WAWA BY THE OCEAN, 5min., USA
Directed by Ryan Walker Page
A dance narrative that explores inner and outer landscapes—emphasizing the overlap of pain, sensuality, and joy.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I stumbled upon this song and it flung all the doors open for me. It connected me to my Quaker roots, my mother’s intense emotions, and the rare visual of Los Angeles when it is hydrated. It cared for me during a grueling medical procedure and I would use it for dance classes. After a few months of listening, I decided to reach out to the artist in the hopes of creating a video. To my delight, Mary said yes and just so happened to be my neighbor in LA!! All of these beginning signs have me a powerful green light to keep going.

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 Facebook

THE MEMORY OF THE MOMENT, 60min., Romania
Directed by Ovidiu Georgescu
An 80 years old woman, former teacher, lives alone in an isolated village in Transilvania, located on a 1200m high mountain. She’s created an important space for books, music and poetry next to her assets and the animals that live in her homestead, built over 90 years ago by her family. At the end of this journey we’ll discover a world of the past, present and future – the world of Viorica C?tuna.

Get to know the filmmaker:

With this documentary film I intend to discover and revel my roots and my deepest and profound Romanian heritage, that, hopefully, will not disappear, at least not so soon. “The Memory of the Moment” it’s my fifth documentary film from a series that I started in 2000, series that is called “My Profound Romania”. I’ll not stop here, this series of documentary films will go on!

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 Facebook

MOTHERLAND, 19min., USA
Directed by Lijie Xie
When a Chinese mother visits her son in Manhattan to celebrate news of his engagement, she’s taken aback to discover that her son is actually planning to marry another man. As she watches the couple prepare to come out to her, she must grapple with her emotions and decide how to react to the news.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I spent a whole year during COVID, 24/7, with my family, particularly with my mom who traveled from China to assist my sister in moving and got stuck with us in Michigan. Throughout that year, I discovered how incredibly adaptive and supportive my mom is, demonstrating a remarkable capacity for learning and a strong will to understand her children. These characteristics really inspired this film and its central character.

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 Facebook

THE GREAT NO-MAN’S LAND, 6min,. Belgium
Directed by Giacomo Segers
A fantasy creature by the name of Chloro undertakes a journey across the Great No-Man’s Land; a ruined fantasy world destroyed by mechanized conflict. He does this in order to return to his home and reunite with his family.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I’m a worldbuilder at heart. I love to enrich myself in the setting of a story, and I have a strong fondness for movies, games, and literature set in the wonderful realm of fantasy and science fiction. The illustrations that I make are usually things that make up the part of a bigger whole. The creatures and characters that I draw usually have a little blurb of background information that I imagine for them. I even have a few documents that I’ve typed down with descriptions. I also adore the proces of mapmaking, and I’ve sketched and have drawn out a lot of maps throughout my life.

The last couple of years, I have started working on a fantasy setting of my own; one where I mix fantasy elements with the aesthetics of the First World War. Of course, this was nothing professional or well thought out, and the chance that this would ever reach an audience or go further than just my artwork was very minimal. However, once I started my education at the Luca-school of Arts, I realised that I might be able to do something more with my setting than just drawings inside of a sketchbook. So when I started my Masters project, I already had the perfect world for it to be set in.

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 Facebook

ACRONIUS, 2min., UK
Directd by Dele Ajayi
After decades of turmoil, the Kingdom of Sonuria is finally at peace. This new era, established by the good King Acronius, has been noted for its prosperity.

https://www.fluid-lab.com/portfolio/acronius
https://www.instagram.com/fluid.lab/

Get to know the filmmaker:

The project started very small, from the cog tunnel at the end of the film. I saw a similar short sequence in someone’s showreel and felt I should do something similar but I felt the tunnel had to lead somewhere to something. Eventually the idea grew and grew until we have what we see here.

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 Facebook

THE LAST ASHLYN, 9min,. USA
Directed by AJ Moss
A young girl in an ancient, fantasy world attempts to stop her mother and father, the last of her family, from dueling to the death over honor and spite.

