BEAUTIFUL DISASTERS, 14min., USA

Directed by Trisha Lynn Furhman

Of all people exotic dancers understand money can’t buy happiness. So where does it come from? This question sets Robin on a personal journey that takes her deep inside her desires and across the country; encountering hurricanes and personal loss of people she thought were just clients and coworkers. These events cause her to accept some hard truths not only about herself, but also about her industry.

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

This story needed to be told to help remove the stigma from exotic dancing. Not everyone who dances is doing it as a side hustle to prostitution or to scam men out of thousands of dollars. We are performers in every sense of the word; we are here to entertain people in our magical world where problems and inhibitions are left at the door. Strippers are perfectly capable sales professionals who capitalize on gender roles while exploiting society’s natural appetite for the female body and attention. Because of our job we are comfortable with nakedness and naturally shy away from honesty for the safety of ourselves and our families. This is out of the norm and incredibly intriguing to the outsiders, therefore my goal was to bring in outsiders and help them understand exotic dancers because I feel that if we all just took the time to listen to one another we would be able to grow closer and stronger.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

I started pre-production in May of 2020 and finished post-production June of 2025; 5 years and 1 month.

How would you describe your film in two words!?

Unhinged….Raw

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

I might be my biggest obstacle. Being a post production crew of 1 there was no one to be accountable to, no one was waiting on me to finish my part so they could do theirs. No investors asking for an update or pressuring me to provide a return on their investment. There was just me and the commitment I made to myself that everyday I’d do something to progress my film forward, one step everyday toward my goal.

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Nothing Sticks, 1min., Netherlands
Directed by Roze Elisa, Kuba Szutkowski

What motivated you to make this film?

I wanted to make something funny that we can all relate to – awkward dates and missed opportunities. I signed up for a 1-min film challenge, got selected and developed the awkward dance between the two along the way.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to
make this film?

About 2 months. The actual sourcing a crew, filming, editing and making it ready only took a month.

How would you describe your film in two words!?

Missed opportunity

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Getting the perfect crew in the timeline we had: a month. I wanted this to be as good as it could be, and we all know that the crew makes the movie. I ended up with incredible people, and I am very grateful.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking
about your film in the feedback video?

So fun!! Really glad to hear the words “relatable” and “funny”. That was actually what we wanted and seeing that people can relate is a blessing and a curse (we all want you to have good dates!).

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Come the Nightfall, 23min,. USA
Directed by Tom Michaels
A wealthy licentious offers a lift to a beautiful femme fatale in the middle of a deserted road with a shocking aftermath.

http://www.orzelfilms.com/

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My project, “Pieces of Me”, is a self-reflection of my emotional journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance. There are always moments in life where we feel confident we can complete something, but then encounter an obstacle and feel self-doubt. Eventually, we accept the weaknesses in ourselves, overcome the obstacle and gain confidence again.

What motivated you to make this film?
Coming from a medical background, it took a tremendous amount of effort to transition into the design and animation field. There were many moments when I struggled to keep up with other artists and questioned
whether I belonged in this industry. That emotional vulnerability during periods of transition is what inspired the film. It became a way for me to express how self-identity can shift, break, and ultimately reform through
personal experiences—showing that every struggle contributed to shaping me into the stronger person I am today.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Took me quite some time! I illustrated and animated the textures, and this part of the process required the most effort. Overall, the film took about three months to complete.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I guess the biggest challenge was figuring out the transitions. I designed each frame individually based on the script, so connecting them in a way that felt coherent and emotionally fluid was difficult. I ran into
several technical hurdles when animating, which added to the complexity.

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Cats Cradle is inspired by the Greek myth Ariadne and her journey from Crete to Naxos. Like The Fates, she is associated with the symbol of the thread, which she uses to help Theseus kill the Minotaur. Central to Ariadne’s story is her deification, her transcendence from mortal to divine through a union with Dionysus. By revisiting this ancient myth, Cats Cradle invites viewers to reflect on how they navigate their own inner labyrinths of identity and transformation.

https://www.instagram.com/allysonglennart/

https://www.facebook.com/allyson.glenn.1/

What motivated you to make this film?

