The films for 2010 TVIFF:
selected films of 2010
Features | Documentaries | Shorts | Animation | BEST OF CANADIAN SHORTS |
48-Hour Project Showcase
OPENING NIGHT FILM
The US Premiere of
ST. ROZ
A film by Gregory Sheppard
Canada, 2009, 75 minutes
Executive Produced by: Michael Lamport and Gregory Sheppard
Written by: Maryann Kovalski - Cinematography by: James Gardner
Cast: Rachel Wilson, Veronica Snow, Michael Lamport, Jonathan Higgins,
Michelle Nolden, Sarah Allen, Tim Roson, David Fox, Jayne Eastwood
Light a Candle, Lose A Pound!
Minnie Barr’s weight loss empire is booming in
Hamilton. She has but one thorn in her side: her overweight daughter,
Judy. In a poor church near the steel mills, a chubby altar girl
discovers that she loses a pound whenever she lights a dollar candle
before a recently delivered statue. Women swarm the church. One of them
is Judy.
Within weeks, St, Roz is an international Star.
and as Judy celebrates her new figure, her mother’s
world, along with the rest of the forty – billion weight loss industry
lies in tatters. Powerful forces decide that the
statue must disappear.
Two gentle forces decide to save her.
THE AMAZING MR. EXCELLENT
USA, 2010, 89 min
Writer/Producer/Director: Steve Wilson Briggs
Co-Director: Tony Iwane
Cast: Joseph Eastlack, David Jones, Sandra Young, Kate Tran, Brian Levy, Veronica Combs and Roque Guiterrez
A suburban family man is zapped unconscious by his
toaster and awakes believing he has a divine calling to be a superhero.
Finding no crime in his suburb, without superpowers, armed only with a
whistle, he dons his mask and cape and sets out to fight crime in the
ghetto.
BAD FAITH
USA, 2010, 95 min
Writer/ Producer/Director: Scott Frederick Duns
Exec. Producer/Writer: Kandice Duns
Executive Producer: Mamie Jean Calvert
Cast: Scott Frederick Duns, Jason Feilzer, Teri Flores, D.W. Landingham, Dennis Shanahan, Jeanine Michael,
Mike Kiley, Rebecca Washo, Robert Edward Thomas, Thomas Wright
Connor Philips has the perfect life until the brutal
murder of his wife turns his world upside-down. As he struggles to put
the pieces of his life back together, his nightmares continue to haunt
him and a gnawing desire for retribution grows.
CARTAGENA
FRANCE/COLOMBIA, 2009
Director: Alain Monne
Writers: Alain Monne, Nathalie Vailloud
Producers: Pierre Forette, Thierry Wong, Christine Gozlan
Cast: Sophie Marceau, Christopher Lambert, Margarita
Rosa de Francisco, Rodolfo De Souza, Linett Hernandez Valdes
Set against the colonial backdrop of Cartagena, a
beautiful but paralyzed woman falls in love with a former boxer, whom
she hired to care for her.
DEEPER AND DEEPER
USA, 2009, 93 min
Director: Mariusz Kutowski
Producers: Mariusz Kutowski, Gilda Longoria
Writer: Cyndi Williams
Cast: David Lago, LisaMarie Lamendola, Cyndi Williams
As the line separating love and lust becomes harder
to define, Ryan’s growing fascination sends him deeper into a bizarre
world of obsession and infatuation. But things are not always what they
seem in this twisty tale of psychological suspense. DEEPER AND DEEPER
is a highly voyeuristic film, where you can never be sure who is
watching who, or who is pulling the strings.
DICIOTTO ANNI DOPO (18 anni dopo , Eighteen Years Later)
Italy, 2010, 35 mm - Color - 107'
Directeor: Edoardo Leo
Cast: Marco Bonini, Edoardo Leo, Sabrina Impacciatore, Gabriele Ferzetti, Eugenia Costantini
Screenplay: Edoardo Leo, Marco Bonini in collaboration with Lucilla Schiaffino
Producer: Nicola E Marco De Angelis in collaboration with Bertogna Bros
Mirko and Genziano, two brothers whose mother, an
English woman, died tragically in a car accident. Since then they
haven’t seen each other, Genziano lives in London with Henry, his
grandfather, and he is a broker. Mirko lives in Rome with his father,
they work together in the same ramshackle garage. Eighteen years later,
Marcello dies, the father who in his will asked them to bring his ashes
on the grave of their mother in a village in Calabria, where the
accident happened. This trip, on an old restored vintage car, will
change their lives forever.
BONNIE & CLYDE vs. DRACULA
USA, 2008, 91 min
Writer/Director: Timothy Friend
Producers: Jennifer Friend, Joe Allen
Cast: Tiffany Shepis, Trent Haaga, Allen Lowman, Jennifer Friend
When gangsters meet vampires, there’s bloody hell to
pay. Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula combines the rough and tumble world
of the 30’s gangster movie with the violence and gothic atmosphere of a
classic horror film.
DVOJKA
Czech Republic/Denmark, 2009, 89 min
Director: Jaroslav Fuit
Producer: Lenka Cintalanova, Obdreh Zach
Writer: Jaroslav Fuit, Richard Malatinsky
Cast: David Maj, Jakub Wagner, Kristina Fuitova-Novakova
A five-year relationship between Michal and Veronika
has come to a crossroad. While he is thinking about family life, she
feels that she has not yet experienced enough and wants to enjoy
herself. Michal comes up with an idea of a mystery holiday in
Scandinavia for Veronika. However, from the very beginning everything
is completely different than thorough Michal had prepared. Meeting the
wanderer and petty thief Simon prompts an unexpected reflection on their
lives and their relationship and enables them to move on.
FIVE STAR DAY
USA, 2009, 97 min
Director/Writer/Producer: Danny Buday
Producers: Joel Mendoza, Mike Robertson
Cast: Jena Malone, Cam Gigandet, Max Hartman, Brooklyn Sudano
One man’s journey to disprove the theory of astrology
leads him to answer some bigger question about life, love, fate and
destiny.
THE FROST
Norway/Spain, 2009, 103 min
Writer/Director: Ferran Audi
Executive Producer: Raul Perales, Amanda de Luis
Cast: Aitana Sahcnez-Gijon, Tron Espen Seim, Bibi Anderson, Jordi Cortes Molina
After the accidental death of their only son, Rita
and Alfred feel such remorse that they engage in a fierce fight of
mutual destruction. Guilt confronts them with a painful recognition:
obsessed by their selfish little need, they forgot to love their son. As
truth is revealed, all their inner demons are unleashed. They haunt and
prick them on a road to hope or to damnation, whilst they desperately
try to make amends for all those things they left undone in the past.
GREEN GUYS
USA, 2009, 105 min
Writer/Director/Producer: Cole Muellier; Producer: Ryan Bragg; Executive Producer: Sean Meier
Cast: Christopher Redman, Darrel Davenport, David Phillips, Kris Lemche, Nathan Marlow, Roberto Sanchez
Four young con-artists start a ponzi scheme and are torn apart by their own greed and corruption.
IN THE EYES OF A KILLER
USA, 2009, 102 min
Director: Louis Mandylor
Writer/Producer/Executive Producer: Mamie Calvert
Cast: Costas Mandylor, Louis Mandylor, Gwendolyn Edwards, James Marshall , Randy Colton
Petri Hawkins-Byrd, Sherry Weston, Shauna Harrington, Valerie Cortopassi, Tyler Cook
Jack has finally adapted to the challenges of a sudden
accident that left him blind several years ago and is preparing for a
new life with his fiancée, Gwen. An opportunity arises for Jack to
become the first patient of an experimental eye surgery. After regaining
his sight, Jack begins to slowly take on the characteristics of the
eyes late donor, a state executed psychopath. Jack begins to lose the
battle that is raging in his mind. Gwen uncovers some startling
information and is faced with the most difficult choice of her life.
Which will prevail…true love or the primal instinct of survival? What
starts as a miracle ends as a nightmare.
