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.
THE ADVENTURES DIARY, 15min.,
An elderly woman full of adventure takes one final journey.
Project Links
Conversation with creator Jean Maye, on the making of this very personal 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.
DRIFTING OF A LEAF, 2min., USA, Animation
Directed by Wenpei Li
If you could have another life, do you hope to become a tree? A little leaf becomes a bird flying in the world. Is it a leaf or a bird? It does not know where its root is. Maybe the root is all this world.
http://wenpeili.com/
https://twitter.com/wplyeyeye
https://www.instagram.com/wenpei.art/
Get to know the filmmaker:
“Drifting of A Leaf” was one part of my MFA thesis project. The idea for this thesis came from Italo Calvino’s book, “Our Ancestors.” There were three short stories in this book, one of which was about a tree. Since I was a kid, I hoped I could become a tree or a bird if I had another life. So, I wanted to make an animation about trees.
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.
KINGDOM (PRAISE WORSHIP MIX) FEAT., 3min., Musical
Directed by Ashante E Stokes & Ngoka Stephen
Exploring sensory response to your place in the universe.
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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TAPE 42 – GERMAN SHEPHARD, 7min., USA
Directed by Ben Adler
A team of navy seals embarks on a mysterious mission to capture a high-level target.
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
STATIONHEADS, 17min., Hungary, Crime/Thriller
Directed by Stu Gamble
Three educated (and bored) twenty-somethings are working a dead-end job in a gas station. Their futures are grim. When a group of bank robbers turn up fresh from a heist and fresh out of fuel, things get a bit more interesting.
https://www.facebook.com/StationHeads
https://twitter.com/StationHeads
https://www.instagram.com/stationheads/
Get to know the filmmaker:
I’ve often wondered what happens in the most obscure places of our cities. The places that stay open 24 hours a day, the places in the middle of nowhere, the people that happen to pass through or inhabit such places. So when I met my production partner and we threw ideas around about making a film we landed on this.
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
Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWEgSvNfDz0
Two down-on-their luck wannabe musicians moonlighting as karaoke “stars” at a bar that caters to senior citizens must overcome a host of obstacles on their road to music stardom, including their overbearing landlord, a divorced parent who moves in unexpectedly, and most importantly, their own propensity for failure.
Get to know the screenwriter:
Revolving Doors is about two down-on-their luck wannabe musicians moonlighting as karaoke “stars” at a bar that caters to senior citizens who must overcome a host of obstacles on their road to music stardom, including their overbearing landlord, a divorced parent who moves in unexpectedly, and most importantly, their own propensity for failure.
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
TURKEY ON RYE, 9min., USA
Directed by Lucas Huie
A short film about a man and his missing sandwich.
Get to know the filmmaker:
It actually started as a fake 2-minute podcast I did for a college project back when I was in community college. I really liked how the podcast turned out so I decided to shoot it live-action. Also, like Winston, I also went through a huge sandwich phase.
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
BRING BACK THE WHISTLE DOG, 18min., Canada
Directed by Bob Simpson
Fast food menu items come and go, but none have ignited lasting passion quite like Canadian restaurant chain A&W’s Whistle Dog. This “hot dogumentary” profiles diehard fans fighting the good fight to bring back the iconic dog.
Get to know the filmmaker:
Most of the team that worked on this film works at Rethink, A&W’s ad agency, and the Whistle Dog has always held a place in our hearts. This documentary came out of our own curiosity about it, the quirky name, the fact it’s an oddball item at a burger chain, and, most of all, the cult-like passion behind it.
When we found out A&W was bringing it back, the initial plan was to show up at a bunch of diehard fans’ homes and surprise them with Whistle Dogs, then use the best of these surprises for a TV spot. But it quickly dawned on us that dragging a film crew across the country just for a couple minutes at each stop seemed like such a waste. We had cameras, we had crew, we had super passionate fans—we had to do more with this. Our art director Ashley blurted out, “We should do a documentary!” We just laughed. A documentary! About the Whistle Dog! How ridiculous! But then we started talking about it and realized, no, there really was a story here. Let’s do it!
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
LOCATION 4, 8min., USA, Horror
Directed by Antonio Pinheiro
After getting lost during a late night work session, two location scouts start to get the feeling they aren’t the only two people on the mountain.
https://www.location4movie.com/
https://instagram.com/tonyturquoix
Get to know the filmmaker:
I had just gotten fired from my food runner job, and I realized I didn’t want to run food anymore so I wrote the scariest movie I could with the budget my savings would allow. I think it was mostly scared of becoming irrelevant. As for the horror aspect, it really stemmed just from experience hiking and camping, mixed with the balance of work life and mental stability. I noticed I was doing too much career work and not enough time tending to my relationship with friends and family and kind of expressed that through writing.
