CLEAR, 5min., USA, Music Video
Directed by Jedidiah Roberson
Clear is about the clarity that our environment is in danger and understanding what side you are on. It’s proof that anyone can be changed to respect nature’s beauty, you just have to see it for yourself. It’s the urgency that something has to be done now, and that it cannot wait. That we all have that rebel in us that wants to do what’s right.

https://www.jonobareford.com/home
https://www.facebook.com/jonobareford
https://www.instagram.com/jonobareford/

Get to know Jonathan Bareford:

I’ve always been inspired by the landscapes of ice caves and glaciers. It reminded me of red rock slot canyons but in the form of ice. When I finished my last music video, I wanted to dive deeper into the story of trying to save the environment but this time about how overwhelming environmental preservation can feel when half of the world isn’t interested in helping. That made me want to take on a good vs evil action style to this video in sort of a vintage NASA aesthetic. Something that would feel more relatable like an old action movie and inspire people to really think about the concept and our environment.

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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TRACKS, 11min., Netherlands, Documentary
Directed by Maclovia G Martel
A visual Journey of remembrance in Amsterdam.

From filmmaker Maclovia G. Martel:

The producers of the film Michael Potter and Margaret McCarhty lived on the canal in Amsterdam where this particular Stumbling Stone project to honor Holocaust victims took place. We felt a tremendous amount of satisfaction connecting with the audience and really appreciating that we were successful communicating a powerful and meaningful message in a short 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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50 ML, 8min., USA, Drama
Directed by Vanessa Powers
A young man struggles with his sobriety while he and his wife host a holiday dinner with her dysfunctional family.

https://www.oxfordcommafilms.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OxfordCommaFilms/

https://www.instagram.com/oxfordcommav/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I have had this idea in my head for a while. My dad is 35 years sober, and so alcoholism and sobriety have ALWAYS been part of my understanding of the world. Even when I was a little kid, my parents never lied to me about it. In that spirit, there was a time my dad ran to the liquor store to pick up wine for a family event, and had the experience of being drawn to the tiny bottles at the counter. He was sober enough with enough skills to walk away, but I wondered what might happen to someone younger and earlier in their sobriety journey. In addition, my good friend, Casey Hoekstra, who plays the lead in the film, is a professional actor. We worked together on a couple film projects when we were younger, but we had reconnected and discussed working on another project together for a while. I knew I wanted someone of his talent to play the lead, since the film was so complicated in nature. He had this small gap in his schedule, and so once he was available, it was a done deal.

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 COOL: FORTIFYING BRITISH COLUMBIA, 30min.,
Directed by Ed Akselrud
In 2017 and 2018 British Columbia experienced devastating wildfires that reshaped the province. From the ashes, a surprisingly complex “war machine” arose to reforest the scarred land. Keep Cool: Fortifying British Columbia explores this machine, the key players involved, and the significance of government-designated Old Grown Management Areas in the province’s north.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt23793080/
https://instagram.com/edakselrud
https://twitter.com/edaxmedia

Get to know the filmmaker:
At the risk of sounding cheesy, it was definitely the people we met and interviewed. The project was originally meant to be a 3-5 minute video, but when we arrived we were taken to so many sites and locations and introduced to so many people involved by our partner Zanzibar that I felt that this needed to be a bigger project. There are so many moving parts in forestry and we got to interact with so many (though not all) of them. So the planned runtime expanded from those 5 minutes, to 12-15, then to 20, and finally somehow landed at 30 minutes. Going in, I had no idea how much there was to this story and how many different people and characters were involved in this herculean effort, so I felt compelled to try and illustrate their work at the scale I thought it deserved.

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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FEELING SPECIAL, 5min,. USA, Animation
Directed by Carlos Hoffman
Animated film adaptation of the children’s book, Feeling Special, about a Turtle who believes that all his friends are special, but that he is just ordinary, and finally realizes that he is special too.

http://www.jenniferkurani.com/
https://instagram.com/jenniferkurani
https://facebook.com/jenniferkurani

Get to know writer Jennifer Kurani:

The motivation to make this film came from the desire to spread a very important message about believing in yourself. Everyone truly is special in their own way! When you believe in yourself, you’re accepting who you really are. You’re not afraid to give your opinion and you’re going to be proud of this person you’re becoming. When you believe in yourself you feel like you can handle the world! Positive energy and a little confidence gives a major lift. Believing that you are special gives you the strength and ability to accomplish goals. Deep down inside, you know you can do anything.

