Telling stories through film and conversation.
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WILDsound's The Film Podcast

In each episode, the C.E.O. of WILDsound, Matthew Toffolo, chats about all things storytelling and film. Conversations with talented individual from all around the world.

Posts in Film Festival
July 3, 2023 - Filmmaker Aparna Sharma (STILL LIGHT)

STILL LIGHT, 3min., USA, Experimental
Directed by Aparna Sharma
Still Light is an experimental short made of photographic stills. The film explores the relation of light to perception. It is entirely shot and edited on a mobile phone.

Get to know the filmmaker:

Over a few years I had been spontaneously making pictures using my mobile phone while on long walks. I had a sense making these images that I was interested to see how light impacts our perception of a space. I kept making these images and storing them on a mobile phone. During the pandemic I had to travel to India for an emergency. This was before the vaccines had come out. So I had to undertake a 10 days quarantine in a hotel. I was locked up in a room and to bring some semblance to that time I started to look at these pictures I had been making. Impulsively I felt like selecting and editing them into some form and that’s how the film really started and came about.

When I was taking pictures, I had no idea that it would result in a 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.

July 2, 2023 - Filmmaker Carlos E. Lesmes (PLAY/REPEAT)

PLAY/REPEAT, 8min., Estonia, Dance
Directed by Carlos E. Lesmes
There is a couple. Two bodies. Two beings. 1+1. Sometimes it feels like only one. This film piece wants to explore aspects of a relationship through movement, through the bodies of the performers. The unfathomable distance between two people. Broke but never broken.

Get to know the filmmaker:

The film was born out of real life. It came as the result of a complicated relationship and the desire to express it and live it bodily, but it was shaped together with Real, Alis and Arolin. We worked together about the concept and a wish to explore the notion of loneliness and companionship that exists in a relationship. We all brought our stories and experiences to try and make something that could be expressive in a film form, without it needing text. We wanted the bodies and the images to speak.

This was an exploration process, of getting to know each other and trying something new. Exploring the types of materials and places around us to really connect with our past and present experiences.

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.

June 29, 2023 - Filmmaker Adam J. Vaughn (THE LAST ZOMBIE)

THE LAST ZOMBIE, 16min., USA
Directed by Adam J. Vaughn
At the conclusion of a zombie apocalypse, a lone zombie wanders the planet, isolated and threatened by every human in sight. When Nova, the last zombie, comes across a little girl who knows no fear, the two form an unlikely – and tragically short lived – friendship.

Get to know the filmmaker:
During my studies at Stevenson university, I conceived, scripted, shot, and finalized many student film ideas, many of which went on to be award-winning films. “The Last Zombie” was a project from my studies that I had scripted, revised, but never actually filmed while in school. Partnering with Charm City Filmmakers, I was able to complete “Last Zombie,” inspired by the influences of such things like “The Walking Dead,” “Warm Bodies,” as well as the famous ‘Maria and the Monster’ scene from the 1920’s Universal film, “Frankenstein.”

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.

June 28, 2023 - Filmmaker Robert Jauregui (INCORRIGIBLE)

INCORRIGIBLE, 11min., USA
Directed by Robert Jauregui
Noah has a unique set of skills that has always frustrated her best friend Alex. After yet another one of Noah’s episodes, the duo must decide on the best course of action. A farce ensues, which leads both down a path to which there is no turning back.

https://www.instagram.com/incorrigiblethefilm2022/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I wanted to make a different kind of film. Something that would turn a very serious subject (in this case, a serial killer) and turn it on its head. Have fun with it, and make it a dark comedy.

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.

June 27, 2023 - Filmmaker Rommel Villa (PIEDRA DURA)

PIEDRA DURA, 20min,. USA, Drama

Directed by Rommel Villa

An altar boy is disciplined after being caught watching gay porn at church

Rommel also has his short film, TEDDY MATE, play at our festival back in 2019.

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.

June 26, 2023 - Filmmaker Greg Womble (LOVE WITHOUT PAROLE)

LOVE WITHOUT PAROLE, 27min., USA, Documentary

Directed by Greg Womble

Michael falls deeply in love and matrimony follows. But married life can be tough when you’re serving a life-without-parole sentence in a notorious Alabama prison. The union soon dies, but the love doesn't. When Michael is miraculously freed after serving 36 years for relatively minor crimes, will the romance be reignited?

https://www.womcom.net/love-without-parole

https://www.facebook.com/Love-Without-Parole-a-short-film-by-Greg-Womble-Elaine-Witt-108611718616646

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.

