early works were nominated for several prestigious writing awards including the Bruntwood Prize, Papatango Prize & The Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing.

Roy marks the pair’s filmmaking debut, with their next film, the Belfast-set An Irish Goodbye, to be produced by the Tribeca and Sundance selected Wee Buns Films. The script for An Irish Goodbye recently won the inaugural First Flights Short Film Fund Award from Goldfinch UK and is scheduled to begin principal photography in Spring of 2021.

Contact: Ross White / info@floodlightpictures.co.uk

154

WEDNESDAY. November 3

6:30 Program 28 | IN-PERSON

Return

Untitled Sam Bennett Project

Make It Easy

Director: Hongying Chen

Director: Daniella Caggiano

Director: Ellie Gravitte

A writer pitches her script to a producer.

A chance encounter between a young musician (Alexis Floyd, Shondaland/Netflix) and a street busker leads to an enchanted journey of song and self discovery one midnight in New York City.

China / Animation / 3 mins

Falling from heaven to the sea, I was so scared that I wanted to escape from the sea. I was reborn after repeated failures, which make me realize the joy of being alive.

Hongying Chen

Hongying Chen is a Chinese animator who is living in New York. She received her BFA (2018) at Guangdong University of Technology (GDUT) and MFA (2021) at Pratt Institute.

Contact: Hongying Chen / hchen194@pratt.edu

United States / Comedy / 5 mins

Writer: Caitlin Ouano / Producer: Caitlin Ouano, Marcel Simoneau / Cast: Caitlin Ouano, Jamie Ragusa, Marcel Simoneau

United States / Drama / 20 mins

Writers: Kent Coleman / Cast: Alexis Floyd, Kent Coleman / Editor: Ellie Gravitte

Daniella Caggiano

Ellie Gravitte

Is a freelance director and native New Yorker. She is a Resident Director at The Flea and a former MTC Directing Fellow, Drama League Resident, and alum of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Named one of The Interval’s “Women to Watch”, Daniella has directed or developed work at NYTW, Joe’s Pub, The Lark, MTF, WOW Cafe, HERE, and 54 Below among others. Favorite projects include a site-appropriate Fun Home in a funeral home (starring Tony nominee Jenn Colella), Next To Normal, Vinegar Tom (performed with an original Riot Grrrl score), Macbeth, Tumacho (Assistant, dir. Leigh Silverman) and School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play (Associate, dir. Rebecca Taichman).

MFA The New School, BA Sarah Lawrence College www.daniellacaggiano.com

Ellie Gravitte is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York City. She was the winner of the first ever ABC Women’s Initiative, in which 10 finalists were selected from a nationwide application to pitch a commercial concept at ABC Entertainment Marketing. Of the 10 pitches, Gravitte’s was chosen for production, and she went on to receive a Promax Gold Award for her work directing the commercial in support of ABC’s hit show, A Million Little Things. Gravitte also works part time as an established editor, which serves her directing work immeasurably. She has been awarded “best editor” at a number of domestic festivals, and a short film that she edited in 2020 will screen in competition at CANNES this summer.

Contact: Caitlin Ouano / cso10@georgetown.edu

Contact: Ellie Gravitte / makeiteasyfilm@gmail.com

155

WEDNESDAY. November 3

6:30 Program 28 | IN-PERSON

Highwaymen

The Chaperone

Director/Writer: Jamie Spaulding

Director: Victoria DeMartin

Two brothers, driven apart by their own nature, are pitted against each other by circumstance.

An unexpected visitor causes a man to reexamine his life while slowly growing to accept his death.

Producer: Zach Durocher / Cast: Nicholas Baroudi, Ethan Botwick

Writer: Jon Comulada / Producer: Jon Comulada, Victoria DeMartin / Cast: John Lampe, Hans Lueders

United States / Drama / 15 mins

Jamie Spaulding

Jamie considers storytelling to be the pursuit of his life.

Whether it be in his capacity as a filmmaker and writer with Chromoscope, or through his military service as a broadcast journalist with the U.S. Air Force; he is always searching for the next story and striving to share it with integrity.

Contact: Chromoscope Pictures / chromoscope.pictures@gmail.com

United States / Dark Comedy / 16 mins

Victoria DeMartin

Victoria DeMartin is a writer/director from New York with a BFA in Film Production from the Film Conservatory at SUNY Purchase College.​ To date, she has directed and/or written 5 short films. Each of these films have screened at festivals nationwide including one airing on PBS-KVCR in 2015.

Victoria’s professional credits span various departments on: Showtime Network’s BILLIONS, NBC’s THE BLACK LIST, feature film THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT, Netflix limited series THE SPY, and upcoming series NOW & THEN for Apple TV+. Victoria plans to continue her own storytelling via feature films & episodic.

