Program Special Shorts: New Western Cinema Series
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 8 min
Directed by: ML Post
A young priest returns to Sicily to make amends with his dead mother. Grief-stricken, he contemplates the traumatic event that forced him to leave - the mysterious disappearance of his father at sea.
Genre: Horror, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 40 min
Directed by: HAIL MARY: Rosemary Rodriguez
HAIL MARY is a genre-bending retelling of the Mary and Joseph story that begs the question – who are the real monsters? Maria is a 17-year-old girl from Belize who finds herself mysteriously pregnant. We find her walking, following the north star, to safety across the US/Mexican border. She’s trying to escape a deadly virus and being chased by the right-hand man of the devil (Baal). Along the way she meets Jose, a mediocre carpenter who happens to have helped build a tunnel under the Rio Grande for the Cartels. As they join forces with Gabrielle (the Angel Gabriel), the cartels and US Border Patrol join the chase. This subliminally subversive monster movie might just have unexpected fans cheering for an undocumented pregnant migrant to make it safely across the US Border. Plays with THE WOLF'S LAMENT (3 min) by Scott Cardona, the story of what happens when a new neighbor moves into the woods and disrupts the wolf's week.
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 31 min
Directed by: Cai O'Leary
Having lost her own mother to suicide at a young age, Jess, a young single mother suffering with postpartum depression, now finds herself in a similar position. She lives in a small town with her older brother, working an aimless 9-5 job in a cafe, without dreams and without hope of any of this changing.
Genre: Romance, Drama
Running Time: 2 hr 5 min
Directed by: Hassan Said
Set in contemporary San Francisco, Jules, a dedicated bohemian theatre actress struggles and confronts what seems to be an unhappy stifled marriage, a dead end theatre industry, and a city that is outgrowing her. Jules realizes she needs to escape her current life. On a beautiful winter night of their seven year anniversary, James, her husband, an inspired beatnik writer, surprises Jules with a well prepared romantic dinner, yet Jules had forgotten all about it. Later on that cold evening, James hands Jules a letter that is addressed from New York, she realizes it has been opened. Jules reads it anxiously and discovers that she has been accepted into an off-Broadway show and they look forward to having her in the Spring. As the night progresses, their marriage unravels secrets they both kept from each other. James confesses about a one-night stand admitting infidelity. Jules' response is unexpectedly forgiving and gentle. The truth of how they feel for each other spills out intensely through quarrel after quarrel revealing a false reality of their union. Jules and James realize that their marriage has become a place unrecognizable to what they had always imagined as their future together is put to the test. Will their love in the end conquer all?
Webseries Program 1
Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 55 min
Directed by: Angela Cohen
Girl at a Bar is a short form series about a young woman's journey to bars alone for a year to reclaim her identity after half a decade debilitated with Lyme disease. Gabby spent years disabled with Lyme and now significantly recovered, she is ready to get her life back, so she plans a party to celebrate her improved health. But everyone flakes. So she goes to the bar up the street and there she realizes no-one treats her like she’s sick and for once, her health is not the focus. Gabby decides to keep going to bars alone, to explore her city and herself as a more able-bodied woman- still grappling with her past and managing her illness, but redefining her future. Made possible by Bay Area Lyme Foundation, the project is inspired by the writer and creator Tracy Mulholland's blog and true story of being disabled with Lyme.
Program 6: Female Gaze
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 13 min
Directed by: Alejandra Parody
Camila, a young aspiring-and-struggling illustrator, meets Madison, a teenage girl, when Camila is hired by Madison’s (very) wealthy family as her tutor. Unlike Camila, Madison is confident, popular, and has never experienced rejection. Though Camila initially dismisses the teenager as vapid and out-of-touch, they connect over their shared struggles as artists at heart. Camila becomes seduced by Madison’s can-do-attitude and naïve drive. The short interaction ultimately sparks a new fire inside of Camila. There’s a low key, slice-of-life feel to the story. It moves us to reflect on the themes of wealth, privilege, and what it takes to be successful.
Program 1b: LA Stories
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Running Time: 12 min 24 sec
Directed by: Mischa Meyer
IN THE SHADOWS OF PALMS is an intimate portrait of three lives on the outskirts of Los Angeles. A father, mother and son each tell their individual stories of struggle in the concrete jungle, and the creative ways they find hope in this cinematic documentary.
Genre: Romance, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 44 min
Directed by: Nicki Micheaux
In 1993, a college grad feels the wrath of her father when she refuses law school to focus on her poetry. Disowned, she moves to Denver and uses her creativity to speak out against the gang violence. When those close to her die, she finds herself in deep and spirals out of control. Reconciling with her family she self-acceptance, and within her a passion to live and honor those that can’t.
