An insecure Korean-American woman struggles with old resentments against her beautiful best friend, exposing the impossible beauty standards that caused them.

https://www.instagram.com/iwishiwere_pretty/

Conversation with actor/director Hanah Chang & Producer Quand C. Robinson

Director Statement

I Wish I Were Pretty is not just the title, but also a phrase I have constantly thought since I was old enough to understand that with beauty comes power. Many of the elements included in this story are inspired by my personal experiences. One of my constants while growing up was hearing my mother say to me that I would be prettier if I had “ssanggeopul” (double eyelids). I will never forget the drunk customer from my bartending days who asked me to bring him a pretty server. And more recently, when my father saw a K-Pop music video and asked if that is the kind of thing I want to do, his then-girlfriend said “that is for the young and beautiful.” These experiences were painful, and I wanted to redeem them by turning them into part of my art.

The struggle to feel that we are enough is felt across all genders. As I was revising the script, I sent it to a family friend in the film industry in Korea, only to find out he had just recently undergone plastic surgery. I both hate that he felt that he had to make that choice and understand it. After all, I can understand how much emotional turmoil he had to suffer for him to decide to permanently alter his physical appearance.

Because I know how important representation is both in front of and behind the camera, I hope this film will be inspiring specifically for folks who work in the industry. I am so proud to state that I made this film with a crew of mostly womxn/people of color from beginning to end!

For these reasons and more, I believe this film will be impactful, influential, and monumental. There are already many Korean dramas and movies about beauty standards, but the story typically begins after the protagonist undergoes plastic surgery. My intention with ‘I Wish I Were Pretty’ is never to judge anyone who chooses that, but to provide a fresh take and a different way to deal with what we have internalized. And my hope is that we will learn to be kinder to and more accepting of ourselves as we are.

——

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Director Locky Boaretto, Co-Writer Loki Acciarito, & Actor Tom Simpson join the podcast to talk about their “Jumping at Shadows” series.

In a world secretly at war with an ancient alien race, a teenage girl discovers a crash landed alien, and uncovers shocking truths about her estranged father… After teaming up with a pair of rebel brothers, she uncovers a galaxy-wide conspiracy and an impending alien invasion. When one of the brothers is captured, the team must risk everything to rescue him from the alien mothership before it can begin its invasion of Earth. Amidst explosive battles and impossible odds, she must face her family’s dark past and rewrite their legacy in order to save the future.

https://www.instagram.com/lochnesslegendsproductions/

http://www.youtube.com/@lochnesslegends

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Watch the Best Scene Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_fYb7My2Qk

A young man attends the final session of his compensated work therapy program. The therapist remains ever oblivious as his lies begins to swallow the room whole.

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Herve Marcotte is back on the podcast chatting about his next experimental feature documentary. Without getting TOO flaky, Herve and Matthew take a deep dive into the meaning of life and the human psyche.

Along the Threat of the Other synopsis:

After my first long documentary, “Encounter with remarkable souls”, with focus on the meaning of life, I am exploring the concept of self-realization with two 25 years old young adults. The film is a quest for an unknown treasure that cannot be found alone. Like the red thread of a fulfilled life !

A tightrope walker, a physiotherapist, a sculptress, a researcher and several adults take turns talking about the inner life... and their relationship with others. Throughout the film, fictional scenes resonate with their words. The film is constructed in the manner of an adventure.

Director Statement

In my films, there's a symbiosis between the "actors" (not in the traditional sense) and the director, creating an authentic truth that would otherwise remain undiscovered by them.

I enjoy incorporating elements such as animation, improvisation, experiments, games, self-thoughts. For examples, in "Encounter with Remarkable Souls," I incorporate scenes inspired by the emperor Marcus Aurelius, in "Fraternity is Contagious !" improvisational segments, in “Along the Thread of the OTHER" fictional scenes shot in black & white. Philosophical says constellate my films. I am meticulous in ensuring these elements resonate harmoniously with the documentary's themes, which originate from my thoughts but are never told during filming.

