Saturday, 2022
ALL FILM SCREENINGS ARE VIRTUAL WEDNESDAY 12 PM to THURSDAY 12 PM
BLOCK 1
Bacon ‘N’ Laces
Short Documentary (19 min)United States
Directed By:Stephen Michael Simon
Written By:
Produced By:Stephen Michael Simon, James Rodrigues
Synopsis: A single dad of three boys manages a diner. But, there’s more to John than meets the eye.
“The 90s Club”
Documentary (90 min) USA
Directed By:Robert Darwell
Written By:
Produced By:Robert Darwell, Sheri Ward
Synopsis:A charming documentary that showcases the vibrant wisdom and life lessons from a dozen diverse individuals between the ages of 90- and 99-years old. Through the touching and open stories shared by the “cast” of “The 90s Club”, we can gain some perspective for our own lives as we grow older.
BLOCK 2 at 3:15 PM
Truelove: The Film
Documentary (111 min) United States
Directed By:Phil Viardo
Written By: Phil Viardo
Produced By: Christopher Knight, Phil Viardo, Amy Lang, Cara Knight, Jeff Androsky, Christine Blake
Synopsis: Callie Truelove, a teenager with a rare genetic condition called Williams syndrome, which gives her the superpower of love, embarks on a journey to meet others affected by Williams syndrome. The Journey will reveal “It’s not what’s wrong with them – it’s what’s wrong with us?”
BLOCK 3 at 3:45 PM
Birdie
Short (13 min)U.S.A.
Directed By: Andrew Edison
Written By: Andrew Edison
Produced By: David Maire, Sharad Patel, Morgan Alexander Hahn
Synopsis: A troubled teen takes his childhood babysitter hostage after she uncovers his deadly plan.
Something In The Clouds
Short (13 min)United States
Directed By: Josh Sikkema, Johnny Ray
Written By: Johnny Ray
Produced By: Bo Youngblood, Thomas Blunt
Synopsis: A fourteen-year old boy witnesses his neighbor get abducted across the street. A moment of bravery to save her will test his courage on the bike ride of his life.
My Soul To Take
Short (14 min)Canada
Directed By: Laura Vandervoort
Written By: Laura Vandervoort
Produced By: Jessica Petelle, Kevin Eade, Peter Mabrucco, Laura Vandervoort, Justin Dyck, Moriah Atlas
Synopsis: “A young woman spends yet another lonely night fixated on her usual routine. An unexpected software update changes everything, summoning her into a dream world.”
WHEN THE RAIN SETS IN
Short (17 min)UNITED KINGDOM
Directed By: James Hughes
Written By: James Hughes
Produced By: James Hughes
Synopsis: Kenzie and Treyden, a couple who’ve been swept up in a whirlwind six-month romance, find themselves confronting a painful question: Has their love story come to an end?
Miss Underwater
Short (18 min)Australia/USA
Directed By: Megan Cullen
Written By: Megan Cullen
Produced By: Meredith Riley Stewart
Synopsis: A 1950’s pageant winner must choose: the shallows of convention or the depths of the sea.
:60 Seconds
Short (18 min)USA
Directed By: John ‘QUIG’ Quigley
Written By: Mark Sanderson, John Quigley
Produced By: Cori-Anne Greenhouse, Brent Bye
Synopsis: What if you had only minutes to pull off your next heist? DIXON and his crew are about to find out when they target a remote desert casino.
Night and Day
Short (19 min) England
Directed By: Tim Fywell
Written By: Tim Fywell
Produced By: Kelly Price, Julie Eagleton, Eddie Charlton, Tim Fywell
Synopsis: London, April 2020. A month into lockdown and two sisters are impelled to put all they hold dear at risk. One, a doctor, decides to speak out about the working conditions at her hospital. The other, a fledging actress, dares to leave the house for the first time in weeks.
BLOCK 4 at 4:45 PM
Blind Date
Short (7 min) USA
Directed By: Carly Chaikin
Written By: Carly Chaiking, Nina Steffel
Produced By: Carly Chaikin, Nina Steffel, Ryan Bunnell
Synopsis: As Jake awaits his blind date in a restaurant, anxiety takes over as he imagines all the possible outcomes of the meet up.
