THE BEF, 9min., USA
Directed by Eric Burleson
While being pursued by a police officer, a young boy struggles with his decisions for the baby in his care and how to help his sick mother.

https://instagram.com/burlesoneric

Get to know the filmmaker:

The motivation for the bef started because I wanted to do one more short film on the east coast before I moved to Los Angeles. Time was definitely not on our side. I had planned to do my cross country road trip at the end of July 2018 and it was May. Once the script was completed we hit the ground running on pre-production. Luckily when writing the script I already had the actors in mind for Sammy and Baby but I knew that if I could not get the families on board, then the film would not have happened. Thankfully, after talking with both sets of parents and children, they all were interested and agreed to be in the film. I had worked with Jacob Shapiro (Sammy) and Michael Harrington (Baby) before this so I knew they were the perfect choices. Jacob was the lead in a narrative music video I directed and Michael was in a commercial I directed earlier that year.

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SUNFLOWER NICKY, 19min,. USA
Directed by Clifton J. Adams
Eight year old Nicolas dreams of owning a Nikki doll, but when his dream becomes a reality it sends a shift through his home as his parents grapple with their beliefs of how their young son should express himself.

https://facebook.com/sunflowernickythefilm
https://twitter.com/sunflowernickythefilm
https://instagram.com/sunflowernickythefilm

Get to know the filmmaker:
This film started as a “coming of age” writing prompt for a competition I was planning on submitting to in early 2019. At that time there was a lot of vitriolic debate regarding a particular Oscar host situation. A lot of the debate centered around how young Black boys and Black girls (or just children in general) should express themselves in accordance to the binary society around them. And how emotional, mental and even physical abuse is seen as an appropriate way to adjust your child’s behavior should they choose to express themselves outside of that. A debate that consistently happens today and that has happened time and time again even before 2019. It is my opinion, that this control of expression is one of a child’s first experiences with trauma. And how this kind of trauma deeply impacts their growth and how they view and interact with themselves and others in the world around them. I wanted to show the importance of allowing a child, especially a Black child, to be free to fully be themselves because as Black fol(x) we often don’t have that freedom. Gender norms are destructive and placing them and sexuality on various hobbies, items and colors is a parasite on the human experience.

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NOTHING ELSE MATTERS, 22min., Documentary

Directed by Alexandra Nolen

In May of 2022 at just 34 years old, Patrick Behan, the head boys’ basketball coach at St. John's College High School in Washington DC, was diagnosed with ALS. He was given just a year to live. While adjusting to the diagnosis and the devastating effects that comes with it, basketball has become a form of medicine for Patrick, as he looks to win his first championship in the most competitive high school basketball league in the country.

Alexandra Nolen is an Emmy Award Winning director and producer within the Features Unit at ESPN. She joined the unit in 2020 after previously working for the Philadelphia 76ers and NFL Films. While at NFL Films, she won a National Sports Emmy for her work on HBO’s Hard Knocks. Most recently at ESPN, Alexandra won the Gracie Grand Award for Best Sports Feature and also Best Sports Feature for a TV Network by the National Association of Black Journalists.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THE WHEELCHAIR MAFIA, 15min., France
Directed by Michael Kay
A film covering what unfolded during thirty six hours at a dog shelter ninety minutes south of Bangkok.

https://www.instagram.com/mikeykayfilms

Get to know the filmmaker:

I stumbled across an IG story of TMTRD foundations showing the excitement of the dogs in Wheelchairs. After researching the organization, and discovering the brilliant work it did, and as a lover of dogs, I wanted to help shoot some film and photography content. It was serendipity, as I was also filming in Bangkok on a separate project. So I contacted the shelter and they invited me down on the weekend when I wasn’t filming the other project. I am a solo filmmaker so when I arrive on location, it gets busy very fast, especially as there was no time for any pre-production (pre-interviews etc). What unravelled over 36hrs at the shelter was tragic and inspirational and the same time. And the backstory of the main character, Chris, was mind-blowing. So the different sub arcs I captured during those 36hrs gave me the motivation to piece together a short film showcasing the shelter, the dogs, and the humans that work for them.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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UNTIED KNOTS, 5min., Cambodia, Romance
Directed by Claire Yland Li
A girl who constantly fantasizes about sexual intimacy and romantic encounter doesn’t know what to do when the opportunity actually comes.

