CARELESSLY THERE, 13min., USA, Drama
Directed by Rachel Deutsch
As Elaine grapples with romantic feelings for her best friend May, she begins to confront her own identity, and the lies she’s told to protect it.

http://www.racheldeutsch.com/
https://www.instagram.com/racheldeutschh/

Get to know the filmmaker:

This is a film that was written by my best friend Isabelle Fenn Miller. I wanted to make this film because I wanted to challenge myself and take on a project as a director. Thus far I have directed my own work. My first film, Until I Met You, I had written, starred in, and directed. Which is a lot. I was excited to take a step back and focus on directing!

This piece was originally an essay Isabelle Fenn Miller wrote in college. We both went to acting school together at NYU Tisch and took a class called “devised work” where we were encouraged to write about anything. I knew I wanted to direct her writing because I could still remember specific lines I saw as images in my head many years later. I never had forgotten the piece.

I believed in her work so much. We both took a chance by trusting each other to make it. I couldn’t have been happier when working with Isabelle. I felt fully trusted by her to bring my own vision to the writing as a director. It helped that we were already close as friends. Our friendship fostered an environment where we were able to really listen to each other when it came to making hard decisions.

Beyond our working relationship, a theme in my work (and life) so far is creating art about romantic female friendship. I found the character of Elaine challenging. (Which is what I liked about her.) It was challenging to create a character who doesn’t DO anything, but just allow life to happen to her. If I’m being honest with myself, I feel like this often. I also feel that most of the time we think we are in control of our life when we are not at all. I was excited about exploring all these ideas when it came to making this film!

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DIRTY SECRETS, 4min., USA
Directed by Prathiba Natesan Batley
DIRTY SECRETS is autobiographical dance short film with an all women cast and crew, that traces a lifetime of sexual abuse and harassment across my lifespan in both the east and the west which is a surprisingly common story. This is an international collaboration across a cast and crew from the US, Malaysia, and India.

https://www.eyakkamdance.org/
https://www.instagram.com/eyakkamdance/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

My dance company Eyakkam’s mission is to make the beautiful, traditional dance form of Bharatanatyam which has a troubled past and present more current. Eyakkam means movement in my mother tongue Tamil meaning a social movement, a political movement, a physical movement, or a musical movement. I want to remove the caste and religious hegemonies from the dance form while giving women more agency as actors and creators. I want to use this dance form to talk about current issues and take it to the masses rather than to just a few classes or castes.

I cannot exactly point out when I started thinking about writing/making Dirty Secrets, but I remember being affected deeply every time I or someone else experienced sexual harassment/abuse/violence. Like I say in my film, we share, comment, like, subscribe, or cancel but often do nothing. When the Nirbhaya gang rape case (in Delhi) and a series of inhuman sexual violence cases became more public in India I realized how women and their bodies were weaponized by the political organizations or groups in question. It is perhaps the anger or ineptness that I cannot change people’s minds or perhaps it is the hope that I might spark a debate amongst survivors to come out and discuss their struggles more openly that motivated me to make this film. And finally, the chair I sit on has four legs – my husband without whom I could not have had the courage to talk about my personal experiences, my brother who is an unwavering supporter of my works, my dance teacher who is like my second mother, and my late mother who trusted me to do what I believed in irrespective of popular opinion.

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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Nesia, 15min., Canada
Directed by Mikel Guillen
An avant-garde film about trauma and how a little girl connects through dance with her surviving Hungarian grandmother who was a Auschwitz survivor.

http://mikelguillen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mikelguillenfilm/
https://www.instagram.com/mikelgb/?hl=en

Get to know the filmmaker:

I am very interested in how trauma travels through generations and cultures and how it affects many people around the globe.

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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CHECKED BAGS, 2min., USA
Directed by Mark Cline
A combat veteran is traveling by a civilian airline. The airline now requires all passengers to check their emotional baggage before boarding any flight. After checking his bags, the man experiences the serenity of becoming unburdened by the guilt and trauma that he carries inside all the time.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27484867/

Get to know the filmmaker:
As an armed services veteran (non-combat) I know that many veterans suffer from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. In between the building out the visuals for ‘Checked Bags’ I would watch different podcasts interviewing prior and active service members. I would hear them independently discuss their personal story and how PTSD and TBI’s go hand in hand. The veteran community is getting better at sharing these stories with the public and more importantly with other vets in letting them know that they are not alone in this type of recovery and help is out there. In a way this is my contribution to help spread the word.