Contact: Jon Comulada / joncomulada@gmail.com

156

WEDNESDAY. November 3

8:15 Program 29 | IN-PERSON

Hoverman

Missing First Period

Decision Day

Director: Vincent Lin

Director/Writer: Chassidy David

Director: Marshall Cooper

In the pleasant town of Harmony City, Carl becomes a useless superhero with limited powers known as Hoverman, With the help of a talented and beautiful scientist and black belt martial artist, Jane, they fight crime against a just-as-useless villain, the mysterious, X.

A high school senior competes for a scholarship of a lifetime while simultaneously dealing with homelessness.

When the global Pandemic shuts down Highschool basketball, a student must find an alternative way of obtaining his college basketball dreams.

Producer: Kate Gondwe, Leena Kardacz, Alice Dettmer / Cast: Mickalia Forrester-Ewen, Darlene Dues, Len Nash, Michael Spara, Tamra Paselk

Writer: Marshall Cooper / Producer: Yohana Desta / Cast: Dimitri Carter, Sean Harrison, Janice Diaz / Cinematographer: Christin St. John / Sound: Nile Price / Gaffer: Yeung Tung ​

United States / Animation / 12 mins

Writer: Vincent Lin / Producer: Matthew Damato / Cast: Randall Park, Dana Synder, Rebecca Mader, Jene Hernandez, Frankie Faison

United States / Drama / 16 mins

Vincent Lin

Vincent is the founder of Valiant Pictures, one of the fastest growing minority-owned commercial production companies. He has directed national commercials for numerous big brands, including spots for the Super Bowl.

Vincent’s commercial recognitions include Clios, D&AD Pencil Award, a Cannes Lion, Best in Show (Mashies Awards), AIAP International Motion Awards, AVA Digital Gold, and various commercials shortlisted for Shots Award.

Contact: Vincent Lin / vince@valiantpictures.com

Chassidy David

screen and off.

Chassidy David is a filmmaker born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Her work is deeply inspired by her vibrant, kinetic, and intersectional adolescence and young adulthood. She is deeply interested in creating work that explores the duality between invisibility and visibility, the unspoken ways trauma links us together, and how implicit biases shape narratives on

United States / Drama / 11 mins

Marshall Cooper

Marshall Wayne Cooper IV is a director and cinematographer from Harlem, New York. He is currently a part of NYU’s Grad film program and is pursuing his MFA in Directing. In 2019, he left broadcast television to pursue his directing/ cinematography career. His commercial credits include Adidas , Alpha Industries , Reebok and more. Marshall’s stories take a deep look at American culture with a focus on inner city life.

She is a recent graduate of Emerson College where she received her BFA in Film Production.

Contact: Chassidy David / missingfirstperiod@gmail.com

Contact: Wayne Cooper / mwc8989@nyu.edu

157

WEDNESDAY. November 3

8:15 Program 29 | IN-PERSON

Adjustment of Status

Other Bodies

Director: Josh Deal

Director/Writer: Alyssa Loh

An immigration officer has a surprise revelation during a not-so-routine Green Card interview.

Eros vies with Thanatos in this edgy fairy-tale of unsuppressed desires and multiple misreadings.

Writer: Pablo Velez / Producer: Josh McGowan, Tif Hassler, Clay Hassler / Cast: Carla Brandberg, Carson Alexander, Inés del Castillo, Joe Novellino / DP: Clay Hassler / Editor: Jessie Reyes

Producer: Alyssa Loh, Eris Qian / Cast: Ian Cramer, Eva Ravenal, Troy Ogilvie

United States / Drama / 11 mins

Josh Deal

United States / Horror / 10 mins

Alyssa Loh

After earning undergraduate and graduate film degrees from Ithaca College and NYU, Josh Deal worked in New York City under film producer, Andrew Lauren, as a creative executive at Andrew Lauren Productions. During his tenure at ALP, he worked in film and television development. There he worked on the critically acclaimed film The Spectacular Now. Thereafter, Deal transitioned into content development and distribution for the Nashville based company, Aspiration Entertainment. He then founded his production company, Big Deal Productions, in 2017, which produces films and corporate videos. As a filmmaker, Josh Deal has a passion for history, American storytelling and character development. He is currently living in Nashville, TN.

Loh is a joint MBA/MFA (filmmaking) candidate at NYU, where she is the recipient of the Bernie Brillstein, Essential Entertainment, and George A. Kellner scholarships. She holds a BA from Princeton in literature and creative writing, where she won the Ward Mathis Prize for best short story, and was selected by Toni Morrison for participation in her Atelier program.

Contact: Pablo Velez / pvelez@velcip.com

Contact: Alyssa Loh / al5574@nyu.edu

ALYSSA LOH is a writer and filmmaker. She is a 2021 Sundance Screenwriting Lab Fellow and this year’s Sundance Institute | Alfred P. Sloan Development Fellow.