Get to know the filmmaker:
This story starts as a story about summer and youth; two girls who are bored and decide to run away together, but when their parents call, they go home willingly. But then, as I was re-writing the script, I wanted to write something about loneliness and a need to connect. I’ve been a bit of a nihilistic and believe that nothing other than the connections you made matters in the end.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THE ALLIANCE, 60min,. USA, DOC
Directed by Amanda Jean Kowalski
During the Arctic winter an intrepid oceanographer attempts to collect rare climate data, but his greatest combatant isn’t the weather – it’s the Italian Navy.

http://thealliancefilm.org/

Get to know the filmmaker:
I was initially hired by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to go on the ship to make a short doc about what it takes to get science done in extreme weather conditions, but it quickly became clear that the more significant story actually revolved around the relationship between the scientists and the Navy captain. So in the end this project morphed into a feature documentary that became a passion project for both myself and for the chief scientist featured in the film, Dr. Robert Pickart. Additionally I’m motivated to tell stories like this because I think it’s important for people to see all of the challenges that come with trying to advance our understanding of the planet and our future.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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This short documentary explores the troubles surrounding sexual violence among post-secondary students. It highlights the increase in reported incidents of sexual assault among young students, causing concern and anxiety among the student community in different institutions. We follow experts from the Toronto Metropolitan University's Sexual Violence Support (C3SVS), who provide coping services as well as the University of Toronto's PEARS Project, which investigates the underlying causes of this epidemic, exposes misconceptions, and examines how a culture of silence and victim-blaming has perpetuated the problem even beyond the pandemic.

https://www.horizondocproductions.com/

https://www.instagram.com/horizondocumentaries/

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THE ROSE, 4min., UK, Animation/Music Video
Directed by Hilary Campilan
Baroque-pop, cinematic folk tale about lost childhood, with ethereal vocals, weeping cello & distorted bass. Starring dancer / choreographer Chrissy Brooke, Directed by Hilary Campilan.

http://www.michaelabetts.co.uk/
https://fb.me/michaelabettsmusic
https://mobile.twitter.com/miksweety
https://www.instagram.com/mikbetts

Get to know musician Michaela Betts:
The Rose is a deeply personal biographical song about childhood trauma. I released the song initially as part of my EP Ripe Fruit and then re-released a “darker” more orchestrated version The Rose (Darker) in July 2023. Because of the strong imagery in the lyrics, I felt compelled to seek out the right people to collaborate on the music video. It always felt right to animate it.

I found Hilary Campilan the animator and director on Instagram and was immediately drawn to the striking work she was doing with dancers, animation and ai. I was already friends with dancer & choreographer Chrissy Brooke as we had worked together in a singing capacity. We all connected and the rest is history!

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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AUBREY GRUMP, 1min,. USA
Directed by Mike Dietz
“Some people are only happy when they’re not.”

Get to know the filmmaker:
Last year I met artist/animator/producer Casey Follen while working on a freelance job. Several times a year Casey and her partners release a compilation of animated shorts called Animation Wild Card. It’s a fun platform for independent animation artists to collaborate and showcase super short-shorts created just for the joy of animating. The only requirements are that the films be animated and have a runtime somewhere between 15 and 90 seconds. Casey invited me to submit a film for an upcoming episode, so I tried to come up with an idea that would be fun to animate and could tell a worthwhile story in a minute or less. Aubrey Grump is what I ended up with.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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DETECTIVE TICKLES, 6min., USA
Directed by Elizabeth Laidlaw
Detective tickles is a film Noir sketch that is in episode 1. It is about a party clown who turns Private eye. The sketch pays homage to film noir tropes, and is filmed in the classic style of black and white. The sketch stands well on its own, but I recommend watching the full pilot to be immersed into the Trash Panda world.

