‘Wolf Mother’
The 19th annual Dances With Films Festival is set to kick off in Los Angeles starting June 2nd and running through the 12th, and today the full lineup of 117 films has been announced. Erik Peter Carlson‘s Wolf Mother has been chose as the opening night film, which revolves around a former Hollywood starlet and a thief setting out to solve a child abduction case.
Take a look below for information on all the films featured this year and check out the official site here for more.
OPENING NIGHT
WOLF MOTHER (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Erik Peter Carlson
PRODS: Erik Peter Carlson, Nick Frangione
CAST: Najarra Townsend, Kevin Pinassi, Tom Sizemore, Nick Frangione, Stephanie Pearson
SYNOPSIS: In an attempt to rectify their criminal past, a once successful Hollywood starlet, turn prostitute, and a petty thief, set out together to solve a high-profile child abduction case in San Francisco.
NARRATIVE FEATURES PROGRAM
BAD, BAD MEN (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Allen C. Gardner
DIRECTORS: Brad Ellis, Allen C. Gardner
PRODS: Gabe Arredondo, Brad Ellis, Allen C. Gardner, Adam Johnson, Sean T. Faust
CAST: Allen C. Gardner, Drew Smith, Matt Mercer, Gabe Arredondo, Adam Burns, Matthew Gilliam, Nathan Ross Murphy, Maria Waslenko
SYNOPSIS: After being taunted by a cocksure “big shot” at a coffee shop, a timid young man enlists his two best friends to help him track his newfound bully down and put him in his place. They do just that, but misguided machismo then fuels an ensuing battle of wills.
THE BIRDWATCHER (US PREMIERE)
WRITER: Roslyn Muir
DIRECTOR: Siobhan Devine
PRODS: Alexandra Raffe, Carol Whiteman, Siobhan Devine, Ines Eisses, Roslyn Muir, Alexandra Raffe
CAST: Camille Sullivan, Gabrielle Rose, Matreya Fedor, Jakob Davies and Garwin Sanford
SYNOPSIS: The Birdwatcher is the story of Saffron, a single mother of two, who after being diagnosed with cancer, embarks on a journey to re-connect with her estranged birth mother in the hopes of finding family for her children.
CREEDMORIA (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Alicia Slimmer
PRODS: Alicia Slimmer, Clifton Leaf, Doneen Lombardi, Derek Anthony Welte, Machi Davis, Silvia Galombik
CAST: Stef Dawson, Rachel de Benedet, Ray Abruzzo, Steve Cavanaugh
SYNOPSIS: Candy injects the “fun” in her dysfunctional life. When your brother is found by a neighbor naked and drunk, you’re stuck with a caveman of a boyfriend, you have a dickhead boss, and the madness of everyday life competes with your mother’s need to appear “normal,” you have to peek between the cracks to find the warm rays of hope. But, maybe normalcy is just a construct for other people. And, maybe breaking out of the institution is more important than fitting in. After years of trying to save those she loves, it’s time for Candy to save herself.
DINNER WITH THE ALCHEMIST (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Jenna St. John
DIRECTOR: Kevin Good
PRODS: Kevin Good, Jenna St. John, Barry Gribble, Erin Goldstein
CAST: Dan Istrate, Dionne Audain, Megan Graves
SYNOPSIS: In the early 1900s, a wealthy alchemist, Jacques St. Germaine, travels to New Orleans to seek help from the legendary voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. When a spate of murders are uncovered, Jacques and the quarreling locals butt heads as they try to discover the identity of the killer. Featuring a cast of characters pulled from actual police reports, Dinner with the Alchemist weaves historical fact and imaginative storytelling into a mysterious supernatural drama.
HEROES DON’T COME HOME (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Jake Hulse
PRODS: Kelly Henshaw, Mike Haas
CAST: Andrew Casanova, Tyler McElroy, Roberty Schorr
SYNOPSIS: Deep in the woods of Maine, a broken promise made after the September 11th attacks forces two friends to confront the teenagers they were and the men they’ve become.
THE HOMEFRONT (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Fidel Ruiz-Healy & Tyler Walker
PRODS: Sofia Rosenzweig, Jordan Michael Blake, Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, The American Standard Film Co.
CAST: Rachel Povse, Gerry Eddins, David Laurence, Lindsey Van De Kirk, Jack Wirt
SYNOPSIS: Eight years into the invasion of the United States: An isolated southern family stays at home, safe from the combat, struggling to keep up an illusion of normalcy while food and supplies diminish. Their uneasy peace is threatened by the rumblings of war on the radio, and the arrival of their estranged uncle who has fled the front lines. As the invasion bears down on their home, the family’s quest for routine becomes more desperate and absurd. An idiosyncratic dark comedy about the crumbling nuclear family.
I LIVE FOR YOU (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Brandon Zinn, Monika Wesley
DIRECTOR: Monika Wesley
PRODS: Brandon Zinn, Mark Amin, Cami Winikoff, Tyler Boehm, Kevin Johnson, Isabella Tugman
CAST: Hannah Telle, Rob Hook, Eric Davis
SYNOPSIS: Leaving his father’s funeral, Sean discovers a note about an older half-brother named Henry that he never knew. When Sean arrives at Henry’s house, he meets Kate, the mysterious man’s stepdaughter. She is beautiful, disarming and instantly captivating. Kate informs Sean that Henry is a dangerous criminal who sells drugs on the streets of Downtown LA. She agrees to help Sean find his brother, but not without fair warning. As Sean spends time with Kate, he begins to fall for her, but nothing is really as it seems. As Sean gets closer to uncovering the truth, he wonders whom it is that he should really suspect.
MIKAEL (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Kordo Doski
PRODS: Kordo Doski, Jose Moreno Brooks, Nameer Al-Durrah, Michael Ciulla, John St. Valery
CAST: Kordo Doski, Jose Moreno Brooks, Randall Park, Sitara Hewitt, Mivan Shaban, Adil Abdolrahman
SYNOPSIS: Far past his prime at age 33, Mikael pursues his lifelong dream of a professional soccer career. Left with one option, he travels from Los Angeles to Kurdistan Iraq, his ancestral home, in an effort to redeem his once prodigious potential and heal his soul.
MISFORTUNE (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER: Xander Bailey & Desmond Devenish
DIRECTOR: Desmond Devenish
PRODS: Desmond Devenish, Scott Lautanen, Roger Steilen, Sarah Kinga Smith
CAST: Desmond Devenish, Xander Bailey, Jenna Kanell, Kevin Gage, Steve Earle, Nick Mancuso
SYNOPSIS: When a young man down on his luck learns about the parole of his father’s killer, it ignites a cat and mouse chase through the treacherous desert, in search of a priceless set of diamonds. As events spiral out of control, the prospects of a criminal fugitive lifestyle become an inevitable reality.
POP-UP (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Stuart McBratney
PRODS: Stuart McBratney, Becks Abramovic, Eduard Schneider
CAST: Clara Voda, Eugene Gilfedder, Greg Powell, Ellacoco Hammer, Brenton Prince, Evan Olman, Maria Ploae, Laura Vasiliu
SYNOPSIS: “Pop-Up” tells three interweaving stories about people affected by one random event: An unemployed father finds a camera containing a single photo of a woman’s face. Smitten, he tracks her down. A Romanian immigrant attempts to overcome heartbreak by giving away homemade pop-up cards to everyone she knows. And a sleep-deprived theater director seeks deadly revenge on a scathing critic.