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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MISFORTUNE, 7min,. USA, Drama
Directed by Linda Kudzmas
Adapted from a Polish folktale, ‘Misfortune’ tells the story of two sisters; Marta the elder, and Zofia the younger. Marta is very rich, and lives in luxury. Zofia is very poor because Misfortune lives on her stove. Misfortune plagues Zofia, causing disasters that constantly keep her struggling to survive. When Zofia cleverly rids herself of Misfortune, Marta becomes jealous and risks everything to get Misfortune once again, living on Zofia’s stove.

https://friedegganimation.com/misfortune/index.html

Get to know the filmmaker:
The story of how someone can experience misfortune through no fault of their own, and how other people judge the situation and not the struggle.

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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PISS ON PATRIARCHY, 10min., Germany, Drama
Directed by Lena Fakler
Marie is driving on the highway and needs to pee urgently. But the toilet at the rest stop is broken. And an increasingly absurd odyssey through this toxic male biotope begins for Marie – and ends in blood.

https://www.la-gente-agentur.de/portfolio/lena-fakler/

Get to know the filmmaker:

I believe that by making films we can change the world — as we can make structural problems visible by identifying with a character who is going through something. Because of systematic problems like — for example — sexism in patriarchy and capitalism. Films can make us identify with a speaking car or a yellow bear. Or it can make a white, privileged dude identify with a woman who needs to pee urgently but has no possibility in a surrounding that was created for men, by men. Films help us to change our perspective and broaden our horizons. Something that we need to do if we want to smash patriarchy. We need empathy and we need to recognize our privileges — so there can be change.

All my films are feminist and political. And I love to make structural problems visible in individual stories. PISS ON PATRIARCHY focuses on one facet of patriarchy — the toilet situation and the sexist architecture of our male world. I liked to idea of a character having a very basic, urgent, natural need and want. And simple obstacles — the male world we know. And I was very motivated to make it also funny. By addressing the absurdity of this system.

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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FRENCHIE, 6min,. USA, Documentary

Directed by Franklin S Riley

This is a short documentary of Darryl Francis. Darryl is a ex-convict turned screenwriter after spending 20 years in prison for a murder he didn’t do. His story comes with twist and turns and ends with triumph.

https://www.instagram.com/theknueworld

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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FLOWERS DIE FIRST, 17min,. USA
Directed by Gwyn Newcomb
Romance ensues when an orange packing girl, in 1940s California, receives a response to a letter she sent to deployed soldiers. Now she must chose between duty to her family or to herself.

https://flowersdiefirst.wixsite.com/flowersdiefirst
https://www.instagram.com/flowersdiefirst/

Interview with actor/producer Gwyn Newcomb & director Christina K. Caralis

From Christina K. Caralis

I wanted to tell a story about what it means to be a “good” daughter and how that shapes the choices we make in life. My love for history and fashion allowed me to explore how this affects women throughout time.

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VELA, 15min., Canada, Drama/Horror
Directed by Esteban Powell
Young Xime hopes to restore her family by arranging a Día de Los Muertos altar – meanwhile a looming presence closes in.

https://www.instagram.com/vela_shortfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:
A: What motivated me to make this film was my personal experience with grief, and contextualizing it with my Mexican heritage. Merging the deeply personal subject matter, with the folk tale I grew up hearing felt like the right way to process and share how something seemingly dark can transform in our minds into something positive – no matter how painful. And how better to (re)explore that than through the eyes of a child protagonist again? Vela became a cathartic way to portray a short chapter in the tale of an immigrant Mexican family in Canada, and how through reconnecting with their roots, they can find a spiritually fulfilling transformation.

