PAGES IN THE WIND, 14min., USA
Directed by Lucas Haviland
As Bailey sits in the park, he starts to reminisce about his journal entries over the past month. Through flashes to these entries, Bailey and his boyfriend, Gavin, experience the various intricate elements of their relationship. All the while Bailey takes in the environment around him in the present day. When his best friend, Corrine, stops by to surprise him, they start to catch up on the past week. Bailey quickly remembers that his entries might be less realistic than he wants them to be. And that his roommate, Gavin, will probably never be the man he needs in his life.

https://www.instagram.com/havilandfilms/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

The film’s exploration of romantic love and the lengths someone would go to experience it are rooted in my own thoughts surrounding the lack of that kind of love in my life. The exploration and need to put an image to these thoughts and showcase yearning is what drives my motivation in making this film. All to answer the question: To what lengths will someone go to feel love? Seeing and working on the creative projects of my friends and classmates, this motivation was kept alive and continued to grow until the final results of the film that was screened at this festival.

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

Going into the audience feedback video, I was nervous solely because of my perfectionistic tendencies and the miniscule things I wanted to try to change. This quickly changed to excitement and general appreciation for the thoughts, praise, and constructive feedback from the audience. It was reassuring to hear about parts that I was hesitant about being well-received by the viewers and for the themes to come across even in the ambiguity of the film.

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HOMEPLANET, 26min., USA
Directed by Andrew Pritzker
Barefoot on a country highway, a Disoriented Man is picked up by Two Local Cops who suspect he may be a space alien.

http://qikfingerfilms.com/
https://www.instagram.com/qikfingerfilmsllc/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

I had a funny idea kicking around in my head about two cops picking up guy on a country road because they thought he was a space alien. But when I fleshed out the story I decided it wasn’t really about the cops but the guy they arrested. So the questioned remained, “Who is he and what is he doing there?” When the script refocused it turned from comedy to a character drama. Once I found the emotional thread, I wanted to shoot the film.

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

I was really happy by the response. The reviewers spoke positively about the film and connected to it emotionally. We loved their reactions. They had a personal experience with the film and that’s terrific.

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SHADOWS OF THE PAST, 13min., Australia
Directed by Locky Boaretto
A prequel to JUMPING AT SHADOWS.
Also, the origin story for the character “Agent Nixon”.

http://www.youtube.com/@lochnesslegends
https://www.instagram.com/lochnesslegendsproductions/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

I was inspired by the Noir Sci-Fi vibe of films like James Cameron’s “The Terminator”, and also the character tragedy / fallen hero element of films like “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith”.

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

I was actually very happy to hear that people not only had a positive reaction to the film, but that they also felt a genuine emotional connection with the 2 lead characters as well, which made me feel extremely relieved because I wasn’t sure how they were going to respond to all the tragedy elements towards the end of the narrative.

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SECRET IDENTITY, 35min,. UK
Directed by Gurjoeth Singh Bassra
A closeted gay actor who’s known for playing a superhero character on an 80s TV show must confront his dual identity.

https://coffeebeanpictures.com/productions
https://x.com/CoffeeBeanPicUK
https://www.instagram.com/secretidentityfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

I was inspired by the story of Kevin Conroy, who remained in the closet for most of his life, and found it very interesting the way he played a superhero character who had a secret identity of his own, and suddenly it clicked, a light bulb turned on and I could feel a story coming to me. It also helped that I was really bored over my summer break so I essentially locked myself in a room, threw away the key, and started writing the first draft of the script.

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

It all made sense to me, the sound issues were also apparent to me, but to be entirely honest I kind of just got tired of trying to make the film exactly perfect and figured it was better to release it now or otherwise it will just never get released, and the time I spend trying to make this slightly better could be time I spend on the next project. Overall, I’m happy with how the film turned out.