158

WEDNESDAY. November 3

10:00 Program 30 | IN-PERSON

Doing the Robot

Prisoner #1616

Skeletons

Director/Writer: Ravi Guru Singh

Director/Writer: Michael Fodera

Director/Writer: Adam DeCarlo

A woman meets her robot for the first time.

Rudy Vaspar, a dangerous and violent convict, sits comfortably behind bars in a maximum security prison.

His day is interrupted by a surprise visit from Monica Klee and her assistant, Vince, as Rudy soon discovers he has been selected for a scientific study.

A man must confront the pain and trauma of a past relationship, as a former lover unexpectedly arrives on his doorstep.

United States / Animation / 5 mins

Producer: Ravi Guru Singh / Cast: Anthony Misiano, Madhulika Krishnan, Lena Purtu, Jean Rosolino / Animators: AfterDark Animation

United States / Drama / 20 mins

Producer: Ashlee Mundy, Michael Fodera, Nicholas Galante / Cast: Eric Whitten, Eulone Gooding

Ravi Guru Singh

Ravi Guru Singh is a writer, actor, and lawyer born, raised, and based in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of UCB Comedy Theater, Freestyle Love Supreme Academy, Northwestern Law, and Vanderbilt University.

Michael Fodera

Michael Fodera is currently the Senior Video Producer at Squarespace and his client list includes CBS, CBS Sports, Island Def Jam, Sundance Film Festival and Newsweek Magazine. His work has been featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick and been shown on MTV.com as well as A.V. Club. Michael’s films have screened at festivals around the world.

He lives in the beautiful borough of Queens, NY with his wife and daughter.

Contact: Ravi Guru Singh / ravieshwar.singh@gmail.com

Contact: Michael Fodera / michaeljfodera@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 18 mins

Producer: Lianne Becker, Collin Meath, Benjamin Drew Thompson / Cast: Robin Lord Taylor, Tommy Beardmore / Cinematographer: Benjamin J. Murray / Editor: Michael Christensen ​

Adam DeCarlo

Adam DeCarlo is an Award-Winning actor and filmmaker based in New York City. Adam was born and raised in Orange County, California; where he began studying acting at the Tony Award-Winning regional theatre, South Coast Repertory.

He is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School on Broadway. In NYC, Adam has performed off off-B’way, had leading roles in short films, a feature film, as well as appearing on several hit TV shows on Netflix, FOX, HULU, and A&E. ‘Skeletons’ marks Adam’s second film as writer and director.

Contact: Adam DeCarlo / adamdecarlo@me.com

159

WEDNESDAY. November 3

10:00 Program 30 | IN-PERSON

Geri and Rick

United States / Drama / 21 mins

Director/Writer: Vincent Turturro, Alena Turturro Two lost souls turn up in an old Rambler Wagon on the outskirts of New York City. No more than superficial acquaintances before, they find themselves sharing confidences, reflecting on past failures, and observing the shifting sands of their neighborhood – and the world at large. Their time together culminates in an unexpected transcendent experience that leaves them to embrace each other despite their differences.

Producer: Alena Turturro, Jerome Raim, Daniel Hanson / Cast: Tammi Cubilette, Kenny Borland Vincent and Alena Turturro

Sister/brother filmmaker duo. Born in Brooklyn, they did most of their growing up in Upstate NY. Currently Harlem and New Rochelle based. Alena and Vincent came out of the gate blazing with their first feature “Victor Goodview” (along with partner/editor/co-creator Jerome Raim), distributed by Troma Entertainment. They subsequently wrapped production on their second feature “Arbor Day” , currently in post, about a group of friends who lose someone dear to them and deal with their loss to varying degrees of psychosis.

Contact: Vincent and Alena Turturro / films@larkinstanhopeproductions.com

160

161

THURSDAY

NOV, 4

IN-PERSON

162

THURSDAY. November 4, 2021 | IN-PERSON

3:00 PM

P31

4:45 PM

P32

6:30 PM

P33

8:15 PM

P34

10:00 PM

P35

A YEAR OF SUNDAYS

Dameme Jeremie United States / Experimental / 3 mins

APRIL SHOWERS Caytha Jentis United States / Drama / 12 mins

BLUE REVERIE Siting Yang United States / Drama / 20 mins

EVE

NEUL未知ND (THE UNKNOWN)

LINEAGE

Eddie Shieh United States / Drama / 3 mins

Wesley Wang United States / Drama / 21 mins

Trevor McGhie United States / Drama / 20 mins

THE SHOW MUST GO ON Paul Grant, Nathan Crane Cohen United States / Documentary / 18 mins

