LET THE MUSIC PLAY was the winner of BEST FEATURE FILM at the November 2021 DOCUMENTARY Film Festival.

Get to know the filmmaker:

We had originally had another project planned and that was totally squashed because of Covid-19. As someone working in the music industry, I was in touch with a lot of artists, promoters, etc. because we were all kind of comparing notes on how things were going. No one had work and everyone was trying to figure out their next move. Since these conversations were already happening around me and I understood the depths of crisis that we were already in, I wondered if people would be willing to speak on the record. Not just that, but I really wondered how many would be willing to be on camera as is, without the usual frills because Covid lockdown meant that we HAD to rely on things like Zoom. I knew the trickle-down effect in the music industry- how closures meant no work for parking attendants, merch companies, bartenders, etc. and I also knew that most people didn’t really understand the scope of the impact. Sure, the Foo Fighters would be just fine but the lady who takes your tickets and guides you to your seat was out of work for an entire year. Really explaining the crushing impact kept us motivated the entire time because someone needed to speak for the live music industry as a whole.

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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April 25, 2023 - Filmmaker Cate Meighan (LET THE MUSIC PLAY)

Matthew Toffolo

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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January 21, 2023 - Filmmaker M. Kaplan (Liar-In-Chief: A Chronicle of the Trump Presidency)

Matthew Toffolo

FLORES, 4min,. Germany, Music Video
Directed by Asbirg Anderson
Artur is strolling around the city of Münster. ‘What shall I do?’ he asks himself – ‘Live wild and dangerous’ was the response. Three encounters help him to be courageous.

https://instagram.com/asbirg.naranjo

Get to know the filmmaker:
The idea of making a film about the people and their deeds or words that stayed with me for years was not new. Then I went to diffferent short film festivals and what stood out to me was with which feeling I left the cinema. And I was like, wait, what if I make a positive short film. How would the audience feel about hat?

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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January 8, 2023 - Filmmaker Asbirg Anderson (FLORES)

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

Sarah plays rugby at top level and is about to go up a division with her team. When her wife Emily finds out she cannot have children, she asks Sarah to do something the rugby player had never considered: putting her career on hold to carry their child.

Read blog interview with filmmaker: https://matthewtoffolo.com/2022/08/07/interview-with-filmmaker-alexandra-favard-momentum/

Film 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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August 25, 2022 - Filmmaker Alexandra Favard (MOMENTUM)

Matthew

THE LAST CHAMPION was the winner of “Best Feature Film” at the Sports & Recreation Film Festival. Conversation with co-writer and actor Hallie Todd on the making of the film from creation to editing.

Project Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

“A former championship wrestler is forced to face his past when he returns to the hometown he left in disgrace twenty years earlier. Can he become the hero his town expected… or will he remain a prisoner of his past mistakes?” Directed by Glenn Withrow. Starring Cole Hauser, Peter Onorati, Randall Batinkoff, and Hallie Todd.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service today. 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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August 7, 2022 - Actor/Writer/Producer Hallie Todd (THE LAST CHAMPION)

Matthew Toffolo

GHOSTLY LABOR: A DANCE FILM was the winner of BEST FILM at the WILDsound Film Festival.

“Ghostly Labor: A Dance Film” explores the history of labor in the US–Mexico borderlands through Tap Dance, Mexican Zapateado, Son Jarocho, Afro Caribbean movement, and live music. This work brings together polyrhythmic movement and an original score to look at the (ongoing) years of systemic exploitation of labor while highlighting the power and joy of collective resistance.

Based on farmworker interviews in California, this excerpt honors the sacred hands that feed us and was filmed on a farm with support from Ayudando Latinos a Soñar (ALAS), a non-profit advocacy organization for farmworkers in Half Moon Bay, CA. A full-length dance theater production of Ghostly Labor will premiere in 2023.

Project Links

• Website

• Facebook

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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August 5, 2022 - Filmmakers John Jota Leaños, Vanessa Sanchez (GHOSTLY LABOR: A DANCE FILM)

Matthew Toffolo

THE LAST PICTURE was the winner of BEST DIRECTION at the June 2022 FEMALE Film Festival.

Ally May attended the UCLA Writing Program, the Academy of Film Writing, SF Film School, the Directing Actors Workshops and Sundance Directing Actors Programs. Ally has written 7 award-winning screenplays. She has been an Athena Finalist, Austin finalist, ScreenCraft Finalist, Page Finalist, Final Draft Finalist and more. Ally has directed 6 short films which have placed in festivals including - NOLA, Napa Film Festival, Sonoma Film Festival, Oregon Film Festival, Toronto Independent Film Festival, Los Angeles Independent Film Fest and more.