I was preparing for a solo art exhibition called Date with Hermes: Journeying between Dreams and Reality for the Vorres Museum in Greece (2024). The curator, Dr. Katerina Pizania, suggested I create an animation to connect the Greek myth themes. While the show focused on large-scale paintings and works on paper, the film became a companion piece to my series on Ariadne and Dionysus.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

I only had two months to develop the animation for the first exhibition, so the first version was more of an “outline.”Completing the film took a year and a half.

How would you describe your film in two words!?

Intense!

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Time! As a full-time Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, I worked on the animation during weekends with invaluable help from students and alumni.

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Film Synopsis: After serving time in prison for a crime that shattered her family, a mother returns to reconnect with her estranged daughter for the first time in fifteen years, only to realize that her daughter is on the verge of moving overseas to start her own family.

Project Links

•  Instagram

1. What motivated you to make this film?

It initially started with me, wanting to challenge myself to craft a short film with emotional depth and compelling characters. As a director, I am always interested in exploring relationships on-screen in unconventional settings. I also had almost nothing to show for my work before that other than a short 3-minute scene I directed during COVID, so I was eager to prove myself. After brainstorming, I became interested in exploring the theme of forgiveness and the relationship between a mother and a daughter. As the script developed, I felt a deep connection to the story, and that further pushed me to make the film.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

The screenplay itself took me almost 10 months to write and re-write. The pre-production and production were about 6 months due to so many scheduling conflicts, and post-production for about 6 months. So almost two years! 

NAFKOT - YEARNING, 70min., Israel, Documentary
Directed by Malka Shabtay
An Israeli Anthropologist traveling throughout Amazonia to meet the descendants of the Moroccan Jews who immigrated to this region since 1810. Together they are sharing their unique story of resilience and persistence in this special part of the world, as well as their daily lives and their deep feelings towards their Jewish origins, which sometimes still exist only in their hearts.

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

I worked with the community two years before we did the film. i did my research to understand their story..and after two years they were ready to share their story with the world.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Since we started the shooting until completing it took very intensive two years.

How would you describe your film in two words!?

Life mission

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest obstacle is to do a film with a hidden community, oppressed and full of fear. to get their trust and collaboration and belief that the film will help in their struggle.

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Director Statement on HANDYMAN

Handyman was born from a reflection on what it means to help others and still feel misunderstood. It’s a film about strength, not the kind that dominates, but the kind that endures and gives. Children play a central role in that vision; they see people as they are, without judgment, and remind us what empathy really means. At its heart, Handyman is about the passing of the torch, the moment when resilience becomes legacy, and when care becomes connection.

https://www.instagram.com/thomas_faccini_/

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Turmoil – Chapter One, 6min., Lebanon
Directed by Sary Andre El Asmar
A young woman lives between two worlds: Europe, where she’s built a life, and Lebanon, the home she can’t stop longing for. Torn between memory and desire, she drifts back and forth, riding the emotional rollercoaster of exile, identity, and belonging.

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

What motivated me to make this film was the complex feeling of belonging and displacement that many Lebanese expats carry. I started filming randomly with no clear plan.
When my friend, who lives in Germany, came back to Lebanon we spent many days together, and after that i began to sense the constant push and pull, the urge to return to her home but at the same time the desire to leave again. For me home is where your roots are, but it’s also where safety feels uncertain. The film became a reflection of living between two places, two lives, and two versions of what “home” means.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Well actually, I have been shooting randomly for about 1 year and a half. I am a sea lover and mountain lover. So I used to shoot randomly every time I went out. But the idea of putting those shots into the final product took me like 3 months.

How would you describe your film in two words!?
Wandering Roots

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Emotional breakdowns

There are 5 Stages of Filmmaking: 1) Development. 2) Pre-Production. 3) Production. 4) Post-Production. 5) Distribution.
What is your favorite stage of the process and why?
4) Post-Production because this process is where the real story telling happens , where I can put all my emotions and meanings to start to take shape.

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Lana Tong, a tour guide who migrated to Hong Kong less than a decade ago, guides audiences through a post-pandemic Hong Kong undergoing rapid shifts in its political and socio-cultural landscape. Her journey is disrupted by two disembodied voices—native narrators steeped in Hong Kong’s 80s to 00s ethos. Offering corrections rooted in a native perspective and drawing from their upbringing in Hong Kong’s 80s to 00s milieu, they recount the city’s geography and the values of freedom championed by earlier generations, paradoxically steering Lana to rediscover the city through their lens. Amid the tides of time, questions arise: Can a city’s soul survive relentless tides of change? Will its people cling to inherited ideals, flee, or forge new meaning from the fragments?

