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.
ANADROMOUS, 5min., USA
Directed by Ari Grubb
When they find themselves evolving out of their aquarium home, two fish set off on a musical journey of self-acceptance and queer joy, and find community in a freaky fish gay bar in the deepest depths of the ocean.
https://www.instagram.com/anadromous_film
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HALF PAST, 20min., USA
Directed by Jonas Fryer
A group of con artists learn the importance of trust during a heist where everything goes wrong.
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-half-past
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Two roommates, desperate to feel successful in the milieu of New York City, turn to macabre money-making schemes by performing underground surgeries and serving human meat to unsuspecting customers.
https://www.keshav-srinivasan.com/the-flesh-people
https://www.instagram.com/thefleshpeoplefilm
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A young, ambitious journalist will have her first high-profile live interview with the President. The country is on the verge of a significant war, externally and internally. After a series of questions, the interview takes a dangerous course.
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Filmed at Hawai‘i’s Hapuna Beach, one of the most beautiful and dangerous shorelines in the islands, Pick It Up, America: Life Is a Beach is a heartfelt call for stewardship, ocean safety, and respect. Through interviews with lifeguards, keiki, locals, and dive experts, this short documentary reminds us that caring for our oceans means more than picking up your trash it means picking up awareness, responsibility, and love for the ʻāina. A vital message for families, tourists, and communities everywhere.
https://kimberaleigh.com
https://www.instagram.com/kimberaleigh/
https://www.facebook.com/kimberaleigh/
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Two Argentinian designers and lifelong friends, Sandra and Martina, are chosen at the last minute to travel to Milan during Fashion Week to present their collection in a competition for emerging Latin brands. Elated, they leave behind a Buenos Aires collapsed by floods, blackouts, and a deep economic crisis and set off for a city of dreams and catwalks.
At first, Italy seems to be everything they imagined: attractive men, a rich culture, gelato... but the fantasy quickly crumbles when they lose their dresses and tension grows between them. Surrounded by haute couture, inflated egos, and unexpected obstacles, they must face not only fierce competition but also wounds from the past that have never quite healed.
As the glamour fades, they realize that the real challenge is not to win, but to rediscover that which brought them together from the beginning: the passion to create and tell a story with every stitch. They will have to decide if they are ready to sew a new beginning.
https://www.instagram.com/deleonmartin/
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Conversation with directors Hai-Lam Phan, Olivia Mowry, and writer/producer Margaret Cooney from the award-winning documentary film "Asheville is Calling: A Climate Change Emergency"
Extreme weather disasters are becoming more common, more powerful, and more deadly. Today, more than ever, U.S. federal agencies like FEMA that help Americans prepare, respond, and recover from natural disasters need to be fully funded, staffed, and ready to act. Hurricane Helene survivor, Colleen Daly, talks about her harrowing experience both during and after this catastrophic event, and how changes enacted by the current U.S. administration are leaving communities to fend for themselves against extreme weather disasters. Communities deserve better than a government that abandons them when disaster strikes, and refuses acknowledge that climate change is harming people here and now.
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Friday Night Flop, 16min., UK
Directed by Simon Friedberg, Elliott Gerner
A mother tries desperately to reconnect with her estranged daughter.
https://www.instagram.com/fridaynightflop
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TRIGGER, 33min., Greece
Directed by Haris Gioulatos
If you were told there was an organization that could change your life forever, would you go through with the switch. And if so, would you pull the Trigger?
https://www.instagram.com/gioulatos/?hl=en
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DEMON, 18min., USA
Directed by Patrick Torres
https://instagram.com/illuminatingswordsman
What motivated you to make this film?
I’ve always been interested in the fantasy/ heroic journey genre of film and I feel like we don’t get enough of them today. The muse also seemed to dump a bunch of stories into my head without me requesting them and feel compelled to start creating all of the stories I have written so far.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Demon took about 18 months to create mostly due to a big injury on my end and crew setbacks. Nothing ever goes according to plan haha. I also had to learn and play with Unreal Engine for the temple shots which took a great amount of time as I had no prior experience with these types of programs.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
Selfish Hero
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Like I mentioned earlier, it was definitely the injury (I fell off a horse but it happened after shooting) and learning Unreal. If not for those 2 things I think we could have done it within 9 months.
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KNIFE, a 3-minute Micro-Horror Short Film.
A slasher told from the point-of-view of the murder weapon.
Michael Kuciak is the writer-director-editor of DEATH METAL, and the writer-producer of FROM THE SHADOWS (starring Keith David, Bruce Davison, and Selena Anduze). He has directed music videos and short films, including the award-winning horror shorts KNIFE and STAIRS, and served as a producer and executive producer on several independent feature films. Before focusing on filmmaking, Mike was the Senior Vice President of Development for a literary management-production company. He is the founder and CEO of Blast Furnace Media, and a partner of Alt-House Productions. Mike is a reformed musician; he used to play bass in punk and metal bands in his hometown of Chicago. He now lives in Los Angeles.
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SCALES - THE TIPPING POINT, 40min., South Africa
Directed by Bruce Young
Bruce Young is a deeply curious filmmaker from South Africa who is fascinated by pangolins, an animal on the edge of extinction. Scales is his third film about the animal. This time he is on a personal quest to find out why these quiet, shy, harmless, and yet charismatic little creatures are the most trafficked mammals on the planet. And if there is any hope that they will survive.