Anthony Morigerato United States / Dance / 10 mins

Rachel Leigh Dolan United States / Dance / 5 mins

PRAISING THE LOST

Abigael Kurtz United States / Drama / 4 mins

WHEN SNOW FALLS

ONLY LIVING BOY

BUBBLY

SEA BEYOND THE GLITZ

Tom Haines United Kingdom / Drama / 12 mins

Anna Maité Kaplan United States / Documentary / 15 mins

PAP’S MANIFESTO Chris Danuser, Casey Clark United States / Drama / 25 mins

THE WORST PEOPLE YOU KNOW Nick Bernadone United States / Comedy / 24 mins

TRAINING DAY Kunga Choephel United States / Drama / 7 mins

@JUSTAGIRLONBROADWAY Patrick Gallagher United States / Comedy / 22 mins

ISOLE CICLOPI

Ryan De Franco, Matthew Mendelson Italy / Drama / 5 mins

FIG JAM

Frank J. Avella United States / Romance / 22 mins

MELANCHOLY MAN James Kinney United States / Dance / 5 mins

THE CLAP

Jon Riddleberger United States / Animation / 5 mins

IN SYNC

Eddie Shieh United States / Drama / 5 mins

LADY BE GOOD

SOUND OF SILENCE Nicole Philippidis United States / Music Video / 4 mins

James Kinney, Pierre Marais United States / Music Video / 6 mins

PROJECT 9

Glory Crampton United States / Music Video / 15 mins

163

THURSDAY. November 4

3:00 Program 31 | IN-PERSON

A Year Of Sundays

Only Living Boy

When Snow Falls

Director: Dameme Jeremie

Director: Rachel Leigh Dolan

Director/Writer: Anthony Morigerato

Exploring our relationship to the creative process at a time when the days seem to stretch on forever, and inspiration and joy seem all too scarce, A Year Of Sunday’s follows Juliet Doherty as she strives to fill the moments.

A love/hate story for New York is a dance narrative about the duality of being an artist in the city. We are equally inspired and disparaged at the same time.

The best things happen while you are dancing! The holidays celebrated through music and dance!

United States / Experimental / 3 mins

Producer: Dameme Jeremie, Ava Mihaljevich / Cast: Juliet Doherty

Dameme Jeremie

Born in Paris, Jeremie studied music from an early age which led him to attend school to become a sound engineer. While there, he discovered that his true interest lay in the making of film and further studies in cinema. With a keen eye for detail and his background in music, he immediately began working as an editor in Paris. In 2013 looking for a new challenge, he moved to NYC to become a filmmaker, where he has since worked on many diverse productions, including CNN, Warner media, Roc Nation, commercial videos (Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, LVMH, etc.), fashion (Tom Ford, ELLE, Vogue, Fashion Week) and many others.

Contact: Jeremie Dameme / jeremiedameme@gmail.com

United States / Dance / 5 mins

Writer: Kat Lee, Rachel Leigh Dolan / Producer: Rachel Leigh Dolan / Cast: Christine Shepard, Tiger Darrow / DP/Editing: Israel Andrade / Choreographer: Suki Clements, Rachel Leigh Dolan

Rachel Leigh Dolan

Rachel Leigh Dolan is a choreographer, director, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. She is a two-time recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography and a student of Debbie Allen. With an extensive resume working in New York and Regional Theatre, Rachel aims to create theatrical works for digital media that are dance and music driven.

Contact: Rachel Leigh Dolan / rachelleighdolan@gmail.com

United States / Dance / 10 mins

Producer: Anthony Morigerato, Jess Weiss / Cast: Ted Louis Levy, Barbara Duffy ​

Anthony Morigerato

Anthony Morigerato is a tap dancer, producer, director, content creator, writer, and Emmy nominated choreographer.

Anthony is the executive producer and artistic director for AM Dance Productions which has produced live theatrical performances and film in NYC since 2006. AM Dance Productions, short films include The Text (2015), The Subtext (2018), When Snow Falls (2020), and Green Riot (2020). AM Dance Productions live theatrical shows include AM Dance Project (2006-2008), Matt and Anthony (2009), and flood (in the dark corner) (2017). AM Dance Productions has produced sixteen episodes/live video dance concerts of flood (redux) (2020).

Contact: Anthony Morigerato / amorigerato@aol.com

164

THURSDAY. November 4

3:00 Program 31 | IN-PERSON

Bubbly

Sea Beyond The Glitz

Director/Writer: Tom Haines

Director: Anna Maité Kaplan

Barry Ward and Anoushka Lucas star in this dramedy about a small time music manager, Ray, about to make it big with singer-songwriter Cas as she prepares to play her break-out gig.

On the East End of Long Island, a tenacious group of fishermen struggle to preserve a centuries-old way of life.

United Kingdom / Drama / 12 mins

Producer: Natalia Guarín / Cast: Barry Ward, Anoushka Lucas

Tom Haines

Tom Haines is a writer-director passionate about storytelling, creating worlds and characters, including the coming of age short NIGHT OF THE FOXES (IFFR 2013, BFI London Film Festival 2013), and more recently THE MISSION, which premiered at LA Shorts Fest 2018, and was in competition at Austin Film Festival 2018. He is developing feature films with producer Anna Griffin, (Calibre, Levelling) including BOA CONSTRICTOR which was part of iFeatures (BBC/BFI). His brand of character based music videos have brought him awards and meant working with artists such as Unkle, Jon Hopkins, Temper Trap and New Order.

