IN THE TANK was the winner of BEST FILM at the Under 5 Minute Film Festival.

https://ariannowbahari.com/in-the-tank/

A painter has lost inspiration. He decides to buy a fish, and paint it. But the experience turns out to be dramatic. Who really is in the tank? The artist or the fish? A 1 minute short movie about the link between freedom and creativity, based on a true story

Director Statement

As a painter, I continuosly look for inspiration. I thought that using a fish as 'model' could be interesting. But the experience has been dramatic: I could not accept that my creativity was limiting the fish's freedom. "In the tank" analyzes the link between these two concepts, i.e. is a reflection on freedom and creativity.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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SUNSHINE HEALING, 8min., Australia

The year is 2020 - fear and uncertainty had started to spread uncontrollably like the virus itself. Far away from home, a young woman navigates the emotional labyrinth of life during the pandemic.

Conversation with writer/producer Michael Lai on the 2 year process making the film.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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POP, 11min. short film. Played at the LA Feedback Film Festival

As they prepare for a surprise birthday party, a heterosexual couple engage in a passive-aggressive and toxic dialogue that escalates into a violent and disturbing ending.

Director Statement

As an aspiring filmmaker, I hope to explore stories through my work that deal with subjects and groups not typically represented in mainstream media. My aim is to bring a little more sympathy and love into this world through representation and understanding. I hope that by showcasing situations and people that society often neglects or mistreats in a more humanistic and empathetic lens, we can learn to relate to each other on an emotional level despite any differences in life experiences.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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EVERGREEN. 7min. short film. Played at the Female Feedback Film Festival.

The line between reality and dream blurs for Swedish Mia, who suffers from anxiety induced paranoia on the day of her immigration interview.

https://www.instagram.com/evergreentheshortfilm

Director Statement

With this film, I hope to raise awareness of the hardship that immigrants of all nationalities are facing while applying for permanent residency in the U.S and open up for a conversation around the subject. This issue is a reality regardless of what skin color you have, what country you are from, or what languages you speak. Ironically, as the US country that is in fact created by immigrants.

In this story, we follow Mia, a European immigrant’s story, yet “Mia” could be anyone in the world. For me, her story represents the issue of the immigration process in the U.S.

The film explores through an experimental, nightmare-like lens, the fear and feeling of paranoia that immigrants might experience, while being tested by a system that is not only difficult and scrutinizing but also intimidating, overwhelming and even at times disrespectful. Having to respond to endless requests, both personal and professional, being challenged as to the existence of a job, the validity of a relationship or being able to prove that oneself is “extraordinary” enough to live in the country. The sentiment I managed to gather from my own experiences as well as other immigrant friends, was the sense of not being wanted, trusted or welcomed.

Therefore, I hope to shed light on this issue and open up a discussion around the questions:
Is this process really fair and respectful? To what extent is this a valid test or is it an exercise and abuse of control? How do we decide who is worthy to stay in a country based on their ethnicity, gender, fortune, skills, nationality, religion or who they love and marry?

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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The World Cruzer travels through a future of nature pollution and climate chaos. Mankind is organized more democratically fighting for the survival of their own species. We share moments of insights with the World Cruzer on his mission to save the planet. His crew supports him with familiar voices, speaking about the many facets of being human. A modern movie with contemporary electronic music from Berlin clubs. It wants to change our point of view and to call upon mankind to find a global agreement - a new common sense pact.

Project Links

• Website

• Facebook

• Instagram

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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

Braving the realities of the harsh Montana winter and changing hunting regulations, hobby and career biologists track and study wolves in the Northern Tier of Yellowstone National Park. While the fate of wolves remains uncertain, the devotion and passion of Yellowstone’s Wolf Watchers are always a constant.

https://www.instagram.com/wolfwatchersdoc/

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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UNIVERIFIED was the winner of BEST FEATURE FILM at the 2022 THRILLER/SUSPENSE Film Festival.

Jason Sutherland wants to prove that such things as Sasquatches exist, but he doesn't want to kill one to do so. He and others come up with a non-lethal way to possibly verify their existence but a pro-kill advocate tries to beat them to the punch.