IVORY (2010)
USA/Budapest/Hungary, 2010
Director: Andrew W. Chan
Writer/Producer: Laurence Gingold
Producer: Gray Frederickson
Cast: Peter Stormare, Martin Landau, Beau Garrett, Erika Marozsán, Charlotte Salt, Travis Fimmel, Tim Draxl
Two pianists take part in an international music competition in New York.
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
USA, 2010,
Director: Matt Thompson
Writer: Kent Moran
Producers: Luke Moran, Kent Moran
Exec. Producer: Charles Cook
Cast: Alexia Rasmussen, Kent Moran, Cybill Shepherd,
Frank Watson, Ernie Sabella, Lisa Benner, Amy Clare Lockwood, Robert
Ousley
A struggling NYC songwriter becomes enamored with a
wealthy hearing impaired girl from Greenwich, Connecticut who tragically
cannot hear the music she inspires him to write. After falling in love
against the wishes of her controlling mother, Arianna becomes torn
between hanging on to the shelter her controlling mother provides and
fighting for a love that, if given the chance, might just change her
life.
NOWHERE BOY
UK, 2009
Director: Sam Taylor Wood
Writers: Julia Baird, Matt Greenhaigh
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, David
Threlfall, Josh Bolt, Anne Marie Duff, Kerrie Hayes, Angela Walsh, Paul
Ritter, Richard Syms, James Johnson, Angelica Jopling, David Morrissey,
Richard Tate, Chris Coghill
NOWHERE BOY tells the never heard or seen before
story of John Lennon’s childhood. Imagine John Lennon’s childhood: A
spirited teenager, curious, sharp and funny, growing up in the shattered
city of Liverpool. Two extraordinary sisters tussle for his love-
Mimi, the formidable aunt who raised him from the age of 5 and Julia,
the spirited mother who gave him up to Mimi’s care. Yearning for a
normal family, John escapes into art and the new music flooding in from
the US. His fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the young Paul
McCartney. But just as John’s new life begins, the truth about his past
leads to a tragedy he would never escape.
THE PERFECT AGE OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
USA, 2009, 107min
Writer/Director: Jasin Cadic
Producers: Neil Carter, Mike Ellis, Tony Grazia, Patrick Peach, Scott D. Rosenbaum, Joseph White
Cast: Jason Ritter, Peter Fonda, Taryn Manning, Lukas
Haas, Lauren Holly, Kelly Lynch, Aimee Teegarden, Billy Dee Williams,
Ruby Dee, Michael K. Williams, James Ransone, Eileen Alana
Two longtime friends channel their talent and passion
for music into a cross-country trip that brings them face to face with
their past, present, and future. A world famous musician, whose debut
album is a huge hit, retreats to his hometown after his sophomore effort
flops. There he reconnects with his long lost friend and fellow
musician, the son of a punk rock guitar legend, who became a school
music teacher. The reunion forces the two to recall their youthful
ambitions and reexamine the choices they've made. Accompanied by a
raucous crew of musicians, they set off on a cathartic journey along
historic Route 66 that brings them closer to each other, their history
and their destiny.
PRIME OF YOUR LIFE
USA, 2010,
Director: Kelly King
Writer: Brandon Cotter
Executive Producers:Nicole Abisinio, Terence Gordon, Jason Strong
Cast: Ryan Donowho, Nicole Abisinio, Joey Vita, Jennifer Rapp, Georgia Chris, Jim Coleman, Brett Rice
A 20-something slacker girl meets a handsome rebel at
her best friend’s funeral. She partners up with him and through a
series of cons, finds her path to independence and love.
THE ROCK N ROLL DREAMS OF DUNCAN CHRISTOPHER
USA, 2009, 94 min
Director: Justin Monroe
Writer/Producer: Jack Roberts
Producers: Gillian Fritzsche, Ryan Fritsche
Cast: Jack Roberts, Heather Roberts, Liz Carter, Peter
Bedgood, Marshall Bell, Aaron Moreland, Meaghan Oppenheimer
The awkward son of a rock star works through the suicide of his father in the brutal underground world of karaoke.
THE TENDER HOOK
AUSTRALIA, 2008, 106 min
Writer/Director: Jonathan Ogilvie
Producers: John Brousek, John Cairns, Michelle Harrison, Mike Klein, Bjorg Veland, Sue Wild
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne, Mat Le Nevez, Pia Miranda, Luke Carrol, John Batchelor, Tyler Coppin
The story is about Iris and her rise to the apex of a
love/power triangle that includes her roguish English lover, McHeath,
and Art, a young boxer. Within the flawed moral landscape, each
struggles to establish their sovereignty.
THE TOLL
Australia, 2010, 90 min
Producer/Director: Zak Hilditch
Writer: Steve McCall
Producer: Anthony Webb
Cast: Steve McCall, Nick Brittonl
Steve and his best mate Nick embark on a journey to
the Western Australian town of Denmark, following a tip-off that a
recently deceased farmer has buried his fortune somewhere on his land.
Armed with what they believe to be the map to the supposed fortune, the
pair quickly bites off more than they can chew as their forest setting
closes in on them, testing their resolve and their friendship.
TRUE NORTH
Germany, Ireland, UK, 2008, 96 min
Writer/Director: Steve Hudson
Executive Producers: Helmut Breuer, Claire Chapman, Jamie LAurenson, David Thompson
Producers: David Collins, Eddie Dick, Sonja Ewers, Benjamin Mirnik
Cast: Peter Mullan, Martin Compston, Gary Lewis, Steve Robertson, Angel Li
The crew of a bankrupt trawler turns to smuggling illegal immigrants over the stormy waters of the North Sea.
TWENTY TEN
Australia, 2010, 71 min
Directors: Byron Kaye. Mark Alston
Writer: Byron Kaye
Producer: Megan Alston
Cast: Adam Cleland, Lizzie Mitchell, Megan Alston, Mitch Firth
Howard likes Grace, Grace likes Felix, Felix likes
Samantha. At least he did until she got all serious. But mostly Felix
just wants to help his hapless friend Howard pluck up the courage to
talk to the girl of his dreams. When she mistakes Howard for a DJ, the
perfect plan is hatched. Or perfectly inept, as it turns out. The new
Australian comedy tracks these four misbegotten twenty-somethings as
they bicker, snicker and search for a life beyond each other and the
deadbeat suburban Sydney street where they all work. A life somewhere
cool… like Twenty Ten.
YOU PEOPLE
USA, 2010, 77 min
Writer/Director/Producer: Kelly Schwarze
Cast: John Baniqued, Shae Wilhite, Will Edwards, Elly Rathoni, Holly Feland, James Germano
After losing their jobs, Felix, Patty and Jerry
stumble upon their greatest idea ever – a racially charged board game
called YOU PEOPLE. The game explodes with popularity, and lands the
designers in the cross hairs of a nation grappling with ethic
sensitivity.
9000 NEEDLES
Philippines/USA/China, 2009, 82 min
Producer/Director: Doug Dearth
Co-Producer: Douglas Busby
After suffering a devastating stroke, and having
reached the confines of the American health care system, forty year old
Devin Dearth takes an unconventional journey to China in search of the
care he needs and a chance at recovery.
ALICE BABS SWING IT
Sweden, 2010, 80 min
Writer/Director/Producer: Lasse Zackrisson
Executive Producer: Ebbe Preisler
Cast: Alice Babs Sjobiom
Alice Babs is one of Sweden’s foremost vocalists of
the twentieth century. In ‘Alice Babs Swing It’ she openly discusses her
life and career after 70 years in the public eye. The film also
provides a societal journey with its beginning in the infectious rhythms
of Africa American swing music which would turn her into a teen idol
and danger to society. At the age of 15 Alice Babs had already proved
her versatility within jazz and yodeling, and classical genres of music
which she further developed to significant art forms. Throughout her
career, she worked with a number of prominent musicians of which her 11
years collaboration with Duke Ellington was the peak.