Watch the Festival Today. 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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July 27, 2022 - Filmmaker Ally May (THE LAST PICTURE)

Matthew Toffolo

FINDING VEGA played to rave reviews at the June 2022 WILDsound Feedback Film Festival.

https://www.mutualityfilm.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mutualityfilm

Director Statement

After I flew for twelve hours to the dry climate of Los Angeles in the autumn of 2019, my nose started to bleed severely during the first shoot in AFI, and I was sent to the emergency room. I passed out and had a transient loss of consciousness, and I felt like I was continuously falling to a bottomless black hole. It was so dark and deep; all I could feel was that I wouldn't remember anything that happened in my life before. It was for the first time I was so close to death.

Then I had a tough time during the one-year-quarantine since March 2020, experiencing an intimate friend's death, and undergoing the darkest hour in life, as I felt further-away from home than I ever had before. During this time, I thought a lot about life and death extensively. I had this vision of rowing a small boat, lonely, on the endless sea surrounded by danger, and the only light was the stars above. To me, those stars were family affection. There is a Chinese saying that says, "You can't know about life without knowing death." I didn’t realize what I had and how blessed I was in terms of my parents' love until I was faced with my friend’s and my mortality.

I always wonder what if we could find the time we lost? What if we could regain the warmth and beauty that we buried deep in our minds? And I discovered that Eastern philosophy and Western science make this possible on the screen. As an individual, what responsibilities do you need to take towards the ones loving you or the ones you love? And what are the “invisible” larger group social issues behind the superficial dilemma?

In this era of speed and consumerism, many people are used to talking about the intangible macroscopic world, but seldom observe the daily minute details around them. Still, it is precisely the trivial bits that determine the temperature of life. Especially after experiencing so many deaths and losses worldwide, how will human beings evolve? As a storyteller, I want my audience to think about what is most important to them in life. I strive for them to feel love and be in love and treasure what they have from the womb to the grave.

Playing at the Festival APP Today! 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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July 19, 2022 - Filmmaker Joey Xuetong Zhao (FINDING VEGA)

Matthew Toffolo

OUTSIDER played to rave reviews at the June 2022 ANIMATION Film Festival.

“The magic between ‘frames’ acts on clay, the table becomes a contradictory object that can be soft and hard. Some people get into it, but others are not. There is no differentiation between superior and inferior or right or wrong in this place, but how we face the world.”

Conversation with Shuo Liu, the one man filmmaking machine, on his individual pursuit 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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July 14, 2022 - Filmmaker Trevor Courtney & Music Supervisor Paul Dowling (THE ROCKER AND THE PUCA)

Matthew Toffolo

July 15, 2022 - Filmmaker/Animator Shuo Liu (OUTSIDER)

Matthew Toffolo

“In the Realm of Death & Dreaming” was the winner of BEST FEATURE FILM at the WILDsound Film Festival.

In the documentary they ask the big question: What happens when we die? Does consciousness continue or is it lights out? The director, Johanna Lunn, guides viewers on her quest to find out.

Project Links

• Website

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Instagram

Conversation with Johanna J. Lunn on the process making this film and the other films in the works.

Playing at the Virtual Festival on July 14/15 on the APP. 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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July 9, 2022 - Filmmaker Johanna J. Lunn (In the Realm of Death & Dreaming)

Matthew Toffolo

ANIMAL APPETITES was the winner of BEST SOUND & MUSIC at the May 2022 WILDsound Film Festival.

http://eccemedia.ca/

“A struggling massage therapist is solicited by one of her clients for a sexual favor in exchange for money and a misbehaving pet.”

Conversation with filmmaker Quentin Ferrant on the making of the film.

WATCH this film on July 8th. Go to the WILDsound TV app. 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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June 29, 2022 - Filmmaker Quentin Ferrant (ANIMAL APPETITES)

Matthew Toffolo

THE CLOWN'S FUNERAL was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the April 2022 WILDsound Festival.

“When his father, the former president of a funeral parlor was taken ill six months ago, the man, who as a child was forbidden to laugh, had to take his father’s place. However, recently something strange has come over the new director. Whenever he sees something funny, he hallucinates a clown.”

Conversation with filmmaker Yu Shibuya on the making of the film.