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THE VISITOR, 11min., USA
Directed by Nikolaus Aldrich
With his relationship in a rough patch and his career stalled, A man tries to find new purpose by retreating to the Pacific Northwest. While there, strange things begin to happen as he grapples with his sense of reality.

https://www.instagram.com/thevisitor_shortfilm2024/

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

As a kid I was always fascinated by the subject of UFOs and Aliens. But I never really spent much time thinking about it as an adult. Then last year it was in the news a lot. It sort of re-ignited that curiosity I had as a child. There was so much storytelling potential that I drafted out a whole trilogy of films based on an idea that had come to me. I decided to start small and develop this as a short. The short film is essentially the opening prologue for the feature. While writing the short I wanted to make sure that it could work both as an intro to a feature but a self contained story as well.

I wanted to map the films in a way that naturally progresses through the emotions of what I imagine one would go through if they were to experience this. So starting in a Sci-Fi/Horror genre made sense to me. But if I’m lucky enough to expand this further it wouldn’t necessarily stick with that genre throughout the story.

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

It was surreal. There were some things mentioned that honed right in on specific points I was trying to make. The idea of the Visitor(s) and how technically all the characters are alien to this location was a very intentional bit. I was happy to see that point come across. It was also so fun to see how the audience brought their own interpretations to it, what kinds of genres it fit into and filmmakers it reminded them of. There was a lot of hard work put into the film from every department and I was very happy to hear that those teams were given mentions. They really pushed the film into the next level.

The reaction to the film has been so positive. With its inception coming from a relatively dark time in my life. I really don’t have words to describe how incredible it feels to hear others talking about the film and engaging with it enthusiastically. My initial reaction was that this whole strange journey was worth it. I couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out and hearing the reactions to it made me a bit emotional if I’m being honest. I was very moved by the whole experience because it’s surprisingly pretty rare in the festival circuit to really get that kind of direct feedback on your work.

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THE DAYS OF KNIGHT, 9min., USA
Directed by John P Martinez
A highly trained operative, belonging to a clandestine ancient group of expert mercenaries, is given a mission to recover a valuable item for one of the 13 most influential families on Earth. As war breaks out and alliances formed centuries ago crumble, survival becomes the top priority for everyone involved.

https://www.instagram.com/1018filmsaz/

Get to know the filmmkaer:

What motivated you to make this film?

This was on my bucket list of things to accomplish. I always wanted to create a short film and decide to just do it! I should have done this long ago…

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

It was a fanatastic experience seeing their reaction. I was stunned, speechless and amazed.

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Watch Małgorzata Szyszka’s films on the WILDsound Platform:

SPIRIT OF SWEETNESS: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-spirit-of-sweetness

Why, in today's civilized world, do we still use the methods and means of healing bodies and souls used by our grandparents? Who really are Whishperes? How does modern psychology look at rituals and whisherers? The tradition of whispering/praying in the Ortodox Church language is passed down from generation to generation. The film asks many questions and seeks answers from experts in various fields: therapists/psychologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, but also residents of Podlasie.

GREEN SWEATER: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-green-sweater

When you lose everything, you have nothing And the body will deceive you. It appears like a bird from paradise .. Longing for a green sweater Longing for a parrot blouse Longing for the Mexican frill Longing for a green sweater. For yourself, for all of you.

DOCTOR OF THE "POLISH EAGLES": https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-doctor-of-the-polish-eagles

The film tells about the work of doctor Janusz Garlicki of the Polish national football team, which won, among others, the Olympic gold medal during the time of coach Kazimierz Górski.

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BRAISING, 19min., USA
Directed by Bryan Ribeiro
Conroy –a crestfallen, fast food cook who dreams of becoming a chef– finds community with a peculiar “charity” organization, all while he strives to deepen his connection with his widower father.

https://www.instagram.com/braisingfilm

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
I wanted to tell a story about group think. There’s always been a fascination about cults and mob mentalities and I wanted to explore what brings about a need to join the collective. The answers vary person to person but a lot of the cases I found illuminating were the ones where someone lacked a community of their own; they had no family they could rely on. Focusing on someone without a support system and seeing their descent sounded way too fun an opportunity. Food has always been something that brings people together and adapting that idea into a potentially negative tether was the last crux to bring everything together.