My films, directly or indirectly, revolve around universal love, portrayed by young characters (either in age or spirit), who offer viewers another perspective. I plan to give even more space to the Divine in my future works.

I film alone.

All my documentaries, under small budgets, are of cinematic quality, edited with the assistance of a professional team, including professional editing, music composition, sound design, and mixing.
Last but not least, all my films are films of faith.

——-

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After being kidnapped and forced into a brutal assimilation camp where the English language is used as control, two teenage girls from different countries must find a way to escape, before they are stripped of their identity.

Conversation with director Felipe Marinheiro https://www.instagram.com/marinheirofelipe/

& actor/producer Carolina Liz https://www.instagram.com/caaliz/

—-

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Simone is the last Greater Bamboo Lemur in Ranomafana, a protected rainforest in south-east Madagascar. After a happy start in life, surrounded by family, Simone finds herself alone, as members of her family disappear one by one. Three years on, and she’s still alone - a social animal, a primate, just like us; how has this isolation affected her mental state? Through primatologist Dr. Patricia Wright and researcher, Alba Schielen, we witness Simone’s desperate bid for companionship, as she takes a bold step for survival. At last Simone is happy again, but is all as harmonious as it seems?

https://www.instagram.com/ct_wildlife/

Director Statement

I had a chance encounter with the lemur featured in my film whilst trekking in the rainforest during my honeymoon in Madagascar in 2022. Upon hearing that this lemur was the last of her species in the area, I was eager to find out more about her and tell her story, which serves as a poignant reminder of how the global biodiversity crisis is affecting animals on a personal level.

——

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“The Planet That Doesn’t Exist” is an 8-minute Animation film from Israel, based on the Graphic Novel by Navy Bird Revital Bronshtein.

Navy Bird passed away at the age of 24 last year, caught in the midst of a terrorist attack. Her mother, Liora Bronshtein, brought a team of artists to make this film.

You can watch the film here: https://youtu.be/2fKOtua6s1I?si=bvEzOPU1Afe2Sq0n

Conversation with the director of the piece, Nadav Embon, on the making of the film.

Synopsis:

Professor Star l'Etoile set at her desk, her notes, were packed into spiral leather bound notebooks, stacked one atop of the other. They contained years and years of calculations, which sprung from her notebooks and rose up in a spiral, covering hundreds of desks and antique gold plated wooden boards, that covered the entire room.

BIO:

Nadav Embon is an Israeli director, animator, and multidisciplinary creator. His graduation film Talk About Samson screened at festivals in Japan, Russia, Romania, and Israel, and is taught in both academia and high schools as a tool for biblical studies. He later became Creative Director at Kan, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, and co-founded the global commemoration initiative Zikaron Basalon. Today he lectures at Bezalel Academy and Minshar College, leads a new digital content house at NMC United, and directs In Your Face, a portrait-drawing talk-show blending performance and illustration. His latest work is the animated short The Planet That Wasn’t There, adapted from Navy Bird’s graphic novel.

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Black People Don’t Tango, 13min., USA

Directed by Robert Xavier Clark

An African American man learns to tango after a trip to Argentina.

Based on a true story.

What motivated you to make this film?

This short film Black People Don't Tango is adapted from a feature-length film script that I developed in 2019. That feature script is further adapted from a short story that I wrote in college.

The primary motivation for the short film is to function as a proof of concept for the larger Black People Don't Tango idea.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Roughly one month.

What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Scheduling and securing locations. The short film was put together and shot in a very tight timeframe. Also most of the people in the film are not professional actors, so getting everyone on the call sheet to show up on specific days was challenging. We also had some late talent and location changes happen, so we had to stay flexible and adapt.