ALL THEY KNEW WERE APPLES
USA, 2009, 27min
Director/Producer: Shawn Ishihara
Producers: Roxanne Christley, Laryn Christley
Pete Christley, the 91 year old family patriarch
shows the txt and IPod generations how to make Apple Butter the old
fashion way. While the fleeting family tradition is forgotten in favor
of vacations and technology, Pete brings his family together in the
early weeks of October with bushels of apples, copper kettles and
crackling wood fires. Sitting in the drive way of the house he was born
in, Pete and his family peel, cut, and cook the sweet apple butter. With
concerns of another depression on the horizon, Pete talks of how he
lived through the Great Depression, talks about real hard work, and
lends countless words of wisdom to his posterity. While Pete is nearly a
century old, he is sharp, witty, and a fading treasure to behold.
THE ANATOMY OF VINCE GUARALDI
USA, 2010, 116 min
Director/Producer/Executive Producer: Andrew Thomas,
Executive Producer: Toby Gleason
Cast: Barbara Ware, Charles Gompertz, Dave Brubeck,
David Benoit, Dean Reilly, Dick Gregory, Eddie Duran, George Winston,
Irwin Corey, Jerry Granelli, Jimmy Fox, John Handy, Jon Hendricks, Larry
Vuckovich, Leonard Maltin, Malcolm Boyd, Maryedith Burrell, Paul
Mazursky, Paul Krassner, Robben Ford, Ronnie Schell.
A musical journey through the brief life and times of
a celebrated composer who pioneered the crossover of jazz and pop
music—from his celebrated scores of the Peanuts animations, to his
mega-hit Cast Your Fate To The Wind, his nights in San Francisco’s North
Beach at the Hungry I, and his ground breaking Jazz Mass at Grace
Cathedral. Including appearances and recording sessions (captured by
noted jazz writer and Rolling Stone co-founder Ralph J. Gleason), the
film features new performances and insights from Dave Brubeck, Dick
Gregory, George Winston, Jon Hendricks, Paul Krassner, Paul Mazursky and
many more.
CLICKIN’ FOR LOVE
USA, 2010, 88 min
Producer/Director: Pablo Pappano
CLICKIN’ FOR LOVE is a light-hearted documentary
exploring the modern world of online dating. Online dating veterans
share stories of searching for casual encounters, soul mates and
everything in between.
COALS TO NEWCASTLE: The New Mastersounds, from Leeds to New Orleans
USA/Belgium/Denmark/Spain/United Kingdom, 2010, 79 min
Director/Producer: Aaron Dunsay
Co-Director/Executive Producer: Marca Hagenstad
Cast: Eddie Roberts, Joe Tatton, Peter Shand, Simon Allen
COALS TO NEWCASTLE is a story of The New Mastersounds
– five British musicians who take an American art form – namely funk
music – re-contextualize it, and bring it back to New Orleans where funk
was born. In an era when many documentaries focus on social-issues and
pessimism, this film offers a refreshing celebration of life through
music in a city that has seen some of the hardest times imaginable.
DECONSTRUCTING DAD
USA, 2009, 97 min
Producer/Director: Stan Warnow
His filmmaker son probes the professional and private
lives of his remote but fascinating father: bandleader, composer,
inventor and electronic music pioneer: Raymond Scott.
DRIVEN TO RACE
USA, 2010, 106 min
Exec. Producer / Director: Brian Spillane
Producer: Jeffrey Krueger
DRIVEN TO RACE documents what it takes to become a
professional race car driver. The film follows a group of young men and
women trying to succeed in the world of motors sports, and follows them
through an entire season of racing across America and Canada.
FULL CIRCLE: STITCHES IN TIME
USA, 2009, 23 min
Director/ Producer: Nicole Wydra
This short documentary explores the reinvention of
needlecraft over the last decade, and the renewed passion with young
people interested in its fine art applications.
HOMETOWN GLORY
USA, 2010, 65 min
Writer/Producer/Director: Ray Costa
A true story about a small town fire department in
the 70’s. The town was expanding and the need for increased fire
service let to a revolutionary idea - have teenage boys as young as 14
become the protectors of the city. With training from the slightly
older firefighters, after-school weekend training sessions at a Fire
Academy as well as Memphis Fire Department’s training center, these
teenagers were trained as professional firefighters, putting their lives
on the line in the service to the community. It is a story about the
Fire Chief who was a mentor and a father figure to these boys, the
horrific things they saw and the maturing of not only a city but the
young men that protected it. Before they were men, they were already
heroes.
I WANT SO MUCH TO LIVE
USA, 2009, 83 min
Director/Producer: Elizabeth Holder
Executive Producer: Christine Castro,
Producers: Joshua Chelmo, Dasha Snyder, Dawn Kalmar, Neil Cohen
I WANT SO MUCH TO LIVE explores the pioneering
efforts of the ambitions yet largely unproven biotech company Genentech
and the many devoted individuals whose independent and collective
efforts resulted in the world’s first ‘targeted therapy’ for breast
cancer. From the earliest scientific discoveries to unprecedented
clinical trials testing the drug in women desperate for hope, this film
tells the compelling story of the researchers, physicians, patients and
breast cancer advocates whose commitment advanced Herceptin from
scientific curiosity to lifesaving medicine.
THE JUDGE, THE HUNTER, THE THIEF, AND THE BLACK ORCHID
USA, 2009, 75 min
Director/Producer: Rich Walton
Cast: Fred Clarke, Andy Phillips, Martin Motes
Gaze into the seductive stare of an orchid at your own risk. Many who do quickly fall under its captive spell.
In the orchid world it’s known simply as ‘orchid fever’.
MIRACLE IN A BOX / A Piano Reborn
USA, 2009, 57 min
Director: John Korty
Narrator: John Lithgow
This is about what one person gave away, what another
person won and how a small group of artisans made something old, new
again. More than just about piano restoration, the documentary also
provides a good look at some alternative ways to improve the American
workplace, the quality of its products and the personal rewards to its
workers.
MY NAME IS SYDNEY
USA, 2009, 17 min
Director/Producer: Melanie Levy
Sydney Edmond is a sixteen-year-old girl living with
Autism. Although she lives without the ability to speak, her lyrical
writing invites us into a world where senses react differently, light
flickers brilliantly, and music offers a gateway to connect with the
people around us.
MY TALE OF TWO CITIES – a comeback story
USA, 2010, 85 min
Writer/Director/Producer: Carl Kurland
Producers: Stephanie Dange; Reiter, Janet Driscoll Smith
MY TALE OF TWO CITIES is a funny and heartfelt
documentary that has been called a "Mr. Rogers & Me" as it tells
the comeback story of "St. Elmo's Fire" screenwriter Carl Kurlander who
moved back to the real-life "Mister Rogers Neighborhood" only to find
both himself and his hometown of Pittsburgh in mid-life crisis. In an
attempt to help his hometown while exploring with honesty and humor
whether you can go home again, Kurlander asks his neighbors, from the
famous (Steeler Franco Harris and Teresa Heinz Kerry) to his old gym
teacher and the girl who inspired "St. Elmo's Fire", how this once great
industrial giant which built America with its steel, conquered polio,
and invented everything from aluminum to The Big Mac, can reinvent
itself for a new age. With the rest of America wondering the same
question about their neighborhoods these days, "My Tale of Two Cities"
is a charming, engaging feel-good film that proves "it's never too late
to come back!"
NO SUCH THING AS COLOR
USA, 2010, 9 min
Director/Producer: Laura Evans
Subject: Evans Forde
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be color
blind? Could an increased ability in one of our senses be caused by our
lack of ability in another? No Such Thing as Color is a nine-minute
documentary that shows us what the world looks like through the eyes of
Evans Forde, a color blind musician with insightful opinions about the
importance of color in our lives.
PRETEND
USA, 2009, 92 min
Director: Eli Kibrick
Producer: Jonathan Newman
PRETEND is a documentary about doing whatever it takes to be happy, even if it is make-believe.
SHE WORE SILVER WINGS
USA, 2010, 31 min
Executive Producer / Writer / Director: Devin Scott
Producer: Jeanne Scott
This is the true story of the WASP (Women’s Air Force
Service Pilots) as told by WASP Jean Landis. Brave women pilots who,
for the first time in the history of the US, were recruited to volunteer
their services oin WW II by ferrying fighter planes, test flying new
and repaired planes, and towing targets in the air for artillery
practice. How the WASPs were formed, the challenges they faced and the
cause of WASP’s early demise. These heroic young women in the 1940’s
opened the door for today’s military female pilots.