What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was really floored by the initial reception. The warmth in the reviews were really validating and a lot of the analyses were thoughtful. It’s my very first video review so it was a bit surreal.

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CHHAVA, 39min., India
Directed by Anurag Srijit, Arman Shaikh

Produced by by Sudeep Mehta
Set in the storied Apshinge Military Village in Maharashtra, ‘Chhava’ offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of families bound by centuries of military service, from the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to today. Crafted with care by first-time student filmmakers, the documentary weaves together personal sacrifices and enduring bravery, revealing the profound human spirit at the village’s heart.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32117939/
https://instagram.com/chhava.official

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Al Chang, a distinguished filmmaker from Los Angeles's Koreatown, is passionately pursuing his dream of crafting authentic narratives in the film industry. With a background that includes 10 years of service in the U.S. Army and a deep connection to the post-L.A. riots culture, in addition to being a dedicated husband and father of four, Chang brings a unique perspective to his work. Currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) with an Editing emphasis at Chapman University, Chang is an emerging talent in the world of filmmaking. His journey began with a passion for editing, which eventually led him to write and direct his own short films, driven by the desire to create entertaining short films. Despite the challenges of balancing life as a full-time student, husband, and father of four, Chang continues to push on, proving that creativity can thrive even in the busiest of lives.

https://www.instagram.com/4lcfilm/

Listen to previous podcast interview with Al Chang: https://www.wildsoundpodcast.com/the-film-podcast-by-wildsound/2024/1/18/ep-1091-filmmaker-al-chang-viral

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The story and forgiveness of José and Maria, 15min., Brazil
Directed by Victor Amaro
After 50 years, José and Maria definitively break off their marriage and agree to give statements to their grandson, for the first time, about the reasons that led them to make such a decision. A story about love, pain and forgiveness.

http://filhounicofilmes.com/
https://www.instagram.com/filhounicofilms

Get to know the filmmaker:

I always found it sad the way the Brazilian family is portrayed in Brazilian cinema. There are countless layers that are never addressed, when I saw my grandparents’ situation I couldn’t think differently. I needed to document this, but I didn’t know I was capturing their last moments.

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WEEKEND RELEASE, 1min., UK
Directed by Susanda Wolf
A woman waits for her son to pick her up from the police station, but he isn't coming.

http://palmanda.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

Motivation was a really good actress, Barbara. I worked with her previously and wrote it for her. Start to finish it took around an hour to film, a couple of hours to edit and less than hour to write so probably about half day.

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JACK, 5min., USA
Directed by Julian Curi
An art connoisseur finds himself on the run after he steals a priceless item from a ruthless man in this fun twist on a classic tale.

Get to know the filmmaker:
I’ve always loved adventure films, and this concept had been floating around it in my head for some time when 2020 hit. My co-producer Adam Lau said we should use our time as wisely as possible and start writing. Jack was one of the scripts that came out of that time. I’ve always loved movies that were untouchable by time. As this one is set in the early 1940s with our style, we thought it could be enjoyable for quite some time. And I also wanted to tell a story that was fast and engaging while also being easily digestible.

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HIGH LIGHT, 4min., USA
Directed by Anthony Orlando
A young man musters the courage to face an alien lifeform rooting through his garage.

Get to know the filmmaker:

: As I saw my peers in the film industry sharing their new projects and getting laurels for their work, I knew I had to direct a new movie to promote myself so I could move forward in my career as a filmmaker. It had been a few years since I directed my last short, so I knew I had to create something new to showcase all the knowledge and experience in filmmaking I had gained since then. Also, since the short is based on a screenplay I have been working on, I hoped this film would act as a proof of concept that I could pitch to executives and hopefully get it made into a feature-length film.