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Detectives & Dragons, 8min., Canada
Directed by Lucas Candelino, Benjamin Kostecki, Evan McDowell
A know-it-all detective is tasked with incriminating a murder suspect through a fantasy role-playing game by recreating the scenario of the killing. Tensions escalate when he goes off-script.

https://instagram.com/candelino.jpeg

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-detectives-dragons

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ALL EYES ON YOU, min., UK

Directed by Ted Clarke

Paranoid couple Adam and Claire move to the peaceful countryside for a fresh start, but quickly become unsettled by a series of sinister interactions with their new neighbours, putting their trust - and relationship - to the test…

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The Way Back Home is a two-minute poetic film that unfolds underwater, where a woman’s expressive movements accompany a powerful monologue on identity, womanhood, and self-ownership — written, directed, and narrated by the filmmaker herself. As the performer drifts through silence and resistance, the voice rises against the weight of judgment and expectation — reclaiming scars, softness, and the right to become. A cinematic meditation on finding one’s way back to the self.

https://www.instagram.com/angyaklyjammal/

Director Statement

The Way Back Home is a film I created from a place of deep honesty — not just as a director, but as a mother, a woman, and a human being who has lived through motherhood, silence, pressure, and transformation.
After completing the film, I sat with my daughters and told them: “I want you to watch this film when you are 20, again when you are 30, and again when you are 40.” Because this is not just a short film — it’s a piece of my story that I want to leave behind for them. A reminder that pain, scars, and growth are part of becoming. That they are allowed to own their voice, their truth, their transformation — no matter what the world tries to impose.

With a single performer, a voiceover, and the silence of water as its backdrop, this film holds everything I wanted to say to them — and to the women who might need to hear it too.

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FOR LUCIE, 12min,. UK
Directed by Amy Louise Pemberton
When a devastating family secret comes to light, Nick and Liz must confront painful truths that will change their lives forever.

https://www.instagram.com/missamypembs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Pemberton

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Differently Water, 8min., Italy
Directed by Daniele Catini
Two Arab women meet underwater to express their love. The sea becomes an accomplice to a secret in which their eyes reveal that desire hidden from a world that cannot understand

.https://www.instagram.com/daniele_catini21

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-differently-water

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The Cupcake Chronicles Vol. 2: The Cupcake Shop Ghost

Is the cupcake shop haunted? Or are those strange noises coming from the stomachs of hungry customers? Either way, everyone ends up satisfied.

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The Call is a powerful documentary that breaks the silence around firefighter mental health, offering an unflinching look at the trauma, PTSD, and suicide crisis facing first responders. Through raw interviews, real-life stories, and behind-the-scenes access to firehouses in New Mexico, the film explores the emotional toll of a profession associated with bravery, but rarely with vulnerability.

http://thecalldocumentary.com/

Conversation with directors Laura Boyd Owen, Charles Edwin English.

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The Inga Tree Model 2025, 10min., Honduras

Directed by Adam Wakeling

The Inga Alley-Cropping pilot is in year 13 in rural, northern Honduras and has impressive results for carbon sequestered and avoided--876,000 tons in 12 years--trained and assisted by an all-Honduran team, 500 smallholder families have planted over 3 million native, nitrogen-fixing trees on steep, highly degraded land. The clearing/burning stops when a family plants their alley (a process that destroys 200,000 acres a day).

http://www.ingafoundation.org/

https://www.instagram.com/ingafoundation/

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Resonance in the Castle, 17min., USA

Directed by Brandon Katcher

A mysterious castle breathes with light and color, drawing all who enter into its shifting embrace. Stained glass spills vivid hues across ancient stone, golden reflections dance over strange artifacts, and ethereal performances flare up like living paintings. Surreal, electric, and unbound by space or time. Musicians, dancers, and performance artists bring their visions to life, each performance casting a ripple, before fading into the ether. A place of mystery and spectacle, this living museum exists only in the moment it is seen, leaving behind only echoes. Here, the castle is not a place but a state of mind, a dream in motion, inviting us to lose ourselves within its walls.

https://www.lostsummitfilms.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