WALTER CRONKITE: AMERICA’S NEWSMAN
USA, 2009, 22 min
Director: Lorrie Levie
For decades, Walter Cronkite was "the most trusted
man in America" and in the fall of 2007 this icon of American journalism
returned to the airwaves, appearing exclusively on RLTV with Cronkite
Commentaries. With an introduction by Katie Couric, anchor and managing
editor of "CBS Evening News," Mr. Cronkite provided viewers with his
unique perspective on national and global events as well as vital issues
of the day. Always cognizant of the pulse of the nation, Mr. Cronkite's
commentaries ran the gamut, taking on such hot button topics as the
environment, the 2008 Presidential election, foreign policy and
healthcare. The video clips include Walter Cronkite’s very last on
camera editorial appearance in the commentary "Iraq."
5 REQUERDOS
Mexico, 2009, 12 min
Director: Oriana Alcaine, Alejandra Marquez
Producer: Enrique Flores
Writer: Alexandra Marquez Abella
Cast: Ireri Solis, Olivia Rossetti, Katia Acevedo, Yanni Torres, Patricio Solis, Javier Gimenez
Irma walks up and down the aisles of a market
repeating a list of ingredients to herself. She remembers the first
four but keeps forgetting the fifth ingredient. To retrieve the lost
memory, Irma embarks on a journey to the deepest part of her
consciousness.
3 FACES OF EVELYN
USA, 2009, 13:30 minutes
Writer/Director: Kamali Minter
Writer: Kathryn J. Taylor, Stephanie M. Vaughn
Producer: Kathryn J. Taylor, Stephanie M. Vaughn
Cast: Kathryn J. Taylor, Brian Carpenter
A woman suffering from multiple personalities seeks
therapy to help her discover who she voted for in the 2009 presidential
election.
AHATE PASA
SPAIN, 2009, 12 min
Director: Koldo Almandoz
Producer: Marian Fernandez Pascal
Cast: Jesus Cuenca
Suddenly, ducks cross the screen.
ALL BIRDS WHISTLE
LEBANON, 2009, 14 min
Director: Roy Khalil
Writers: Roy Khalil, Sandra Khalil
Cast: Joseph Abou Khalil, Kamal El Helou, Leila Hakim
Decades of marriage have brought a boring sameness to
their household, but Samih and her husband Abou Naji find their lives
suddenly changed when a neighbor leaves his canary in their care.
THE AMBASSADOR’S WIFE
USA, 2009, 16 min 45 sec, USC
Writer/Director: Sara Akhteh; Producers: Michael Tringe, Michael Johnson, Michael Flores
Cast: Naz Deravian, Navid Negahban, Andres Londono
In 1946 the young bride Nazgol relocates with her
husband to South America where he has just been appointed the Iranian
Ambassador. Plucked from her homeland and disconnected from even the
smallest semblance of familiarity, Nazgol discovers that she is able to
do things that would once have been forbidden in her homeland. However,
her newfound liberation may come at a price.
AMONA PUTZI
SPAIN, 2009, 9 min
Writer/Director: Telmo Esnal
Producer: Marian Fernandez Pascal, Asier Altuna
Cast: Egoitz Lasa, Nagore Aranburo, Kontxu Odriozola
Sometimes, couples who have children Miss Grandma…but only sometimes!
ANOTHER LIFE
USA, 2010, 17min
Writer/Director: Nathan Ruegger; Producers: Elizabeth Nanashil, Min Zhang, Mitsuyo Miyazaki
Cast: Bobbie Prewitt, Robert W. Evans, H.K. Sweeney, Tracy Coogan
A young female veteran has three days to kill an innocent man or they both die.
THE ARTS OF DARTS & DYING
AUSTRALIA, 2009, 20 min
Writer / Director: Hugh Sullivan
Producer: Cecilia Tirchie
Cast: John Leary, Helmut Bakaitis
Georgia Adamson, Jamin Bennett, Bruce Spence, Kelly Butler
Terry Discount is a celebrated darts player at his
local pub. He is also an inveterate drinker and fervid smoker- so much
so that Death arrives at the pub one day, looking for Terry, Soon the
two are engaged in an epic darts match for Terry’s soul and, more
importantly, his status within the pub
A SON’S WAR
USA, 2009, 26 min, USC
Writer/Director/Producer: Steven Edell; Producers: Rain Breaw, Benjamin Wilkins, Roman Kasparovsky
Cast: Krystol Hadek, Barbara, Kodetova, Marek Vasut,
Pavel Kriz, Michal Hruska, Jacob Erftemeijer, Robert Russell, Vera
Uzelcova, Jan Unger, Todd Kamer, Ladislav Hampi, Eugene Lazarev.
Prague:1939 the true story of a boy and his mother who are torn apart at the outset of Nazi occupation during WW 11
BICYCLE (JITENSHA)
JAPAN / USA, 2009, 22 min
Director: Dean Yamada
Producer: Austin Flores. Jason Gaudier, Paul Nethercott, Yu Shibuya
Cast: Yugo Sasso, Masayuki Yui
After his bicycle is stolen piece by piece, Mamuro
Amagaya is led on a wild goose chase to retrieve the parts and make his
life whole again.
BREATHE
AUSTRALIA, 2009, 3 min
Producer / Director: Trinni Franke
Performers: Amanda Reichert. Barbara Glazar, Cloe
Fournier, Imogen Cranna, Kathleemn Hoyos, Marttaleena Luukkonen, Sanna
Lundstrom
In a moment between waking and sleeping, the
imagination will sometimes dance. BREATHE is an exploration of dance
and sound in a dreamlike space. To dream is to dance, to dance is to
BREATHE.
THE BUTTERFLY CIRCUS
USA, 2009, 20 min
Writer/Director/Producer: Joshua Weigle,
Co-Writer/Producer: Rebekah Weigle
Producer: Angie Alvarez
Cast: Bob Yerkes. Doug Jones, Eduardo Verastegui, Nick
Vujicic, Connor Rosen, Kirk Bovill, Lexi Pearl, Mark Atteberry, Matt
Allmen
A limbless man in a carnival sideshow encounters an
infamous circus showman and is inspired to hope against everything he
has ever believed.
CARPOOL
USA, 2009, 11 min 23 sec
Writer/ Director: Courtney Brandon
Producers: Richard Brandon, Vivian Brandon
Cast: Nia Renee Hill, Shonna Major, Sweetie Duren, Tracey Ali
A young woman plagued with pursuing her future or chasing a prison romance
CHAPTER 21
USA, 2009, 10 min 51 sec
Writer/Director/Producer: Ilya Farfell;
Co-Writer: Katya Malaya
Cast: Adam Meir, Dennis Bover, Hugh Mun, Adi Marriott,
Amir Wilker, Annette Remter, Eliezer Ortiz, Justin Jones, Nadeem
Srouji, Nathan Deam Snyder, Moffatt, Teresa Suarez.
Two religions, one land. Two brothers, one destiny. One book.
COMO SE DEVE
Italy, 2010, 14 mines
Director: Davide Minnella
Cast: Piera Degli Esposti, Diane Fleri
An old and wonderful cook, now
close to retirement, decides to hand down her culinary secret to those
who will treasure it more. Teresa, a young girl, becomes the new chef
and fulfills the most diverse wishes. The value of its courses will be
crucial for customers who don’t have the opportunity to savor again the
delicacies.
DIREZZIONE OBBLIGATORIA (One Way Street)
Italy, 2009, 18 min
Director: Mimmo Mancini
Cast: Mimmo Mancini
An ex-prisoner try to redeem himself from the many
mistakes he made while young: A violent life built on robberies. When
he got out of prison, he tries to meet the requirements of life looking
for a way of redemption. Failing to obtain an employ that meets the
family problems, life seems to reserve him one way street, the
protagonist has to do a final blow that ensure him an escape.