Contact: Tom Haines / info@tom-haines.com

United States / Documentary / 15 mins

Cast: Bruce Beckwith, John Beckwith, John Gosman

Anna Maité Kaplan

Photographer, Filmmaker, Editor, Creative Developer, Visual Storyteller I like the idea for an audience to respond to stories I consider important, and influence more through images rather than through words. Over the past years, I have documented subjects, scenes, and moments. Film and photography appeals not only to my sense of aesthetic, but also to my fundamental belief that the world can also be viewed from multiple angles.

Contact: Anna Maité Kaplan / annamaitebk@gmail.com

165

THURSDAY. November 4

4:45 Program 32 | IN-PERSON

April Showers

Blue Reverie

Pap’s Manifesto

Director/Writer: Caytha Jentis

Director/Writer: Siting Yang

Director/Writer: Chris Danuser, Casey Clark

It’s April 2020; a man and a woman meet on a bench in an unusually stark Central Park while the city and its residents are grappling with life at the epicenter of the pandemic. Sirens fill the air as a constant reminder that everything has suddenly changed.

For the sake of her artistic vision, a young woman risks sacrificing her dignity by constructing a new persona.

As the identity takes on a life of its own, two inner selves recognize each other for the first time...

A grief-stricken Gold Star father’s commitment to avenge his son’s death takes a series of shocking turns when he schemes to truck bomb a mosque.

United States / Drama / 12 mins

Producer: Caytha Jentis / Cast: Bill Sage, Lorraine Farris

Caytha Jentis

Caytha began making movies while driving carpools in suburban New Jersey. Her stories typically are heightened reality contemporary existential comedies about an underserved population.

Four features later, her most recent is Pooling to Paradise, a millennial coming of age road trip comedy stars: Jonathan Lipnicki, Lynn Chen, Dreama Walker, Jordan Carlos and Taryn Manning. It will be released in the Spring of 2021 by SP Releasing. The film has opened two festivals - Female Eye Film Festival and Fort Myers Film Festival where it won best feature film.

Contact: Caytha Jentis / nancy@cinemacollet.com

United States / Drama / 20 mins

Producer: Siting Yang / Cast: Annabelle Tsaboukas, Siting Yang, Jason Arcaro / DP: Matt Lyons / Editor: Siting Yang

Siting Yang

United States / Drama / 25 mins

Producer: Jeremiah Bennett / Cast: Kurtzuba, David Triacca, Sofia Salas​

Stephanie

Chris Danuser, Casey Clark

Siting is a filmmaker and artist from Beijing, based in New York City. Her most recognized short film received the Jury Prize in the Experimental category from the 50th annual USA Film Festival, among other awards worldwide such as ‘Best Experimental Short,’ ‘Best Director,’ and has been screened at numerous festivals, including the Nashville Film Festival.

She graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in Film Directing, prior to that she attended Parsons School of Design where she studied Architecture and Illustration. She has worn many hats: writer-director, producer, editor and production designer in making all her shorts since 2013, and sometimes starred in them.

Chris Danuser: After performing in New York City for many years, Chris discovered his creative spirit was best-served writing and directing. Most inspired by the literary work of fellow Milledgeville, Georgia native Flannery O’Connor, his stories investigate the darkness hidden in all people and their redemption at the hands of profound choices or mystical grace.

Casey Clark: has been a professional actor and director in New York City for twenty years starring in independent films, theatre, national and international T.V. commercials. He studied Directing with the legendary teacher Wynn Handman and has cultivated a unique way of working with actors. He has also worked as a film editor for many years for PBS, Flickerlab, IFAW, and others.

Contact: Siting Yang / yangsiting925@gmail.com

Contact: Chris Danuser / sparkyboom8@gmail.com

166

THURSDAY. November 4

6:30 Program 33 | IN-PERSON

Praising the Lost

Eve

The Worst People You Know

Director: Abigael Kurtz

Director/Writer: Wesley Wang

Director/Writer: Nick Bernadone

A spirit moves through an abandoned mansion where it once resided. As the spirit explores each room, clues about the its family begin to surface.

A single mother and her rebellious son try to find a job on the streets of Elmont, NY over the course of a day.

Two recently outed 30-somethings move from middleAmerica to New York City. Armed only with their knowledge of Broadway and sitcoms, they set out to conquer their dreams and find love. Instead, they find The Worst People You Know.