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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The Great Basin! Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Desert, 15min., USA
Directed by Eric Weeks
The Great Basin! Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Desert is a film, book and print project that addresses climate change, the severe drought in the Western United States, gun culture, the military’s use of the basin and range of Nevada for atomic testing, cultural stereotypes, my own personal history, and my experiences in this mostly remote area. In the 15 minute short film I am creating complex collages of my still and motion captures made in Nevada with appropriated short clips from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, recent weather footage, The Lone Ranger, as well as John Wayne’s and other historic films, cartoons, and many other cultural artifacts, in order to speak to the place and its significance.

https://ericweeksphoto.com/the-great-basin-2

Get to know the filmmaker:

In early 2022, I applied to a unique residency through the Montello Foundation (https://www.montellofoundation.org/) in Montello, Nevada. The residency is designed for one person to spend two weeks completely off of the grid in the basin and range of northeast Nevada. I was fortunate to be awarded a residency for that summer. While there I captured moving and still images, and did a deep research dive about the area. Two out of the twenty plus books that I read while there were instrumental in my conceptualization of my film The Great Basin! Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Desert. They were Rebecca Solnit’s Savage Dreams and John McPhee’s Basin and Range. While there in that peaceful and contemplative environment, I realized how so much of the human activity that has taken place in Nevada has affected my experience. Climate change, gun culture, atomic testing, cultural stereotypes, and my childhood came bubbling up for me, and I needed to make my film. I understood that I couldn’t tell this story with my images of the basin and range alone, so when I returned to New York City after the residency, I began to appropriate clips from classic films, TV commercials, cartoons, etc.

• 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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FROM MY EYES, 98min., USA
Directed by Darrick Landreneau
When a freshman embarks on a journey to film everyday of college, he discovers that growing up might be harder than he ever imagined.

https://instagram.com/frommyeyes/

Get to know the filmmaker:

Honestly it was a mixture of my love for film and a God idea. I’d been suffering from a real lack of ideas during my first month of my Freshman Year at LSU. I had a camera (Sony NEX-VG10) and a lifetime supply of inspiration and drive… but no ideas. So I’m a Christian and one day on my way to math class I started praying for an idea, a big idea. I can take you to the exact spot where this thought just infected my brain, “Why don’t you film college?” My initial thought was, “yea right”, but over the next week God opened doors and provided a way for me to start filming. On October 16th, 2012 I picked up a camera not knowing what the story would be but curious enough to find out.

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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I AM JUDIT, 83min., USA
Directed by Christiane Arbesu
From award-winning documentary filmmaker Christiane Arbesu comes I AM JUDIT; a poignant depiction of Holocaust survivor Judy Sleed and her present day family. A fixture in the East Hampton community, Judy, at the age of 90, is finally lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding her harrowing childhood — a painful truth she never discussed with her children. The longtime, local talk show host who loves to hear other people’s stories is sharing hers with unprecedented candor. Skillfully juxtaposing the past with the present, I AM JUDIT is a captivating portrait of Judy Sleed’s emergence as a magnificent light.

http://terrebonneproductions.com/

Get to know the filmmaker:

There are so few survivors left and the incidence of hate against “Jews” is at an all time high since WWII. People need to know the Holocaust happened.

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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THE SLOW DEATH, 22min,. Canada
Directed by Chris Hird-Saunders
A disturbed woman reanimates her recently deceased father’s corpse in a twisted, ambitious experiment intended to save humanity from the ongoing climate crisis.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I was mostly driven to make another film out of the need to keep creating stuff. Covid in particular made me need to seek out my passion after feeling stiffled.

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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WHITE NOISE, 16min,. Australia
Directed by Bryce McLellan
Zoe Marlowe is the Pathfinder, tasked with finding humanity a new home after the loss of Earth to climate change. With her trusty A.I. she explores planet after planet, looking for the perfect combination of conditions that mark a habitable world. But her A.I. is more than she appears to be, and what happens if/

Get to know the filmmaker:
A love of science fiction! A lot of science fiction stories are about finding a new home, a planet just like Earth, for humanity to start over. I wanted to create a film where that’s not possible, where nothing out there in the cosmos, as grand and exciting as it is, can compare to our home.