THE CYCLE
USA, 2010, 17 min, 55 sec
Writer / Director: Roy Clovis
Executive Producer: Damian Benders, Ivy Grant
Producers: Frantz Cayo, Nicole Adams, Ricardo Ramos
Cast: Benja Thomas, Christine Miller, Corinne
Bobb-Semple, Dennis Johnson, Doug Shapiro, Dracyn Blount, Gabrielle Cayo
A bookstore owner, her 8 yr. old daughter, a teenage
boy and the search for a child’s stolen bicycle ignites simmering
tensions caused by economic disparities in a Brooklyn neighborhood.
CLOSING TIME
USA, 2009, 10 min 55 sec
Writer/Producer/Director: Todd Goldman
Writer: Nicole Rycroft
Cast: Nancy Greco, Nick Fontaine, Nicole Rycroft
A young woman, scarred after being raped in college,
empowers herself through self defense training. One night out with her
friends at a local bar, she sees the man who did it….will she exact
revenge or will she be able to forgive him and herself.
THE DESPERATE
USA, 2009, 33 min
Writer/Producer/Director: Ben Hur Sepehr
Co-Producers: Beverly Berwald, Chris Roberts, Robert Sepehr, Ramin Rahmanpour
Cast: Greg Mullavey, Peter Mark Richman, Leo Foti, Josie DiVincenzo, Kevin Ostenstad, Alexander Leeb.
On a rainy night in a concentration camp a fearsome
Nazi general is forced to plead with a condemned Jewish doctor to save
his dying only son.
DIE FLUCHT
Switzerland, 2010, 9 min 53 sec
Writer/Producer/Director: Rajko Jazbec
Co-Writer: Ralph Schneider
Cast: Stefan Kollmuss, Stephan Burgi
1945 at the end of the war. For two brothers there is only one way left: The Escape. An escape they did not want.
DISARMED
USA, 2009, 18 min 6 sec, USC
Director: Justin Dittrich
Writer: Shashwata Chatterjee
Producer: Melanie Blair
Cast: Seth Laursen, James Kyson Lee, Stacy Stas, Cameron Monaghan
How far would you go to get the girl? Lose a Limb?
FABRICAS DE MUNECAS (THE DOLL FACTORY)
Spain, 2009, 11 min
Writer/Director: Ainhoa Menendez Goyoaga
Cast: Letitia Dolera, Ivan Lamas, Paco Maestre
Ana works in a doll factory. Her whole life revolves
around performing mechanical motions, putting eyes on dolls’ heads. But
a small change at work changed her life forever.
EL CORTEJO (THE CORTEGE)
Spain, 2009, 14 min
Director/Producer: Mariana Seresesky
Cast: Mariano Llorente, Elena Irureta
Capi is the oldest gravedigger in the cemetery. Used
to working amidst the suffering of others and the jokes of his
colleagues, there is only one person capable of taking him out of his
daily routine. Every month for the last couple of years he has waited
for Marta to take flowers to the grave of her husband. She is his last
hope.
ELLEN
USA, 2010, 14 min, 24 sec
Exec. Producer/Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
Writer: Stephanie Spoleti
Cast: Edward Cohen, Jessica Andres, Kaylen Davidson, Traci Odem
A chronically insecure high school girl becomes prey
to a deranged kidnapper and must learn to believe in herself and her
abilities in order to escape his enslavement.
EL NUNCA LO HARIA (He’d Never Do That)
SPAIN, 2009, 14 min
Director: Anartz Zuazua
Writers: Anartz Zuazua, Mikel Pagadizabal
Producers: Koldo Zuazua, Monica Blas
Cast: Manuel Millan Mariola Fuentes, Jessica Prado,
Nagore Aranburo, Gorka Aginagalde, Oscar Terol, Pilii Guerra,
Laura asks the three kings for a grandfather.
EL VENDEDOR DE ANO
Spain, 2009, 13 min
Director: Cote Soler
Writer: Jose Ramon Soriano
Producer: Carlos Medina
Cast: Fernando Cayo, Javier Gutierrez, Luisa Fernandez
Behind the most heartless of multinational companies, there is but one thing: Humankind
FIGLI DELLA CRISI
Italy 2009 10 min
Director: Gabrielle Scotti
Cast: Anna Della Rosa, Matteo Intorre
A young mother who doesn’t give up and her little
children. An ironic true story inspired by this period of crisis, loud
with laughter and music.
FORFEIT OF GRACE
USA, 2010, 15 min 45 sec
Writer/Producer/Director: Kane Senes
Cast: Frederick Ponzlov, Bil Oberst Jr. Elle Labadie, Michael Schmidt, Sasha Carrera
When a man discovers a kidnapped girl in a secluded motel, he struggles to save her and find redemption for his violent past.
THE GODMOTHER
USA, 2009, 15 min, USC
Director: Lior Chefetz;
Producers: Andres Rodriquez Franco, Ian Dickinson, Co-Producer: Ian Christian Blanche
Cast: Elizabeth Bond, Georja Umano, Ron Yuan, Camden Toy
You might get what you want with a kind word, but you’ll get much more with a kind word and a gun.
GOOFYFOOT
USA. 2009, 16 min 12 sec
Director/Producer: Chris Cashman
Writer/Producer: Jeff McElroy
Producers: Isabel Cueva, Lisa Cashman: Dennis Dornbos,
Cast: Simon Deveer, Wes Whitworth, Chad Bonsack, Doug
Scott Kramer, Douglas Tait, Isabel Cueva, Jim Hanks, Jonathan Eisley.
A young man deals with the loss of his older brother to a surfing accident.
HEAD IN THE SAND
USA, 2009, 14 min 42 sec
Writer / Director: David Baldwin
Producers: Sean Michael Smith, Javier Solis, Michael Montgomery
Cast: Miles Fisher, Logan Petrin
Henry goes to war in Afghanistan. It’s not all what he imagined.
HOURS BEFORE
USA, 2010, 16 min 42 sec
Writer / Director: Joel David Moore
Exec. Producer: James Lafferty
Producers: Stuart Lafferty, Mathew Lancaster
Co-Writer: James Tuverson
Cast: Jaron Einsohn, Stuart Lafferty
A student’s psychological problems are about to tear
his high school apart until his only true friend is forced to get in the
way.
IL GIOCO (The Game)
Italy, 2009, 16 min
Director: Adriano Giannini
Cast: Mattie De Stefano, Emmanuelle Vaccaio, Liborio Di Stefano Gianluca Taibi, Giuseppe Emanuele,
Sicily, July 1943. Seven children on the beach are
playing a game they had invented. It’s a bet, winner takes all. It is
an adventure that captivates the children in the magic of a mysterious
wait. The days go by but nothing happens…
INSPECTOR 42
USA, 2010, 26 min
Writer/Director: Nathan Lee
Writer/ Producer: Lyvia Martinez
Executive Producer: Nuria Martinez Hugo Martinez, Jeff Parkin,
Cast: Alexis Wardle, Luke Drake, Ben Sansom, Brandon
Sean Pearson, D. L. Walker, David Kranig, Jacob Jensen, Josh Richardson,
Meagan Short, Merrill Matheson,
A 1950’s shirt safety inspector approves a number of
unsafe shirts to impress his boss and the girl of his dreams.
Seamstress 61. However, when these shirts cause a series of horrific
disasters Inspector 42 must decide whether or not to come clean.
JESUSITA DE MI VIDA (DEAR CHILD JESUS)
USA, 2009, 9 min
Writer / Producer / Director: Jesus Perez Miranda
Cast: Guillermo Estrella, Maria Vazquez
A six year old wakes up in the middle of the night
with an urgent need to pee. But his fear of the dark prevents him from
crossing the corridor that leads to the bathroom. Influenced by his
mother’s advice, he asks God for help.
KARMA’S A BITCH
USA, 2010, 8 min
Writer/Director: Justin Tan
Producer: Shelley Patel
Cast: Erick Avari, Jayne Clement, Steve Ferguson
In a world where everyone’s paired with a personified Karma, Gary’s paired with the biggest bitch of them all.