United States / Drama / 4 mins

Cast: Laura Welsh / Composer: Ori Shlez / Audio Engineer: Juan Pablo

Abigael Kurtz

United States / Drama / 21 mins

Producer: Simon Wu / Cast: Nikki Silva, Griffin Henkel

United States / Comedy / 24 mins

Producer: Kevin Wanzor / Cast: Taylor Louderman, Badia Farha, Gerard Canonico

Wesley Wang

Abigael Kurtz is a CG Generalist living in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys making 3D environments and hopes after Pratt to get a job working in the industry and being a part of awesome projects. In her time at Pratt Institute she has been on the President’s List many semesters for having a high GPA. Additionally, in freshman year, she was recognized as a finalist by faculty to be a part of the Pratt Institute Foundation Merit Award Competition.

17-year-old writer/director known for Eve (2021) and Faces (2020). Eve was officially selected into the Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts International Film Festival, while Faces won an American Visions Medal from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, an honor given to only 0.04% of submissions. Also co-founder of SCRIPTOPIC, which has edited and marketed over 200 films for directors seeking promotion, such as Oscar-nominated Doug Roland, Alma Har’el, and Katie Boland. In chess, an 11-time National Champion and 6-time All-American. Attending Harvard College in the fall of 2022.

Contact: Abigael Kurtz / abbeykurtz@comcast.net

Contact: Wesley Wang / wangvisuals@gmail.com

Nick Bernadone

Nick’s TV credits include Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”, NBC’s “30 Rock”, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead”. He’s created several web series/sketches for various outlets such as NBC Digital, Channel101, MyDamnChannel, UCBComedy, and Cracked. He has been nominated for five Emmy Awards and has won a PGA Award and WGA Award.

Contact: Natalie Tenenbaum / natalietenenbaum@gmail.com

167

THURSDAY. November 4

6:30 Program 33 | IN-PERSON

Isole Ciclopi

The Clap

Director/Writer: Ryan De Franco, Matthew Mendelson

Director/Producer: Jon Riddleberger

A woman returns to a familiar harbor in a struggle to reclaim her lost memories.

When friend (a little cardboard puppet) wants to join in the 7PM clap for essential workers from the window of their apartment in New York City, they must get inventive to figure out a way to express their love and gratitude.

Italy / Drama / 5 mins

Producer: Ryan De Franco, Matthew Mendelson, Ester Pantano / Cast: Ester Pantano, Paola Cassetta

United States / Animation / 5 mins

Producer: Rachael Balcanoff, Joseph Lymous, / Cast: Rachael Balcanoff, Joseph Lymous, Jon Riddleberger

Ryan De Franco, Matthew Mendelson

Ryan De Franco is a Brooklyn based filmmaker who is most at home when blurring the boundary between fiction and non-fiction. His cinematography work includes “Horses: Patti Smith and Her Band” (dir. Steven Sebring, Tribeca 2018) and “Vas-Y Coupe” (dir. Laura Naylor, DOC NYC 2020). In-progress projects include Talia Lugacy’s narrative feature “This is Not a War Story” and “Jihan,” a story of war and waiting on the front lines of the Kurdish/ ISIS conflict.

Matthew Mendelson is a Brooklyn based filmmaker whose cinematography work includes “Daughters” (dir. Chloe Zhao), which earned him a Best Cinematography award at the San Gio Festival, and “Clean,” (dir. Isold Uggadottir), which won The Icelandic Academy Award for Best Short Film. An alumni of the NYU Graduate Film Program, he is a recipient of the ARRI Volker Bahnemann Award for Cinematography.

Contact: Ryan De Franco / isoleciclopi@gmail.com

Jon Riddleberger

Jon is a member of 3A3 who collaborated to make this film.

3A3 is a Trio of Queer Artists who have come together through the need to quarantine. We seek to nurture a habitat of creative cooperation where our varying skill sets and sense of resourcefulness come together to create playful, reflective, visually driven stories.

Contact: Jon Riddleberger / jahbiggins@gmail.com

168

THURSDAY. November 4

8:15 Program 34 | IN-PERSON

NEUL未知ND (The Unknown)

Lineage

Training Day

Director/Writer: Eddie Shieh

Director/Writer: Trevor McGhie

Director: Kunga Choephel

A conflicted American-Born-Chinese waitress conflicted by her identity is thrusted into an unimaginable life by a mysterious man in a black limo.

A spiritual journey to the past where a troubled young man experiences first hand the struggles his ancestors endured, challenging him to change his ways and better his community... instead of destroy it.

A young man’s last day as a motel housekeeper gets turned upside down when he and his trainee discovers a dead body.

United States / Drama / 3 mins

Producer: Eddie Shieh, Christiane Seidel, Stanley Yang / Cast: Josephine Huang, James Chen, Lan Zhong, Shannon Ko

Eddie Shieh

Eddie Shieh 謝宗楷 (pronounced ‘She’+’yeah’) is a Twindad

by Day and Filmmaker at Night. His fraternal twin boys were born in 2017. Eddie directed the semi-finalist play “That Kid” written by Jane Willis for the 2016 Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival. His screenplay “La Grippe” shortlisted at the first European Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Italy in 2015. He was a finalist nominee to the 2014 Fox Global Directors Initiative fellowship and a Grand Prix Finalist with his short film “Tu e Eu” at the 2011 Academy Qualifier Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Tokyo, Japan. On occasion, he predicts weather with his surgically repaired joints (no app yet).