https://www.youtube.com/@trashpandacomedy9305
https://www.instagram.com/thetrashpandacomedy/

Get to know writer Fee Basanavicius, writer Marissa Chastain & director Elizabeth Laidlaw

Elizabeth (Director): have been a noir nut for a long time. A WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION and DOUBLE INDEMNITY are two of my all-time favorites. I use the “anklet” scene of the latter to teach film directing to newbie film students. When Dean handed this script to me I.. well, I basically SAT on him and told him he HAD to let me direct it.

Fee (Writer): My comedy partner Marissa and I are comedians so our goal with all of our Trash Panda Comedy work is to release as many endorphins in people’s brains as we can. With Tickles we wanted to do that by being as silly as possible while playing it as straight/to period as possible. Elizabeth and her expertise helped us achieve just that.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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BAGS, 29min,. Canada
Directed by Mitch Ray
Jamie Gascoigne’s daily routine is disrupted one morning by his roommate Korey in their living room, still up from the night before with his musician friend Brody. Despite his displeasure with this development, his passive aggressive nature prevents him from confronting the issue in any meaningful way. What starts as a minor annoyance descends into a nightmarish daily reality as the events around him trigger things within him that he’s tried to repress and unlock things within him that he never realized were there in the first place.

https://www.instagram.com/bags.short.film/

Get to know the filmmaker:

The first time I met Mark McGee a few years ago he was staying at Kevin’s apartment – the same one in the film – and he emerged from his sleep and immediately cut into this deadpan bit as the passive aggressive roommate. Essentially the first scene in the film but with the roles reversed. That bit eventually served as the catalyst for the premise and the simple comedic premise of an untenable living arrangement lends itself effectively and authentically to a myriad of scenarios and social dynamics that confront uncomfortable and relatable issues, such as addiction, sexuality and repression.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THE COMMON GOOD, 17min., Austria
Directed by Stefan Gutternigh, Eva Amann
In 2035 the earth is ruled by a world government called “The Global Organisation for the Common Good”. The “GOCG” wants to make everybody happy by monitoring the desires of its citizens with social media, omnipresent cameras, surveillance drones and – for those who can afford them – body implants. We join “GOCG” agent Cindy Karuso as she is visiting Mr. Berger, who has not spent his designated quota for lifestyle and entertainment products for the past months. Will she manage to complete her task for the mother-state and the father-corporation by taking care of Mr. Berger? And will Mr. Berger have something to say within the process?

Get to know filmmaker Stefan Gutternigh:
“The Common Good“ sums up many of my political views in a creative way. I wanted to create a modern take on classic dystopian stories like „1984” for the smartphone generation. There is much discussion concerning left or right, religious, social and political systems. The human component is neglected for the most part. A system, an ideology or a religion can not kill someone, this is done by people acting in its name. I have been wondering for a long time how the mind of people like dictators or their sidekicks such as gulag or concentration camp leaders works. How can people, who commit the most cruel crimes against mankind, justify their actions? How can they sleep at night? How can they still be kind to their own families? It does not matter which political or social system we have, if it is led by egoistic, narcissistic people. We need to find a way to prevent this. We need to discuss relevant topics and listen to each other in order to discover things in common, instead of being prisoners of some kind of ideology and its thought patterns. I have always liked films which have a message and are entertaining at the same time, “The island“ from 2005 with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson is a perfect example of this in my opinion. I wanted to do something similar, so there are nice visuals and some humor in our film, but it hopefully leaves the audience with some food for thought.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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POGO IS BORED EPISODE 2 - BULLY, 4min,.
Directed by Richie Valentino
Pogo and best friend Flower are always in search of something new to do. They love to help others in need and are very keen to jump in with innovative ideas to do so.