THE KILLING OF MARY SURRATT
USA, 2009, 19 min
Writer / Director: Chris King
Executive Producers: Heather King, Joe Mendoza, Lena Flynn, Sean Flynn, Torrey Loomis,
Producer: Donn Hornung
Cast: Mary Beth Barber, Brian Rife, Eric Wheeler, Don
Ttreco, Christina Birdsall. Erk Sundquist, Rick Barram, Robert Anthony
Peters, Ron Randolph. Sean Morneau
Innkeeper Mary Surratt was one of four Southern
sympathizers who was tried, convicted and executed for conspiring to
assassinate President Lincoln. Believed by many to have been innocent,
she was nevertheless doomed to be the first woman killed by the US
government, who was eager to put the whole tragic affair behind them.
KOSHER PIG
USA, 2010, 20 min 27 sec
Director: Eric Patton
Writer/Producer: Moon Cho
Cast: Susane Lee, Elizabeth Sung, Steve West, John
Pleshette, Tammy Kaitz, Mark Daugherty, Jim Lau, Michelle Defraites,
Henry Hayashi, Cameron Sawyer, George Dickson
Joy Cohen is a 23 year old Jewish beauty in an Asian
body. As a baby, Joy was adopted from China by a rich Jewish family in
Los Angeles. Even though Joy has everything going for her—she feels
insecure, incomplete. To feel more complete, she seeks out her
bio-family. Through a bio search company, she learns they live in Los
Angeles and owns a Chinese restaurant, The Joy Luck Pig. Thrilled, Joy
naively believes that bringing her two families together will be her
happy ending. When the families finally meet, Joy’s happy ending may
not be so happy, after all.
LA NINA DEL DESIERTO
USA, 2009, 23 min
Writer/Director: Malachi Rempen
Producer: Matthew Sullivan, Malachi Rempen, Boa Simon
Cast: Dani-Rose Gonzalez, Joaquin Garrido, Baxter Smith, Misha Gonz-Cirki
An old Mexican man who lives out in the desert,
alone, digging graves for the mob, comes face to face with an apparition
that will change his apathy and set him on a path of redemption.
MAGELLAN
USA, 2008, 18 min, USC
Writer/Director: Sebastian Davis
Producers: Rachel Robb Kondrath, Josh Wilcox
Cast: Christopher Hobgood, Destiny West, John Ammerman
Magellan, a scrawny 7th grader must work up the courage to ask his popular latch key classmate to the Spring dance.
MARBLE RYE
USA, 2010, 15 min 40 sec
Director: Max Rosen
Writers: Anne Dezort and Max Rosen
Producer: Kenny Wheeler
Cast: Ariel Rose and Annie Soete
Nora is obsessive-compulsive, germaphobic,
agoraphobic, the list goes on. She has never left the house without the
security of her sister’s guidance. Unrtil today.
MELTING THE SNOWMAN
USA, 2009, 20 min
Writer/Director: Ora Yashar
Producer: Christina Medina
Cast: Mekenna Melvin, Steve Howard, Matt Shevin, Kevin
Michael Walsh, Judy Durning, David Schroeder, Catherine Day
In the face of defeat, a young columnist, who has
long been her father’s golden child, must discover if she has the
strength to give herself the permission to fail despite the
consequences.
ME YOU A BAG & BAMBOO
USA, 2008, 18 min 40 sec
Exec. Producer / Director: Lara Everly
Exec. Producer: Stephen Chbosky
Writers: Annika Marks, Padraic Duffy
Cast: Ceciley Jenkins, Kirby Heyborne, Allan Harvey, Amber Elizabeth Ingram, Bryce Hurless, Josh Jacques
Susan Merson, Thomas Otto Minkowski, Alan Bernhoft
Two lonely strangers share a park bench and struggle to work up the courage to say Hello.
MIDAS SON
USA, 2009, 16 min 10 sec
Director: Annetta Marion
Writers: Ela Their, Tina Lee
Producer: Michelle Chen
Cast: Alexis Camins, Christine Toy Johnson, Joel Brady, Raphael Aranas, Robert McKay, Siho Ellsmore
Midas Son tells the story of a young man’s homecoming to face old and unhealed resentments
MIND THE GAP
Canada, 7:14 min
Writer / Director: Shaun Majumder
Producer: Michael Corbiere
Cast: Kumar Pallana, Shelby Fenner, Lindsay Reader
When a sexy beautiful young woman sits next to a sweet elderly man on a train the ride is anything but boring.
MIST FORTUNE
USA, 2009
Director: Michael Kontaxis
Cast: Jenni Pulos, Krisanne Kontaxis, Georgia Dariotis, Alice Pulos
On an awkward elevator ride, four ladies pass the time by sharing their fragrances with one another.
NERDS COLLIDE
USA, 2009, 13 min
Writer/Producer/Director: Daniel Hale
Cast: Brian Scott, Dan Maher, Courtney Waldron
Two nerds compete with each other to see who can go out with a cheerleader
ONE DAY
France/USA, 2010, 11 min 26 sec
Writer/Producer/Director: Thomas Leisten Schneider
Producer: Winnie Kemp
Cast: Angus Sutherland, Aurelia Crebessegues
Andy is about to ask Claire to marry him. But everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
ORION SLAVE GIRLS MUST DIE
USA, 2008, 25 min 48 sec, USC
Director/Producer: Eric Kallevig
Writer: Stuart C. Paul;
Producers: Melissa Ellis, Chris Billig
Cast: Nicholas Downs, Matt Jones, Hilary Holmes, Dan
Roebuck, Melinda Sward, Jason Medwin, David Rausch, Andy Bray, Justin
Basie, Matt Kiddle, Kelsey Crane, Molly O’Neil
Girl’s…The Final Frontier.
PLASTIC
Australia, 2008, 7 min 26 sec
Writer/Director: Sandy Widyanata
Producer: Courtney Wise
Cast: Romy Bartz, Don Hany
Anna is preparing for a first date with Henry, a man
she has secretly loved for years when everything goes wrong. Henry
calls to make the date earlier. - She has no time, nothing to wear, a
fat ass and a huge pimple! Argh! If only she could change a few things
about how she looks…If you could, would you? And how far is too far?
PROUD MARY
USA, 2010, 6 min, 25 sec
Director: Dylan Kelley
Writer: Cynthia Cirlie
Cast: Danielle Quisenberry
A film about Mary going through challenging changes in her life as she searches for balance and inner harmony.
RATIONED
USA, 2009, 6 min 5 sec
Producer/Director: Scotty Baker
Writer: Brad Greenwell
Cast: Scotty Baker, Matt Olin
Three men in a fallout shelter after a nuclear war. What happens when the food runs out?
THE REF
USA, 2010, 6min
Writer/Director: Christine Moitoso
Producer: Doug Cembellin
Cast: Brian Singer, David Alan Graf, David Thomas,
Dwight Turner, Gordon Carmadelle, Gregory Guy Gordon, April Lang, Matt
Jones, Jesse Keller, Radomir Luza, Shaw Davari, Whit Spurgeon
A mockumentary on the adventures of Tim, a middle
aged man-child who faces his last chance to become his dream profession -
a football referee.
THE RESPONSE
USA, 2009, 14.22 Minutes
Director: Andrew Spieler
Writer: Andrew Spieler, Marina Stabile, Julia Norwich
Producer: Marina Stabile
Cast: Valarie Pettyford, Stephen Snedden, Kami Jones, Kiev Rhyse, Alex Castillo
In the early hours of the 1992 LA Riots, a paramedic
is forced to confront an incensed and dangerous mob after her idealistic
partner violates protocol in hopes of saving a severely wounded child.
ROYALTY FREE
USA, 2009, 10 min 23 sec
Writer/Director: Michael Bernstein
Producer: Chris Bryant
Cast: Raymond Cham Jr, Catesby Bernstein, Solomon Bonner
Charlie is an entertainer who can bring a smile to
anybody – except one miserable audience member. Every entertainer has
an ego, even if he’s a street performer who is only 12 years old.