The opportunity to make Resonance in the Castle came at a key moment in my life, when I felt directionless and depleted. I had just wrapped a grueling, two-year documentary production, and like so many filmmakers, I found myself in that fog of burnout and uncertainty. What’s next? And then, pure coincidence gave me the opportunity to join an artist residency in a century-old castle in Italy. I traveled there with only a few basic ideas, the glimmer of a story. But through collaboration with musicians, dancers, sculptors, and actors from around the world, a film was born through the freedom of creating without expectation.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Not knowing what to expect from the location or the artists involved, I arrived in Italy with only basic ideas and visuals in my head. Once I was able to see the castle in person and meet the artists, those ideas became collaborations, and the scenes took shape. Each artist had a plan for their live performance, which we adapted for each room and scene. The actual filming took place over two days and became an improvisation as I learned to “dance” with each performer. During the week in the castle, we also performed live in front of an audience and filmed a documentary of the event. Once I returned home, the editing process took about two months.

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Meevil the Weevil: Breakfast of Champions, 4min., USA
Directed by Kyle Arneson
Meevil https://filmfreeway.com/submissions/32428116#ff_javascriptthe Weevil is a little bug with big dreams of being a stuntman. “Breakfast of Champions” mixes stop motion animation with live action footage where we follow Meevil’s thrilling ride across a 1970s breakfast table on rocket roller skates.

https://www.instagram.com/stunt.bug/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
The film came about after developing the character as a hesitant hero with big dreams of grandeur. It’s strongly inspired by the stunt men and women of the 1970’s and 80’s that I found so captivating back when the world was a little more shag-carpeted and wood-paneled. During this initial creative period I lost my father unexpectedly and it was at some point in the haze of the grieving process I realized that the relationship between Meevil, and Olis, his coach, mirrored that of my relationship to my father. So with that guiding light, the ethos of the project became clear and bringing it to reality became a goal for me as a way to honor my dad.

From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
From idea to final prduct this film took 3 years to make. Nothing happens fast in stop motion animation, the puppet had to be designed and built, all of the props and sets were hand made and the entire film was shot one frame at a time.

How would you describe your film in two words!?
Nostalgic fun!

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Interview with the filmmaking team of the feature documentary.

Director: Daniel Matmor. Producer: Jody Glover. Historian: Tom White.

HIDDEN – The Kati Preston Story is a powerful journey seen through the eyes of a child—a firsthand account of a society’s slow and insidious descent into authoritarianism, dictatorship, and tyranny. Kati Preston’s joyful childhood in Hungary came to an end in 1944. Bit by bit, law by law, action by action, her world was dismantled. Everything she knew and loved was stripped away.

https://www.hiddenkatiprestonstory.com/

https://www.instagram.com/freespiritprods

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Watch the Best Scene Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew4yxfT2YUA

Fiona Haegerbergh, a journalist for The Metro Standard, arrives in a rural Norwegian town to investigate rising drug use. Officially, she’s there to produce a webcast— but Fiona has her own agenda: uncovering the truth behind the recent suspicious death of a local drug dealer. Fiona’s editor urges her to stay on task, as much is riding on the Metro Standard’s survival—now largely dependent on the recent success of its popular web series.

Get to know the writer:

What is your screenplay about?

My screenplay is about a journalist Fiona Haegerbergh, who travels to a remote Norwegian town to cover rising drug use for her paper’s popular web series, but she’s secretly investigating the suspicious death of a local dealer. She’s met with hostility from townsfolk and a wary sheriff, but she gradually earns his reluctant trust as she digs into the community’s hidden drug network. Her search leads to Jenny, a young mine worker with ties to Fiona’s brother, who may have inherited the operation. When Jenny is suddenly found drowned, Fiona’s investigation takes a darker turn and she is faced with a devastating choice: expose what she’s uncovered and risk her own secret being revealed—or stay silent and let the town’s shadows close in.

What genres does your screenplay fall under?

Thriller, Mystery

Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?

Because it has a good mystery, loveable characters and an unexpected twist.

How would you describe this script in two words?

Powerful forces

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