ROAD TO THE WELL (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Jon Cvack
PRODS: Jon Cvack, Tim Davis, Nick Mathews, Brittany White
CAST: Laurence Fuller, Micah Parker, Marshall R. Teague
SYNOPSIS: Three old friends are reunited after two of them become involved in a seemingly random murder, journeying up to the Northern California Sierra in order to bury the body.
THE SALTON SEA (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Veena Sud
PRODS: Chad Ostrom, Shana Fischer Huber
CAST: Jamie Anne Allman, Diarra Kilpatrick
SYNOPSIS: A driver, an alcoholic, has been driving aimlessly for weeks in the desert. She hits something on a remote road…. Is it human or animal? Did it die? Instead of checking, she flees the scene. Someone sees her, a young Hitchhiker who’s been wandering these desert roads for years. The Hitchhiker blackmails the Driver into giving her a ride to the sea – and thus begins the odyssey of two troubled women on the run through a deserted land as broken, as parched and as in need of redemption, as they are.
SINGAPORE SLING (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
WRITER: Neto DePaula Pimenta
DIRECTOR: Marcus Sigrist
PRODS: Neto DePaula Pimenta
CAST: Cinthya Hussey, Samuel de Assis, Angelica di Paula, Neto DePaula Pimenta
SYNOPSIS: Two estranged former lovers reconnect 12 years after their sudden break up for a friendly brunch, with their current mates in tow. Will their past infringe in their present and jeopardize their future?
SHORTWAVE (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Ryan Gregory Phillips
PRODS: Robert Klieger, Anthony Mancilla, Lindsay Lanzillotta, Thomas McDaniel, Ryan Gregory Phillips
CAST: Cristobal Tapia Montt, Sara Malakul Lane, Juanita Ringeling, Jay Ellis, Kyle Davis, Nina Senicar
SYNOPSIS: Josh and Isabel Harris, after suffering the loss of their only child, relocate to a secluded hillside research facility with the hopes of repairing their broken family. After years of trying, Josh and his research partner, Thomas, have a breakthrough involving a cryptic shortwave radio signal and its universal origins. Something within the signal resonates with Isabel and she begins experiencing seeming hallucinations and visions of distant memories. Upon further investigation into the phenomenon, the scientists fear for Isabel’s health while Isabel fears the signal has attracted something sinister to their new home.
VIRTUAL REVOLUTION (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Guy-Roger Duvert
CAST: Mike Dopud, Jane Badler, Jochen Hagele, Maximillien Poullein
SYNOPSIS: 2047. 75% of the population spend all their time online, and don’t care about reality anymore. Nash is a Hybrid, sharing his time between reality and virtual worlds. He is also a killer, paid by multinational companies to track down and eliminate terrorists who threaten the system. His new investigation takes him from the most opulent parts of Neo-Paris to its dirtiest slums, but also through different virtual worlds he needs to log into. But when he finds himself in the middle of a dangerous game between the multinational companies, the terrorists, and Interpol, choices have to be made…
WE GO ON (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER: Andy Mitton
DIRECTOR: Andy Mitton
PRODS: Andy Mitton, Jesse Holland
CAST: Annette O’Toole, Clark Freeman, John Glover, Giovanna Zacarius, Jay Dunn, Laura Heisler
SYNOPSIS: Miles Grissom lives with a fear of death that keeps him alone, afraid, and stuck in life. When he comes into some inheritance money, he offers a reward to the first person who can show him a ghost, a demon, a past-life memory – anything to prove we go on after we die – in hopes that having certainty will let him live without fear. He sorts through the thousands of responses to arrive at three viable candidates: a professor, a medium, and a worldly entrepreneur. Charlotte, Miles’s protective mother, joins him on his quest, and they embark on an adventure through Los Angeles – one that will spiral into a nightmare.
MIDNIGHT FEATURES PROGRAM
BEACON POINT – (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Eric Blue
WRITERS: Eric Blue, Traci Carroll
PRODS: Eric Blue, Matt Ackerman, Scott Salamon
CAST: Rae Oliver (Rachel Marie Lewis), Jon Briddell, Eric Goins, Jason Burkey, RJ Sheaer
SYNOPSIS: A group of hikers on the Appalachian Trail become lost and stumble across an ancient secret that threatens their survival. Beacon Point is a Sci-Fi thriller full of suspense and surprises. You’ll never want to go camping again.
LILITH’S AWAKENING (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Monica Demes, Mar Outsiders, Roberto Honczar, Antonio Santana
PRODS: Monica Demes
CAST: Sophia Woodward, Barbara Eugenia, Steve Kennevan
SYNOPSIS: Lilith’s Awakening is a psychological horror art film that tells the story of Lucy, a sexually repressed woman trapped in a loveless marriage and a dead-end job at her father’s service station in a small Iowa town. The highlight of her existence comes at night when she dreams of a mysterious and beautiful woman who haunts the woods outside her modest home. One night, a mechanic who works for her father forces himself on Lucy, awakening in her an uncontrollable dark force. When he makes her promise to meet him later at his hideaway in the woods, it may be the girl of “her dreams” – not his – who shows up for the fateful rendezvous.
VALLEY OF DITCHES (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Christopher James Lang, Amanda Todisco
DIRECTOR: Christopher James Lang
PRODS: Christopher James Lang, Kevin Crick, Rachel Veznaian
CAST: Amanda Todisco, Russell Fenton, Jeremy Sless
SYNOPSIS: Left for dead in an open grave, Emilia struggles to keep both her life and her sanity.
MIDNIGHT SHORTS PROGRAM
BLASTERCORE (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Alessandro Vivarini, Flavio Vivarini
DIRECTOR: Alessandro Vivarini
PROD: Alessandro Vivarini
CAST: Flavio Vivarini, Alessandro Staglianò
SYNOPSIS: Two drunk heroes driving fast on the street are going to face the evil forces: the police!
DADDY (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Steven Boe, Whitney Boe
PRODS: Roberto Raad, Steven Boe, Whitney Boe
CAST: Keith Andreen, Natalie Diane Miranda
SYNOPSIS: John knows how to keep his family together. All he needs is a roll of duct tape, his shotgun, and 5 minutes of peace and quiet so he can eat his cereal.
DEMONOID 1971 (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Juan F. Moctezuma II
PRODS: Elliott Lonsdale, Alaric Rocha
CAST: Antonio Monroi, Gabriella Mayorga, Jorge Karlóz, Elisa Dei, Adrian Rodriguez, Valentina Magaña, Sergio Rogalto, Monserrat Martínez Reyes, Julio Grijalva, Tessie Herrasti, Gerado Ochoa Mohar and Chelsea Dvorchak
SYNOPSIS: A group of campers with the help of an Aztec priest must fight the Aztec demon Itzpapalotl to save themselves and the world from total destruction.
