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.

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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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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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SEDUCTIVE DEVOTION, 7min,. USA
Directed by Destin Gerek
In a society where narratives of male perpetrators and harm inflicted upon women prevail, “Seductive Devotion” emerges as a powerful experimental short film presenting an inspiring alternative. Through captivating imagery and a stirring poetic voiceover, the film portrays a positive model of how a man can profoundly and healingly show up for a woman. It challenges societal norms and redefines love, intimacy, and relationships, highlighting the transformative energy between souls. “Seductive Devotion” celebrates vulnerability, courage, empathy, strength, receptivity, and grace, igniting a yearning for the level of committed desire depicted on screen. In a time marked by mistrust and division, this visually arresting and emotionally resonant film offers a refreshing perspective on the healing power of love and understanding, fostering positive change in our perception and engagement in intimate relationships.

http://seductivedevotion.com/
https://instagram.com/destingerek

Get to know the filmmaker:
It seems that too many people have forgotten how to love. The divide between men and women has become so stark. The constant blame, shame, and negative assumptions about each other seem so prevalent. I am a lover of love. I am a lover of women. I am a lover of the feminine: this mysterious and indescribable energy, that I have trained myself over the years to become very attuned to. A force that seems largely misunderstood by our culture. Yet, just as much, notions of masculinity have become so distorted. I wanted to showcase a dynamic between a man and a woman that exemplifies devotional love – to show what it can mean and look like for a man to show up for, and to uplift, a woman with all that he has. And to do so in a way that not only doesn’t weaken him, but through which he finds a deeper power that exists within himself.

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.

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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.

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A WOMAN’S FACE, 8min., UK
Directed by Susan Lynch
A woman’s face. A short film about the aftermath of suicide on a man’s bereaved wife. The story begin when Anna’s husband’s body is retrieved from a canal. Anna walks out on her young children and retraces the steps of her dead husband.

Get to know the filmmaker:

My mother died a couple of years and it coincided with the end of my marriage. I wanted to do a film about loss and grief, but also the toll such emotions can take on your mental health. The conclusion I suppose is that there are so many loves in your life that hold you and in some ways your memories of who you lost also hold you. I wanted there to be hope for the main protagonist 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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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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Nesia, 15min., Canada
Directed by Mikel Guillen
An avant-garde film about trauma and how a little girl connects through dance with her surviving Hungarian grandmother who was a Auschwitz survivor.

http://mikelguillen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mikelguillenfilm/
https://www.instagram.com/mikelgb/?hl=en

Get to know the filmmaker:

I am very interested in how trauma travels through generations and cultures and how it affects many people around the globe.

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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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.

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VELA, 15min., Canada, Drama/Horror
Directed by Esteban Powell
Young Xime hopes to restore her family by arranging a Día de Los Muertos altar – meanwhile a looming presence closes in.

https://www.instagram.com/vela_shortfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:
A: What motivated me to make this film was my personal experience with grief, and contextualizing it with my Mexican heritage. Merging the deeply personal subject matter, with the folk tale I grew up hearing felt like the right way to process and share how something seemingly dark can transform in our minds into something positive – no matter how painful. And how better to (re)explore that than through the eyes of a child protagonist again? Vela became a cathartic way to portray a short chapter in the tale of an immigrant Mexican family in Canada, and how through reconnecting with their roots, they can find a spiritually fulfilling transformation.

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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FROM MY EYES, 98min., USA
Directed by Darrick Landreneau
When a freshman embarks on a journey to film everyday of college, he discovers that growing up might be harder than he ever imagined.

https://instagram.com/frommyeyes/

Get to know the filmmaker:

Honestly it was a mixture of my love for film and a God idea. I’d been suffering from a real lack of ideas during my first month of my Freshman Year at LSU. I had a camera (Sony NEX-VG10) and a lifetime supply of inspiration and drive… but no ideas. So I’m a Christian and one day on my way to math class I started praying for an idea, a big idea. I can take you to the exact spot where this thought just infected my brain, “Why don’t you film college?” My initial thought was, “yea right”, but over the next week God opened doors and provided a way for me to start filming. On October 16th, 2012 I picked up a camera not knowing what the story would be but curious enough to find out.