June 24, 2023 - Filmmaker Greg Boose (LITTLE JUDAS)

LITTLE JUDAS, 6min,. USA
Directed by Greg Boose
Young and mischievous Judas Iscariot dreams of ruling the streets of Nazareth while reluctantly befriending his strange and annoying new neighbor, Jesus of Galilee. The kids attend the first day Josaphat’s School of Shepherding, learning how to handle bear attacks and first crushes.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26671036/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I went to Catholic school for 12 years and had a lot of biblical characters always bouncing around in my head. Judas Iscariot always stood out to me because we knew so little about him: He was a greedy backstabber who betrayed Jesus. I wondered, “How did Judas end up like that? What was his childhood like?” So, a few years back, I wrote an animated pilot about Judas Iscariot being an asshole punk teenager on the streets of Nazareth, and Jesus and his weird family move in next door. The two of them attend shepherding school together and form an unlikely friendship by the end. The pilot script got pretty far in some screenplay contests, but ultimately nothing happened with it.

Hadas Goshen, executive producer of “Little Judas,” read the script in 2022 and got really excited and wanted to help me create it. She reached out to the brilliant animator Bradley Oliver Wilkinson, and soon the project was in motion: We would create one scene from the pilot as an example of what we can do together.

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.

June 19, 2023 - Writer/Actor Gabriel Oliva (GAY CAMP)

GAY CAMP, 10min,. USA, Comedy
Directed by Mark Marchillo
In a world where most of the population is gay, children who exhibit “straight” tendencies are sent to camps in order to convert them back to their natural homosexual lifestyle. Camp Sohomo will convert your child in record time.

Get to know Writer/Star Gabriel Oliva:
-The day after the 2016 US Presidential election I was in total shock and felt powerless. So the best I could do was do some within my control: make film. So I wrote this to see what the world would be like if the power dynamics of the world were completely flip-flopped.

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.

June 18, 2023 - Filmmaker Pat Mitchell (APPLES, ORANGES, LEMONS & LIMES)

APPLES, ORANGES, LEMONS & LIMES, 45min,. USA, Relationship

Directed by Pat Mitchell

A timid young man chronically suffers from social anxiety. At a party, an unlikely encounter inspires a night of drinking, joy and romance.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15035104/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I remember thinking about two people walking down a street drunk and wanted to put a hypothetical story behind it.

We also tend to have a stigma against young adults drinking. I think lots of movies portray younger generation drinkers as irresponsible and reckless. I thought it would be nice to show it as a celebration once again and put some delight into that rather than the darker takes on the topic. I was a young drinker and didn't have much recklessness going around. I wanted to bring those feelings I had on screen.

I also like psychological thrillers and the state of mind characters play. I thought of a character with social anxiety. I have it and many people in the world. its a very relatable subject. I managed to write a straightforward story around that. I made things more complicated before but I didn't want to lose the crowd with my own ambitions in this film. I kept it very light but thoughtful.

It didn't become a romance film until I challenged myself to write one. I usually write about a past love, a lost love or tortured love. It was my first time writing about the beginning of a relationship. I loved it more than I thought I would. I am so glad for the amazing response. I was afraid if i wasn't a zany young adult mania-filled party film people may be thrown off.

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.

June 17, 2023 - Filmmaker Hester Schell (CLIMATE CHANGE: CAPE LOOKOUT)

CLIMATE CHANGE: CAPE LOOKOUT, 5min., Documentary
Directed by Hester Schell
Created for the 7th Generation Pano Mural Project’s 5 minute film festival, July 2022. Assignment: Pick a section of the USA west coast to examine the effects of climate change on the region. Under 5 minutes. My film was chosen to screen at the festival last summer. I chose Cape Lookout to Cape Mears, Oregon, USA.

http://hesterschellcreative.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hester.schell

Get to know the filmmaker:

I want to convey a sense of urgency and inspire people to take more action on the climate emergency. Whether driving less, or lobbying against insatiable corporate greed hell bent on profits over life, or having fewer children, or finding commercial uses for recycled plastics. How about we stop making more of it! The oil industry is drowning us in plastic which is killing wildlife.

And…

The Ocean Film Festival. An email landed in my inbox around 10 days before the deadline last summer, 2022. The criteria really spoke to me: pick a favorite place along the West Coast, examine the effects of climate change, and keep it under 5 minutes.

Climate change is an existential threat to all of us. It may sound cliché but we only have one planet and we are running out of time to slow this down.

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.

  • Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and FacebookYou 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.