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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LONG KISS GOODBYE, 8min., Canada, Relationships
Directed by Duy Viet Hai Tong
A window into the last day of a relationship.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I made this film during a period where not a lot of things were happening around me. I was just trying to find my feet in a new environment. I had just graduated from university and moved to Canada. So, I think there was a personal component to making the film because it was for me to reflect on such a long journey from when I was a kid to just being done with the education environment and moving to another phase in life.

The relationship aspect of it came down to reflecting on past experiences and combining them with other things I know of. That’s where the European arthouse influence came in and I thought what a great tribute it would be to have a romance film in that style set in the modern day. We did ditch the excessive smoking though.

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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RENAISSANCE, 6min., France, Experimental

Directed by Victoria Lacoste, Penelope Caillet

The sensuality of being alone.

https://www.edelweissfilmproductions.com/

https://www.instagram.com/edelweissproductions/

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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MONODIALOGUE, 5min, USA, Drama
Directed by Azure Kwok
A surreal encounter with Adam reveals everything about Addison’s past, present, and future.

https://www.theythemfilms.com/
https://instagram.com/theythemproductions

Get to know the filmmaker:

Monodialogue was initially just a shower thought. I wrote it into a stage play at first and I wasn’t exactly happy with how it turned out. I was living in Seattle at the time and was surrounded by a group of talented and ambitious friends who are all eager to work and learn in the filmmaking field. So I adapted it into a screenplay and brought them all onto this project. They loved the idea and were incredibly supportive of me. Honestly, my friends were my biggest motivation behind making this film. We wanted to make something together that we’re proud of, and Monodialogue happened to be the thing.

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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L’APPRENANTE (THE LEARNER), 7min., France, Drama
Directed by Angelique Kalani Axelrode
L’Apprenante is an American college student in the process of “finding herself abroad” in Paris. She takes French classes to immerse herself in the culture, even though her accent is tragique. In one particular class, she struggles to recount her weekend where she goes to a Parisian party and meets La Femme; a girl she is immediately drawn to. As she navigates the discomfort of learning a new language, she also navigates the discomfort of discovering her queerness. Her inability to get out of her head inhibits her not only from improving her French, but also from being vulnerable with La Femme. Will she ever be able to commit to the accent and make a move? Impossible n’est pas français.n

https://www.tiktok.com/@lapprenantefilm

Get to know the filmmaker:

I made this film as a way to process some things I was personally grappling with. Like many queer people, I knew I wasn’t straight long before I said or did anything about it. My queerness lived in my head where I would replay interactions I had with people almost obsessively- oh were we flirting? Was she hitting on me? Why did I run away? If only I had said this. Or maybe if I hadn’t been so drunk. Or maybe if I had been a bit more drunk… Imaginary scenarios where I finally mustered up the courage to be intimate with someone else were only temporarily satisfying. I had to learn to get out of my head and actually act on my queer impulses. “L’Apprenante” is about this awkward process. The idea for this film came to me while I was living in Paris at the beginning of 2022 and feeling a sense of freedom I haven’t experienced since studying abroad in college. I was rediscovering myself and relearning what it means to be vulnerable, realizing I had very little vocabulary to work with. It felt like learning an entirely new language- one, like French, that sounds nothing like it is written.

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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WAVES, 2min., Australia, Comedy
Directed by Katharina Keil
Two friends Sam and Ethel play a fun game to reconnect at their local beach.

Get to know filmmaker Katharina Keil:

* The motivation to make this film was an application for the Australian Director’s Guild. They had an initiative and as my last short film was 18 years ago, I felt I needed to show my improved skills as director and decided to do a short film for the initiative.