What motivated you to make this film? 

This film was born out of a need to hold onto fleeting moments in Hong Kong, moments that felt especially fragile during the severe pandemic and political upheaval of 2021. Homebound with my partner, we found ourselves reminiscing about childhood and quietly mourning how the stories that shaped us seemed to be dissolving, not only through the passage of time, but also because of the shifting political landscape in Hong Kong. In response, I began filming the city’s landscape and eventually created this short film. 

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? 

The script and dialogue were written at the very beginning, but the images were filmed gradually over four years—from the lockdown to the reopening of the city. I wandered with a handheld camera and sound recorder, capturing fragments of memory from crowded streets to the city’s border, trying to sketch a map of change through rapidly shifting visuals and evolving soundscapes. 

How would you describe your film in two words!? 

Questioning identity. 

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? 

 The biggest difficulty lies in the relevance of the content over time. Since the text was written four years ago, some of the topics became outdated during production. I even considered amending or removing those parts. Interestingly, some of these outdated issues have now become cross-generational matters, so I decided to keep the original script. 

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Conversation with Abigail Espinal about her winning short screenplay MANTEL, and her winning film from the Under 5 Minute Festival, QUEER STUDY.

Queer Study, 4min., USA

A hopeless romantic tries to figure out if her best friend is gay in the worst ways possible.

https://www.instagram.com/abigailespinal1/

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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35q4I1NZss

When an unnamed virus begins to kill off human males, a family takes refuge on a sailboat in hopes they can escape the virus.

Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?

This story, like all of the stories I seem to write, is about my daily agony knowing one day I will have to say goodbye to my only Son, and figuring out how to make the most of the little things in life that bond us and my family.

The story itself is about an unnamed, new virus that is causing a mass die-off of human males. A father takes his wife and young daughter to his own father’s sailboat on the Atlantic Ocean to try and evade the virus.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Drama.

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

If I can pull this film off, it has the potential to be visually stunning, relying on the simplicity of a sailboat, human drama, moments of levity, grief, and elation. My attached actors, the stellar and criminally underutilized John Conway and a fantastic tiny powerhouse of an actress, Mila Rose, have the ability to push you far into the reaches of emotion. I am looking forward to working with a very intriguing, talented actor, Heidi Danea Crane who is also signed on.

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In a near-future world ravaged by the memory-wiping virus X9, brilliant young scientist Andrea Santiago discovers a suppressed cure hidden by the powerful Biotech Pharmaceuticals. Having once been recruited into the system she now seeks to dismantle, Andrea grapples with betrayal, moral compromise, and the overwhelming cost of truth.

https://www.instagram.com/sarantosmelogia

Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?
X9 explores what happens when the boundaries between human emotion and artificial intelligence blur. It's a sci-fi thriller wrapped around a deeply human question: what defines love, loyalty, and consciousness when technology begins to feel? Beneath the futuristic setting lies a story about redemption, sacrifice, and the fragile line between creator and creation.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?
It's primarily a sci-fi thriller with strong psychological and emotional drama elements. Think Ex Machina meets Blade Runner 2049, but with the emotional core of Her.

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Because X9 reflects where we are right now — standing at the crossroads of ethics, emotion, and evolution. It's a visual and emotional experience that invites audiences to question their relationship with technology and each other. It's thrilling, thought-provoking, and cinematic in a way that blends spectacle with soul.

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Watch the best scene reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttk712qLnB0

When a bitter nobody becomes convinced that Tom Hanks is the cosmic reason his life sucks, he drags a new friend on a chaotic cross-country mission to confront destiny-and maybe punch America’s dad in the face.

Conversation with Evan Neill on screenwriting, and the art of storytelling.

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Conversation with Co-Director/Co-Writer of the multiple award winning film “Memoria Obscura”, David Christopher Nelson, on the making of the film and filmmaking in general.

Synopsis of film: In a world where memory erasure is a legitimate industry, the underground black market known as Memoria Obscura serves as a hub for stolen and repurposed memories.