GALACTIC GALAXY (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Anthony Ferraro, John Plunkett
DIRECTOR: Anthony Ferraro
PRODS: Anthony Ferraro, Alann Mann
CAST: Bobbie Breckenridge, Charlz Williams, Daniel Kusunoki, Jonathan Castile, Kelsey Goldberg, Lara Piacquadio, Larry Andrews, Eric Michael Kochmer, Matthew Sultan
SYNOPSIS: Galactic Galaxy – When one man’s darkness threatens to engulf the universe, a group of interstellar misfits must come together to find their light & defend the Galactic Galaxy
GIRL #2 (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
WRITER: Kari Wahlgren
DIRECTOR: David H. Jeffery
PRODS: David H. Jeffery, Meta Valentic, Ian B. Williams, Kari Wahlgren, Mark Relyea, Melanie Tooker, Susan Iskiwitch, Will Campbell
CAST: Katy Yoder, Mia Faith, Michael Bailey Smith
SYNOPSIS: One night, sorority sisters Jenn and Stacey find themselves trapped in their sorority house as a deranged killer goes on a killing spree. The girls barricade themselves in an upstairs bedroom as the killer closes in. Knowing they are doomed, the girls formulate a desperate plan.
IDEAL (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Kevan Tucker
PRODS: Kevan Tucker, Andrew Corkin, Tim O’Neill, Jared Parsons, Bryan Reisberg
CAST: Nicole Fox, Haaz Sleiman
SYNOPSIS: A model must decide whether to give into the increasingly insane demands of a photographer.
JOHN THE CARPENTER (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Matt Braunsdorf
PRODS: Matt Braunsdorf, Jared Dymbort
CAST: Jared Dymbort, Mali MacConnell, Thomas Beucler
SYNOPSIS: On their drive home, John and his sister Anna get in an accident when a horrifying creature jumps out in front of them. In order to protect her wounded brother, Anna draws the beast away from the crash. John regains consciousness just in time to witness her make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save him. Heartbroken and tortured by the debt he must repay, John puts together a plan to trap the beast once and for all.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE (West Coast Premiere)
WRITER/DIR: Bears Fonte
PROD: Amy Martinez
CAST: Sara Fletcher, Joel Gross, Kelsey Deanne, Ronald Bush
SYNOPSIS: A mysterious woman stranded by the side of the road hitches a ride with a passing stranger – neither of them is who they seem.
FUSION FEATURES PROGRAM
BREAKING LEGS (WEST COAST PREMIERE)|
WRITER/DIR: Mark Marchillo
PRODS: Micah Brandt, Ida Mary Newman, Richard Southard, Michael & Cheryl Guheen
CAST: Chris Kattan, Lee Meriwether, Liv Southard, Sarah Rochelle, William Leon, Aaron Landon, Alexa Sutherland, Mark Marchillo, Richard Riehle
SYNOPSIS: “Breaking Legs” follows a young girl who moves to a small town after the death of her mother. Now under the guardianship of her uncle, she is forced to adjust to the limitations a small town has to offer a blossoming dancer. She’s faced with no outlet for dance study, other than the high school dance team – lead by whom will soon become her arch nemesis at R. Murray High. Our girl will have to overcome a lot to get to dance – but she’ll do it even if she has to break a leg.
THE BABYMOON (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Bailey Kobe
PRODS: Frederic Imbert
CAST: Shaun Sipos, Julie McNiven, Jessica Camacho, Michael Steger, Kelly Perine, Mark DeCarlo, and Michael Delorenzo.
SYNOPSIS: “THE BABYMOON” was born out of the recent cultural phenomenon of taking a vacation before the birth of your first child – in the midst of one of the most significant events in a couple’s life, where tensions are high to make decisions that affect a life that is not only yours! Reality-star Trace McEvans and Hanna, his pregnant wife, go on a babymoon vacation to the fictitious country of Cartegentina in order to work on their relationship in the midst of their most life-altering event, precisely during the country’s political upheaval!
DATING DAISY (US PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Neel Upadhye
PRODS: Jonathan Judelson, Tanner Boyajian, Chase Boyajian
CAST: Brennan Kelleher, Sascha Alexander, Erica Dasher, Sara Amini, Diane Robin
SYNOPSIS: Dating Daisy is an indie romantic comedy about the honest and crazy truth of dating in your twenties. The story follows Michael and Daisy, two passionate exes who can’t figure out how to just be together – OR how to NOT be together.
DEPENDENT’S DAY (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Michael David Lynch
PRODS: Michael David Lynch, Oliver DeFillippo
CAST: Joe Burke, Benita Robledo, Shannon Lucio, Josh Staman, Lisa Ann Walter, Erin Pineda, Brian George, Todd Bridges, Eugene Byrd, David August, Bertila Damas, Ashley Dyke
SYNOPSIS: Claimed as a ‘dependent’ by his successful breadwinning girlfriend Alice, Cam struggles to prove himself as he stumbles through different jobs and life’s obstacles in the hopes to live out his Hollywood dream and finally rise to the occasion. “Dependent’s Day” is a hilarious, heartfelt, authentic relationship comedy about the adventures of being in love and making it work.
GUYS READING POEMS (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Hunter Lee Hughes
PRODS: Debbie Vandermeulen, Hunter Lee Hughes, Jason Fracaro
CAST: Patricia Velasquez, Alexander Dreymon, Lydia Hearst, Luke Judy, Christos Vasilopoulos and Rex Lee
SYNOPSIS: A resourceful boy creatively uses poetry to survive when his mother, a disturbed avant-garde painter, locks him in a puppet box and builds an art installation around his imprisonment.
HOW WE MET (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Chadwick Hopson, Brian Flaccus, Oscar Rene Lozoya II
DIRECTOR: Oscar Rene Lozoya II
PRODS: Mark Dragin, Alex Raines
CAST: Ice-T, Christina Moses, Chadwick Hopson, Brian Flaccus, Jonathan Kehoe, Alex Raines, Cale Epps, David Weiss, Alex Davidson
SYNOPSIS: “How We Met” is a dark comedy about a sheltered young man that goes on the worst blind date of his life. His supposedly romantic evening turns tragic as he and his date have to cover up an accidental murder of a corrupt cop. They learn to trust each other as they deal with a thrilling and dangerous night.
I AM GANGSTER (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER: Moritz Rechenberg, Caroline Chang, Mark McKeown, Kelly Parker
DIRECTOR: Moritz Rechenberg
PRODS: Ralf Weinfurtner
CAST: Abraham Bobadilla, Gilberto Ortiz, Rick Mancia, Mario Ardila Jr, Kelli Strader, Alex Ortiz, Gloria Garayua, Ada Luz Pla, Hector Bucio with David Barrera, Marlene Forte
SYNOPSIS: While idealistic rookie cop David is able to keep his family safe until use-of-force incidents put him under pressure to make a fateful decision, hardcore gang member Lito steps into dangerous territory when he defies gang matriarch Tia in his hustle for wealth and power. At the same time, rebellious teenager Rio flirts with gang life until he has to deal with his own guilt over a tragic death.
JOSEPHINE DOE (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Erin Cipolletti
DIRECTOR: Ryan Michael
PRODS: Ryan Michael, Erin Cipolletti, Daniel Denegre, Elisabeth Bennett
CAST: Erin Cipolletti, Emma Griffin, Elisabeth Bennett
SYNOPSIS: Josephine Doe is a black and white, psychological drama about a very isolated girl named Claire and the friendship she creates with Josephine, a girl who is not who or what she seems.
KILLING LAZARUS (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Desmond Faison
PRODS: Jahmela Biggs, Issa Rae. Co-Producers: Ciji Michelle Campbell, Naiyah Scaife, Lynneise Joseph
CAST: Deji LaRay, Tracey Dukes, Billy Mayo, Madia Hill, Derrex Brady, Jeremy Solomon McBryde, Rome Green Jr Shayla Hale
SYNOPSIS: When a budding relationship between Thurgood and new neighbor Amy take a sudden and unexpected turn, childhood friends turned adult drug dealers, Thurgood and Lazarus, find themselves truly at odds for the first time. A friendship finally revealed for what it is and a momentary mental fracture creates a perfect storm for what happens next. Touching on a host of issues ranging from drugs and violence to spirituality and mental health, KILLING LAZARUS is a film that explores the layers and depths of a group all too often reduced to the easy, one noted narrative of criminality and violence.