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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UNCANNY VALLEY: SAUVAGE, 21min., USA
Directed by Anthony A DiMaria
Uncanny Valley is a series focusing on the culinary scene in Phoenix, Arizona. Sauvage is the second episode in the series, introducing the audience to owner and natural wine connoisseur, Chris Lingua. Learn about natural wine – what it is and how it is made – and discover the challenges and inspiration behind Chris’ journey of bringing natural wine to the city of Phoenix through creating the only all natural wine bar in the state: Sauvage.

https://instagram.com/uncannyvalleyseries

Get to know the filmmaker:

Chris Lingua’s story captivated me from the moment I heard it. An entrepreneur, a connoisseur, and an artist in his craft, Chris’ story is a unique look at the world of wine and one I felt needed to be told. Additionally, having lived in Phoenix for nearly a decade, it is important to me to shine a light on the wonderful things happening in that city through my work. These elements created the perfect recipe to educate audiences on natural wine, showcase Chris’ story, and ultimately tell a piece of the greater story of the food and beverage landscape in Phoenix, Arizona.

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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Pamela PerryGoulardt has had multiple scripts performed at the WILDsound Festival, with 5 scripts being turned into “Script Movies”. Those films have gone onto winning multiple awards at various festivals.

You can watch Pamela’s script movies and screenplay readings here:

https://www.wildsound.ca/search?q=Pamela%20PerryGoulardt

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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MI NINA/MY LITTLE GIRL, 7min., USA, Experimental
Directed by Emanuel Loarca
Laura takes us by the hand on a moving journey through time with her mother. You experience how love overcomes suffering and builds lasting memories that give meaning to life and strengthen the soul.

Interview with Director/Producer Emanuel Loarca & Writer/Producer Laura Isabel Figueroa

Emanuel Loarca: What motivated me to make this film was the love imprinted on the page, this beautiful poem that celebrated and honored their unique kind love at different stages of their lives and beyond life itself. I wanted to honor that.

Laura Isabel: The vision of the director and producer Emanuel Loarca, who fell immediately in love with the poem I wrote to honor my mother’s resiliency and unconditionally love. I also wanted to raise awareness among potential viewers to care for their mothers and loved ones while they are still alive. Originally, I was planning to record myself reciting the poem and share the video on social media for Mother’s Day, but Emanuel believed it was meant to be a film and I decided to go along with the idea. I’m glad I did!

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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DOJO, 15min., USA
Directed by Armin Alic
Shane Lucas, an ex-Yakuza member and 4th degree black belt in Judo, is hunted down at his local dojo in Los Angeles 1985 by his long-time rival, Elias Da Rosa and his crew members from the same crime family. Shane is threatened to come back to the Yakuza or would suffer the consequence of not.

https://www.facebook.com/realjonpaul
https://www.instagram.com/j_o_n_p_a_u_l

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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LIFE ALTERING GENDER REVEAL, 8min,. USA
Directed by Craig Wildenradt
The lives of unsuspecting party guests are forever changed after they learn of their friends’ baby’s gender.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27895666/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Get to know the filmmaker:
The vast majority of the time, when I write comedy I’m usually poking fun at things that actually frustrate me. So with that said, it’s probably unsurprising that the bulk of the comedy I write is social critique. It’s kind of a healthy catharsis for me to take those things and make them the butt of a joke. So that’s always a motivation for comedy writing in general. Speaking more specifically to LIFE ALTERING GENDER REVEAL, beyond the aforementioned I personally thought the concept was hilarious, ripe for getting really absurd (which I love to do), and would be a ton of fun to make. I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I predominantly create for myself first. As many challenges as there are to indie filmmaking, one of the luxuries is just being able to do what you want. For me, that’s plenty of motivation by itself. But the rest came when I started sharing the concept and other folks thought it was hilarious too!

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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Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTQp7y86L-U

In 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has recently been evacuated by Belgian forces in the face of violent uprisings, leaving new Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba’s, 35, shaky government to ward off both America and Russia, who contend for the rich natural resources of uranium, diamonds, copper, and cobalt. The capital city of Kinshasa is war-torn and violent, prone to constant uprisings and full of security checkpoints. Fires and gunfights rage day and night.

Michael McClung on why the script should be made into a film:

We are still dealing with both the political ramifications, and the resource predation, in sub-Saharan Africa today. The events shown in KISS OF DARKNESS have affected hundreds of millions over the decades, and there has been virtually no attention paid (or restitution demanded) for the CIA’S role in this tragedy.

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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