June 15, 2023 - Filmmaker Lenora Lee (AND THE COMMUNITY WILL RISE)

AND THE COMMUNITY WILL RISE, 63min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Lenora Lee

http://www.lenoraleedance.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LenoraLeeDance
https://www.twitter.com/LenoraLeeDance
https://www.instagram.com/LenoraLeeDance

Get to know the filmmaker:

Lenora Lee Dance, Asian Improv aRts, and Chinatown Community Development Center had been working on a collaborative project featuring CCDC’s residents already in 2018. Given the impactful results, we wanted to further this working relationship, and decided to embark on this new project “And the Community Will Rise”.

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.

June 12, 2023 - Filmmaker Hans Withoos (THE WORLD OF WITHOOS)

THE WORLD OF WITHOOS, 10min., Netherlands, Experimental
Directed by Hans Withoos, Inge Theunissen
Together with filmmaker Inge Theunissen of Itmoves, I Hans Withoos made a surrealist film about my quest for the amalgamation of the works of our ancestors and our photography.

https://hanswithoos.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hans.withoos
https://www.instagram.com/hanswithoos/

Get to know the filmmaker:

Working as an photographic artist with so many filch elements it was a need for me to change my artworks into a film. Then I was asked by a museum, during preparation of a museum show if i also could deliver a film about me and my work. I did not want a documentary so asked Inge Theunissen to create a short film together to bring my thoughts to life.

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.

June 11, 2023 - Filmmaker Sascha Klamp (THE ART OF SEEING, THE ART OF REMEMBERING)

THE ART OF SEEING, THE ART OF REMEMBERING, 23min., UK
Directed by Sascha Klamp
Working with two distinct Armenian communities, traditional border villages which hold up the potential resistance from its hostile neighbours, the film explores the set-up of a Community Archive with village Elders whilst juxtaposing how teenagers look at a single polaroid image in the world of social media. The Film explores the communities and the individuals’ understanding of Identity, Memory, and Self in adverse conditions and what Hope & Opportunities exist for their adolescence in particular.

http://www.up2imagination.com/khachik-archive
https://www.instagram.com/up_2_imagination

Get to know the filmmaker:

In mid/late 2020, I was disillusioned by the reporting about the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. One, the media only fed us typical conflict images with little to no reporting on the historical reasons why these two countries may be at war. And second, I was surprised how quickly the newscycle moved on from what I believe is a war that has reasons for all of us in the West to get nervous about. Remember, I made this movie before the situation in Ukraine emerged. Azerbaijan is one of the largest providers of oil/gas to Europe and the UK is the largest foreign direct investor in Azerbaijan. So I felt that there is a media bias in reporting potentially also.

Most importantly, my wife is of Armenian heritage but has not been back since childhood. So there is an element of showcasing her cultural roots to my three daughters.

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.

June 10, 2023 - Filmmaker Alexis Janae (BOIZ KLUB)

BOIZ KLUB, 10min,. USA, Satrical Comedy
Directed by Alexis Janae
This satirical comedy follows four powerful white men—Hollywood executives—on their way to the annual Movie Awards in a limousine. They irreverently discuss the current political landscape of the film industry as they partake of fine champahn-ya, and substances more illicit. There’s only one thing… They are portrayed by four young women of mixed ethnicities. Conventions are discarded and tables are turned during this peculiar voyage through the streets of Tinseltown to the film industry’s most glamorous event.

http://haydenlcroft.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I enjoyed being able to speak from the female perspective on how men in the industry are perceived . Hayden is our writer and had been working on the script for some time prior but we filmed it in 2 days and editing took a couple months.

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.

June 8, 2023 - Filmmaker Stéphane Orlando (NIGHT FALLS)

NIGHT FALLS, 19min., Belgium, Music
Directed by Stéphane Orlando
Veronika Harcsa is accompanied by the Cave Cantores to embody the inner struggle of a singer living between two worlds, the classical of her illustrious cellist father and the jazz where she sees a possible key to more artistic freedom. Four lines from William Blake’s poem « Night » guide the narrative through different pieces of a puzzle of real and invented memories. This jumble of past, present and future crystallises into a powerful musical bad trip with catastrophic consequences.

https://stephaneorlando.com/portfolio/opera/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I’m a huge fan of directors like Pawel Pawlikovski, David Lynch, Federico Fellini, Quentin Tarantino or Akira Kurosawa. It’s a cinema where image, sound, acting and movie sets serve the narrative in a complementary way, with always a strong concept that is the engine of the whole. I wanted to work in that direction. As I’m the composer of my own films, it’s easier: I’m always in perfect agreement with myself 🙂


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.