MOMENTS OF CLARITY (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
WRITER: Christian Lloyd, Kristin Wallace
DIRECTOR: Stev Elam
PRODS: David J Phillips, Kristin Wallace
CAST: Kristin Wallace, Lyndsy Fonseca, Mackenzie Astin, Xander Berkeley, Eric Roberts, Saxon Trainor, Bitty Schram, Marguerite Moreau, A.J. Trauth, Jonathan Lajoie
SYNOPSIS: A repressed agoraphobic’s daughter meets a hardened pastor’s daughter, and while escaping their homes to fix a broken camera they end up en route to attend an annual church youth group jamboree. On the way, they encounter a host of characters that slowly reveal that their worlds aren’t what they thought they were.
THOSE LEFT BEHIND (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Maria Finitzo
PRODS: Lije Sarki
CAST: Daphne Zuniga, Michael Hogan, Debra Mooney, Jack Griffo, Annie Reed, Grant Jordan, Alyssa Steinacker
SYNOPSIS: A family struggles to come to terms with the grief over the son’s suicide 25 yeas earlier.
THE TRACK (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Matthew McCue
DIRECTOR: Brett Caroline Levner
PRODS: Steve Sole, May May Luong, Domenica Castro, Matthew McCue
CAST: Missy Yager, Mariah Kirstie, Sam Trammell, Michael Muhney, Bre Blair, Mike Doyle, Ryan LeBoeuf, Clarence Gilyard
SYNOPSIS: When a woman from the suburbs crosses paths with a sexually exploited teenage girl working the streets of Las Vegas, the two strike up an unlikely friendship which blossoms into a mother-daughter relationship that saves both their lives.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PROGRAM
ALISON (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Uga Carlini
PRODS: Uga Carlini, Jan Du Plessis, Karen Meiring, Steve Harris, Alison Botha
CAST: Alison Botha, Christia Visser, Zak Hendrikz, De Klerk Oelofse, Francois Maree
SYNOPSIS: Raped. Neck slashed 17 times. Stabbed in the stomach 37 times. Disemboweled. Dumped on the outskirts of a nature reserve, dead – or so they thought. Ordinary people of extraordinary strength and courage are what jolts one into action and offer hope. Alison Botha survived to become such an individual. This is her story. A story of monsters, miracles and hope.
THE HOLLYWOOD SHORTIES (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Ryan Steven Green
PRODS: Ryan Steven Green, Craig Evans
CAST: Tony Cox, Martin Klebba, Jimmy Briscoe, Kevin Thompson, George Rossitto, Joe Gieb
SYNOPSIS: In 1980’s Los Angeles, the “world’s smallest professional basketball team” composed of recognizable-but-typecast actors finds itself the unlikely vanguard of a revolutionary movement to bring little people into the public eye as something other than objects of curiosity.
KELLY’S HOLLYWOOD (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR/PROD: Brian Donovan
SYNOPSIS: A brother’s quest to fulfill his disabled sister’s dream of becoming a Hollywood diva takes an unexpected turn when it starts to threaten his engagement, illustrating both the cost and rewards of unconditional love. Kelly’s Hollywood is honest, raw and as authentic as you can get.
VICTOR WALK (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Michael David Lynch
PRODS: Michael David Lynch, Paul Gordon, Theo Fleury, Kristine Lynch
CAST: Theo Fleury, Zoran Zelic, Becky Goodwin, Kim Charlebois
SYNOPSIS: Victor Walk is about turning victims of child sexual abuse and turning them into victors because surviving is too difficult. This eye-opening documentary follows former NHL all-star Theo Fleury on his 10 day Victor Walk from Toronto to Ottawa, to bring awareness about child sexual abuse, promote healing to the survivors and stiffer laws for predators.
INDIVISIBLE (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR/PROD: Hilary Linder
SYNOPSIS: Imagine growing up in the country you call home without legal status. Or not seeing your family for years because they were deported. Renata, Evelyn, and Antonio were young children when their parents brought them to the U.S. in search of a better life; they were teenagers when their families were deported. Today, they are known as Dreamers. Indivisible takes place at a pivotal moment in their lives, as they fight for a pathway to citizenship and a chance to be reunited with their loved ones. With the future of immigration reform uncertain, will they see their families again?
WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER: Samantha Smart, Jamielyn Lippman
DIRECTOR: Jamielyn Lippman
PRODS: Brooke Shields, Lindsay Gerszt, Tanya Newbould, Jamielyn Lippman
CAST: Brooke Shields, Carnie Wilson, Aarti Sequeira, Peggy Tanous
SYNOPSIS: When actress Tanya Newbould experienced PPD with her daughter Ava she did not understand what was wrong with her or how to go about getting help. Tanya teamed up with Director Jamielyn Lippman to uncover this illness that affects one in five new mothers. One of the women they interviewed was Lindsay Gerszt who was currently suffering from postpartum depression. Lindsay agreed to let the cameras document her and give us an in-depth look at her path to recovery. Babies are dying, women aren’t speaking out and the signs are being missed. Together these three women take us on a journey to find answers and break the silence.
OUTATIME: SAVING THE DELOREAN TIME MACHINE (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Steve Concotelli
PRODS: Steve Concotelli, Joe Walser, Josh Turchetta, Marci Concotelli, Brian Thompson
CAST: Bob Gale, Joe Walser, Terry Matalas, John Murdy, Michael Scheffe, Michael Lantieri, Claudia Wells
SYNOPSIS: The DeLorean Time Machine from “Back to the Future” is the most famous movie car in the world. But after decade’s harsh weather, souvenir hunters, and wild animals – this cinema icon seemed destined for the junkyard.
OUTATIME chronicles the efforts of Bob Gale (Co-Writer / Producer, “Back to the Future” trilogy), Universal Studios, and a group of dedicated fans, as they work together to bring the Time Machine back to life.
Together, they embark on the greatest movie prop restoration…of all “time”!
WHAT WOULD BEETHOVEN DO? (California Premiere)
WRITER/DIR: Jonathan Keijser
PRODS: Jonathan Keijser, Veronica An, Sabrina Skau, Daniel Beresh
CAST: Benjamin Zander, Eric Whitacre, Britlin Losee, Dinuk Wijeratne
SYNOPSIS: Classical music doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being hip. For too long it’s been seen as a stuffy genre for the high cultured elite. WHAT WOULD BEETHOVEN DO? follows a number of renegades, from composers flirting with modern mediums, to young musicians dedicated to changing the narrative, to a man who works with tabla players to turntablists.
This documentary captures the rise of an exciting revolution happening from within. These innovative individuals are breaking the stereotypes and bringing classical music to a 21st-century audience. At its core, it’s about why we create art and why we should care about art in our society.
SHORTS COMPETITION PROGRAM
20 MATCHES (CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Mark Tapio Kines
CAST: Nina Rausch
SYNOPSIS: A young woman, her face illuminated only by match light, tells the story of an Austrian serial killer who murdered 20 immigrant women – one per year.