RUNNING AWAY WITH BLACKIE
USA 2009 17 min 30 sec
Writer / Director: Lucas Garcia
Producer: Michael Silberman
Cast: August Emerson, Camden Toy, Bill Suplee, Natasha Lyonne
A complex and thought provoking look into the lonely
and desperate life of Jetty. Along with his best and only friend, his
dog Blackie, he travels cross country where he ends up at an isolated
motel and meets unusual characters who reminds him of what and why he is
running away.
THE SAMURAI OF STRONGSVILLE, OHIO
USA, 2010. 15 min, 31 sec
Writer / Producer / Director : Tara von Baron
Producers: J.R. Burningham, Benjamin Wilkins, Dave Matos
Cast: Abby Wathen, Camille Mana, Barbara Howlin, Emilie Madison, Jennifer Robinson, Katharine Philips-Moser
Two wannabe samurai find their
commitment to “THE WAY” (and to each other) challenged when they find
themselves facing off against their popular nemesis at tryouts for their
high school fashion show.
SEA OF TREES
USA, 2009 7 min 20 sec
Writer / Producer / Director: Grayson Wolfe
Co-Writer/ Co-Producer: William Dresden
Cast: Grayson Wolfe, Nathan Amadon
A man awakens in a mysterious forest with no
recollection of how he got there. The only clues to his identity and
fate lie within his sinister companion.
THE SEVENTH FLOOR
USA, 2009 26 min 06 sec
Writer / Exec Producer / Director: Andrew Seely
.Producers: Louis Sweeney, Sendeu Flippin
Cast: Scott Alan, Yuu Asakura, Zoe Karatzaferis Bryant Karnes, Grant Yaffee, Rodrigo Robles
In 1940’s San Francisco, a self serving private
detective resorts to deceipt and blackmail in an attempt to pay off his
escalating gambling debts.
SHORT ON TIME
USA, 2009, 19 Minutes
Writer/Director: Benjamin Mattingly
Producer: Jevon Whetter
Cast: Frances Bay, Karl Herlinger
When Edith (92) takes a final journey from the
hospital to a hospice, she finds an unlikely friend in Howard (34) the
disenchanted orderly charged with delivering Edith to her destination.
SLAP BACK JACK: HIGH FIVE MASTER
USA, 2010, 11 min
Writer / Producer / Director: Mark Newell
Cast: Todd Cummings, Kevin McConnell, Stacie Marie Newcomb, Jasper Newell, Frank Simms, Henry Strozier
Having some trouble with high fives and hand slaps? There’s someone who can help: He’s Slap Back Jack!
THE SPACESHIP
Sweden, 2010, 24 min 49 sec
Director/Producer: Emil Mkrttchian
Cast: Alexandra Palify, Hassan Brijany, Katalin Dahl, Omid Khansari, Tobias Aspelin.
Mia wants to go to space, but finds it difficult to
raise money. Her fantastic pizza doesn’t convince the restaurant owner
who claims one ‘need to have it in the veins’. A warm film about
dreams, prejudices and a different girl.
SPRING GROVE
USA, 2010, 12 min 31 sec
Writer/Director: Matt Mulcahey
Cast: Tony Darnell Davis
A cab driver whose life revolves around caring for
his older brother struggles to accept that he can no longer handle the
responsibility on his own.
STAGE 4
USA, 2010, 34 min
Writer / Director: Scott Mlodzinski
Producer: Ronnie Marmo
Cast: Brian Austin Green, Jamison Jones, Kimberly McCullough, Ronnie Marrmo, Tyler Christopher
Stage 4 combines the elements of The Office and
Waiting for Guffman as a reality show crew follows the offbeat, quirky
members of a Hollywood theater company as they impatiently await
stardom.
SUDDEN DEATH
USA, 2010, 20 min
Writer / Director: Adam Hall
Producer: Melanie Hall, Nick Jones
Cast: Autumn Hurlbert, Matt Lutz, John Larroquette, Doug Jones, Mark Christopher Lawrence
Los Angeles is overtaken by a virus known as Sudden
Death Syndrome, a disease that causes its victim to die suddenly and has
only one symptom…spontaneously breaking into well-choreographed song
and dance.
SUNSHINE DEPRIVATION BLUES
USA, 2010, 19 min 50 sec
Writer/Director/Co-Producer: Michael Woodard
Co-Producer: Marc Mailand
Cast: Charlie Finelli, Marc Mailand
This is the sour-sweet story of Redge and Rollo.
Two-self employed plumbers who attempt to make good on a promised trip
to the local water slides.
TERRY & TITANIA
United Kingdom, 2010, 6 min 35 sec
Writer/Director/Producer: Patrick McMahon
Cast: James Harrison, May Phillips, Napoleon Ryan, Vincent Shiels.
Terry’s an office worker. Titania’s a fairy. Or
insane. Potentially both. But when man and untamed nature collide –
who’ll come out on top? A Shakespeare classic gets a modern makeover in
this surreal romantic comedy.
THIS IS WHO WE ARE
USA, 2009, 14min 06 sec
Writer/Producer/Director: Stephanie Willis
Cast: Caroline Stack, Willow Hale, Ryan Culver, Claire
Martin, Laura Lance, John Antony Negron, Marilyn Sanabria
Thomas McCauley, Libby West, Stephanie Willis
Cheryl, a socially awkward DMV worker who clings to
her mother for a sense of self worth, falls into disarray when her
mother enters the hospital. She fills the void in her life with an
expired driver’s license and in the process of trying to sustain a
relationship with it; she learns to stand on her own.
TOUCH
USA, 2009, 10 min 58 sec
Director: Jen McGowan
Writer: Colin Pink
Producers: Emile Hanton, Philip Lott
Cast: Lily Knight, Rachel Kanouse,
Sometimes, the most personal connection in your life occurs with a complete stranger.
UNREST
USA, 2009, 15 Minutes
Writer/Director: Christine Rubenstein
Producer: Marie Pineda
Cast: Pia Portiz, Myra Cris Ocenar, Giselle Tongi
In 1986 Manila, the Philippine Revolution is raging
and nine year-old Minnie finds herself caught between opposing sides of a
civil revolution. Amidst the chaos, she inadvertently sets off a
devastating chain of events that tests her mother's love, and transforms
her into a victim of social unrest.
US
Australia, 2010, 10 min
Director: Anna Jeffries
Writer: Suzanne Kent
Producer: Tobias Webster
Exec. Producer: Marc Gracie
Cast: Marg Downey, Christopher Bunsworth
A relationship observed through a contact lens
CHOMP
USA, 2010, 1 min 20 sec
Writer/Director/Producer: Jake Olimb
Cast: (Voice) James Woll
A young man gets eaten by a dinosaur….or does he?
FOR A FISTFUL OF SNOW
Switzerland, 2009, 5 min 42 sec
Writer/Director/Producer: Julien Ezri
A long time ago, terror, loathing and power reigned
over the Wild Wild North. The foolishness of the inhabitants led them to
battle for anything, even…For a Fistful of Snow.
GIFT
USA, 2010, 2 min, USC
Producer/Director : Shaun Kim
A chicken who has a special ability escapes from a
chicken cage. While he runs away from a butcher, the chicke’s special
ability comes out dramatically.
HOP TO IT
USA, 2010, 4 min
Writers /Directors: Matt Pollard, Mike Cusic
After a mother kangaroo’s attempts to teach her baby
to hop fail, a hungry meerkat unknowingly takes the job. But will the
mother approve?
KIDNAP
USA, 2009, 3 min 55 sec
Writer/Director: Sijia Luo
A little chicken is late for school. Her excuse: She got kidnapped!
LET'S POLLUTE
USA, 2009, 7 Minutes
Writer/Director/Producer: Geefwee Boedoe
In the spirit of 50's and 60's educational films,
Let's Pollute is a modern satire on how pollution is our heritage and
keeps our economy growing strong while instructing us on how to be
better polluters for a better blighted tomorrow.
OVERNIGHT STAY (UBERNACHTUNG)
USA, 2009, 9 min, USC
Director: Daniela Sherer
An animated documentary of a woman’s wartime memory
QUA
Spain, 2009, 9 min 15 sec
Writer/Director: Andres Vidal
Producer: Mar Muro
At the beginning of time, our world was a desert illuminated by two suns where mankind could barely keep alive.