Program 4: Dystopia Now
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Running Time: 15 min
Directed by: Karni Arieli, Saul Freed
A natural history fantasy film, following the dramatic life cycle of the wild salmon in human form. Narrated by Marianne Faithfull. A BFI short film by Karni and Saul.
Program 7: Funny Threads
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 20 min
Directed by: Lara Everly
After Evie dresses up like her estranged grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, on HERITAGE DAY at school, she becomes increasingly obsessed with this dark part of her family history.
Program 4: Dystopia Now
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Running Time: 12 min
Directed by: Johnny Kirk
Eager to celebrate the 4th of July, a group of young black and Latino friends experience a police encounter that shatters the meaning of the holiday.
Program 4: Dystopia Now
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Running Time: 18 min
Directed by: Anthony Ing
Prolific background actor Jill Goldston takes centre stage in this unique portrait. Constructed entirely from Jill’s performances – captured fleetingly in everything from Mr. Bean to The Elephant Man – the film is a lyrical journey through popular culture, and a haunting study of a life lived out of focus. Based on interviews with Jill Goldston. Produced by Loop and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2023.
Program 2: Midnight Sessions
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Running Time: 20 min
Directed by: Oscar Boyson
While trying to navigate a city that won’t provide him a bathroom, a delivery worker discovers an unearthly presence infecting women all over New York.
Lily is out on a dinner date with her boyfriend Bart, expecting a proposal, when he unexpectedly chops off her hand. As Lily works on recovering, she begins to feel phantom pains where her hand used to be, so her doctor gives her a therapeutic mirror box to help with the discomfort. However, as she begins to use the box, she realizes there's a side effect: she can see real phantoms in the mirror. Specifically, she begins to see the obituaries of multiple dead women who experienced recent and mysterious deaths come to life. As Lily learns these women's stories, their lives and deaths begin to intertwine in a journey of self-discovery, female empowerment, and the quest for justice.
Program 6: Female Gaze
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 13 min
Directed by: Bilal Alkhatib
During the First Intifada, Atef is chased by the Israeli army and finds himself trapped in an entrance of a house. The owner, an old lady, hides him in her bath. Atef is surprised that there is another person inside, who helps him not to be arrested.
Program 5: Life, Unscripted
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 2 min
Directed by: Scott Talbot
A man suffering from depression finds something unexpected at his lowest point.
Program 5: Life, Unscripted
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 11 min
Directed by: Emma Limon
One night in 2008, my father, John, got lost in a Boston suburb.
Program 5: Life, Unscripted
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 10 min
Directed by: Daniel Nathan Nunley
Deeply rooted in their routine of avoidance an adolescent teen and their grandmother unexpectedly find themselves on a path of self reflection and acceptance.
Program 5: Life, Unscripted
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 9 min
Directed by: Adam Deyoe
A spirited, middle-aged man with Down Syndrome faces an uncertain future when his mother, who lovingly cares for him as he struggles with bouts of dementia and growing physical infirmity, is no longer able to help him.
Program 5: Life, Unscripted
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 12 min
Directed by: Marta Z. Nowak
The daily routine of a boarding school for deaf children is disturbed by the arrival of a new student, who doesn't know sign language. A deaf girl helps him find his way into the new world. Their special friendship will soon be put to the test. The film features deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
Program 3: Queer it Up!
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 29 min
Directed by: Daniel Guarda
City councilor Victor mysteriously disappears in Sao Paulo during a day that turns night because of meteorological phenomena and smoke from forest fires. Weeks go by, and Fabio grows closer to Louise. He is a trans man and a caregiver for the elderly. She is ill and living far from her family in France. While aiding Louise (a cis woman), Fabio's relationship with her matures into understanding, affection, and exchange. He becomes her rock. Fabio's memories and dreams offer a closer look at his coming-of-age and his dilemmas about sexuality and gender. The story unfolds in a country with a polarized society and under political and financial turmoil. While Fabio must overcome the recent end of a romantic relationship, Louise feels the pangs of loneliness and her near death. Now Fabio and Louise have each other to rely on and learn to say their goodbyes. THAT DARK DAY has won the “Silver Rabbit” award - Audience’s Choice for Best Brazilian Short Film - at MixBrasil Festival of Diversity Culture 2022.
Program 1a: LA Stories
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 21 min
Directed by: Tiffany Ike
When a masculine-presenting actress gets cast as the leading lady in a play where her character dresses the opposite of her, her mother’s arrival for the performance reminds her of the womanhood she lacks.