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
GONE TOO SOON, 8min., Australia, Drama
Directed by Christelle Le Baccon
The journey of a bereaved mother.
http://superlexlex.com/
https://www.instagram.com/superlexlex
Get to know the filmmaker:
I decided to make and finance this short morning to expose the trust about bereavement with the hope to make a full documentary about grief and it stigma and to break the taboo attached to it especially often the loss of a child .
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 HEALER’S DREAM, 15min., Canada/India, Documentary
Directed by Roxana Mares
Ayurveda is an ancient tradition of medicine that originated in India, with certain branches established and taught in Nepal. Various regions in Nepal, in particular the Kathmandu Valley, became centers of ancient knowledge where the medical and spiritual traditions of Ayurveda are being preserved.
https://www.instagram.com/thehealersdreamfilm/
From the Filmmaker:
My love for Anthropology, positive personal experience with Ayurveda, and passion for sharing impactful stories with the world, motivated me to make this 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
EARLY RETIREMENT
A 30-something year old man, on the heels of a breakup with his boyfriend, moves in with his parents who live in a 55+ adult community. Through confronting his own insecurities and examining family relationships and dynamics, he's able to move forward.
ANTISEMITE
Seth, a college senior, is home for winter break. He’s spending a day relaxing and shopping on Fairfax Avenue when he’s suddenly confronted by an Orthodox Jewish man asking Seth if he’s Jewish. Seth’s chance encounter leads to a profound spiritual experience with life-changing implications.
https://www.airebedd.com/antisemite
https://www.instagram.com/mbossydirects/
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
Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS6mHBwRaf8
When a police detective, hunting a serial killer, gets too close, the killer murders his wife and two children, sending him into a downward spiral of alcohol, suicide, and a near-death experience where God tells him to become a priest. Years later the serial killer reappears – in his confessional.
From the Screenwriter:
Good vs. Evil Not in the more orthodox religious view of Christianity, but in a Manichaean vision Norman Mailer discussed in my film, “Norman Mailer: The Sanction to Write.” The Manichaeans saw God and the Devil as brothers caught up in a battle til the end of time – a battle of good vs. evil. There exist an important third element at play and that is mankind, human beings. How we act (for good or for evil) will determine if God or the Devil wins. So as humans we bear an awesome responsibility, a terrifying duty, in determining the outcome of this cosmic battle.
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 art of making a short comedy.
http://www.thejoemcgowan.co.uk/
https://instagram.com/joe_mcgowan88
TAKEAWAY - A couple can't decide what takeaway they want for dinner.
PISS UP - Two men meet in an alley after a few too many.
From the filmmaker:
Getting the edit right. There were a few shots that were left on the cutting room floor so it wouldn’t feel too bloated. The film needed to get to when the classical music kicked in as soon as possible and the build up between the two characters took some time to get things as smooth and as funny as possible. I remember feeling at one point that the film wasn’t good, so I stripped a lot of shots back and it benefitted from being cut down immensely.
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
Watch the Screenplay Reading: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/goofy-foot-screenplay
Eliot Glassman, 15, openly gay and precocious, becomes emancipated from his suburban parents and friends, following incidents of physical abuse. Freed from his troubled suburban origins, he navigates (often on a skateboard) the dangers and delights of his new urban surroundings. Through it all, Eliot remains a positive life-force -– the ultimate wise ass, the enemy of poseurs, the ironic (often unreliable) narrator of his own amazing story.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Geoff Mays
Eliot: Sean Ballantyne
Alison: Hannah Ehman
Ms. Benton: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Get to know the screenwriter:
Along with my three other completed (and refined) pilots, it should be produced to tell the truth about LGBTQ lives, without the offensive stereotypes that usually appear on network tv. It also is an attempt to show the myriad of pitfalls faced by teenagers, whether LGBTQ or straight, in a society that uses fear and misrepresentation to label people (e.g., urban skateboarders).
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 THINGS I FEEL, 12min., Australia
Directed by Jean Ngooi
As an android nanny, Hadley takes care of a young, inquisitive boy named Charlie. When a malfunction causes her to develop sentience, they embark on an adventure to find a real-life animal, a scarcity in their world. On their trip, Hadley faces what it means to feel things for the first time.
https://sites.google.com/view/thethingsifeel/home?authuser=1
https://www.facebook.com/thethingsifeel.film
http://instagram.com/thethingsifeel.film/
Get to know the filmmaker:
I really love sci-fi films that bring to light questions revolving around humanity and its boundaries so I wanted to challenge myself to tell a story that would do just that but also be achievable as student filmmakers. I believe the limitations that we had in regards with being a student film helped me shape aspects of the story and really focus it on the main two characters.
