CHYHENU, 23min., USA, Fantasy/Romance
Directed by Marlon O Lee
A single person, Chyhenu, meets a potential partner
In a beautiful and surrealistic collision of Nordic and Japanese cultures. These two eccentric characters share an inner connection that parts their clouds and returns blue skies to their lives.

From Marlon O. Lee:
It was November last year and I thought “I have some solid connections to the industry, let’s try using them.” So I sent and email to my friend David Michaels and he was excited to start working on this.

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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December 24, 2022 - Filmmaker Marlon O. Lee (CHYHENU)

Matthew Toffolo

DIVA, 13min., France, Dramedy
Directed by Christopher Mack
What would you do to be a star? On a film with no budget? Audrey, a working actor, is determined to follow her dreams to shine, but finds herself up against growing challenges. Diva is a timely, comedic, and sharp commentary on working in the film industry as a female actor. It explores victimization and complicity in film making.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21054686/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085008320591

From filmmaker Chistopher Mack:
I make my living, in part, as an acting coach in Paris, France. I also run workshops coaching directors on how to work with actors. Pretty much all the stories in the film are based on true accounts I have heard from actors about experiences in the industry over the years. And it got me thinking about passion which can sometimes lead to systemic abuse in filmmaking.

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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December 20, 2022 - Filmmaker Christopher Mack (DIVA)

Matthew Toffolo

MOONBOY, 21min., Canada, Drama
Directed by Rachel Kwan
Following the tragedy of their mother’s passing, class clown Aidan Lee is forced to navigate a world without her in it. Unable to identify with their traditional Chinese father and goofy high school friends, Aidan dresses up in their mother’s drag in hopes of reconnecting.

https://www.instagram.com/moonboy.shortfilm/

Rachel Kwan on what motivated her to make the film:

Honestly, survival. It had been a couple years since my mum passed away from ovarian cancer and I was feeling really alone. Not only was it my first year of university, but it was my first time living away from home and I was really struggling with my gender/sexual identity (despite living with my 6 platonic guy friends).

Thankfully, in not knowing what to do in my life, I took my first film class. And for the first time, instead of consuming fiction to escape my reality, I learnt to create fiction to cope with my reality. After writing the first draft of MOONBOY, I felt a level of catharsis and empowerment that I’d never felt before and I knew that feeling had to be shared.

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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December 18, 2022 - Filmmaker Rachel Kwan (MOONBOY)

Matthew Toffolo

DISCO SAUCE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF PENNA ALLA VODKA, 35min,. USA
Directed by Roberto Serrini
Penne Alla Vodka is America’s dirty little secret. You can have it hungover from the diner, or for 40 bucks a plate at the finest restaurants. While it’s secret origin might surprise you, it’s sordid history will baffle you, which is why two best friends decided to deep dive into this disco sauce and discover it’s secret powers that polarize the culinary world like no other dish.

From filmmaker Roberto Serrini:

My previous documentary with Peter was called “Italy In Bocca” (www.italyinbocca.com if you want to get hungry) and it really put us on the map. We had a few show runners and production companies calling us asking if we were interested in developing the concept into a series. Because we felt like the food film scene was so saturated with these high stake shows we wanted to do something really different that focused on why we love food: because of the way it brings people together. So we wanted to see if we could take a recipe like Penne Alla Vodka, something seemingly inconsequential, and blow it completely out of proportion like they do on all these other cooking shows, really deep diving to the point that you can’t believe anyone went to that kind of trouble to make a simple bowl of pasta. I think it worked.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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December 13, 2022 - Filmmaker Roberto Serrini (DISCO SAUCE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF PENNA ALLA VODKA)

Matthew Toffolo

AND AWAY, 16min., USA, Sci-Fi
Directed by Noah Campagna
A young mother must protect her child as she finds the world around her is vanishing.