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THE DOLPHIN DILEMMA, 18min., USA
Directed by Olivia Andrus-Drennan
Imagine, waking up being covered in third-degree burns, that’s what it’s like for the Burrunan dolphins in Australia. But why is this happening? That’s what Dr. Duignan, Director of Pathology at The Marine Mammal Center, Dr. Stephen’s from Murdoch University, and Dr. Robb from the Marine Mammal Foundation had to find out. This film explores this international collaboration that proves for the first time that these lesions being found on cetaceans around the world are only caused by climate change.

https://www.bigskygenesis.com/films
https://www.facebook.com/BigSkyGenesisProductions/
https://www.instagram.com/bigskygenesisproductions/

Get to know the filmmaker:

After reading the paper that The Marine Mammal Center released, I just had to make this into a film. It needed to be seen, dolphins and whales are loved by so many including myself and if I could bring light to such important work I had to try, so this film was born.

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DUNES, 10min., France

Directed by Virginie Kahn

It could be a Harlem theater in the fifties. Two strangers share the same emotion while watching a movie. The cinema exit door opens onto an imaginary desert where they will meet,

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SPACE FOR ART, 15min., USA

Directed by Maclovia G Martel

Space for Art is an extraordinary documentary film on the power of hope, courage, and healing. Featuring astronatut, and artist, Nicole Stott the film follows her on perhaps her most important mission of uniting a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art. Meet some of the young children who are wise beyond their years.

https://www.spaceforartfoundation.org/space-for-art-film

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VITAL INSTRUMENTS, 17min., USA
Directed by Greg Kase
In this dark fever dream, a botched pawn shop robbery sends desperate brothers Walter and Pete, and their newly employed getaway driver Cutty, hobbling to a safe house that was supposed to be abandoned. Instead, they find shackled women in critical need of their help. Things complicate after their captor is mortally wounded in a shootout, and the predicament as to why they are prisoners in the first place becomes highly questionable—especially after the first one they reluctantly release immediately (and violently) kills herself, and the rest of them start chanting in ancient tongues.

https://vitalinstruments.wixsite.com/movie
https://www.facebook.com/Vital.Instruments.Movie/
https://www.instagram.com/vital_instruments_movie/

Get to know the filmmaking team:

The concept of the crooks vs occult was a marriage of two genres we all deeply enjoyed, Heist and Spooky Occult Horror. As a group of horror film fans, we had never seen a movie do this in the same way this concept was blossoming in our minds. The exploration of a clash between outcasts of society, a sort of stand off on the fringes. Like most filmmakers, we started describing scenes that we would like to see and dialogue we would want to hear until it culminated in the understanding that if we wanted to see it, we had to make it.

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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WHAT IS THE FOURTH DIMENSION?, 9min., USA
Directed by Felipe Marinheiro
A paranormal investigator examines an eccentric woman’s sanity, unriddling the apparition she claims to contact while confronting his haunted past.

Get to know the filmmaker:

Well, it all started when I watched a video of a woman who claimed to have a relationship with a ghost. Also, I worked distributing a paranormal TV show, and the series began with the host having a fascinating philosophical/”scientific” conversation with an interviewee about ghosts. I just think it’s so interesting how people have different perspectives on ghosts and what’s real and what’s not. So, I wanted to make a film about this clash of realities – in a way that I thought would be fun, mysterious, and easy to shoot.

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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NO SLASHER HERE, 9min., USA
Directed by Robert Tiemstra
A woman comes home from work, only to receive an unsettling phone call. Does the danger only exist over the phone, or is there a masked killer inside her home?

https://instagram.com/the_timestar

Get to know the filmmaker:
The production for ‘No Slasher Here’ started with a New Years’ Day text message from me to Llenelle, my producing partner for this film – “do you want to make a spooky movie this year?” We’d worked together before, but never on a horror film. I was just finishing up the film festival run for my last film – a dystopian short called The October Martyr – and I was feeling the urge to do something scrappy & fun. Once I had Llenelle on board to act in something, I just asked myself ‘what sort of horror movie would I cast her in?’ and the answer came in the form of a When a Stranger Calls/Black Christmas/Scream style horror movie opening. The central conceit occurred to me while I was on a walk – instead of having a killer call someone, what if the ‘victim’ in this kind of setup picks up the phone to find another similar horror movie opening going on somewhere else? Then it became a puzzle for me to solve, a weird mobius strip of slasher movie suspense.

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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