ATOMIC COUPLE! (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Rodrigo Espinosa
PRODS: Constanza Castro, Domenica Castro
CAST: Jessa Zarubica, Bobby Reed, Ben Solenberger, Art Napiontek
SYNOPSIS: Maggie Adams, a once promising nurse, is forced to confront the realities of her marriage when nuclear war breaks out and sets off a series of unexpected events that offer her a glimmer of hope to returning to who she yearns to be.
THE BOY WHO CRIED FISH (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Dalia Musaad
PRODS: Anabelle Munro, Jason Daks, Dalia Musaad
CAST: Breeda Wool, Jacob Hopkins
SYNOPSIS: Miranda’s life falls into pieces when her son, Adam, wouldn’t take off her blue bra. After accidentally watching a violent incident on Television, Adam carries the burden of what he saw to face a similar situation. As a single mother of a child in the spectrum, Miranda finds a way of coping when she understands how the personal intertwines with the universal.
A DISTANT SHOT (CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: James Paul
CAST: Kolja Slezacek, John Paul Franke, Pavol Greco, Sárka Ullrichová
SYNOPSIS: Czechoslovakia – 1958 – how a defining moment can affect a family, a country, and one man’s lifetime seen through the eyes of a Czechoslovakian track runner on the day of the biggest race of his life.
A SNIFF, A LICK, & A TASTE (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: David Ledwith
PRODS: Daniel Galuppo
CAST: Belle Adams, Michael Gmur, Alex Ameen
SYNOPSIS: After escaping prison, two unlikely characters try to survive in the wild.
BEAUTIFUL DREAMER (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: David Gaddie
PRODS: David Gaddie, Quentin Little
CAST: Jo Armeniox, Natalie Smith, Theis Weckesser, Caroline Bednar, Lynn Cohen
SYNOPSIS: Facing a terminal disease, a mother uses space travel and relativity to stretch her last two years over the lifetime of her baby daughter, visiting for only one night every seven years. Mother and daughter must negotiate to build a relationship despite the longing and estrangement that mark the moments they are able to share.
THE FINAL SCENE (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Sonny Valicenti
PRODS: Rick Valicenti, Barb Valicenti, Gavin Boyd, Sonny Valicenti, Christine Weber, Mark Baker
CAST: Sonny Valicenti, Ren Bell, Nora Wyman, Quincy Miller, Daniel Blinkoff, Georgia Cohen, Christine Weber
SYNOPSIS: The Final Scene experiences the break-up of legendary 50’s comedy duo Martin and Lewis.
FLESH AND BLOOD (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Merlin Camozzi
PRODS: Tim Lewis, David Oh, Ben Haigh, Merlin Camozzi
CAST: Clint Jordan, Hannah Telle, Charlotte Alexis White
SYNOPSIS: When a fast-moving virus threatens to turn her father into a violent monster, 18-year-old Max must lead him and her younger sister, Ellen, through a perilous mountain range in the hope of finding a cure on the other side.
FUTURE BOYFRIEND (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Ben Rock
PRODS: Emily Bell, Ron Morehouse
CAST: Emily Bell, Ron Morehouse, French Stewart, Pat McNeely, Dominic Mora
SYNOPSIS: Stuart and Kaylie are enjoying their third date when Stuart reveals a secret that threatens to derail their budding romance. Is he telling the truth or is it science fiction?
GET THE F K OUT OF PARIS (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Greg Emetaz
PRODS: Greg Emetaz, Sarah Arlen, Rachel Carey, Jean-David Béroard
CAST: Sarah Arlen, Holly Mae Haddock, Jean-David Béroard
SYNOPSIS: A text message turns a depressing laundry night into a mad dash for survival.
THE GIFT (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Tarique Qayumi
WRITER/PRODS: Tajana Susanna Prka
CAST: Zohal Sajjadi
SYNOPSIS: A young teenage girl is arranged into a marriage where books and toys get cast aside for domestic duties. However, when she is all grown with a daughter of her own will she follow tradition and marry her daughter off or give her a different option?
HOW I KILLED PISTOL ROGERS (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Ashlea Patterson
WRITERS: Gary Wilkerson Jr., Ashlea Patterson
PRODS: Spencer Frankeberger
CAST: Jessica Saul, Shanee Kiera Buckner, Arielle Raycene, Raechelle Egan, Katie Bottomley
SYNOPSIS: Frankie Applebee is a dreamer. And she totally deserves to be second in command to Pistol Rogers, the most popular girl in school. She’s like sure of it. But when the rules change and Frankie’s dream crumbles, her passion turns to vengeance and she crushes everything in her path, landing her in a place she never dreamed of.
IN PURSUIT (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Kevin Mead
WRITERS: Kevin Mead, Christina Strain
PRODS: Constanza Castro
CAST: Chelsea Edmundson, Sean Patrick McGowan
SYNOPSIS: A young couple moves cross-country to start a new life. But the moment they arrive, their car gets commandeered in a police chase. They set out on a quest to get it back, but the journey forces them to re-examine their relationship and figure out if they’re still chasing the same things… Can they recover what they had, or can they start over with nothing but each other?
JADA (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Doug Roland
PRODS: Doug Roland, Michelle Luchese
CAST: Kaycie Bowens, JaCoby Breaux, Tanya Alexander, Doug Roland
SYNOPSIS: Jada is 7 years old. Jada lives alone on Venice Beach. By following her through a day in her life, the story of who she is, why she is there, and the identity of the man who has come looking for her unfolds.
MONSTERS (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Steve Desmond
WRITERS: Steve Desmond, Michael Sherman
PRODS: Michael Sherman, Aaron Billet, Ryan Lewis, Joe Russo, JR Arinaga, Jason Michael Berman, Steve Desmond, Heather Parra
CAST: Caitlin Carmichael, Ione Skye, Christopher Wiehl, Joey Luthman
SYNOPSIS: Jenn lives in an underground bunker with her family, protected from the monsters that now ravage the world. This is the day that she goes outside…
MONTY AND THE RUNAWAY FURNACE (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Joe Taranto
WRITERS: Joe Taranto, Amanda Stienhoff
PRODS: Vinnie Taranto, Reece Snyder, Tom Leach
CAST: Charlie Dierkop, Erik Passoja, Marissa Tait, Biff Wiff
SYNOPSIS: A kind, old maintenance man is in love with the furnace that powers the factory he works at because he thinks it’s his deceased wife and he has to save it from the new owner who wants everything replaced especially the furnace that reminds him of the previous owner, his dead father.
MOVE ME (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Gabe Crate
PRODS: Kerri Parker, John Salcido
CAST: Catherine Parker, Danny Jacobs, Aidan Bristow, Caroline Macey
SYNOPSIS: While hiking in a forest, a couple finds an inexplicably immobile stranger with an antique plaque chained around his neck that reads “Human Contact Moves Me.” Upon touching him they discover that he is only able to move while in physical contact with another person. Though initially skeptical, the couple accepts him into their lives, soon realizing that they may have found him for a reason.
MURMUR (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Aurora Fearnley
WRITER: Simon James Cookson
PRODS: Jude Goldrei, Maria Forsstrom, Sophie Reynolds
CAST: Lucy Russell, Olivia Morgan, Andrew Squires
SYNOPSIS: A young woman makes a dawn escape from a commune she has grown to distrust.