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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SILHOUETTE, 9min., USA, Dance
Directed by Alex Sjobeck, Rulon Wood, Marla Hansen
Silhouette is short dance film portraying the ubiquitous theme that members of society have to masquerade in order to blend in, anxiously minimizing aspects of their own identity in order to avoid judgment.

Get to know filmmaker Alex Sjobeck:
I composed the piece “Silhouette” prior to the creation of the film. It was a composition with such a deep meaning that I had to find a way to portray the theme through multimedia. Jazz and dance have a long history of being associated together, more in the past than in modern times. I wanted to help bring this relationship to modern times and believed this would also be the perfect way to portray the meaning of the composition in a new, more apparent way. I was very happy that dance choreographer Marla Hansen and cinematographer Rulon Wood were willing and passionate about taking on this project together.

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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SPA SYBARITE, 3min., USA, Experimental
Directed by Joshua Ashish Dawson
The World health organization states that “Although it is unequivocal that climate change affects human health, it remains challenging to accurately estimate the scale and impact of many climate-sensitive health risks. In the short- to medium-term, the health impacts of climate change will be determined mainly by the vulnerability of populations, their resilience to the current rate of climate change, and the extent and pace of adaptation.”

https://instagram.com/joshuaadawson

Get to know the filmmaker:

The thoughts that led to writing this film have been very organic. It started when a few years ago I worked in an architecture firm as a designer. The firm mostly designed high-end hotels and I was very intrigued by the conversations that I would have with clients regarding how the designs of these projects were driven by its marketing. Most of which aimed to target the wealthiest people.

This sparked an idea in my head to think about how the marketing surrounding wellness ebbs and flows with the current preoccupations of its target demographic and isn’t held to the same level of scientific scrutiny as the pharmaceutical industry.

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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RUGBYTOWN Ep. 1, 28min., USA
Directed Patrick Guthrie
Having failed to reach their dreams of starring in the NFL, the players in RugbyTown tell their own stories of crossing over to become professional athletes in a new sport as they help the USA win the Rugby World Cup.

https://rugbyfactory.tv/
https://www.facebook.com/rugbyfactory.tv/

https://www.instagram.com/rugbyfactory.tv/

Get to know filmmaker Patrick Guthrie:

RugbyTown focuses on new opportunities for elite athletes who were rejected by the NFL, by offering them a new path to being a professional athlete and representing the United States internationally in a new sport. The show features the players transformation as they learn, fail and succeed, both on and off the field. Season 1 & Season 2 both consist of ten (10) half-hour episodes, cleared worldwide.

Season 1 @ 2 are available in UHD 4K. The music used was scored for the RugbyTown series, with original music that is cleared worldwide.

RugbyTown has been licensed for distribution in Oceana on ESPN, in South Africa on SuperSport, in the UK on BT Sport, in LATAM on DirecTV, plus other territories globally.

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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ENTER THE ROOM, 15min., USA
Directed by Harry Waldman
A young adult (Brian) is visited by his brother, Jeremy, who needs a place to stay as he settles into his new city. The two polar opposite personalities begin to clash as Jeremy’s presence poses a threat to Brian’s way of life. Brian’s uptight personality and unreasonable living standards rub off on Jeremy, creating an incredible amount of tension. Bad blood, stemming from a traumatic past event reveals the shocking truth of the brothers’ current situations, as Brian struggles to differentiate between reality and his worst nightmares.

http://www.edgewaterfilmproductions.com/
https://www.facebook.com/EntertheRoommovie/

https://www.instagram.com/hwaldman18/

Get to know the filmmaker:
-My relationship with my roommate during the first semester of my freshman year of college is what gave me the idea for “Enter the Room”. Almost all of the various things that Brian was getting on Jeremy’s case about during the narrative were actual things that my roommate accused me of. (And there were other things he said/did to me that I wasn’t able to fit into the film)

Living with him was a very unpleasant experience for me, and I felt that I needed to get it off my chest by telling this story. In addition to Brian being based on my college roommate, I added a disturbing and tragic backstory about him and decided that he and Jeremy being brothers would make for a more interesting narrative. While I am not nearly as uptight as my college roommate was, I can be a bit neurotic, so I took “pieces of myself” which I injected into Brian in order to make him more layered. In general, I believe that creating complex characters often requires giving them flaws that can make them unlikeable at times, and I always do my best to try to walk in the shoes of the anti-hero or villain in order to portray them in a more genuine manner.