Get to know the filmmaker:

For a decade I have slowly added to this fantasy world as both a hobby and in hopes that one day it might become something more. I wanted to tell something very contained and personal so I chose this small story that took place early on in the world when the world was at a very low point filled with war and division. It reflects a lot of the division I see in our world 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.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

THE ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE 2: SILBADORES OF THE CANARY ISLANDS, 25min., USA

Directed by Russ Emanuel

Kaylee, an apprentice assassin for TAA Corp., is taking a long-deserved vacation in the Canary Islands, when her Freerunner drone arrives to project a holographic image of Rick, her handler. Rick explains to Kaylee that her vacation has been cut short, and that she is being urgently summoned by Roy, the head of TAA Corp.’s Canary Island Bureau headquarters, for a new mission. Kaylee follows the Freerunner drone to the TAA Corp.’s Canary Island headquarters, where Roy explains that F.A.D., a rival group of counter-assassins, are on the island to eliminate TAA Corp.’s drone trainers, known as “Silbadores.” Kaylee drives her ninja motorcycle at breakneck speeds along beautiful coastal roads to TAA Corp.’s drone training grounds where she saves the Silbadores from deadly Swarmbots unleashed by the F.A.D. counter-assassins. A final showdown with the F.A.D. counter-assassins Sork and Karla ends with a surprising result.

https://www.taamovie.com/

https://www.facebook.com/taamovie/

https://twitter.com/russellemanuel

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 Facebook

STAR WARS: RENDEZVOUS, 20min., USA
Directed by Brent L Peterson
A pair of do-gooders attempt to protect a young, force-sensitive girl from bounty hunters on their way to rendezvous with a mysterious contact with the power to protect her much better than they can.

https://antigravityfilms.com/projects

Get to know the filmmaker:

Many motivations. I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was a little kid and after seeing so many Star Wars fan films on YouTube, thought it was a great option to dive into the universe on my own terms. To make a Star Wars film that I had always wanted to see. I also felt like it would be a good venue to further my career, by showing that I could do with an established and beloved IP. But without a doubt, the most personal reason to make this film was because of my seven-year-old son, who was a huge Star Wars fan. He passed away due to brain cancer a few years ago, and I felt like I needed to make this film for him. Star Wars: Rendezvous is dedicated to him.

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 Facebook

AMEND, 19min., USA
Directed by Jianna Maarten Saada
Rachael lives an isolated existence, haunted by an unspeakable past. But when a young boy upends her tightly controlled world, she’s forced to face her own demons.

https://www.amendshortfilm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/amendfilm
https://twitter.com/amend_film
https://instagram.com/amend_film

Get to know writer/producer Belinda Gosbee:

I was so desperate to express what I was feeling about gun violence in America. As a foreigner (Australian) I was constantly in a state of disbelief/anger/fear/confoundment over the gun issue. And that nothing was being done. And then I read an article about some survivors from Columbine and it was very eye opening. I felt horrified that I’d never thought about them before. We all react heavily to the event and then things go back to the status quo and these people who are deemed to be the “lucky ones” are left with a life that is barely a life at all in many cases. I mean the suicide rates are very high and even decades later many survivors have not been able to move on and live their lives. And that’s just the emotional trauma. Some have severe injuries that physically prevent them from truly “living” as well.

The trauma is almost insurmountable and there are very little resources to even begin to help them (though some organizations are starting to crop up today). They’re like combat vets who never left their “safe” American towns.

So I started thinking about what that might look like. How might it completely destroy your life? What if you tried to run away and it just kept following you? How might guilt and PTSD consume you? The memories? What if no one in this “new” life you’ve created even had an inkling of what you’ve experienced? And what if the very thing you were running from (the thing you once loved – kids) was the very thing that suddenly turned up in your life. What if they were the only way forward?

I was always adamant that this film needed to be about the aftermath of gun violence, about survivors. Not the event. But when we did finally show a peek of the “event” it would be minimal. Terrifying but extremely restricted.

What I loved was that our director, Jianna Maarten Saada, absolutely took that up a notch. She was like – “It’s all in the sound” and she was spot-on. If you rewatch the ending you’ll realise how very little you are actually seeing outside of Rachael’s face but the SOUND is leading you astray. The sound design (Thanks, Jeremy Jardine) is what’s truly terrifying you in those seconds.