Slow Moving Houses
Short (8 min) United States
Directed By: Mischa Jakupcak
Written By: Mischa Jakupcak
Produced By: Wes Hurley
Synopsis:While a man is in the midst of an existential crisis, a mysterious young girl appears and leads him into a future he can’t imagine for himself, forever altering the course of his life.
Mute
Short (8 min) United States of America
Directed By: Wesley Wang
Written By: Harry Scott, Wesley Wang
Produced By: Wesley Wang
Synopsis: In a world where words cost money, a woman saves up for her first word in the hope of standing up to her abuser.
Seven Fishes
Short (10 min) USA
Directed By: Jaclyn Gramigna
Written By: Ali Keller
Produced By:Ali Keller, Jaclyn Gramigna, Caitlin Machak, John Brunner
Synopsis: So wrapped up in creating the perfect holiday memory at their Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian American family completely miss the fact that one of their own does not intend to stick around for the dinner…or at all.
MARY MEET GRACE
Short (14 min) USA
Directed By: Faryl Amadeus
Written By: Faryl Amadeus
Produced By:Nell Teare, Elizabeth Mihelich, Faryl Amadeus
Synopsis: When a stranger appears in Grace’s life with disturbing news about her long-lost birth mother, she must fight to untangle herself from a dangerous and sinister plan.
ALBACORE
Short (14 min) USA
Directed By: Nick Everhart
Written By:Nick Everhart
Produced By:Nick Everhart, Laura J. Hill, Leah Pipes
Synopsis: Iris Madison is a woman who has it all: a Hollywood house, a handsome husband, a thriving acting career. But she feels empty, lost, and longing for meaning. Something deeper is calling to her…
The Dinner Party
Short (14 min) USA
Directed By: Jenna Ushkowitz
Written By:Penelope Lawson
Produced By:Jenna Ushkowitz, Penelope Lawson, Pierce Cravens, Brock Kingsland, Nic DiPierro, Eric Emery
Synopsis: All hell breaks loose when Steve (1883 star Eric Nelsen) brings his new girlfriend Serena (Kate Easton) to meet his family for the first time.
Click
Short (15 min) United States
Directed By: Guil Parreiras
Written By: Olga Merzlikina, Guil Parreiras
Produced By:Jenna Ushkowitz, Penelope Lawson, Pierce Cravens, Brock Kingsland, Nic DiPierro, Eric Emery
Synopsis:A rock singer, escaping from her abusive boyfriend, forms an unlikely friendship with a struggling photographer with scars of his own.
BALLOON
Short (17 min) USA
Directed By: Jeremy Merrifield
Written By: Jeremy Merrifield, Dave Testa
Produced By:Christina Cha, Kate Chamuris, Alex Peurye
Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Sam becomes the target of a viral video, surviving high school seems impossible until he discovers he has superpowers. Exploring gender through the lens of the superhero myth, BALLOON questions how we raise boys when our concept of masculinity has become narrow.
BLOCK 5 at 5:45 PM
Lazarus
Short (23 min) france
Directed By: Guillaume Corde
Written By: Guillaume Corde
Produced By: Guillaume Corde, Romain Parizot
Synopsis: After a military expedition goes awry, Florian decides to leave the army. He tries to go back to his normal life with his partner Sandra and his job at the foundry. But his brother in arms Olivier finds this hard to accept, and as a new field operation is put together, urges him to reconsider.
Grounds of hope
Feature (92 min) france
Directed By: Lionel Bernardin
Written By: Lionel Bernardin
Produced By: Stéphanie Schoonjans
Synopsis: In a small rural town, Alex, a former professional boxer, lives as a worker for a concrete materials company. Alex finds himself in trouble after he helps his siter to hide a wanted migrant and forced to compete in illegal boxing fights.
BLOCK 6 at 6:15 PM
the trashboy
Short (7 min) lebanon
Directed By: Salim El Turk
Written By: Salim El Turk
Produced By: Salim El Turk
Synopsis: Sayed, 8 years old boy, son of garbage man, is living in the garbage city of CAIRO, has a dream to become a dancer. Sayed makes a deal with a sorcerer that can make his dream come true. He must steal the duck of the oldest lady in town, the pink pig and a rat born on a Saturday in less than 48 hours.