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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KEEP MOVING, 17min., USA
Directed by Colin Harabedian
a journey through grief

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU-VlgKN8Bh2UQbAPnpo6xw

Get to know the filmmaker:

I think there are quite a few different motivations for this film. In September of 2021, my aunt passed away very suddenly. It shocked our family and was a very strange time for all of us. We had not all been together since pre-pandemic, so we hadn’t gotten to be very close in quite sometime. It was a very strange way to get the family back together, but all acted as a way for us to reconned and restrengthen us as a group. It was also at this time I was rehearsing for a show, and had to be away from a while to attend the funeral. It reminded me how a lot of the deaths I have experienced have overlapped with times in my dance career, and how we as artists have to cope while also having to perform and manage our emotions. All of this reminded me of the 5 stages of grief, and how we experience loss. I thought about how to express this idea, and rather than do a very direct interpretation of this idea with one person going through the stages, I wanted to make the story bigger, feel real, and have multiple characters focusing on a specific emotional aspect of grieving and implement the idea that we are all going through something and that universal experience can connect us as people. While it can be very abstract and symbolic, I also wanted it to be grounded enough that there anyone can understand it and resonate with it in their own way. To me this film is an ode to why I love dance, and the power that it has as a storytelling device.

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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BEAT, 23min., UK
Directed by Christopher Karallis
Beat looks into the world of Saul Eisenberg, musician and performer who turns the discarded junk of our city into instruments that make unique and beautiful sounds.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I came across Saul when we moved back to London after eighteen years living in the USA. We were temporarily staying with my sister and the back of her house looked out onto a typical London back alley running behind a row of high street shops and rental flats punctuated by overflowing rubbish bins, garage lock ups and the constant hum of industrial extractor fans. It was also my short-cut to the park when I walked the dogs. Passing one of the double garages at the start of the mews I was frozen by a beautiful, lyrical, scale suddenly bursting into life seemingly out of nowhere. It sounded something like a Glockenspiel only more resonant, deeper in pitch and tone with a sound that penetrated my core. I realized the sound was drifting out from the half open door of one of the lock-ups. It stopped suddenly only to be replaced by the explosive whir of a power tool as an angle grinder cut against metal for several seconds. The contrast was stark. I poked my head under the garage door rather awkwardly to find Saul, a friendly, bemused smile on his face, filthy blue overalls, safety goggles pushed high up on his head standing over a series of heavy metal poles cut to various lengths. “I’m sorry but I just had to ask what you’re doing in here, that sound is…?” I wasn’t quite sure how to finish the sentence. Saul took the uninvited intrusion with warmth and good grace, telling me that he was making a “scaffold-a-phone” out of discarded scaffold poles. I was stunned. How could something so industrial and brutal sound so lovely. I peered around the lock up which was packed with spent gas tanks, fire extinguishers, old decking and even flip flops that had all been salvaged and turned into percussion instruments that, I would come to discover, all sounded not only beautiful but absolutely unique. A type of alchemy was occurring under our very noses and barely anyone knew about it. I realized immediately that I had to tell the story of the remarkable things Saul was doing with the discarded junk of our city and how his work is an inspiration to children, parents, musicians and anyone lucky enough to come into contact with his work.

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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I AM JUDIT, 83min., USA
Directed by Christiane Arbesu
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Christiane Arbesu comes I AM JUDIT; a poignant depiction of Holocaust survivor Judy Sleed and her present day family. A fixture in the East Hampton community, Judy, at the age of 90, is finally lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding her harrowing childhood — a painful truth she never discussed with her children. The longtime, local talk show host who loves to hear other people’s stories is sharing hers with unprecedented candor. Skillfully juxtaposing the past with the present, I AM JUDIT is a captivating portrait of Judy Sleed’s emergence as a magnificent light.

http://terrebonneproductions.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

There are so few survivors left and the incidence of hate against “Jews” is at an all time high since WWII. People need to know the Holocaust happened.

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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WHITE NOISE, 16min,. Australia
Directed by Bryce McLellan
Zoe Marlowe is the Pathfinder, tasked with finding humanity a new home after the loss of Earth to climate change. With her trusty A.I. she explores planet after planet, looking for the perfect combination of conditions that mark a habitable world. But her A.I. is more than she appears to be, and what happens if/

Get to know the filmmaker:
A love of science fiction! A lot of science fiction stories are about finding a new home, a planet just like Earth, for humanity to start over. I wanted to create a film where that’s not possible, where nothing out there in the cosmos, as grand and exciting as it is, can compare to our home.

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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