Film also showing on the WILDsound TV app. 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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May 5, 2022 - Filmmaker Yu Shibuya (THE CLOWN'S FUNERAL)

TO BECOME BORN played to rave reviews at the February 2022 WILDsound Film Festival.

https://www.ramdassmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ramdassmusic

https://www.instagram.com/ramdassmusic/

“To Become Born” is the first of a series of musical reflections on birth, life, death, grief, and joy that was inspired by Ram’s experiences trying to move forward after the passing of my newborn son in 2014. After experiencing such immense pain after his loss, he faced depression and feelings of hopelessness to the point where grocery shopping was unbearable. Through various therapies, community support, and time, I found that he softened to his experience and did not come out cynically, but rather he found profound beauty in both the triumphs and the tragedies of life. This song is a question of “would I do it again; come back to Earth to be born, knowing how much pain and suffering there is?” His answer is a resounding yes and an encouragement to others to hopefully be able to find some peace amidst their struggles.

Conversation with Ram on making this music video and his other works.

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April 16, 2022 - Artist Ram Dass (TO BECOME BORN)

Matthew Toffolo

MIGHT COME A WINDSTORM was the winner of “Best Feature Screenplay” at the March 2022 WILDsound Screenplay Festival.

“Members of the extended McCraw family, a working-class family of Appalachian origin, gather together at the elder McCraws’ house for Thanksgiving dinner. Old demons are dug up, new relationships are built, and the secret of the family’s mixed-race heritage are revealed, much to the shock of several of the family’s racist members. This ensemble-based screenplay provides laughs, tears, and a deeply moving story that will appeal to art house and mainstream audiences alike. A white-trash SECRETS AND LIES.”

Conversation with writer Jill Elaine Hughes on the the process writing the screenplay, followed by the best scene reading of the script. You can watch the video reading of the script HERE,

Screenplay also showing on the WILDsound TV app next 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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April 8th 2022 - Screenwriter Jill Elaine Hughes (MIGHT COME A WINDSTORM)

Matthew Toffolo

LOOK IN MY EYES is a LGBTQ+ feature film that played at the March 2022 WILDsound Festival.

“A sober gay man meets a NYC taxi driver from Crimea. Romance, Self deception. Pursuit of truth and oneself. Intrigue.”

Conversation with writer/co-director Eddie Baca on the making of the film and where he wants it to go from here.

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app all day on Sunday March 27th. 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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March 25, 2022 - Filmmaker Eddie Baca (LOOK IN MY EYES)

Matthew Toffolo

Jonothon Lyons is an off-broadway performer with a very New York alter ego: “Buddy the Rat.” A short film about Jonothon/Buddy called “The Face Behind the Rat” (dir. Emma Keatley) played at the Documentary Shorts Festival in March 2022.

Wonderful conversation with Jonothon about creating “Buddy the Rat” and the day in the life of the character he plays throughout New York City.

https://twitter.com/jonothonlyons

https://www.instagram.com/jonothonlyons

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

https://www.instagram.com/jonothonlyons

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app all day on Sunday March 27th. 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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March 23, 2022 - Performer Jonothon Lyons (AKA - Buddy the Rat)

Matthew Toffolo

THE IMAGE OF THE FOX was the winner of “Best Animation” at the February 2022 Feedback Animation Festival. A truly spectacular film that is a must see for anyone.

“The Image of The Fox is a film that explores the transformations of a mysterious gray matter as it constructs and deconstructs haunting sculptures.”

Candid interview with animator Alec Iselin on the making of the film.

https://www.instagram.com/aleciselin/

https://www.shibacreative.com/

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app next 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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March 22, 2022 - Filmmaker/Animator Alec Iselin (THE IMAGE OF THE FOX)

Matthew Toffolo

“Do You Remember Your Mothers Hands” was the winner of BEST FILM at the January 2022 DOCUMENTARY Film Festival.

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app next 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.

“A poetic and strong documentary about our mothers. About the threads of life that are tied and woven, and about carrying the weight of our own lives for better or worse.”

Conversation with filmmaker Barbra Coco Laurre on the idea and then the execution making the film.

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February 11, 2022 - Filmmaker Barbra Coco Laurre (Do You Remember Your Mothers Hands)

Matthew Toffolo

TWO METRES was the winner of BEST DIRECTION at the December 2021 COMEDY Film Festival.

Also playing at the WILDsound TV app next month. You can watch for free and sign up 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.

“A lockdown short- two people struggle to pass each other in a narrow alley without breaking the rule of two metres social distance...”

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February 6, 2022 - Filmmaker James Alexander Allen (TWO METRES)

Matthew Toffolo