June 7, 2023 - Filmmaker Judee Tan (A MAN WAITING FOR THE LEAVES TO FALL)

A MAN WAITING FOR THE LEAVES TO FALL, 20min., Singapore
Directed by Judee Tan
A man waiting for the leaves to fall is a digital performative narration that chronicles the pivotal events in a man’s life. This 20-minute long digital production explores the relationship of the film medium within a new theatre paradigm where theatrical design takes center stage as characters.

https://m.facebook.com/amanwaitingfortheleavestofall/
https://www.instagram.com/_theaestheticproject

Get to know the filmmaker:
I’ve always wanted to create a show that has no actors or dialogue, to strip it down to the simplest and barest of art form. It was just a wild idea ‘cos I wouldn’t have dreamt of producing this show as it would be very tough to sell tickets to my local audience. Covid lockdowns were the perfect opportunity for me to launch this show. Since the pandemic have created such breakthroughs in people internally, be it negative or positive, it really pushed audiences to open their hearts and minds, and in turn, they also started to seek something different.

At the same time, my father had also passed away, and I knew it was meant to be that I share also, my deepest and spiritual expression to those who are meant to watch the 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.

June 5, 2023 - Filmmaker Jesse Randall (SPARE CHANGE)

SPARE CHANGE, 13min,. USA, Drama
Directed by Jesse Randall
After being thrown out by his parents, a young, homeless, trans man fights for survival on the gritty streets of Los Angeles until he can get on his feet again. After struggling to earn money panhandling, an unhoused woman living on the streets for 16 years shows him the ropes.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I think the homelessness crisis is horrific and I’m appalled at the lack of compassion and empathy for the unhoused. I wanted to do a film that humanizes homelessness.

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.

June 4, 2023 - Filmmaker Andrew Lyman-Clarke (ISLAND LOBSTERMAN)

ISLAND LOBSTERMAN, 23min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Andrew Lyman-Clarke
Island Lobsterman is the story of Malcolm Fernald, who, with his father Dan, lobsters the waters in the Acadia region of Maine. This film is about the unique lifestyle they lead and the challenges they face. The island they live on, Little Cranberry, is only a mile an a half long and a mile wide.

Get to know the filmmaker:
I wanted to make something in Maine near the family house that I’ve been going up to every summer my whole life, and I wanted it to be something that could help me get work in nature/travel TV (like National Geographic). After thinking a while about it, I decided a documentary about lobstering was the best opportunity.

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.

May 31, 2023 - Filmmaker Shuyin Zheng (YO YO)

YO YO, 9min., USA, Drama
Directed by Shuyin Zheng
A 15-year-old girl, Lin, who stays home pretending to be sick, lost her best friend because of a sketch, which also exposed her unrequited love under the summer sunlight.

Get to know the filmmaker:

Yo Yo is an autobiographical story inspired by my own experiences during high school. I was around 15 or 16 years old when it happened, and even now, it is still difficult for me to recall that girl, the archetype of the main character, Lin. She was my best friend back then, and we did everything together, from hanging out and studying to even sleeping over at each other’s houses. I felt like she was my twin sister. But when she confessed that she loved me, I was so overwhelmed that I simply froze. I ran away from her and never found the courage to speak to her again. We went our separate ways after that summer, but the feeling of regret and guilt lingered on. When the opportunity arose to create a short film for my thesis project, this experience immediately came to mind. From there, the production process flowed naturally. This story is one that I had to tell, in whatever form it may take.

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.

May 30, 2023 - Filmmaker Seraphine Terryberry (STROKE OF LUCK)

STROKE OF LUCK, 9min., USA, Drama/Comedy/Fantasy
Directed by Seraphine Terryberry
A young woman in her 20’s deals with her father having a stroke and being hospitalized, by escaping into her imagination and pretending she’s in movie scenes.

https://www.seraphineterryberry.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sissi_tea/

Get to know the filmmaker:
Answer: This film is loosely based on a personal experience of a family emergency and essentially a love letter to my parents about that time. It was during that uncertain chapter of my life, I noticed how much comedy played a role in helping me cope with difficult situations. As time passed, I found I was best able to sort through my feelings best by writing this script and using it as a way to express those tougher to verbalize emotions. As I come into my own style of filmmaking, I’ve discovered I’m drawn to stories that tackle difficult topics wrapped in a warm fuzzy comedy blanket; this was the first of (hopefully) many more stories like that.

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.