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 Facebook

THE PENCIL, 10min., USA
Directed by Thomas Calvin Schultz
Sara, a struggling artist who discovers a unique pencil that can solve all her problems. But her dreams turn into a nightmare when a malevolent demonic creature from Kazakh legends gets unleashed.

https://thepencilshortfilm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thepencilshortfilm
https://www.instagram.com/thepencilshortfilm/

Get to know writer/director Madina Baimakhanova & director Thomas Calvin Schultz:

My wife and I always wanted to do a project together, and in fact it was one of the very first conversations we had when we had first met each other. When the opportunity arose we decided it would be a great time to have a short family/friends project in Kazakhstan where we would be traveling for a 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.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

THE FIVE STAGES, 12min., USA
Directed by Jessica Orcsik
Eva Allen is a recently single, devastated young woman. She enters a black box theatre being filled with well-dressed and put together people, laughing and drinking. A variety act performance is about to begin.

http://www.diversitypictures.org/
https://www.instagram.com/thefivestages_

Get to know producer/actor Hannah Carman:

At the time of making the film, I was studying full time as a student at the American Arts Film and Television Academy in their full-time Actors Conservatory, and had moved at the age of 18 to Los Angeles all the way from Australia. It was an incredible experience, but also a big emotional rollercoaster. Amid going through all these new emotional challenges, I felt motivated to make a film that explored the complexities of more challenging feelings like loss and sorrow. My coproducer Jess Orcsik and I felt that there was no better way to do that than structuring a short film using the five stages of grief.

I also was really set on making a film that incorporated musicality, as I’m a singer and was surrounded by some amazing singers and dancers that loved musicals like I do.

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 Facebook

MISSING IN THE MIDWEST, 18min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Harper Brock
Filmmaker Harper Brock journeys back to her roots to learn what happened to her cousin Joelle Lockwood whose 2014 abduction case shocked southwestern Indiana.

http://missinginthemidwestdocumentary.com/
https://www.instagram.com/missinginmidwest/

Get to know the filmmaker;
My family, both my parents and extended family in Indiana really pushed for me to do this project as my student thesis at SCAD. I don’t think I could have done it without their support.

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 Facebook

ECHO, 15min., UK, Family/Fantasy
Directed by Jo Southwell
Echo, tells the story of Alice, a young woman so traumatized by the loss of her baby that she shuts herself off emotionally from her partner and retreats into a fantasy world where she is able to connect with the essence of the child she lost, who we call Echo. After an elaborate underwater game of hide and seek, which clearly fills her with joy, Alice comes to the realization that she must make a choice; sink down into the dark water with Echo, or come up for air where Tom is desperately searching for her.

https://www.astonmgt.com/aston-productions/
http://twitter.com/josouthwell
https://www.instagram.com/jo_southwell1

Get to know the filmmaker:

Echo is the story of loss. My journey began after I had a miscarriage..many years later when I was writing, the story of Alice appeared on the page! I have written Echo in many different versions – originally as a short story but from the moment Sara at Troy TV agreed to produce the screenplay – about a year until we were in production. Post production then took place over an additional four months. Creating Echo was no easy task and we had so many super talented people on board who all wanted to be part of the journey but it took time.

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 Facebook

WHISKERED AWAY, 5min., USA
Directed by Gale Smith
When a stray cat sets out on a quest for a home, she encounters a witch who seems to be the perfect owner… maybe too perfect. She must decide whether to turn a blind eye for the sake of her newfound family.

https://whiskered-away.weebly.com/
https://www.instagram.com/galeanimation/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I have always loved working with animal characters. My pets were some of my very first drawing inspirations. When it was time for me to brainstorm my thesis film, Jinx came to me first. I loved this little black cat so much that I had to create a story around her. Because black cats and animals with disabilities struggle to get adopted, it evolved into a story about looking for a family and resisting those who prey on the vulnerable.