From filmmaker Noah Campagna:

The original short story for Manen Lyset found me in October 2020. As I was reading it I could immediately start seeing it play out visually in front of me and I knew it would make for a great short film.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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December 12, 2022 - Filmmaker Noah Campagna (AND AWAY)

Matthew Toffolo

COOKING INSIDE: FROM PRISON TO HOME, 23min., USA
Directed by Brent Lambert-Zaffino
Two men who were formerly incarcerated together recreate a prison meal exactly as they made it inside. Cooking Inside explores America’s cruel and broken prison system through the humanity of food.

https://southerndocumentaryfund.org/cooking-inside-from-prison-to-home/
https://instagram.com/brentlzfilms

From director Brent Lambert-Zaffino:

Adrian, our producer and one of the subjects of the documentary said, “I want to be able to talk about my time inside without depressing everybody.” Telling that story through the crazy MacGuyver-like methods he had to utilize to have a decent meal kind of sprouted from there.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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December 11, 2022 - Filmmaker Brent Lambert-Zaffino & Subject Adrian Drepaul (COOKING INSIDE)

Matthew Toffolo

THE FIRST, 14min., USA, Crime/Thriller
Directed by Emily McDougall
When her teenage sister starts showing interest in a much older, more dangerous man, Rowan must decide between getting involved, or keeping her sisters secret.

https://www.cwuladiesoffilm.com/
https://www.instagram.com/the_first_short_film

Conversation with:

Director: Emily McDougall

Producer: Diana Jacobsen

Cinematographer: Phoebe Mcgarry

Sound Mixer & Score: Alyssa Morris-Hatch

From Emily McDougall:

This film was the product of an all female crew of senior filmmakers from Central Washington University. Since I wrote the script, my main motivation was to see my words brought to life on screen. I was super fortunate to be working alongside extremely talented filmmakers Emily McDougall, Diana Jacobsen, Phoebe Mcgarry, and Alyssa Morris-Hatch. They are the reason I was so excited to make this film, and the reason why it turned out beyond my wildest dreams.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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December 6, 2022 - Ladies in Film team chat about their short film THE FIRST

Matthew Toffolo

PIT & PENDULUM, 27min., Canada, Drama/Horror
Directed by J. Aldric Gaudet
It is the terrorizing story of a person sentenced to death who becomes the plaything of their jailers. They are sent walking through a dark room in hopes they will fall into a pit. When that doesn’t happen they are tied down on a table to watch the painfully slow descent of a swinging pendulum with a sharp-edged blade aimed at their stomach. Escaping from the blade did not mean freedom. The walls of the dungeon grow blistering hot first, then squeeze together to push them to the brink of the pit, before being saved at the very last second.

https://www.pit-pendulum.com/

From J. Aldric Gaudet on the obstacles he faced making the film:

Walking the tightrope between showing too much and showing too little, while at the same time complimenting Poe’s words without embellishing.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 28, 2022 - Filmmakers J. Aldric Gaudet & Evan Korn (PIT & PENDULUM)

Matthew Toffolo

PULLING THE GOALIE, 23min., USA, Drama
Directed by Hiag Avsharian
“Avsharian has cleverly framed his film about male infertility from a conventionally male perspective using hockey as a metaphor to provide both context and levity. Sport provides an immediate connection to an uncomfortable and embarrassing topic with both situations and language that are laughingly familiar to both men and women. As an entry into the increasingly complex and demoralizing process of the infertility treadmill about which men frequently feel baffled and disengaged, Avsharian uses that parallel to create a deeply personal and compelling narrative.

http://www.ptgmovie.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pullingthegoaliemovie
https://www.instagram.com/ptgmovie2022/

From the filmmaker:

I have been writing this screenplay on and off again after the birth of our first child Megan (with the help of infertility treatments), in 2009. As emotionally difficult as our infertility journey was at times, I became aware of how much more difficult the journey had been for others (e.g. multiple miscarriages). I also learned that infertility is relatively common and on the increase as couples wait until later in life to get pregnant while at the same time nearly all pop culture gives us the sense that it is easy to get pregnant. Furthermore, stories are almost always about men resisting their wives’/girlfriend’s desire to start a family, which works for drama and comedy but greatly misrepresents men, and especially men going through infertility. Lastly, and importantly, infertility treatments are expensive and insurance coverage varies widely based on where you happen to live. Thankfully we could afford the level of treatment we needed, but I thought it would be a social injustice if a couple couldn’t have a child because they couldn’t afford treatments. All in all, I felt like this was a story that I needed to at least try and tell once it had rooted itself in my head.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 21, 2022 - Filmmaker Hiag Avsharian (PULLING THE GOALIE)