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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MARCYLINE – THE CLEARING MUSIC VIDEO, 4min., USA, Music
Directed by Margot Piorkowski
In this experimental music video for Marcyline’s debut single, moody visuals contrast the dark lyricism, portraying the fear of a dark presence following him.

https://www.margotpiorkowski.com/work/films

Get to know the filmmaker:
– I’ve always loved the fun process of making music videos, and the wonderful worlds you can create through music. Therefore when Chris Paraggio (aka Marcyline) came up with his new song The Clearing, I thought it’d be a very interesting film to create through his dark and experimental lyricism.

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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[Aphrodite], 12min., USA
Directed by Jekyns Pelaez
A goddess decides to visit us.

Get to know the filmmaker:

The thesis for my Master’s Degree was based on an adaptation of Oedipus Rex, which ended up being a fulfilling, yet difficult project. Nonetheless, it gave me the idea of pursuing a dance film with yet another Greek story. With the experience I have in dance, I figured the story of Aphrodite would be very interesting to put as dance in film because she is a figure with characteristics that lend themselves with this kind of format. My wife, who is the dancer in the film, was very receptive to my idea and agreed to embark in this project with me. I wanted to explore the idea of beauty of the etherial from an internal point of view instead of the public point of view. I wanted Aphrodite to explore whether or not she felt beautiful.

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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STAGE MANAGED, 28min., USA, Comedy
Directed by Guy Noland
A suburban community theater must successfully produce a knock-off version of “My Fair Lady” in order to keep their doors open.

http://www.viralentertain.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I grew up in the theater and made the transition to filmmaking in college, but always held onto my love for the stage. When the pandemic hit, everything shut down in Hollywood and all of my friends were out of work, so I thought, “Hey, let’s put something together to keep everyone working!” Then I had to come up with something that we could do on a shoestring budget, easy, not a lot of locations, and would hit a niche audience. That’s when I came up with the idea of Stage Managed.

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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SLEEPLESS IN SAIGON, 9min., USA, Drama
Directed by Minnie Nguyen
Saigon, Vietnam – 1972 – Two men who come from two backgrounds fall in love at first sight – a love story between a Vietnamese tailor and an American customer.

http://www.wdaentertainment.com/work

Filmmaker Minnie Nguyen:

Our friends were getting married and one of the grooms wanted to create a love letter to his husband, imagining what their lives would be like if they were to meet in the 70s in Saigon. I thought it would be a meaningful project for the LGBTQ+ community by demonstrating more diversity within the community, as well as showcasing Vietnamese culture/etiquette to the world.

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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Liar-In-Chief: A Chronicle of the Trump Presidency Through the Eyes of An Outraged Graphic Artist, 82min., USA, Documentary
Directed by M Kaplan
A multi-award winning, often biting satirical documentary, using original still photo montages and short videos created by the director, chronicling the horrors of Trump’s presidency.

https://twitter.com/GQPFascists

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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PHONE CALL, 5min, USA, Comedy
Directed by Zoe Kim
Why everyone with a Korean mom needs to go to therapy.

http://www.thezoekim.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thezoekim

Get to know the filmmaker:
Few months ago when I was having lunch with a friend, they said “I want to make movies but I don’t have money, I don’t have equipment, I don’t know how, I don’t know where to start…” Filmmaking can be a daunting challenge for those of us who didn’t get any formal education in it or know of anyone around us who does it. Everything I know about filmmaking has been self-taught through constant trial and error and the generous help of Youtube content creators sharing their tips and tricks online for free.

I decided to make PHONE CALL to show them that you can start the journey of filmmaking with whatever you’ve got – even if that’s just you and your smartphone. I had no budget, no other equipment, no fancy tricks or skills to shoot something amazing, but I hope that this microfilm of mine can serve as evidence that anybody can create something and have it be included at festivals.

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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