NEXT STOP (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Charlie Hamilton
PRODS: Charlie Hamilton, Karl Janisse, Jahte Le
CAST: Matt Murray, Tommy James Murphy, Alanna Bale, Serje Basi, Steven Love
SYNOPSIS: After trying a new hybrid strain of weed that combines 2 powerful sativa’s, James is transported into another dimension where nothing he knows makes sense. After befriending a young woman eager to help him, he’s thrust into a situation where he must protect her from her dangerous boyfriend while trying to figure out how to get back home.
POP (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Karen McPherson
PRODS: Karen McPherson, Bronny L
CAST: Simon Conlon, Briar Seyb-Hayden
SYNOPSIS: “POP” follows the misadventures of Bruno the clown who has lost his mojo and lust for entertaining. Bruno performs a dismal show at a child’s birthday party. Feeling burdened by his failing career, he begins to lose sight of the fun that is meant to encapsulate his work. However, when a visit to the hospital emergency room taints his already mundane life, a serendipitous new light is shone on his profession, revealing the positivity that performance can give to the world.
SELFIE (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTORS/PRODS: Michael Winokur, Iana Simeonov
WRITERS: Michael Winokur
CAST: Megan Brotherton
SYNOPSIS: A casual text from her boyfriend brings a woman to her knees. Selfie–it’s not as easy as you think.
SAMT (SILENCE) (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Chadi Aoun
PRODS: Chadi Aoun, Afac
SYNOPSIS: Silence is the only sound in the city of Ghabra. Any form of expression is met by death.SAMT is the introduction to a dysfunctional society that is about to implode.
SNAKE BITE (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Tim Hyten
WRITERS: Tim Hyten, Nick Sherman
PRODS: Tim Hyten, Hunter Hampton, Macgregor, Nick Sherman, Sara Chesney
CAST: Andrew Fox, Luke Darga, Holden Goyette, Gabe White
SYNOPSIS: Out for backwoods adventure, four boys find their friendship tested when one is bitten by a snake. But which is more dangerous – the notoriously fast-working venom of the Black Widowmaker, or the extreme measures they hope will save him?
(WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Derek J. Pastuszek
PRODS: Cedric Gamelin, Fabrizio Muscia, Halee Bernard
CAST: Kofi Bamfo
SYNOPSIS: DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
INMATE IDENTIFICATION
Facility: STATE SUPERMAX.
Location: SEGREGATED HOUSING UNIT (SOLITARY CONFINEMENT).
Inmate/Cell No.: SHU-#B1-67.
Sex: M.
H/W: 6′ / 170.
Race: BLK.
Category: SECURITY LVL 3 (HIGH THREAT).
SOME GIRLS’ MOTHERS (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTORS: Dayla Kennedy & Colin Kennedy
WRITER: Dayla Kennedy
PRODS: Brooklyn Reynolds Gross, Dayla Kennedy, Colin Kennedy, Jefferis Gray
CAST: Georgie Grieve, Stacy Cunningham, Skye Popov
SYNOPSIS: Ten-year-old Grace, a budding musician, and new wave fan, spends every afternoon at a friend’s house supposedly practicing piano, but secretly borrowing ‘80s records from the mother’s collection. When the mom returns home early one day, Grace senses a kindred spirit but wonders if she should come clean about her thieving.
SPACE FOR RENT (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Henrik Sundgren
WRITERS: Michael Govier, L.J. Johnson
PRODS: Stephen Kovalcik, Rebekah Sindoris, Michael Govier, L.J. Johnson
CAST: Michael Govier, L.J. Johnson
SYNOPSIS: Space For Rent is a sweet comedy about a woman who finds a man living in her closet.
TATTOO YOU (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: S.R. Bindler
WRITER: Lisa Kenner Grissom
PRODS: Noam Dromi, Lisa Kenner Grissom
CAST: Jenica Bergere, Christina Kirk
SYNOPSIS: Tattoo You tells the story of two women from the same town, yet with very different backgrounds, who re-connect in the bathroom at their 20th high school reunion. Their troubled past breaks the cool veneer of the present. Some scars don’t fade away.
TEAR JERKER (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Amy Adler
WRITER: Sam Joans
PRODS: Anna Margarita Albelo
CAST: Sam Joans, Florence C. M. Klein, Pamela Mitchell, Akende Munalula, Lex Vaughn
SYNOPSIS: Elliot can’t cry and he needs to. He’s recently been dumped by his ex-girlfriend, who has decided she wants to exclusively date “real” men. His mother is descending deeper and deeper into the progression of her Alzheimer’s disease. And the testosterone he takes regularly seems to have made his body forget how to grieve. “Tear Jerker” is a portrait of a transgender guy faced with difficult life circumstances trying to find new ways to express old and familiar feelings.
TREND (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Wu, “BruteSea” Hao-Wei
PRODS: Caster Wang, ChiaHsin Lin
CAST: Cleo Chien, Jia Bo Zhong
SYNOPSIS: “Have you been under surveillance constantly?” In the Great Digital Era as of 2015, the mobile device, which digitizes every possible dimension of human behavior through a firmware that far surpasses the utmost capacity human intellect can carry, has formed an unstoppable trend to take over the world. Despite the smartphone is encroaching the human brain in an irreversible manner, the Mankind stays “phubbing” like an overdosed addict that could not help but keep feeding never-ending data, until the genesis of new species. Yet, far before that, unprecedentedly, the nomophobia has worsened the deviation of human behavior.
TWINSBURG (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Joe Garrity
PRODS: Kate Charlotte Hodges, Kyle Parker
CAST: Joe Garrity, Phil Garrity, Kate Charlotte Hodges, Tess Hodges
SYNOPSIS: In a Midwestern town founded by identical brothers, thousands convene for the world’s largest gathering of twins. Jerry, sentimental about his fading twin identity, reunites with his reluctant brother Paul for a weekend of revelry and reconnection. At turns playful and painful, their childhood tradition strains to find a place in their newly changing lives.
WHEN A FLAME STANDS STILL (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Michael Mike Canon
PRODS: Randy Kulina, Zack Meyer, Cynthia Manzo, Michael Mike Canon
CAST: Adam Tsekhman, Addi Gefen, Anita Borcia
SYNOPSIS: While anti-Semitism is on the rise in Nazi Germany, a young couple takes on a cultural practice that prohibits them from making physical contact . . . and as they yearn for each other’s touch, they express their love in ways they could never have imagined
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS PROGRAM
KIM MADRID (US PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Brian Petillo
CAST: Kim Madrid
SYNOPSIS: A slice of life of US Majors Formula Vee racer Kim Madrid as she tests her speed at Buttonwillow Raceway.
NOATAK: Return to the Arctic (LOS ANGELES PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Jason Fitzpatrick, Jen Serena, Ric Serena
PRODS: Jason Fitzpatrick, Jen Serena, Ric Serena, Durand Trench
CAST: Jim Slinger, Andrew Taylor
SYNOPSIS: 35 years after their first visit to the Noatak River in Alaska’s wild and spectacular Brooks Range, two adventurers in their seventies reflect on a lifetime of outdoor experiences and what still awaits them.
RETURN TO ZANSKAR (NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE)
WRITER: Bryan Liptzin
DIRECTOR: Daniel Bull
PRODS: Bryan Liptzin, Daniel Bull
CAST: Bryan Liptzin
SYNOPSIS: 30 years after their first visit, two American college friends return to an ancient Buddhist monastery high in the Himalayas to reconnect with their past and witness a culture being dragged into the modern world as the first ever road to the monastery nears completion.