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 Facebook

GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME, 70min., USA
Directed by Daniel Wolff
Undeterred by decades of prejudice, post-Katrina neglect, and ongoing appropriation of their traditions, three generations of the extraordinary, multi-talented Harrison family guard their legacy and define what Black masking culture means in New Orleans today.

https://www.guardiansoftheflamemovie.org/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088184293417

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 Facebook

HOUSE OF MYSTIC MAGIC, 4min., UK
Directed by Alexander Miguel
In the House of Mystic Magic you will find all sorts. Creatures from Heaven to Hell and anything in between. Depicting a variety of scenarios all playing with the concept of the deadly sins, we showcase Mystic Magic’s fascination with dark, animalistic luxury couture. In today’s society more than ever the deadly sins powerfully elucidate some of the core emotional drivers of human behaviour which we explore in this avant-garde style short film.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I’ve long been fascinated by the use of fashion within film. Coming from a place where my dream was to direct music videos, I found an alternative outlet for my creativity in the form of fashion films. It wasn’t that long ago that fashion films weren’t commonly recognised as it’s own genre, and now it is truly blossoming and everyone has jumped on the trend! I am good friends with the designer of Mystic Magic, and together we decided to make this art video to promote his designs, and my filmmaking.

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 Facebook

GIVE US A SMILE, 13min., USA
Directed by Alessia Fionda
A humorous retelling of the sitting of the Mona Lisa featuring the master himself, Leonardo da Vinci and his not so talented pupil, Alessio.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20850030/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
https://instagram.com/alessiafionda

Get to know the filmmaker:

I was motivated to make this film because the script I had written encompassed everything I love. Women’s issues both past and present, art history and of course my favorite, comedy. The Mona Lisa is the most recognizable and discussed piece of art in existence, yet there is little to no information regarding the subject of the painting, Lisa del Giocondo. I wanted to add a colorful reinterpretation of what could have happened during the sitting. Also, I deeply wanted to play the character of Mona Lisa and challenge myself from an acting perspective.

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 Facebook

TAKING FLIGHT, 11min., USA
Directed by Will Chehab
In an area where traditional education fails students, one Mayan woman starts her own school in order to rebuild her community from the ground up. Through er integral education, which includes meals for students and workshops for their parents, Ingrid Villasenor strengthens her home of Panajachel one step at a time.

Get to know the filmmaker:
My motivation to make this film came from my desire to learn how to tell a good story through documentary. I’m currently a senior at the University of Michigan, and when looking for what to do over the summer, I saw an email from the department about making a documentary in Guatemala with Actuality Abroad. I signed up, interviewed, and was lucky enough to get in. Actuality Abroad set us (the crew) up with Tejiendo Futuros. What motivated me to tell Ingrid’s story specifically was the fact that she dedicates herself to her people, to her country, after her country’s government kidnapped her father whom she never saw again. The fact that Ingrid services her community after what happened to her family is powerful and incredible, and I knew right away that this was a story to tell. I really wanted to make sure that I did everything I possibly could to tell it right, and to be honest, there’s so much more to the story I want to explore and highlight because it is much more incredible than what we were able to capture in our four weeks in Guatemala.

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 Facebook

SUMMERVILLE, 26min., USA
Directed by Anthony Di Pietro
After an Alien invasion, the invaders decide to convert humans to a work force… An underground resistor, the Ghost, has some special skills that helps in the fight.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9805310/reference/

Get to know writer/producer/actor Paul Darrigo:

This started out with “Let’s shoot a quick scene” Then the passion got the best of us and here we are. (It took) At least 3 years to make this film. Multiple editors, re-shoots and script/story changes. Evidently, I took over editing and really had to make this happen. We went over budget a bit but I found 3 key people to finish 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.

• Subscribe to the podcast via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

THE ECLIPSE, 12min., USA
Directed by Dmitriy Usov
Roy, a widower, seeks the help of a psychic, Donna, to uncover the reason behind his wife Esther’s suicide. Donna suggests that he enter the spirit world and ask Esther herself. To do this, Roy must perform an ancient ritual at his old home, but with the condition that he only has 11 minutes in the spirit world and cannot kiss Esther. During his journey, Roy forgets the rule and kisses Esther, attracting dark forces that chase him. Esther reveals that a demon possessed her and has been after Roy for a long time. As Roy tries to return to the real world, he is possessed by the demon, and Donna is shown to have a deal with the demon to provide bodies in exchange for time with her deceased husband.

Get to know the filmmaker:
I shot The Eclipse as a senior thesis film at Loyola Marymount University. I wanted to showcase everything that I have learned at the film school and shoot a short film that would establish my visual style, a genre I love to work with, and overall the stories that I like to work with. A lot of my films revolve around the themes of desire and obsessive love, and I wanted to merge these elements with the magical realism and dark fantasy aspects I also like to work with.

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 Facebook