https://www.delvalentinoproductions.com/

Richie Valentino is back on the podcast talking about the sequel to his award winning film “Pogo is Bored’, plus his other animation works through the years.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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SPIDER-MAN: MORALES, 17min,. USA
Directed by Sipho A Nxasana
In the wake of a personal tragedy, young Miles Morales begins his journey of donning the mask as the titular hero Spider-Man.

https://www.instagram.com/cherrystreetofficial/

Get to know the filmmaker:

A lot of what motivated me to make this film stemmed from my life-long adoration of the character of Spider-Man. I think what’s always endeared me to him is how human his stories can truly get. I think a lot back to how impactful and meaningful these stories have been to me, and even beyond the mythos of Spider-Man – film has always been such a transformative medium for me. It’s a way to not only express yourself, but to give others a voice in doing so. I think that’s probably the most important aspect of film. And so when making this, I kept a lot of that in mind.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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CARELESSLY THERE, 13min., USA, Drama
Directed by Rachel Deutsch
As Elaine grapples with romantic feelings for her best friend May, she begins to confront her own identity, and the lies she’s told to protect it.

http://www.racheldeutsch.com/
https://www.instagram.com/racheldeutschh/

Get to know the filmmaker:

This is a film that was written by my best friend Isabelle Fenn Miller. I wanted to make this film because I wanted to challenge myself and take on a project as a director. Thus far I have directed my own work. My first film, Until I Met You, I had written, starred in, and directed. Which is a lot. I was excited to take a step back and focus on directing!

This piece was originally an essay Isabelle Fenn Miller wrote in college. We both went to acting school together at NYU Tisch and took a class called “devised work” where we were encouraged to write about anything. I knew I wanted to direct her writing because I could still remember specific lines I saw as images in my head many years later. I never had forgotten the piece.

I believed in her work so much. We both took a chance by trusting each other to make it. I couldn’t have been happier when working with Isabelle. I felt fully trusted by her to bring my own vision to the writing as a director. It helped that we were already close as friends. Our friendship fostered an environment where we were able to really listen to each other when it came to making hard decisions.

Beyond our working relationship, a theme in my work (and life) so far is creating art about romantic female friendship. I found the character of Elaine challenging. (Which is what I liked about her.) It was challenging to create a character who doesn’t DO anything, but just allow life to happen to her. If I’m being honest with myself, I feel like this often. I also feel that most of the time we think we are in control of our life when we are not at all. I was excited about exploring all these ideas when it came to making this film!

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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DIRTY SECRETS, 4min., USA
Directed by Prathiba Natesan Batley
DIRTY SECRETS is autobiographical dance short film with an all women cast and crew, that traces a lifetime of sexual abuse and harassment across my lifespan in both the east and the west which is a surprisingly common story. This is an international collaboration across a cast and crew from the US, Malaysia, and India.

https://www.eyakkamdance.org/
https://www.instagram.com/eyakkamdance/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

My dance company Eyakkam’s mission is to make the beautiful, traditional dance form of Bharatanatyam which has a troubled past and present more current. Eyakkam means movement in my mother tongue Tamil meaning a social movement, a political movement, a physical movement, or a musical movement. I want to remove the caste and religious hegemonies from the dance form while giving women more agency as actors and creators. I want to use this dance form to talk about current issues and take it to the masses rather than to just a few classes or castes.