Contact: Eddie Shieh / filmmakeratnight@gmail.com

United States / Drama / 20 mins

Producer: Trevor McGhie / Cast: Trevor McGhie, Francis Mancho, Javan Zapata, Brian Joel Sanchez, Anthony Turner

Trevor McGhie

Training: NYU Tisch School of the Arts - The Meisner Studio, Stonestreet Studios, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

New York Theater: Bounce, Aliens Coming.

Contact: McGhie Productions / trevormcghie@mcghieproductions.com

United States / Drama / 7 mins

Writer: Tony Spiridakis / Producer: Mahattan Film Institute / Cast: Thomas Duverné, Ben Irving

Kunga Choephel

Contact: Thomas Duverné / thomas.duverne23@gmail.com

169

THURSDAY. November 4

8:15 Program 34 | IN-PERSON

Fig Jam

In Sync

Sound of Silence

Director/Writer: Frank J. Avella

Director: Eddie Shieh

Director: Nicole Philippidis

While on lockdown, Brenda invites Teddy over for a late night hookup. One of the two is a bit more apprehensive and paranoid than the other and is keeping more than one secret. Will carnal lust or fear win out?

A young couple walk a fine line while thriving in an open marriage until they catch each other breaking the rules.

Musicians Steven Delopoulos and John Philippidis (formerly known as Burlap to Cashmere) take on the classic Simon and Garfunkel song “The Sound of Silence”. Shot in Greenwich Village, NYC during the pandemic lockdown in the fall of 2020, the music video takes the viewer through the streets during a time of great uncertainty and social unrest.

United States / Romance / 22 mins

Producer: Ashley Garrett / Cast: Carlotta Brentan, Alex Haynes

Frank J. Avella

United States / Drama / 5 mins

Writer: Kira McCarthy, Andy Zou, Josephine Huang, Ricky Dunlop / Producer: Eddie Shieh, Josephine Huang, Ricky Dunlop / Cast: Josephine Huang, Vin Kridakorn, Kira McCarthy, Jude Severin

Eddie Shieh

United States / Music Video / 4 mins

Cast: Steven Delopoulos, John Philippidis, Andrew Pester

Nicole Philippidis

Frank J. Avella is an award-winning screenwriter and playwright and the recipient of a 2019 International Writers Retreat Residency at Arte Studio Ginestrelle in Assisi, Italy and a 2018 Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, a 2016 Helene Wurlitzer Residency Grant, the 2016 Chesley/Bumbalo Playwright and a 2015 NJ State Arts Council Fellowship Award (both for his play, CONSENT).

Frank’s screenplays have received 21 major awards at Film Festivals throughout the world (16 countries) and have been selected/winners/finalists in over 130 Fests/Comps to date.

Eddie Shieh 謝宗楷 (pronounced ‘She’+’yeah’) is a Twindad

by Day and Filmmaker at Night. His fraternal twin boys were born in 2017. Eddie directed the semi-finalist play “That Kid” written by Jane Willis for the 2016 Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival. His screenplay “La Grippe” shortlisted at the first European Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Italy in 2015. He was a finalist nominee to the 2014 Fox Global Directors Initiative fellowship and a Grand Prix Finalist with his short film “Tu e Eu” at the 2011 Academy Qualifier Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Tokyo, Japan. On occasion, he predicts weather with his surgically repaired joints (no app yet).

Nicole Philippidis is the Artistic Director and Choreographer of 277 Dance Project, a New York City-based contemporary dance company, which she founded in 2009. She also works as a filmmaker and most recently founded 277 Films in 2020. As a choreographer, she has produced 12 evening-length and short works that have been presented at such leading New York City venues as Dance NOW Festival at Joe’s Pub/The Public Theater, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Abrons Arts Center, Triskelion Arts, Dixon Place, and Bryant Park Dance Festival, among many others. As a dance filmmaker and editor, she has created various short dance films, mixed media for the stage, and music videos that have been presented at multiple film festivals in the United States and Europe.

Contact: Frank J Avella / frankjavella@gmail.com

Contact: Eddie Shieh / filmmakeratnight@gmail.com

Contact: Nicole Philippidis / 277danceproject@gmail.com

170

THURSDAY. November 4

10:00 Program 35 | IN-PERSON

The Show Must Go On

@justagirlonbroadway

Melancholy Man

Director/Writer: Paul Grant, Nathan Crane Cohen

Director/Writer: Patrick Gallagher

Director/Writer: James Kinney

At the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic and in the midst of a PPE crisis, Broadway’s resilient community comes together to create the infrastructure to supply frontline medical workers with desperately needed hospital gowns.