David Christopher Nelson is an award-winning filmmaker whose talents are as diverse as his projects. A native of Los Angeles, David has been working independently since 2015, shaping himself into a well-versed visual storyteller with a passion for editing, cinematography, and directing. He strives to bring each story to life with cinematic depth and emotional clarity.

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An actor faces the dilemma of going back to her roots in Austria in pursuit of her vocation and belonging or staying in the UK for love. ‘To be or not to be’ is the question within the question: 'Is love as important as belonging?'

https://www.instagram.com/alinejewell/

Conversation with director/actor Aline Jewell. Star Katarina Gerlich and co-star Alex Crockford.

Director Statement

With CHOICES, I delve into a character-driven story that explores the themes of belonging, language, love, identity, and self-assurance.
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An insecure Korean-American woman struggles with old resentments against her beautiful best friend, exposing the impossible beauty standards that caused them.

https://www.instagram.com/iwishiwere_pretty/

Conversation with actor/director Hanah Chang & Producer Quand C. Robinson

Director Statement

I Wish I Were Pretty is not just the title, but also a phrase I have constantly thought since I was old enough to understand that with beauty comes power. Many of the elements included in this story are inspired by my personal experiences. One of my constants while growing up was hearing my mother say to me that I would be prettier if I had “ssanggeopul” (double eyelids). I will never forget the drunk customer from my bartending days who asked me to bring him a pretty server. And more recently, when my father saw a K-Pop music video and asked if that is the kind of thing I want to do, his then-girlfriend said “that is for the young and beautiful.” These experiences were painful, and I wanted to redeem them by turning them into part of my art.

The struggle to feel that we are enough is felt across all genders. As I was revising the script, I sent it to a family friend in the film industry in Korea, only to find out he had just recently undergone plastic surgery. I both hate that he felt that he had to make that choice and understand it. After all, I can understand how much emotional turmoil he had to suffer for him to decide to permanently alter his physical appearance.

Because I know how important representation is both in front of and behind the camera, I hope this film will be inspiring specifically for folks who work in the industry. I am so proud to state that I made this film with a crew of mostly womxn/people of color from beginning to end!

For these reasons and more, I believe this film will be impactful, influential, and monumental. There are already many Korean dramas and movies about beauty standards, but the story typically begins after the protagonist undergoes plastic surgery. My intention with ‘I Wish I Were Pretty’ is never to judge anyone who chooses that, but to provide a fresh take and a different way to deal with what we have internalized. And my hope is that we will learn to be kinder to and more accepting of ourselves as we are.

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Director Locky Boaretto, Co-Writer Loki Acciarito, & Actor Tom Simpson join the podcast to talk about their “Jumping at Shadows” series.

In a world secretly at war with an ancient alien race, a teenage girl discovers a crash landed alien, and uncovers shocking truths about her estranged father… After teaming up with a pair of rebel brothers, she uncovers a galaxy-wide conspiracy and an impending alien invasion. When one of the brothers is captured, the team must risk everything to rescue him from the alien mothership before it can begin its invasion of Earth. Amidst explosive battles and impossible odds, she must face her family’s dark past and rewrite their legacy in order to save the future.

https://www.instagram.com/lochnesslegendsproductions/

http://www.youtube.com/@lochnesslegends

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Terrific conversation with screenwriter/actress Bella Martinez, chatting about her multiple award winning film “Once More, Like Rain Man”.

Beautifully directed by Sue Ann Pien, and also starring Matt Jones & Joe Mantegna.

Synopsis: ‘It’s up to you to make a future that has you in it…’ We follow Zoe (Martinez) and her dad, Gerry (Jones) in a ‘day in the life’ of an autistic actress running the gambit of stereotypes she has to deal with - and her dad’s battle in supporting her forging that path for herself - in a funny, frustrating, painful and sometimes triumphantly sarcastic kind of way.

https://www.instagram.com/omlrmovie

http://www.omlrmovie.com/

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Watch the best scene reading: https://youtu.be/anulab1E4xw

Three interconnected teams - firefighters, police officers, and 911 dispatchers - face relentless emergenies in Indianapolis, balancing personal struggles with the split-second decisions that determine life or death.

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