STEAM DREAM (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Mischa Cantú
PRODS: Grazyna Kolondra, Jacob Eben
CAST: Derek Passmore, Ave Rose, Eiraina Schmolesky, Nathan Seekerman, Will Blagg, Jason Anderson
SYNOPSIS: Join a Plague Doctor’s journey through the world, aesthetic and people of STEAMPUNK: The present re-imagined through the lens of a Victorian, fantasy past.
FUSION SHORTS PROGRAM
64 SURRENDER (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Christopher Lee Raby
WRITER: Andrew Hansen
PRODS: Andrew Hansen, Christopher Lee Raby
CAST: Andrew Hansen, Lyndsay Hailey
SYNOPSIS: A by-the-book detective must choose between duty and love as he arrives to arrest his prime suspect.
A COMEDY: A COMEDY INVISIBLE MAN (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Weiyang Li
PRODS: Mengfang Yang
CAST: Greg Lucey, Carolina Monte Rosa, David Donah, Paul Rivet
SYNOPSIS: A comedian commits suicide, on the stage, during a play.
ALTERNATE (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Conor Holt
CAST: Al Odden
SYNOPSIS: After a long day of reality, Philip wants to surf through some alternatives.
BLIND HATE (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Paul J. Meredith
PRODS: Roxanna Kaye, Adam Finley
CAST: Kailena Mai, Doug Mattingly
SYNOPSIS: Blind Hate has not previously been screened in public, but we had one private screening for the cast, crew and friends in January of 2016.
BRUCE AT THE DOOR (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Jeff Lorch
PRODS: Jeff Lorch, Jacques Lorch
CAST: Jeff Lorch, Victor Trevino
SYNOPSIS: A strange knock at the door leads Yves to an unexpected philosophical debate about relationships. At least, he thinks it does.
CANDY APPLE (World Premiere)
WRITER/DIR: Lauren Schacher
PRODS: Nico Raineau, Kristen Murtha, Lauren Schacher
CAST: Haley Lauren, Lauren Schacher, Michael Segovia
SYNOPSIS: In this short comedy, a young girl does whatever it takes to get inside a women’s clinic that she knows provides free condoms but her reason isn’t what you’d expect.
DEAR HARLEY (United States Premiere)
DIRECTORS: Kerim Duran, Victoria Van Winkle
DIRECTORS: Victoria Van Winkle
PRODS: Kerim Duran, Victoria Van Winkle, Brian Thomas Evans, Josh Kelling
CAST: Victoria Van Winkle
SYNOPSIS: In the wake of her best friend’s suicide, a young woman recounts the grief she’s experienced over the past year. She too has considered suicide, and struggles with the belief that because of the similarities between herself and her friend, she might also give up on this life.
THE FAWN RESPONSE (CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Wynter Rhys
PRODS: Jeremiah Kaynor , Wynter Rhys, Garrett Devin Meyers
CAST: Hans Luther, Dan Crisafulli, Kay Whitney
SYNOPSIS: Two serial killers meet over coffee when they realize they’ve targeted the same victim.
HEAD SPACE (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Emma Huibregtse
PRODS: Ben Kadie
CAST: Brayden Ferrell, Kelly Vint Castro, Adam Huber
SYNOPSIS: A single mother concerned with her son’s inability to cope, sees the tables turn when faced with danger.
(I DROUGHT IT)
WRITER/DIR: Anthony Sherritt
PRODS: Eva-Marie Fredric, Anthony Sherritt
CAST: Eve Sigall, Chris Bonanno, PeterPaul Shaker, Kristen Hansen, Adrian Caldwell
SYNOPSIS: Drought conditions have worsened to the point where there is not enough water to go around, causing some to start asking, “Would you kill for it?”
ICEBOX (CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Daniel Sawka
PRODS: Camille Cornuel
CAST: Anthony Gonzales, José Alvarez, Lane Garrison
SYNOPSIS: Fleeing gang violence, a young boy from Honduras is arrested crossing the US border and sent to an immigrant detention facility. Trapped inside the “Icebox” and faced with a rigid immigration process, he struggles to gain control of his fate.
KILLER FRIENDS (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTORS: Zach Noe Towers, Tina Carbone
WRITER: Zach Noe Towers
PRODS: Zach Noe Towers, Tina Carbone, Jenna-Lee Carreiro
CAST: Jenna-Lee Carreiro, Dave Racki, Peggy Sinnott, Zach Noe Towers
SYNOPSIS: Four friends go on a camping trip that one won’t be coming back from alive…
KISS AND TELL (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Clinton Cornwell
CAST: Elizabeth Hirsch-Tauber, Andrew Jacobsen
SYNOPSIS: Drew likes Liz. Liz likes Drew. But when Drew asks to kiss Liz for the first time, she is totally turned off. In the awkward moments after, Liz and Drew try to salvage the night, but sometimes feelings aren’t as simple as we assumed.
OH EM GEE
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Chase
WRITERS: Jonathan Chase, Shay Greenfield
PRODS: Jonathan Chase, Shay Greenfield, Kelby Joseph
CAST: Camille Mana, Libby Ewing, Jonathan Chase
SYNOPSIS: In a social environment, Deborah is plugged into a social app.
Disconnected from her real life surroundings, she is joined by God.
They share a drink and God shares some insight about living without her phone.
It takes this divine presence to help Deb realize that life exists offline.
Technology has its benefits, but humanity is the most powerful tool of all.
OVERAGAIN (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
DIRECTO: Marc Pannia
WRITERS/PRODS: Marc Pannia, Lilianna Wilde
CAST: Riley Dandy, Sam Krumrine
SYNOPSIS: Sam circles back to memories as his relationship falls apart. While living in the past, will he miss what’s right in front of him?
THE PROPOSED (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Joe Gonzales
WRITERS: Joe Gonzales, Bradford N. Smith
PRODS: Mickey Casab, Eric Womack, Katey Rachel Casab, Joe Gonzales, Bradford N. Smith, Ben Boles, Aaron Marciniak
CAST: Mickey Casab, Sarah-Jane Dalby, Danielle Dutton, Thomas Ochoa, Jeff Snodgrass
SYNOPSIS: A romantic picnic for two isn’t enough to save Peter when his “special spot” turns out to be a popular destination for others with similar intentions.
THE RETURN (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Matthew Szewczyk
PRODS: Chelsea Fenton
CAST: Aina Dumlao, Godfrey Moye, Seli Marset
SYNOPSIS: The story of Ligaya is a composite, based on actual events, of an immigrant who was sold into servitude and now lives with her captors in an upper-class neighborhood in Orange County, California. Her captors force her to live out a warped version of the American dream that, after years of enslavement, abuse, and forced servitude, become too much for her to withstand anymore. “The Return” is the story of a woman seeking to find either solace in her oppressive reality or the strength to attempt a desperate return to freedom.
ROXY AND HANNA DO LAUNDRY (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Parish Rahbar
WRITER: Tara Moini
PRODS: Tara Moini, Joseph Crilly
CAST: Tara Moini, Sana Sepehri, Joseph Crilly
SYNOPSIS: Laundry day. 2 women, 3 machines, 4 loads, and loads of laughs!
THE SHVITZING (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Max Rissman
PRODS: Max Rissman, Adel Morales, Donna Conforti, Paul Rissman
CAST: Alex Carmine, Cali Elizabeth Moore, Marietta LaFarge, George Peck, Addie Brie Hays
SYNOPSIS: When David takes his girlfriend Amy to his family lake house for a romantic getaway weekend, he is haunted by the ghosts of his overbearing parents who can’t stand Amy and want to break them up.