Project Links

• Facebook

• Instagram

Director Biography - Scott Herriott

Scott Herriott is a documentarian, former stand-up comic and Bigfoot enthusiast. He won a regional Emmy for his hosting duties on Internet Tonight on ZDTV (later known as TechTV) and was also a contributor on the channel’s The Screen Savers. He was also a contributor on CNN’s NewsNight with Aaron Brown and co-hosted “The Bigfoot Show” podcast. His trail name is Squatch, but please don’t call him that at any social events involving tuxedos and/or martinis. He’s been shooting his own documentaries for the last 17 years. "Unverified" is his first scripted feature.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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Would you eat human for humanity? By 2050, the global population will be 10 billion. How can we produce food without wrecking the planet? The aim of the campaign was to highlight this question, and Sweden’s answer. In the film Eat a Swede, viewers follow Erik Karlsson, a Swedish scientist with a controversial business idea: to produce and sell lab-grown human meat to feed our planet. But you know what, why eat a Swede, when you can eat Swedish!

Project Links

• Website

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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When a daydreamer falls in love with a book smart, things might get complicated - in her head, flying to the moon is more feasible than asking him out for ice cream, but on this bus ride, she will find the courage to speak up before the end of the line.

Conversation with director Michael Sternberg & producer/actor Shira Alon)

Director Statement

This story is inspired by a true event that I myself witnessed between two people sitting on a bus wanting so badly to speak to each other but struggling to express themselves. This event was very magical to me and I was touched by how both of them tried different ways to get to each other's hearts but kept stopping themselves because of their shyness. I could relate to this feeling of struggling to express love and how hard it is to approach someone you want to be with - it's not accessible, there are obstacles.

The moment where the guy gets up and leaves the bus was such a magical heartbreak representing the loss of the most important things we own, like sand disappearing from our hand. A bus represents something temporary, ephemeral, not something permanent. Nothing is stable, there are bumps in the road, even stops in the road but nothing really stops, people join you and people leave you, everything is passing... I chose to make this film in a foreign language because it takes me to a whole different world, to a magical world, just like a kid traveling abroad. In fact, just like a kid listening to a story before bedtime. 

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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“Inside an old cottage, a middle-aged man, K, is sitting at his desk. As K struggles to create on his working desk, he looks over at his pictures of yesteryears.” Conversation with EVERY DAY writer/director on the making of the film.

Director Biography - Navjyot Singh

Born in India, Navjyot studied Architecture in pursuit of a stable career. However, he soon realized that a screenplay's structure is much more interesting to him than a building's beam grid. During college, he made a few short films and later worked on a film set. Since 2017, Navjyot has called Canada home. After two years of studying filmmaking, he has started working on his own projects.

Director Statement

I'm a storyteller interested in exploring the human condition through intriguing stories.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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WHERE TEARS, PERHAPS is a music video featuring a dance duet between two female dancers that represents the act of creation. Interview with the Columbian filmmaker Walter Escamilla on the making of the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy7QN8rwGPY

Director Biography - Walter Escamilla

Walter Escamilla is a filmmaker based in Bogotá, Colombia. He studied Visual Arts at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He's first short film, Video Pulso, premiered in 2008 and was selected in various local film festivals including Cartagena International Film Festival. He's second short film, Prayer for Transformation, premiered in 2012 to further acclaim.

Apart form his artistic career, he has extensive experience as a Director and Editor of TV shows and documentary films. In 2012 he co-founded MONARCA, a young and highly creative team that produces music videos, fashion films and experimental media.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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Teo Belton is a French and Mexican film director and screenwriter based in Peru. His talent for photography and storytelling is immense, and it really shows in his recent short film CUIDANTSIQMI: Love and Care for the Land.

“The Wari Indigenous people of the Llupa community, located below the Cordillera Blanca of the Peruvian Andes, are facing an environmental disaster that is directly affecting their physical and mental health.”

Director Statement

Dedicating myself to film directing has allowed me to be versatile in my interest and ability to reveal unique worlds and atmospheres in both fiction and documentary.