Soft Rain
Short (7 min) Singapore
Directed By: Sacha Goedegebure
Written By: Sacha Goedegebure
Produced By: Kelvin Chow
Synopsis: A man suffering from depression is caught in a sudden downpour of pink, fluffy balls. At a crowded bus stop, a cheerful looking woman offers him a spot under her umbrella, and together they enjoy the soft rain.
The Last Supper
Short (12 min) United States/Albania
Directed By: Michael Risley
Written By: Michael Risley
Produced By: Michael Risley, Ben Proudfoot, Jeremy Lambert, Elvina Risley, Fiordi Nuraj
Synopsis: A young boy, overlooked by his parents and rejected by his schoolyard peers, accidentally lets the family turkey, tonight’s main course for the New Year’s celebration, escape. An ensuing chase throughout the labyrinthine cobblestone fortress. Who will prevail: boy or bird?
Stonefish
Short (16 min) Australia
Directed By: Megan Smart
Written By: George Pullar
Produced By: Nonny Klaile, Megan Smart, George Pullar
Synopsis: A thrilling comedy about an anxious young poet who accidentally sparks a war with his criminal neighbour. In an escalating game of cat and mouse, we almost witness the forming of a beautiful friendship between two broken men, before it is inevitably undone, by a dirty, hidden truth.
ON MY MIND
Short (18 min) Denmark
Directed By: Martin Strange-Hansen
Written By: Martin Strange-Hansen
Produced By: Kim Magnusson & Christian Junget Madsen
Synopsis: Henrik wants to sing a song for his wife. It has to be today, it has to be now. It’s a question of life, death and karaoke.
Over the Sky
Short (20 min) FRANCE
Directed By: Pauline Pelsy-Johann
Written By: Pauline Pelsy-Johann
Produced By: Pauline Pelsy-Johann
Synopsis: “Alice, a nine-year-old girl who lives in the countryside, faces to the departure of her father from home.
In reaction, she also decides to take her independence by going to travel the world, far from Earth, aboard a glider.”
SUGAR PEOPLE
Short (25 min) North Macedonia
Directed By: Suzana Dinevski
Written By: Vladimir Jankovski, Suzana Dinevski
Produced By: Suzana Dinevski, Goce Kralevski, Tanja Dinevski
Synopsis: Can one accidental meeting at a street light cause several worlds to collide? And what if the once in a lifetime encounter at the street light was just a possibility for creating a story, which might have never even happened?
BLOCK 7 at 6:45 PM
Disrupt
Short (13 min) New Zealand
Directed By: Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand
Written By: Aroha Awarau
Produced By: Peata Melbourne, Aroha Awarau
Synopsis: When a burglary goes wrong, a drug addict must choose between his family and his next fix.
Gael – Your driver is on the way
Short (14 min) Brazil
Directed By: Roney Giah
Written By: Gustavo Freitas
Produced By: Carla Affonso
Synopsis: When an app driver decides to enter a church to confess, the sins from his past reveal a deadly secret.
KOLD
Short (18 min) Denmark
Directed By: Marley Hasselbach
Written By: Marley Hasselbach
Produced By: Ditte Juel, Marie-Louse Madsen
Synopsis: A young woman tired of being coddled because of her hereditary heart condition enters an intense physical relationship with a young man obsessed with ice swimming. From Denmark to the Faroe Islands, we follow their relationship as they push each other’s boundaries and struggle to trust one another.
27 Children
Short (18 min) Romania
Directed By: Daniel Wyland
Written By: Daniel Wyland
Produced By: Daniel Wyland, Anca Wyland
Synopsis: Based on actual facts, a 40-year-old kindergarten teacher visits her doctor to discuss lab results and discovers the repercussions of being raised in Eastern European communist block foster care systems. For Ana, motherhood has escaped her, but sheʼll find a way to move on through her other children; her students.