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
RESTLESS, 15min., Canada, Drama/Thriller
Directed by Dhun Sharma
A sex worker is coerced into a situation that gradually becomes more violent.
https://www.instagram.com/sharma.dhun/
Get to know the filmmaker:
I was looking to do something interesting after my last short. I had just finished writing Restless as a feature and I wanted to use it as a pitch to fund the larger project. The part that i turned into a short is actually just an introduction to Rebel and as redemptive as it was in the short, the feature version is very different.
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
DAY FLIPPERS, 16min., USA, Dark Comedy
Directed by Isaac Cushman
The production of a home renovation TV series is disrupted by the presence of a malevolent spirit.
Interview with:
Director Isaac Cushman
Producer Dylan Samson
Cinematographer Brendan Parker
Production Designer Alex Royston
Makeup/Sound Sarah Sweet
From filmmaker Isaac Cushman:
Honestly, it was my buddy Alex Royston, who was the Production Designer on the film. I first shared the idea with him and Dylan Samson (Producer) when we were out shooting a fake Mountain Dew ad for a class. It was an idea that was inspired by films like Grave Encounters (2011) and Ghostwatch (1992), both of which feature the crew of a television program encountering actual paranormal activity. Having most of my experience in comedy writing, I thought taking an HGTV-style show and putting those characters into a similar situation would be ripe for a hybrid of comedy and horror. It was an idea I proposed as a non-school project because it seemed too “big” to do as an assignment but since we had no other ideas we liked for our upcoming final project, we moved forward with it. I was skeptical at first but Alex championed the idea and rallied the troops. I couldn’t be more grateful for that, I was right that it was going to be difficult but because of Alex’s enthusiasm for the idea, I was given an opportunity to prove to myself that I was capable of more than I thought and we made something that I am really proud of. I now see just how possible even the most insane ideas can be with the right people and a little ingenuity.
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
LOCK, 3min., Canada,
Directed by Kody Zimmermann
For some kids, the garage is an oasis away from parents, homework, and chores. But sometimes, there may be something hidden amongst the junk and clutter. Something that makes ‘alone time’ not what it seems.
http://www.ghostwoodfilms.com/
Get to know the filmmaker:
First of all, I felt I needed to feed my filmmaking addiction again, to be behind the camera again. It had been a while since I did a short, as I committed the last couple of years to developing feature films. And every aspect of making a short film is a taxing endeavour. It taxes your finances, your scheduling, your relationships, your commitments. Anyone who does these often enough knows there are only so many times you can go back to the well to ask for donated gear, volunteer cast and crew.
So the second part of my motivation came from a very simple question: How much of this can I do on my own? On the quest to answer that question, I became a huge, huge fan of filmmaker David F. Sandberg (LIGHTS OUT, SHAZAM) and his Youtube channel devoted specifically to do-it-yourself filmmaking.
It rewired my way of thinking. My short film THE FAMILIAR was run like a well-oiled feature film with dozens of crew members, multiple locations, multiple actors, and top-of-the-tier gear. For something as bare-bones as LOCK, I allowed myself to let go of that mindset. It was liberating. But it did mean brushing up on skills I hadn’t exercised in years and learning new ones I had never touched on before.
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
PERSISTENCE, 12min., Canada, Drama
Directed by Neil Schell
Persistence is a story about what happens when romantic intentions cross over into stalking. The ?lm explores what happens when trusts are broken but laws aren?t, and just how much damage can be done to someone’s life in that space between.
https://www.persistenceshortfilm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/PersistenceShort
https://instagram.com/persistenceshortfilm
Get to know the filmmaker:
This project has kind of taken on a life of its own. Initially, I just knew that I wanted to make the most out of quarantine life by taking that time to write and produce my first short film. I was always raised with the principle that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well, so I knew that whatever I chose to do, I would throw myself into it completely. That made me really take the time to consider what story I would want to devote that kind of energy to.
Persistence is based on my real life experiences with stalkers. When I came up with the idea, I had a visceral reaction to the mere thought, so I knew there was more there that I needed to explore. I initially thought I was just doing it as a therapeutic exercise for myself, but the more people I spoke to about it, the more people approached me with their own similar stories. Understanding that I wasn’t alone in what I went through was heartbreaking and also so encouraging. From that moment, I started to realize that there is a bigger purpose to telling this story; to start important conversations and hopefully help others feel less isolated as well.
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