Matthew David Toffolo

FIGURES, 20min., Canada, Action
Directed by Jamie Hegland, Jade Yurich
A Special Forces officer turned crime syndicate operative uncovers the site of a drop being conducted by one of the world’s most dangerous, underground criminal organizations. With his syndicate’s mission of eradicating this rival organization, he infiltrates the drop site in an attempt to recover a mysterious item and locate the group’s notorious leader. However, things go astray when he is unexpectedly forced to deal with one of their organization’s most reputable mercenaries. Under unforeseen circumstances, he must use his newly acquired skills and act quickly in order to accomplish his mission and survive this encounter.

https://instagram.com/figuresfilm

From the filmmakers:

Jamie: In my opinion the biggest obstacle we faced in completing this film was being able to effectively shoot the entire film in a short timeframe with the small amount of resources we had available to us. In total we had six days of filming but we could have easily taken ten days (if given the proper time/money/resources). There is one location in the film that accounts for more than half of the film’s runtime. Initially we planned to shoot it in one night, a task that proved to be too ambitious and as a result we had to plan a second day at that location to finish what needed to be filmed, and even reshoot several portions. Having to completely tear down the set and clean up the space only to come back months later and recreate the same set environment with differing materials proved to be a challenge but we were up to it.

Jade: Locking the final cut. There were so many scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor and this film could have easily run over 30 minutes. We knew we had to boil down on what the intention of this project was. A badass fight film with a story that keeps the audience engaged and in anticipation of what’s next. Cutting 11 minutes worth of story out did that in a more concise and impactful way.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 20, 2022 - Filmmakers Jamie Hegland & Jade Yurich (FIGURES)

Matthew David Toffolo

THE AFTERMATH, 7min., USA, Poem
Directed by LaChelle Joy Hunt
LaChelle Hunt’s “The Aftermath”, is a moody Common Era drama atop the windy seaside hills of Point Reyes. Evelyn arrives in California in 1912 after traveling across America to pursue her dreams once shared with another. She deals with being alone on this journey and looks through her darkness to find a new light.

https://www.instagram.com/lalumierefilms

From LaChelle on her biggest obstacle making the film:

Myself. Advice to other filmmakers, don’t let your mind stop you from creating something! Just do it and then if it works great and if it doesn’t you will learn no matter what! But in terms of physical obstacles filming outdoors was definitely challenging. We were lucky to have so much sun but had some pretty windy moments. The wind made it hard to shoot but it also looked great on camera.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 19, 2022 - Filmmaker LaChelle Joy Hunt (THE AFTERMATH)

Matthew Toffolo

HAPPY 4 U, 9min., USA, Comedy
Directed by Shannon Coffey - https://www.instagram.com/coffey/
happy 4 u is a short film that explores the dynamics of a latinx friend group navigating the entertainment industry that demands competition and tries to diminish community.

From Nikki Osborne - https://instagram.com/nikki0h

The #1 motivating factor was a tight deadline for a short film competition that presented itself sort of out of nowhere! Myself and others involved happened to have the time and flexibility (which almost never seems to happen) so we had to take advantage of that divine timing.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 17, 2022 - Filmmaker Shannon Coffey & Actor/Writer Nikki Osborne (happy 4 you)

Matthew David Toffolo

THE LOVE SONGS OF OEDIPUS REX, 21min., Canada, Documentary
Directed by Luke Sargent
Documentary about musician Benjamin Hackman (The Holy Gasp) processing personal loss and heartbreak, through creating a massive concept album.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3303039/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2

From the filmmaker:

Filming was a pleasure, but also a real challenge to do all by myself. I’d do things like plant the Zoom audio recorder in one room, and then shoot into that room from another room to make it feel like there was a bigger crew. Also, because we were shooting in the same studio for the whole time, I prepared by listening to the temp-tracks of these songs (which sort of act like another character in the piece) and tried to establish a visual theme for each song. That way it wouldn’t feel repetitive or boring in the edit.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 15, 2022 - Filmmaker Luke Sargent (THE LOVE SONGS OF OEDIPUS REX)

Matthew Toffolo

MATCH DAY, 14min., USA, Family
Directed by Clay Randel
After watching her favorite team lose in dramatic fashion, a young soccer fan must navigate the stages of loss with the help of her recently divorced father.

http://www.clayrandel.com/matchday
https://www.instagram.com/clay.film.foto/

From Clay Randel:

Two years ago the sports world paused while Covid redefined our society. After months of anticipation, live sports came back and though it looked and felt different, I was overjoyed with the return of something familiar, my fandom. My optimism and expectations were quickly crushed while I watched my team give listless performances on the way to unexpected losses. I was confused and devastated. This experience is the inspiration that led to me writing the script “Match Day.”