I am interested in staging singular worlds, since I can understand them from my own life, forged from encounters and dreamlike journeys, since my childhood since I was born in Zapopan, a town in Mexico, where I lived and grew up with native peoples. Native cultures have always accompanied me and today they persist as memories that direct my gaze towards different ways of existing.

The cinema is for me, the possibility of continuing with an oneiric journey that marked my existence.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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JOY! BLUE MOON is an animation music video based on the legendary song “Blue Moon” by The Marcels.

Read blog interview with director: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/joy-blue-moon

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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“Circles” is a music video of a song composed by Charlie Lim. He is visualized as a pixel art character journeying through a surrealistic pixel art landscape to find his love. Conversation with the amazingly talented Singapore filmmaker Guo Xiang Khoo on the making of the film.

https://youtu.be/jaH7laaq808

Director Statement

Circles was my first time directing a music video. I had a thought that the idea of a character running around, looking for something he lost no matter the period or era a rather romantic thought.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service 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.

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BLOSSOM IS SILENCE is an amazing extreme sports short documentary about the meaning of life.

“Laura ran away from home after junior high school, but she found her self in vertical caving and painting. This film is about extreme sports and meditations on how to live an authentic life.”

Director Statement

There are plenty of films about the coolness of extreme sports. However, I want to focus on the reasons behind it. This film is about caving but more about how to be a modern hermit. It's made for young people who are wondering about their place in this over-competitive society. I want to inspire them: it's okay to step out of what the society tells you.

Read blog interview with Zhihao Deng: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/blossom-in-silence

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service 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.

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In this fun monster romcom, a first date is interrupted by the oddest thing - a roaming Kaiju.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1501183/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Director Biography - Christian Gossett Vila

From the age of nineteen I have been a professional storyteller. My drawing ability has led me from theater design to graphic novels to film, television and video games. My favorite directors are all illustrators (Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Cameron, Ridley Scott, Joe Johnston) and it wasn't long after learning this that I moved into directing television. I am currently working on the story art team for Zac Snyder's animated series, Army of the Dead - soon to be streaming on Netflix.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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SOUR played to rave reviews at the Toronto Comedy Film Festival. Conversation with the creative team of the short film.

SOUR is a dark comedy horror exploring one woman’s experience of lockdown whilst isolating with a sourdough starter!

Project Links

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Instagram

Director Statement

Directing and co-writing SOUR has been an absolute pleasure! I was inspired by the originality of the premise and its fresh perspective on the madness of lockdown. Drawing inspiration from films exploring the anxieties and fears of suburban modern life such as Swallow (Carlo Mirabella-Davis, 2019), American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999), Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986) as well as the iconic TV series Desperate Housewives, I wanted to make a film that would not only make people laugh and smile during this difficult time but also provide a somewhat cathartic experience. Aside from being a comedic exploration of the effects of isolation, I see SOUR as a cautionary tongue-in-cheek tale about what happens when reality fails to live up to expectation and we upset the balance between the organic and the human!

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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CHASE THAT FEELING in the winning feature film from the Action/Adventure Film Festival.

Project Links

• Website

• Instagram

Chase That Feeling is an adventure travel feature film about two best mates who travel the world to chase that feeling.

From a young age these two childhood friends, Blake ‘BT’ Thornton and Matt ‘Gilso’ Gilsenan, had surfing as a common interest, and as the years went on their skills improved and they started to push each other further out of their comfort zones.

When Gilso & BT are not adventuring, they’re your everyday Aussie blokes slogging it out as a carpenter and a lifeguard. Saving enough money to fund their next trip, they drop the tools for a snowboard and swap a rescue board for a surfboard. They pack up and pile into a van to hit the open road in search of new destinations and to chase swell and snow across the globe. They find freedom in empty waves, back country mountains and at fourteen thousand feet above the earth.

They explore the rugged wilderness of Alaska, Iceland, Canada, Tahiti, New Zealand and some hidden gems in their home country Australia. They surf the infamous reef break Teahupo’o in Tahiti and tackle some of the highest peaks in snowboarding; Haines, Alaska.