A Father’s Job
Short (20 min) Germany
Directed By: Frank Christian Wagner
Written By: Frank Christian Wagner
Produced By: Frank Christian Wagner
Synopsis: In 1940’s Germany, Johann’s role in the war separates him from his Jewish wife and child. When her letters stop arriving he fears a previous flirtation has distracted her, and nothing will be the same again.
TolisLive or (Toronto)
Short (23 min) Greece
Directed By: Alexandros Rellos
Written By: Alexandros Rellos
Produced By: Cosmoste TV, Alexandros Rellos, Ioanna Petinaraki, Moving Rooster Productions
Synopsis: An elderly former singer decides to return to his career but he comes against his past, the choices that shaped him as a character and Toronto.
COLD BLOOD
Short (24 min)The Netherlands
Directed By: Morgan Grunefeld
Written By: July Janssen, Morgan Grunefeld
Produced By: Chantal van Remmen
Synopsis:When we all locked up in our homes. A young woman thinks she has found a safe haven during Corona time at her boyfriend’s, but this quickly turns into a place full of sinister events.
BLOCK 8 at 6:45 PM
Long Night’s Search for the Day
Student Film (5 min)US/China
Directed By: Leyi Dai
Written By: Leyi Dai
Produced By: Achim Mendoza
Synopsis: A young Chinese woman navigates her place in the world after a hospital refuses to give her further treatment which would damage her hymen.
Jump
Student Film (5 min) United States
Directed By: Tommy Kelly
Written By: Tommy Kelly
Produced By: Tommy Kelly
Synopsis: A mysterious, rugged teenager helps another teen conquer his crippling fear of heights.
Bea, Seriously
Student Film (10 min) USA
Directed By: Hanna Gray Organschi
Written By: Hanna Gray Organschi
Produced By: Karen Madar, Hanna Gray Organschi
Synopsis: Bea shows up at her mother’s house to decide what to do about an unexpected pregnancy.
Grief
Student Film (10 min) United States
Directed By: Justin Stirewalt, Nicole Shadi Tchounga
Written By: Justin Stirewalt
Produced By: Ashley Dasom Lee
Synopsis: For Adam, every day looks like the last. His wife, Gwen, tries her best to console and support him, but struggles with Adam’s refusal to acknowledge he needs help. Adam’s sister, Eliza, decides to take a more proactive role in getting Adam to admit the help he desperately needs.
Congratulations
Student Film (10 min) United States
Directed By: Emma Hall-Martin
Written By: Emma Hall-Martin
Produced By: Colleen Dodge
Synopsis: On the day of her mother’s wedding, fifteen-year-old Delia tries to find clarity around a strange incident from the night before with her soon-to-be stepfather.
Monday Mourning
Student Film (12 min) USA
Directed By: Dustin Kahia
Written By: Dustin Kahia
Produced By: Dustin Kahia
Synopsis:A man confronts his deep-seated emotions and forsaken self on the day of a new heartbreaking reality.
Facing Homeland
Student Film (15 min) United States of America
Directed By: Zane Swift
Written By: Zane Swift
Produced By: Morgan Hills
Synopsis: When a young activist running for US Congress gets a surprise visit from her Israeli cousin, she asks him to hide his identity from her supporters.
A Life Within
Student Film (16 min) USA
Directed By: Claire Imler
Written By: Claire Imler, Mady Dever
Produced By: Kylia LaMure
Synopsis: After starting a new job as a home care nurse, a young woman determined to do her best forms a unique bond with her patient.
An Island Drifts
Student Film (19 min) Singapore
Directed By: Vivian Ip
Written By: Vivian Ip
Produced By: Jasmine Tay, Kim Mariel
Synopsis: Logline: Set in Singapore, a young teacher presses for the truth from a maladjusted student, as the act leads to devastating results and they suffer the ignominy of losing everything that matters to them.
Sinking ships
Student Film (21 min) Germany
Directed By: Andreas Kessler
Written By: Stephan Kämpf
Produced By: Max Breuer, Lukas Lankisch
Synopsis: Logline: Sara endured many years in a relationship full of control and violence. As she and her family go on vacation, an opportunity to break away suddenly presents itself.
