SING ME TO SLEEP, 25min,. USA
Directed by Mario Valdivieso
“Sing Me To Sleep” follows the story of a young couple by the name of Marc and Julia. Julia has been diagnosed with cancer and she is at the point where her disease has become terminal. Marc decides to take his dying wife home so they can make the most of their last days together.

https://www.instagram.com/sing_me_to_sleep_film/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

I’ve been with my partner Kira (also a producer on the film) for five years now. We started dating three months before covid. When covid hit, we decided to move in together as she is immune compromised which made the prospect of her getting covid extra dangerous. Unfortunately she ended up getting covid and spent several weeks in the hospital with double pneumonia and even the doctors at the time were unsure if she would survive. She did recover thankfully, but it got me thinking a lot about telling a story about a relationship ending when it was just getting started. The nugget of that concept became “Sing Me To Sleep”. I also wanted to tell a realistic portrayal of what it is like to care for someone who is sick.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

My reaction to watching the feedback video was relief, relief that what we set out to do with the film was clear to the audience. I was moved by how moved the audience members that provided feedback were. And I was so impressed at how thoughtful all the comments were, the three members really took the time to give us some great feedback. When you make a movie, a filmmaker always wants to feel validated that what they put together will be enjoyed and felt by the audience so watching the reactions was extremely validating.

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AN INTERMISSION, 13min,. France
Directed by William Georges-Garcia
After receiving a letter and questioning everything he took for granted, Rufus prepares to leave everything behind when a chance meeting with Amelia, his childhood love, forces both of them to come to terms with the end of their young adult lives.

https://www.instagram.com/anintermissionfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

This is my first short film, so it was very important to me to be able to work on a project that allowed me to work with the actors as much as possible. I’ve always been a fan of dialogue-heavy, character-driven films, so when I started writing this script it seemed like the perfect opportunity to collaborate closely with my actors, working on the intention of each line the way one would with a play.

About the story itself, one of the things that interested me the most was this idea of “what you want” versus “what’s expected you”. The inevitable conflict of it. Sometimes you do everything you’re supposed to do in life and it still doesn’t turn out right, so you have to decide to prioritize pleasing other people or pleasing yourself, knowing that it’s often a lose-lose situation. We all play different roles in life and it’s difficult to find a more appearance-based society than 19th century England. I thought that if I could frame this dilemma with a love story– two people that found “an intermission” from their respective roles when they were with each other— that maybe that could be interesting.

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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VIRTUALLY SINGLE, 15min., USA, Romance
Directed by Amy Gardner, Lorien Haynes
It’s lockdown. Emboldened by red wine, a fortysomething woman braves her first Zoom date with a guy in snowy Montana. A short play devised through improvisation, VIRTUALLY SINGLE explores the tragicomic challenges of dating during the pandemic.

https://www.finitefilmsandtv.com/projects/virtually-single/
https://m.facebook.com/100063726603408/
https://twitter.com/finitefilmsldn
https://www.instagram.com/finitefilms/

Get to know filmmaker Lorian Haynes:

Amy Gardner and I have been working together since my film project – Everything I Ever Wanted To Tell My Daughter About Men – [23 shorts, directed by 21 women, making one feature to support survivors of abuse] and subsequent to that on Good Grief; a virtual interpretation of one of my plays, which Amy approached me to do at the beginning of the pandemic. Our aim was to help sustain theatre during this time and it was doing Good Grief that made us aware of how important it was to develop creative work, despite the extreme restrictions Covid presented.

As friends, we talked a lot about isolation and how on earth people were supposed to find love and break through loneliness during Covid. I had just returned to the UK from living in LA for 15 years and was living in a 10ft square room in my mother’s house – going slightly mad. And it was from these conversations that the idea of a woman’s first ever zoom date emerged and we started trying to work out the challenge of how to do it. What was it? Was it a short? Was it a series? How did we make it with zero budget and no way of leaving the house?

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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REVERIE was the winner of Best Direction at the December 2021 Romance & Relationship Film Festival. There is a 2nd screening on the WILDsound APP in February. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS).

A dance/music video: A woman is haunted by the memory of her lost love.

Conversation with filmmaker/choreographer Caitlin Gray on the making of the film with

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