This is a story about friendship, tragedy and triumph. Going through painful experiences force them to shift focus, as they become even more driven to make the most out of life. These ambitious guys set themselves big challenges and show up with grit and determination. When faced with powerful swell, unforgiving mountains, the threat of avalanches, brutal cold, wild terrain, injury, loss and extreme elements at the mercy of mother nature – they never forget to have fun. A movie about making memories, where experiences are more precious than things.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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JESSE JAMES was the winner of BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN at the July 2022 Toronto LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Project Links

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Instagram

"Jesse James" traces the moments between a neighbor's phone call and the arrival of the police, when Jesse and his lover test the boundaries of their relationship and come face to face not just with what they are losing but with what they have already lost -- when Jesse can no longer save his relationship but only himself.

Director Statement

“Write what you know.” That’s the mantra, right? When I started film school, “Jesse James” was the story I knew. The story I had to tell. The story I had the experience to tell. But I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to talk about my first boyfriend. So instead I made films about the VietNam War, AIDS, sexual assault. Until now. Last year, I published an account of the event at the core of “Jesse James” in the creative nonfiction journal Hinterland (“Flashpoint”). Watching this film in the editing room, my face burns hot with shame and vulnerability. Even after all these years, those feelings remain closer to the surface than I could imagine.

Just as in heterosexual relationships, domestic violence in queer relationships is often hidden, at least until it can be no longer. My hope is that “Jesse James” serves as a reminder that love is complex and complicated; that domestic violence among gay couples does exist even if it is not readily visible.

"Jesse James" weaves Greek mythology with other types of cultural stories, such as the fable of Jack and the Beanstalk and the outlaw west of Jesse James. These allusions form a child-like world as the young boy in the film might perceive it, but just as it is in those fairytales and legends, the world is fraught with danger and risk. More importantly, it is a world where strength and goodness can prevail.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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Shopping Cart People presents an unflinching exploration of people living in today’s world as homeless and those advocating for them. Stories are told, lives are shared, as a filmmaker delves into a community’s efforts to help those without a voice and protect their belongings. You’ll see interviews with community members and activists as they grapple with this controversial issue.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/shopping-cart-people-trailer

https://matthewtoffolo.com/2022/07/28/interview-with-filmmaker-duffy-hecht-shopping-cart-people/

Director BIO:

As a producer, Duffy’s films include the independent feature “First, Last and Deposit.” Peter Marin of Atlantic Magazine called it “the best movie about the homeless since Midnight Cowboy.” After winning awards at the San Francisco and New York City Independent Film Festivals, “FLD” became a popular staple on TV's Independent Film Channel.

His next two films were with with writer-director Stuart Gordon (Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Re-Animator). Their first project was the film version of Charlie Higson’s novel “King Of The Ants,” followed by “Edmond,” written by Pulitzer-prize winner David Mamet. “Edmond” featuring William H. Macy (Best Actor winner at Mar del Plata and Newport Beach), Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna and Mena Suvari.

His films and videos have screened at many of the world’s great film festivals including Venice, Telluride, Seattle, Sitges, Leeds, the Berlin Film Market (sponsored by IFP and Kodak), Vienna, Deauville, Santa Barbara (twice), Seattle, Rio De Janeiro, Puchon (Korea), Cinequest as well as IndieFests in the US and abroad.

A life-long political activist, Duffy served on the board of the Santa Barbara Legal Defense Center. This activist spirit is reflected in his directing debut, “The 8th Street Bridge,” as well as his next directing effort, “Occupy Santa Barbara.” Both were Official Selections of The Santa Barbara Film Festival.

In 2020, Duffy Produced and Directed the documentary “Our Two Years With Trump” which screened at film festivals in Los Angeles, Taos, Prague and Bengal, India, winning awards for Best Documentary and Raising Social Awareness.

His latest documentary as Producer/Director is “Shopping Cart People” a look at an underreported segment of the homeless community. This project reunites Duffy with composer Bobby Johnston (This American Life, Wristcutters) for their third project together.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this 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.

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