WILDsound's The Film Podcast

Documentary Film, film and television, Film Festival, Film of the Day, Independent Film, Matthew ToffoloMatthew ToffoloMay 26, 2024CHANGE MAKERS: The Global Race to Save Our Seas, Simone Kisiel, filmmaker, documentary festival, Matthew Toffolo

EP. 1238 - Screenwriter Rhyess Nash (SAND – Part I “Burial”)

Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buP7_6XCNEg

Summary: After Nefret goes missing, it puts Mazim’s place in the war in doubt, but despite his family’s safety, he won’t leave without Nefret, which leads him to face horrifying consequences.

Get to know the writer:

My screenplay is about, thematically, the struggle of reconciliation. The protagonist, Mazim Al-Farouq, chooses to have he and his family (wife and son) remain in their home village of Zareda, despite the encroaching invaders. His extraordinary super power is also his vice as he cannot emotionally live without his steppe eagle, Nefret. In reality, he should leave and put his human family members first, but he refuses to abandon his avian companion. This decision indirectly results in the death of son, Mezut. The remainder of the script explores the fallout from this tragedy.

Mazim and his wife, Layla, along with Mazim’s close friend, Firadh, escape the village upon the invasion, but Mezut falls to the sword by the Sojan warlord. Mazim and Layla must now emotionally reconcile the damage done by their beloved son’s demise. And Mazim, alone, must reconcile the fact that he could have saved his son from death and himself from unbearable guilt. As Layla grows increasingly resentful of Mazim, blaming him for Mezut’s death, the couple grows emotionally apart. However, despite this falling out of love, they must pick themselves up and return to the village to bury their son so that his soul may find peace in the Field of Reeds, for only those buried can find their way out of the Underworld and into Paradise.

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Matthew Toffolo, WritingMatthew ToffoloMay 23, 2024SAND – Part I “Burial”, Rhyess Nash, screenwriter, Matthew Toffolo, writer

EP. 1236 - Musician Daniel Prypchan (AL REVES music video)

AL REVES, 3min., Venezuela,
Directed by Luis Figeuredo
A music video by Human Productions featuring Danny Pryp and Pat Gales. ‘Al Revés’ is an original song performed by Danny Pryp.

http://dannypryp.com/
https://facebook.com/dannypryp
https://instagram.com/dannypryp

Get to know musician Daniel Prypchan:

When we finished my song “Al Revés” I was in love with it. I loved how romantic it was and immediately it came to me images of a desert, the romanticism of a mysterious woman… I was in Venezuela then and thought that “Los Medanos de Coro”, the desert in the state of Falcon, where I spent a lot of my holidays at my family’s farm, would be the perfect location. I had not been back for more than a decade, so this gave me the perfect excuse to go and enjoy the place again.

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film and television, filmmaking, Matthew Toffolo, MusicalMatthew ToffoloMay 23, 2024Daniel Prypchan (AL REVES music video), musician, Experimental film, Matthew Toffolo

EP. 1235 - Filmmaker Camilla Daldoss (TESOCO NUEVO: LAND OF JAGUARS)

TESOCO NUEVO: LAND OF JAGUARS, 37min., Mexico
Directed by Camilla Daldoss, Fernando Costantino Martinez Belmar
In a remote mayan community called Tesoco Nuevo located in the selva of Yucatan – Mexico, people have a special relationship with nature. The forest that this village protect is home of the largest wild cat in America and one of the most endangered: the jaguar. The documentary shows how they all have the important role to preserve it.

https://tesoconuevo.wixsite.com/documentary
https://www.facebook.com/tesoconuevotierradejaguares
https://instagram.com/camilladaldoss_videographer

Get to know filmmaker Camilla Daldoss:
I was filming my first short documentary about Sea Turtle Conservation in Puerto Escondido, when the biologist Fernando Martinez Belmar contacted me to see if I was able to film something in Yucatan about his conservation project with jaguars. I moved to Yucatan pretty excited and ended filming and editing for months and years.

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Film Festival, film and television, Film of the Day, Independent Film, Matthew Toffolo, LGBTMatthew ToffoloMay 23, 2024Camilla Daldoss (TESOCO NUEVO: LAND OF JAGUARS), Matthew Toffolo, filmmaker, documentary, environmental

EP. 1231 - Filmmaker Allexxis Youngs (PLEASE CLICK 2)

PLEASE CLICK 2, 4min., USA
Directed by Allexxis Youngs
Two friends fight to keep their sanity after encountering a
mysterious video online, there is no escape but to become a part of the video.

Get to know the filmmaker:

Lol, this film was for a screenwriting class. We had to come up with 3 to 5 ideas. Me being a Reddit user and into the deep web stuff. I saw a story that made me think about human interactions with tech/media. And it just clicked, the response I got from my professor and classmates made me keep pushing to make this film. Everyone wanted answers and loved how universal it is through the audience and media format-wise.