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 14, 2022 - Filmmaker Clay Randel (MATCH DAY)

Matthew Toffolo

BLURRED LINES, 12min,. UK, Recreation
Directed by Corry Raymond
As musician Robin Thicke reaches fame and critical acclaim for his hit record Blurred lines, he is sued by the Marvin Gaye family estate who claim he stole the song.

https://www.corryraymond.com/blurred-lines
https://www.instagram.com/blurredlinesmovie/

From Corry Raymond:

The biggest obstacle from the very beginning was casting. I knew I had to find a cast that could convincingly portray the real life people – and it wasn’t just Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, but the legal team and the cast of the music video as well. A few people said to me it wouldn’t be possible, but in the end, I found the perfect cast of people. Perfect not only in terms of their acting skills, but as collaborators as well.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 13, 2022 - Filmmaker Corry Raymond (BLURRED LINES)

Matthew Toffolo

WONDER WHEEL, 11min., USA, Drama
Directed by Caleb John Cushing
A couple goes on a date at an amusement park.

From Caleb John Cushing:

There was a really quick turnaround from inception to execution to editing. Probably 6 weeks overall. I first pitched the idea to my creative partner Joshua Ster in my living room, and whenever I can make him laugh I know that I have something worth developing. I wrote the outline and sent it to Bahar Beihaghi, the actress, who graciously agreed, and then we all got in a group chat and scheduled a time where we could go down to Coney. We only shot in one two hour period on one day, and then since it was all one take the editing process was relatively quick and painless as well. So I’d say about 6 weeks from “here’s this idea” to hitting final export.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 12, 2022 - Filmmaker Caleb John Cushing (WONDER WHEEL)

Matthew Toffolo

ONE ON ONE, 5min., USA, Drama
Directed by Jack Wolf Perry
A fierce acting coach uses intense techniques to get a performance out of his shy new student.

From Jack Wolf Perry:

The full process took about 3 weeks. The filmmaking class had about one week to write, one week of production where each director got one day dedicated to their film, and then a week of editing before we premiered all of our short films together.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 11, 2022 - Filmmaker Jack Wolf Perry (ONE ON ONE)

Matthew Toffolo

NEIN FRIENDS, 14min., USA, Drama
Directed by Lily Micheline Kaplan
A college junior’s patience, courage, and perception are challenged at a surprise birthday dinner, attended by an assortment of nine odd guests, but nein friends.

From Lily:

I wrote the first draft of Nein Friends in November in my screenwriting class at Northwestern and hoped to submit it to a Northwestern Film grant but was hesitant. A few days before the grant application was due I got covid and called my hilarious friend Annie who ended up working morning to night helping rewrite all the dialogue and transforming the characters with me. After submitting with minutes to spare we went on to a round of interviews, pitches, and roundtables. Once selected we teamed up with our amazing producers Arwen-Vira Marsh and Joel Braunstein who helped assemble a dedicated crew of 30 and a talented cast of 10. We filmed for one weekend in the Spring and premiered at the Studio22 premiere at Northwestern on June 4th, 2022.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 10, 2022 - Filmmaker Lily Micheline Kaplan (NEIN FRIENDS)

Matthew Toffolo

DESERTED MIND, 15min., Mexico, USA
Directed by Fadia Monserrath
In the depths of a doomed marriage, a wife attempts to find herself in the light of a new cycle.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 9, 2022 - Filmmaker Fadia Monserrath (DESERTED MIND)

Matthew Toffolo

GOING, 8min., USA
Directed by Carson G. Smith
Reluctant to look at the past, a young man recalls an old memory that should not be forgotten.

https://www.facebook.com/Going.Animation

https://www.instagram.com/going.animation/

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. 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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November 8, 2022 Filmmakers Carson G. Smith & Josh S. Aucker (GOING)

Matthew Toffolo