SECOND WIND
USA, 2008, 6 min 35 sec
Director: Ian Worrel
Two traveling friends, a quirky old man and a giant
blue cat, stumble upon a strange little creature that comes between the
two, threatening their relationship and their lives.
SKYLIGHT
Canada, 2009, 4 min 37 sec
Writer/Director: David Bass
An animated mock documentary about the ecological
plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic
results for the rest of the world.
TOPI
USA, 2008, 6 min 17 sec
Writer/Director: Arjun Rihan
Amidst the turbulent partition of India circa 1947, a young Hindu boy has a chance encounter with a stranger.
WE THE DIVIDED
USA, 2008, 13 min: 44 sec
Writer/Director: Ryan W. Chen
A civil war erupts and divides the people
THE ARMOIRE
Canada, 2009, 22 minutes
Director: Jamie Travis
Executive Producers: Robin Cass, William Cranor
Producer: Mark Montefiore
When a young boy goes missing, his best friend is
tormented by the mystery surrounding the disappearance and begins
sleeping in his armoire. A poignant children’s tale, eerily capturing a
young boy’s struggle to his secrets.
THE SPINE
Canada, 2009, 11 min. 35mm
Director: Chris Landreth
Executive Producers: Robert Munroe, David Verrall
Producers: Steve Hoban, Marcy Page
Academy Award winner Chris Landreth employs his
signature style to tell the story of Dan and Mary and their broken
marriage. Through a co-dependent couples’ support group, they dig deep
to rediscover their history and the ties that brought them together in
the first place.
DANSE MACABRE
Canada, 2009 9 min, 35 mm
Director: Pedro Pires
In haunting deserted spaces, the choreographed
erratic motions of a corpse evoke the final spasms of life. Based on a
concept by Robert Lepage. Pedro Pires’ exquisitely photographed
morbid ballet pushes the traditional dance film into a new cinematic
heights.
FIVE HOLE: TALES OF HOCKEY EROTICA
Canada, 2009, 6 min
Producer / Director: Cam Christiansen
A swirling animated trip through hockey’s erotic
behind the scenes world. Cam Christiansen, uses his signature stylized
animation, developed though motion picture and video mapping, to create a
vibrant and bold musical sketch.
OUT IN THAT DEEP BLUE SEA
Canada, 2009, 16 min
Director: Kazik Radwanski
Producer: Dan Montgomery
As a disillusioned middle-age real estate agent
attempts to balance his work with his personal life, he finds that he is
unable to do a good job at either one.
RUNAWAY
Canada, 2009, 9 min, 35mm
Director: Cordell Barker
Executive Producers: Michael Scott, Derek Mazur
Producers: Michael Scott, Derek Mazur.
Award winning animator Cordell Barkell brings us this
zany animated tale about a reckless train ride. Gleeful passenger
cavorts to the jaunty jazz core by Benoit Charest, oblivious to trouble
ahead. But when the driver
disappears and a madcap scramble for fuel ensues, this careless ride turns darkly funny.
VIVE LA ROSE
Canada, 2009, 6 min, 353mm
Director: Bruce Alcock
Executive Producers: Bruce Alcock, Kent Martin, David Verall
Producers: Tina Ouelette. Annette Clarke, Michael Fukishima.
Using a rustic writing desk as his tableau, Bruce
Alcock imaginatively brings this tragic Newfoundland love song
(performed by Emile Benoit) to life integrating stop -motion animation
of found maritime objects with complementary oil paintings.
48-HOUR PROJECT OF SAN DIEGO SHOWCASE
THE BIG DROP
USA, 2010, 07:46
Writer/Producer/Director: David D. Dietrich
Co-Writers: Richard Leroy, Maurice A. Smith, Tim Kressin, Dawn Dietrich
Cast: Seth Finney, Jason Hanson, Angela Sanicola, Richard L. Moore, Maurice A. Smith
Sometimes to make the big drop you have to push it to the limits.
DISCO DETECTIVES
USA, 2010, 07:21
Producers: Ken Peltan, Norbert Shieh, Preston Kuntz
Director: Ken Peltan
Screenwriter: Justin Haacke
Cast: Brandon Michael Cater, Jacob Ward, Lisa Christensen, Michael Hausberg, Jon Schettino, Fabienne Maurer,
Fighting crime with sideburns and mustaches. It's the Disco Detectives.
THE WRONG STUFF
USA 2010, 04:25
Producers: Todd Whittington, Eric Carle, Ryan Whalen, Bryan Spencer
Director: Todd Whittington
Screenwriters: Todd Whittington, Ryan Whalen
Cast: Bri Cross, Steve Walters, Randy Davison, Melissa Mahoney, Yanellie Ireland
Culpability.
EMPTY CHAIR
USA, 2010, 09:30
Producers: Ernesto Matamoros
Director: Wilder Herms
Screenwriters: Anh Bui, Jacqueline Liu, Ernesto Matamoros
Caast: Ernesto Matamoros, Wesley Gonzales, Jacqueline Liu, Brian
Rodriguez, Justin Vancho, Frankie Cruz Taitingfong
A journey through the schizophrenic episodes of a man, struggling to cope with the loss of his best friend.
THE BOY WITHIN
USA, 2010, 04:49
Producers/Directors: Victor Ciccarelli / Clay Pederson
Screenwriter: Gayle Carline
Starring: Nick Afanasiev, Eugenia Deng, Sarah Cannon, Natalie Biulostuzky, Soloman Biulostuzky
Beauty always calms the beast
PROBE
USA, 2010, 05:45
Producers: Barry J. Bridge and Roman S. Koenig
Writer/Director: Roman S. Koenig
Cast: Celeste Innocenti, Wilson Adam Schooley, Eric Poppick, Julie Clemmons, Wendy Savage, Anthony Beville,
Memory enhancement on doctor's orders
JACK LIGHTNING AND THE MYSTERY OF WHITE FATHER
USA, 2010, 07:20
Producers: Alex Dressler, Jennifer Williams, Mark Hoke
Director: Bryce Schramm
Co-Director: Alex Dressler
Screenwriter: Bryce Schramm and Tanner Weston
Starring: Sassan Saffari, Kaitlin Nelson, Christopher M. Williams, Garrett Bales, Sioeli Taupau
A 1930s adventurer and his trusted colleague investigate an outbreak of polio within a tribe in South America.
THE COHIBA
USA, 2010, 05:11
Producer/Director:: George Yé
Screenwriters: Anne Davis, Kym Miller, Helen Cunningham, Geoge Yé
Starring: Clifford Wright, Reed Willard, Camelia Dee, Jennifer Cooper. Gio Tejada, Jason Rogers, Mike Regala
On his way to interview Fidel Castro in 1963, an AP
journalist is kidnapped, and recruited by the CIA to do his civil
service, and son learns something new about his father's past.
THE FATAL HEIR
USA, 2010, 08:00
Producer: Tony Mingee
Director: Michael Brueggemeyer
Screenwriter: Marianne Bates
Starring: Merrick McCartha, Cristyn Chandler, Jim Tieper, Ron Christopher Jones, Theresa Layne,
Murder. Love. And a whiff of inheritance. Something's rotten, and Johnny Love will sniff it out.
HOBO’s CHOICE
USA, 2010, 06:58
Director: Devin Lucas
Producer: Patrick Leon
Cast: Ryan Neal, Alice McDonald, Sarah Gillham, Donald Ford, Nicky Martens
Hobo finds his soul in the balance between a demon and an angel. Will a little girl help him make his choice?
DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL
USA, 2010, 7:38
Writers/Producers/Directors: David Asmussen and Monty Seward
Cast: Decara Seward, Kimaya Seward. Monty Seward
A fifteen year old girl learns her father was falsely
accused by her mother of rape. When she demands to meet him for the
first time and discovers he is a good man, she turns her anger and
hatred towards her mother. After realizing she has lost her daughter's
love and trust, the mother confesses to the false accusation, landing
her in jail and freeing the father to start a new life with his
daughter.