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Film Festival, film and television, Film of the Day, Matthew ToffoloMatthew ToffoloMay 23, 2024Allexxis Youngs (PLEASE CLICK 2), filmmaker, Matthew Toffolo, Under 5 minute film festival

EP. 1229 - Filmmaker Elisabetta Zavoli (THE FISHERMAN, THE ALIEN, THE SEA)

THE FISHERMAN, THE ALIEN, THE SEA, 9min,. Italy
Directed by Elisabetta Zavoli
In June 2023, the population of blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) boomed unexpectedly in the Goro lagoon, Delta of Po River, Italy. Here, amidst the alarmed but inactive shouting of the entire community, a young fourth-generation fisherman, Alessio Tagliati, leader of a small cooperative of clams farmers that has lost all their production to the blue crabs’ voracity, faces this new environmental challenge by reviving a traditional sustainable fishing technique his grandfather taught him and by following what the sea taught him: being ready to adapt to an environment that continuously change, thus showing a tremendous spirit of resilience in the face of the collapsing of his world.

http://www.elisabettazavoli.com/
https://www.facebook.com/elisabetta.zavoli
https://twitter.com/elizavola
https://www.instagram.com/elizavola/

Get to know the filmmaker:
I’m a freelance documentary photographer and filmmaker. In 2023, I investigated the invasion of alien species Atlantic blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in the Mediterranean Sea thanks to the support of the National Geographic Society – Storytelling Grant. One of the outputs was a short film telling the impacts of the blue crabs invasion.

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Documentary Film, Environmental, film and television, filmmaking, Independent Film, Matthew ToffoloMatthew ToffoloMay 23, 2024THE FISHERMAN, THE ALIEN, THE SEA, Elisabetta Zavoli, filmmaker

EP. 1228 - Filmmaker Zach Marks (A VALLEY REBORN)

A VALLEY REBORN, 11min., USA
Directed by Zach Marks
“A Valley Reborn” is a short documentary that highlights the careful restoration of a portion of the San Miguel River, situated in the historic town of Telluride, Colorado. Led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the United States Forest Service (USFS), this project aims to remediate the adverse effects of a century of mining activity, which left the riverbed laden with heavy metals such as lead and arsenic. This film captures the entire restoration process, from initial assessment to final cleanup. The film features interviews with experts, community members, and stakeholders involved in the project. By addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable practices, we can safeguard water quality, preserve ecosystems, and educate future generations.

Get to know the filmmaker:
I wanted to make this film after visiting Telluride in the summer of 2020. guided by my good friend, Carlo Pine, I was enthralled by the beauty of the valley and I wanted to do everything possible to spend as much time there. Then in 2022 when the EPA announced the plan to start this restoration project I quickly began to research and plan for A Valley Reborn. Learning about the passion the community had for this land, it was an easy choice to move to Telluride for the summer and start filming. Camping outside of town and filming this project was an unforgettable experience for my team and I.

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Film of the Day, Film Festival, film and television, filmmaking, Matthew ToffoloMatthew ToffoloMay 22, 2024Zach Marks (A VALLEY REBORN), Matthew Toffolo, filmmaker

EP. 1221 - Filmmaker David Babasiev (STRUGGLE)

STRUGGLE, 5min., Armenia
Directed by David Babasiev
In the remote mountains a family facing intense challenges as the mother and their prized cow approach childbirth simultaneously.

Get to know the filmmaker:
I’ve always wanted to showcase the reality of the struggle that many face. This film is a reflection of that desire, aiming to shed light on the raw, often unseen challenges people endure. How people are capable of facing two challenges at the same time and going through that.

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film and television, Film Festival, Film of the Day, filmmaking, Matthew Toffolo, Independent FilmMatthew ToffoloMay 22, 2024David Babasiev (STRUGGLE), filmmaker, Matthew Toffolo, wildsound

EP. 1219 - Filmmaker Britt Dallyn (MOB FAMILY TIES)

MOB FAMILY TIES, 9min., Canada
Directed by Britt Dallyn
After grandpa Michael begins to unintentionally rat on old associates due to his mental decline, the Leslie’s, a mob family, face a moral dilemma whether they need to whack grandpa or not as they host his possible final meal in this send up of traditional TV sitcoms.

Get to know the filmmaker:

I made this at Vancouver Film School for what they call “demo shoots”. Meaning after we had filmed our higher budget, 2-3 day shoots throughout the year, we were given an opportunity to film one more project before the year ended to add to our demo reels. Unlike the shoots earlier in the year however, these projects had no budget and had to be filmed within the school for 1 day only. Everybody had to write a 6 page script and pitch it to the teachers as an assignment where the teachers would pick 6 to actually be filmed. So with those parameters I thought about what I had access to for free within the school. Then I thought “hey, that one pre-built set kinda looks like a sitcom set. I’ve always appreciated a good sitcom, so what if I made one of my own but with a dark kind of humour that you wouldn’t typically see in a show like this.” I found the contrast of all the cheery dressings of a sitcom mixed with a story about murder to be promising for a comedy. In short, like many solutions in film, it all came together out of necessity.

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