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CARDBOARD, 23min., USA
Directed by Diana Densmore
A neglected young girl builds a cardboard time machine and runs away to the future only to find her adult self in the throes of depression, as the two connect they remind each other of the joy of loving oneself.
https://www.instagram.com/flusshausfilms
Get to know the filmmaker:
What motivated you to make this film?
Alice Prime, the lead actress, had been bugging me to make something with her and my daughter in it for years. So I was trying to write something that would allow them to play opposite each other. The subject matter comes from my own struggles with mental health.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you
to make this film? four or five years… I guess Alice Prime (the lead actress) and I started talking about it, and then a year later, I wrote the first draft. Probably, a year after that, we had a shooting script, and we went into pre-production and production in earnest. By the time we were through the whole post-process, it was another year.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
The process of making it? Chathartic chaos. The final project? sweet sci-fi.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The rest of life is happening at the same time.
What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking
about your film in the feedback video?
It’s nice to hear that people connected with the themes and appreciated the film.
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A dancer and a violinist, isolated yet connected by sound, break and rise through the silence between them.
https://www.instagram.com/_the.duet_
Chat with the amazing creative team of THE DUET. (Director Gica Pucca. Producer Karyante Franklin. Writer/Dancer Kristina Perez)
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Low Roar - Field of Dreams, 4min., Ireland
Directed by Kim Saarinen
"Today I'll be remembered
Tomorrow just a dream
It's not what it seems"
https://www.instagram.com/lowroar/
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-low-roar
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A man keeps receiving strange phone calls from a supernatural presence whilst waiting at a bus stop.
What motivated you to make this film?
I took some time away from filmmaking, and when I decided to come back, I was very conscious about doing it in a sustainable, practical way. Instead of jumping into something ambitious, I wanted to make a contained, execution-focused short that I could bring from concept to completion. That's what motivated me to make Hello. It was also a chance to retrace my creative roots and reconnect with the kind of horror that first shaped my taste, particularly the influence of J-horror. In that sense, the film works both as a proof of concept and a creative reset.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I wrote it around 2012–2013 under the title Boo. It sat with me for years, and in 2024 I found it was the right project to pull off the shelf and develop properly. From there, the actual production was very focused, efficient and smooth. We shot the film in three days, and post-production wrapped in September 2025. So while it took a while, the finished film came out better than I expected, so I'm proud of that.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
Oh fuck...
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Post-production was the biggest obstacle. I wasn't supposed to edit the film, but when our editor ran into hardware problems and funding fell through, I had to take over. Going from director to editor is challenging because you lose that outside perspective and start second-guessing the film in new ways. On top of that, the VFX compositing ran into some issues of its own which required bringing in compositors on Fiverr and finishing a good portion of the work myself. It was a very hands-on, problem-solving-heavy post workflow.
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The Ancient Time Piece, 5min., UK
Directed by Justin Walker, Islien Walker
Lily, a teenage girl is stuck in a monotonous cycle, perhaps this is connected to an old eerie clock she found in her family’s basement, a clock that was still ticking when she found it…. how long had this ancient Time Piece been ticking!
https://www.instagram.com/illy_pheebs_productions2012
Get to know filmmaker Justin Walker:
What motivated you to make this film?
My daughter Islien (co-director and lead actress) wrote the short story The Ancient Time piece when she was 11 years old, now she is 13….the short story was published in the compilation book ‘The glitch twisted tales’ which resides in the national library, London UK. Myself and my daughter had discussed making a short film based on her story for sometime… eventually we commenced production this summer.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Haha, well shooting only took 2 days, post production, editing, effects, score sound design took approximately 2 months.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
Time Reflective
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Well being amateur/smartphone filmmakers who produce short films on a zero budget you are always working with restrictions and limitations…..often you ‘think’ big during concept/pre production but find in reality you have to work within your means….however you do tend to be more creative due to these restrictions. The major obstacle is finding the time between my full-time job and family life to shoot and complete post production is always a challenge. Obviously there is a challenge in having the final product look a quality piece/semi-professional on limited resources.
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Vagabond in Red: Iquitos, 52min., USA
Directed by Tom Lonero
A recovering addict and filmmaker from Pittsburgh sets off across Peru on a personal healing journey in the aftermath of a global pandemic. Shot entirely solo with modest gear, Vagabond in Red: Iquitos blends raw handheld imagery and poetic narration to explore the human condition through history, culture, social issues, and resilience. Legendary Amazonian landscapes provide the backdrop, but it’s the people Tom meets along the way who reveal quiet truths about survival, faith, and connection. This is not a luxury travel film—it’s a lived-in journey into what remains when the world goes quiet and we start listening again.
https://www.hardmonkeyproductions.com/
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Shanaya's Path, 54min., Netherlands
Directed by Frank Röhrig
Shanaya’s Path follows the intimate journey of Shanaya, a young person from Darjeeling who identifies as a woman and dreams of transitioning despite immense social and familial resistance. Since gender norms are rigid and visibility for trans people is scarce in her home town, Shanaya leaves for New Delhi, but her desire to become her true self is met with hostility, shame, and fear.
http://frankrohrig.com/
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He/She/Us Short Film, 19min., USA
Directed by Susan Kelejian
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575877610548
https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-he-she-us
Conversation with the creative team of the award winning short film.
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