Wannabe Broadway star Jenny Sommers adopts the zany, sociopathic personality of her Instagram character in her pursuit of fame. How far will Jenny go for success...and how much is she willing to lose?

A young man settles into his solitude in a time of uncertainty.

United States / Documentary / 18 mins

Producer: Paul Grant, Nathan Crane Cohen / Cast: Jeff Whiting, Robin McGee, Sarah Timberlake, Bruce Barish

Paul Grant, Nathan Crane Cohen

Contact: Park Bench / parkbenchpicturecompany@gmail.com

United States / Comedy / 22 mins

Producer: Chelsea Stavis / Cast: Julie Sommer Peterson, Ali Stroker, Joseph Haro, Will Porter, Sheri Sanders, Joseph Thanner

Patrick Gallagher

United States / Dance / 5 mins

Producer: James Kinney, Nicole LaFountaine / Cast: Ryan Steele / Choreographer: James Kinney, Pierre Marais / Costumes/Wardrobe: Billy Hipkins

James Kinney

Patrick Gallagher is an award-winning writer and director currently based in the Chicago area. His written work for the screen includes multiple award-winning screenplays, and the recently produced “@JustAGirlOnBroadway,” which he also directed. A MAC Award nominee, Patrick has additionally had his stage work produced around the world, from New York to Los Angeles to Minneapolis to Paris. His stage work has received awards and nominations from the Minnesota Fringe Festival, York Theatre, John Duffy Institute for New Opera and the Williamstown Theater Festival. He runs several writers groups for dramatists. PatTheWriter.com.

Director/Choreographer From stage to screen, James Kinney’s celebrated artistic vision has established him as a respected voice in the world of dance entertainment. Kinney was named BroadwayWorld’s Best Choreographer for several theatrical works, created celebrated pieces for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS annual Easter Bonnet Celebration at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, and created worldpremier pieces for Fire Island Dance Festival and Hudson Valley Dance Festival, as well as several ballets in repetoire with New Jersey Ballet. Kinney’s choreography has been seen on such iconic stages as The Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, The Old Globe, The Kimmel Center and The Marquis Theatre on Broadway.

Contact: Chelsea Stavis / hello@stavisfilm.com

Contact: James Kinney / jamesakinney@gmail.com

171

THURSDAY. November 4

10:00 Program 35 | IN-PERSON

Lady Be Good

Project 9

Director: James Kinney, Pierre Marais

Director: Glory Crampton

A bartender reflects on one unforgettable night.

A music video of an All Star Broadway Cast and full Orchestra.

Tributing NINE, adaptation of Book by Arthur Kopit , Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston, original adaptation of “The Italian by Mario Fratti. Filmed remotely during Covid19, 32 people filmed and recorded completely separately in, or within blocks, of their Quarantine Homes, all woven together through editing.

United States / Music Video / 6 mins

Writer: Claude Cloutier / Producer: Nicole LaFountaine Cast: Skye Mattox, Caleb Marshall, Ahmad Simmons, Alex Nordin, Jess LeProtto, Ramone Owens, Nathan Keen, Christian Borle

United States / Music Video / 15 mins

Writer: Arthur Kopit, Maury Yeston / Producer: Glory Crampton -Stewart Productions / Cast: Robert Cuccioli, Glory Crampton, Dana Moore James Kinney, Pierre Marais

Glory Crampton

Director/Choreographer From stage to screen, James Kinney’s celebrated artistic vision has established him as a respected voice in the world of dance entertainment.

Kinney was named BroadwayWorld’s Best Choreographer for several theatrical works, created celebrated pieces for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS annual Easter Bonnet Celebration at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway, and created world-premier pieces for Fire Island Dance Festival and Hudson Valley Dance Festival, as well as several ballets in repetoire with New Jersey Ballet.

Glory Crampton is a first time Director. As an actress she has starred in over 40 musical theatre productions, Has toured Globally as a concert Artist, singing as soloist to The Three Tenors’ Jose Carreras at Radio City Music Hall, for dignitaries globally. She is a TEDX speaker- passionate about re-directing your passions during times of crisis. Covid19 led her to try her hand at Producing/Directing/ filming and Editing, thus creating PROJECT 9.

Contact: James Kinney / jamesakinney@gmail.com

Contact: Glory Crampton / gscconcerts@gmail.com

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2021 WINNERS

BEST FEST

BEST INTERNATIONAL

BEST DRAMA

Monkey Business (Netherlands)

Things I Never Told My Father (United Kingdom)

Leylak USA) 174

2021 WINNERS

BEST COMEDY

BEST ANIMATION

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Toshie The Nihilist (Japan)

Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat (United Kingdom)

Sitting Tall: The Patrick Anderson Story (Canada) 175

2021 WINNERS

BEST EXPERIMENTAL New York Minute (USA)

BEST SCI-FI

BEST HORROR

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

Porter (USA)

Visitors (Japan)

Sound of Silence (USA) 176

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THANK YOU FILMMAKERS