Program 1a: LA Stories
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 19 min
Directed by: Dwayne LeBlanc
CIVIC is a short film that follows Booker on his first trip back home to South Central, L.A. after several years of self-imposed exile. Without any clear motive, or even a warning, Booker returns to the place that holds his origins and the people who shaped him. Framed almost exclusively inside of his car, CIVIC tracks Booker’s fleeting and fragmented encounters around his old streets.
Booker spends most of his time with his childhood best friend, Tee. They ride around to liquor stores and lingering in parking lots after closing time. Closeness and distance ebbs and flows between them as they talk about their lives, old and new. The repaved ground between them allows Booker to dive deep into the past, seemingly letting go of the tension in the present. However, we soon realize Booker is avoiding his responsibility to his family members across this trip. Just as he plans his disembark from L.A., he has an unexpected encounter that helps to reframe his perspective in the world. CIVIC is an introspective film, giving life to the wordless exchanges, the mundane and the familiar shorthand of unfettered Black life.
Program Special Shorts: New Western Cinema Series
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 11 min
Directed by: Charia Rose
Riley’s self-medication of choice right now is weed and lots of it. As she sits in her car trying to find the energy to attend an annual brunch hosted by her damn near perfect sister Jasmine, she is visited by Lee, the visual (and more put together) representation of her consciousness. Lee attempts to guide Riley through the brunch, coaching her on how to hide her “crazy” but it all comes to a head when the friend group realizes Riley is, in fact, depressed again. An intervention follows, and Riley is painfully confronted with the reality that no matter how good she thinks she is at hiding her depression, it’s impacting all those that love her. She’s left wondering how is she supposed to handle her pain and the impact it has on the ones she loves the most.
Program Special Shorts: Latin Film Series
Genre: Drama, Action
Running Time: 20 min
Directed by: Maria Valdez
Los Angeles – 2053, After a bloody civil war, women of color are captured and sterilized as a form of population control. Vida and a group of resistance fighters are getting ready to escape, but suddenly one of their own is captured, and they’re forced to decide between saving themselves or saving her.
Program Special Shorts: Latin Film Series
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Running Time: 22 min
Directed by: Evette Vargas
CONFESSIONS is a grounded, present-day, one-hour, supernatural thriller franchise, exploring the multi-layered facets of sin and atonement. After committing a sin in heaven, Manuel de Castillo, an angel and former Spanish conquistador, is banished and must roam the earth until fulfilling his penance, which is to compel sinners to carry out a penance of their own, to right their wrongs and cleanse their souls. Fallen angel Manuel has been earth bound for 500-years and today, he initially contacts sinners by using the one thing they all possess- a phone.
TV Pilots Program
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 29 min
Directed by: Melanie Renfroe
A dark comedy about two best friends staring down the barrel of 40, facing the painful truth that their individual hopes for motherhood have been bested by dead-end careers and unfaithful partners. At the end of their collective ropes, a rage- and alcohol-fueled science experiment becomes their dark solution to the genetic injustice of their biological clocks.
TV Pilots Program
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 19 min
Directed by: Elias Plagianos
A lonely hitman from New York City travels to small towns around the country trying to find meaning in his inconsequential life as he fulfills his contracts and eliminates his targets. Based on the best selling "Hit Man" book series by Grand Master of mystery Lawrence Block. Starring Richard Kind, Karen Allen, William Sadler, and Peter Riegert.
TV Pilots Program
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 21 min
Directed by: Blaise Beyhan
HAND ME DOWNS is episodic ensemble series that explores the consequences and nuances of American masculinity on a group of friends. This programming is handed down generation to generation, father to son, brother to brother, friend to friend. we follow the group of friends through everyday life with their hand me downs guiding each step they take.
TV Pilots Program
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Running Time: 30 min
Directed by: Sophia Peer
After jail-time, 12-step programs and five marriages, Annie begins her acting career in her mid-fifties with the help of a young director she met at a Burger King. In this show within a show, Annie tackles both her gigs as an actor and the role of herself in her own life story.
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 55 min
Directed by: Nicholas Gyeney
As Ors Gabriel struggles with the grief and pain from losing his best friend and beloved dog, Louie, to cancer, the shock from the trauma brings on strange visions only Ors can see. While he questions whether his mind has fractured or if it's actually real, a mysterious rise in murder-suicides takes hold of the city, and Ors becomes haunted by images of a shadowy figure known to many as ‘The Fedora Man’. Through torments and terror, Ors uncovers dark secrets from his past, forcing him to embrace who he really is, and what he is meant to do. But, with escalating visions of ‘The Fedora Man’, Ors must face his fears as he spirals downwards, testing the very limits of his sanity.
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Running Time: 1hr 46 min
Directed by: Johanna Putnam
Sam returns to her childhood home in the wake of her mother’s mysterious death, spiraling down a rabbit hole of grief, suspicion and isolation.
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