SOMETHING GOOD (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: David Gantz
WRITERS: Alena Henke
PRODS: Ben Mullen, Alena Henke
CAST: Alena Henke, Samson Kohanski, Annie Hamilton, Rob Atchinson
SYNOPSIS: Something Good is a story of youth, lost love, and how our darkest days can be the start of new beginnings. We follow a day in the life of Olivia, a singer-songwriter who looses sight of her basic well-being in pursuit of writing a song. It’s intended to cast light on the hypercritical behavior of young female artists and the pressure they put on themselves in order to feel enough.
SPECIAL FORCES (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Phil Bucci
WRITERS: Phil Bucci, Marcus Perry
PRODS: Brooke Dooley
CAST: Mort Burke, Tania Gunadi, Mircea Monroe
SYNOPSIS: With super villainy spinning out of control the world has been forced to turn to the vigilantes they once feared in an effort to restore balance, creating a revolution in law enforcement ‘SPECIAL FORCES’. Now, mortals and meta-humans must put aside their prejudices and unite… before humanity pays the ultimate price. But because life has a strange sense of humor, some of the “super” cops really aren’t all that super.
TRIAL (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Julian Carvalho
CAST: Wade Baker, Andrew Fognani
SYNOPSIS: In the not too distant future, a man wakes up in an isolated house in the middle of nowhere. Everything is provided for him, but he is under constant surveillance.
WATCH THIS (CALIFORNIA PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Richard Turke
PRODS: Nathan Allan Bunker
CAST: Harrison Page, Leslie Thurston, Eboni Gentry, Shaun Clay, Donzaleigh Abernathy
SYNOPSIS: A retired bus driver, unable to mourn the loss of his wife, turns to his television for comfort. When the TV breaks, he is forced to look outside his closed world.
YOU CAN’T HEAR ME (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Case Barden
PRODS: Case Barden, Kieran Thompson, Shailen Majithia
CAST: Sarah Sawyer, Nick Warnock, Angela Gulner, Jeremy Andorfer, Kelsey Milano, Kerry Barker
SYNOPSIS: Jane becomes invisible to the world so she tries to get its attention again at all cost. It’s the emotional journey of being ignored as a satire of how we communicate online in the 21st century.
DOWNBEAT PROGRAM
DEVIN KIRTZ “MY DAY” (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Eric McCoy
PRODS: Justus Meyer, Aaron Johnson, Kwasi Asare, Marley Waters
CAST: Sylvia Klebe, Devin Kirtz, Marley Waters
SYNOPSIS: 84-year-old Foxy Grammy lives life the only way she knows how: sippin’ champagne, throwin’ dice, and bouncin’ through the hood in her purple Continental.
GONNA PARTY (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Jeremiah Kaufman
WRITERS/PRODS: Jeremiah Kaufman, Norman Kaufman
CAST: Jeremiah Kaufman, Devin Dennis, LaDarius Thomas
SYNOPSIS: The trials of a Nerd trying to connect with a pretty girl at a night spot, and his alter-ego. Some Fun with Sci-Fi and Rock-and-Roll films of the 50’s and 60’s dedicated to the Nerd in each of us, wanting to go Big Time.
HANDS UP (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Cindy Baer
CAST: Scotty Dickert, Tegan Ashton Cohan, Ariel Belkin, Sonny Kennelly, Luis Briones
SYNOPSIS: The catchy song “Hands Up” was written by musician/actor Scotty Dickert for the feature “Odd Brodsky” which was honored to be a “Spotlight Screening” at the 2014 Dances With Films Festival. Performing with his band Reasons Be, singer Scotty Dickert (who plays the role of Spuds) is reunited with his female lead Tegan Ashton Cohan (who plays the role of Audrey). This fun music video about following your dreams features original footage and movie clips as well as extensive green screen effects that place the band into actual scenes of the original movie. www.OddBrodsky.com
HERE TODAY
WRITER/DIR: RJ Word
PRODS: RJ Word, Yazid Britt, Laura Lizer
CAST: RJ Word, Morgan Woodward, Stephanie Murone
SYNOPSIS: With his romance crumbling, RJ resorts to the supernatural to save it.
MY OLD FRIEND (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Nanea Miyata
PRODS: Caity Ware
CAST: Aden Schwartz, Elke Berry, Cyrus Alexander
SYNOPSIS: A young boy escapes his troubled home life by adventuring through an imaginary forest.
NIGHTSHADES: MARY ANN (WORLD PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR/PROD: Erik Christopher Lopez
CAST: Aaron Johnston, Gabriel Gordon, Jonathan Levy
SYNOPSIS: Follow up music video for New York City band Nightshades – made up of Gabriel Gordon (Natalie Merchant’s Band), Aaron Johnston (Brazilian Girls) and Jonathan Levy (Izabo). This video was shot at Nublu in the East Village.
RUNNING (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
WRITER/DIR: Lauren Adams
PRODS: Chance Pinnell
CAST: Ashley Robicheaux & Matt Luck
SYNOPSIS: “In this short, director and choreographer Lauren Adams’ somatically explores the complex language of relationships. Through felt expressions of sensuality, compassion, and reckless desire, we are offered a startling glimpse of how we, as humans, engage” –Bruce Scott
THE BREAKOUT: A ROCK OPERA (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Jenn Page
WRITER: Chris Edgar
PRODS: David A. Hoffman
CAST: Andre Darnell Myers, Emma Farabee, Nathan Harrington, Tara Bianco, James Hansen, Geno Segers, Leah McKendrick
SYNOPSIS: A high school nerd, with the help of some misfits, goes on a daring mission to rescue the girl he loves from a mental hospital. Yeah, and it’s a musical.
WALLS (WEST COAST PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR/PROD: Min Reid
WRITER: JR Richards
CAST: JR Richards
SYNOPSIS: Deeply touched by the loss of his father, JR Richards (original frontman Singer / Songwriter for the #1 American Alternative Rock band ‘Dishwalla’) wrote WALLS drawing from life’s lessons and memories of conversations with his dad. Director Min Reid saw the music video evolve from inner turmoil and frustration to a lighter place of being, but kept the film edgy and pensive throughout. German Director of Photography, Marco Schott, keeps the cinematography emotive and dark.
WEST SIDE SWORDY (WORLD PREMIERE)
DIRECTOR: Dan Liu
WRITER/PROD: McKary Stewart
CAST: McKay Stewart, Saige Walker, Jason Brillantes, Josh Brodis, Jaimie Bess, Harrison Bliss, Jefferson Cox, Samuel J. Paul, Hanna Lee Sakakibara, Makahla Ross, Andre Van Driessche
SYNOPSIS: The “Jets” chase the “Sharks” through an alleyway and up over a tall fence, when suddenly they find themselves in another world, magically transported into an abandoned warehouse. Where they are controlled by the electronic beat of world-renowned disc jockey, Deadmau5. This is an LA West Side Story.
WOLFSIDE – DREAMGIRL
WRITER/DIR: Brendan Leahy
PRODS: George Pitsilos, Savannah Cannistraro
CAST: Valerie Paykov, Jackelyn Normand, James Sisto, Donovan Jamir Simon
SYNOPSIS: Vignettes of three individuals trying to grab hold of their ever-fleeting desires.