I cannot exactly point out when I started thinking about writing/making Dirty Secrets, but I remember being affected deeply every time I or someone else experienced sexual harassment/abuse/violence. Like I say in my film, we share, comment, like, subscribe, or cancel but often do nothing. When the Nirbhaya gang rape case (in Delhi) and a series of inhuman sexual violence cases became more public in India I realized how women and their bodies were weaponized by the political organizations or groups in question. It is perhaps the anger or ineptness that I cannot change people’s minds or perhaps it is the hope that I might spark a debate amongst survivors to come out and discuss their struggles more openly that motivated me to make this film. And finally, the chair I sit on has four legs – my husband without whom I could not have had the courage to talk about my personal experiences, my brother who is an unwavering supporter of my works, my dance teacher who is like my second mother, and my late mother who trusted me to do what I believed in irrespective of popular opinion.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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BLACK BOX, 8min., China, Drama
Directed by Olivier Hero Dressen
“The Black Box” is a romantic drama film that tells the story of Thibaut, a Frenchman, and Sai, a Chinese girl, who fall in love during the peak of the Covid-19 crisis. Despite the harsh quarantine restrictions, they decide to meet and spend time together, with Thibaut having to endure 28 days of quarantine to do so. The film explores their relationship, which is narrated through dream, reality, and Sai’s fantasies. At one point, Sai describes herself as a black box, the memory of their relationship and the moments that never happened. The film also touches on their shared fascination with planes and airports, with Thibaut collecting photos of X-rays with his suitcase and Sai being fascinated by plane black boxes. The film ultimately explores the fragility and indestructibility of relationships, memory, and love.

https://www.studiosupremefilms.com/the-black-box
https://www.facebook.com/studiosupreme/
https://www.instagram.com/studiosupreme_prod

Get to know the filmmaker:

“The Black Box” was motivated by a desire to explore the complexities of love and relationships, particularly during challenging times like the COVID-19 crisis.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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CHECKED BAGS, 2min., USA
Directed by Mark Cline
A combat veteran is traveling by a civilian airline. The airline now requires all passengers to check their emotional baggage before boarding any flight. After checking his bags, the man experiences the serenity of becoming unburdened by the guilt and trauma that he carries inside all the time.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27484867/

Get to know the filmmaker:
As an armed services veteran (non-combat) I know that many veterans suffer from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. In between the building out the visuals for ‘Checked Bags’ I would watch different podcasts interviewing prior and active service members. I would hear them independently discuss their personal story and how PTSD and TBI’s go hand in hand. The veteran community is getting better at sharing these stories with the public and more importantly with other vets in letting them know that they are not alone in this type of recovery and help is out there. In a way this is my contribution to help spread the word.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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MISFORTUNE, 7min,. USA, Drama
Directed by Linda Kudzmas
Adapted from a Polish folktale, ‘Misfortune’ tells the story of two sisters; Marta the elder, and Zofia the younger. Marta is very rich, and lives in luxury. Zofia is very poor because Misfortune lives on her stove. Misfortune plagues Zofia, causing disasters that constantly keep her struggling to survive. When Zofia cleverly rids herself of Misfortune, Marta becomes jealous and risks everything to get Misfortune once again, living on Zofia’s stove.

https://friedegganimation.com/misfortune/index.html

Get to know the filmmaker:
The story of how someone can experience misfortune through no fault of their own, and how other people judge the situation and not the struggle.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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PISS ON PATRIARCHY, 10min., Germany, Drama
Directed by Lena Fakler
Marie is driving on the highway and needs to pee urgently. But the toilet at the rest stop is broken. And an increasingly absurd odyssey through this toxic male biotope begins for Marie – and ends in blood.

https://www.la-gente-agentur.de/portfolio/lena-fakler/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I believe that by making films we can change the world — as we can make structural problems visible by identifying with a character who is going through something. Because of systematic problems like — for example — sexism in patriarchy and capitalism. Films can make us identify with a speaking car or a yellow bear. Or it can make a white, privileged dude identify with a woman who needs to pee urgently but has no possibility in a surrounding that was created for men, by men. Films help us to change our perspective and broaden our horizons. Something that we need to do if we want to smash patriarchy. We need empathy and we need to recognize our privileges — so there can be change.

All my films are feminist and political. And I love to make structural problems visible in individual stories. PISS ON PATRIARCHY focuses on one facet of patriarchy — the toilet situation and the sexist architecture of our male world. I liked to idea of a character having a very basic, urgent, natural need and want. And simple obstacles — the male world we know. And I was very motivated to make it also funny. By addressing the absurdity of this system.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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