Narrative

Nahd Bashir | Israel

Run time: 12:22 min.

Synopsis: Kamel, a Palestinian man in his 50s, suffers from autism and travels with his paralyzed sister to the Dead Sea to receive medical treatment in seawater in the hope that it will help him treat psoriasis that has spread through his body. At the beach, he finds himself in an unpleasant situation. A little girl stole his rubber ball and Kamel tried to return it, the crowd gathers and he has a hard time explaining himself, especially since he does not understand Hebrew and the Jew does not understand Arabic. The masses suspect that this is a terrorist who kidnaps a girl and in the end a tragedy that seems to stem from a true story that took place in Jerusalem.

Bio: Nahd Bashir has more than 15 years of experience in the content industry, theater, television and film in a wide variety of roles. He is an expert in content related to the Middle East, the Arab world and Israel.

Directors Statement: This is a film written inspired by a true story that took place in Israel in the city of Jerusalem. The case of the killing of Iyad al-Khalak is an incident from May 30, 2020, in which a resident of East Jerusalem, Iyad al-Khalak, a young autistic Palestinian Arab, was shot dead by Border Police officers who suspected him of being a terrorist.
It was a very sad case that moved me to tears. Following this case, I decided to go into research to understand what causes a person to kill an autistic person? the lack of communication and lack of awareness are good enough reasons for such an act?
These and many more questions still resonate in my mind.
Link to more information about this incident.

A Morsel Of Love

Helia Behrooz & Sana Norouzbaki | Iran

Runtime: 12:16 min

Synopsis: An old man’s monotonous days are mostly spent on a house’s rooftop facing an old city. Until he hears a soft voice singing a folk love song and curiously follows the sound.

Bio: Co-Director: Helia Behrooz studied computer science in Iran before relocating to the United States. She is currently a film production student at CSUN in Los Angeles and concurrently studies Business Administration as well. A Morsel of Love (2022, Iran) & The Bench (2022, Iran) is her first directorial debut.

Co-director: Sana Norouzbaki is a costume, production, and art designer from Iran. She was born in 1988 in Tehran and also has a master's degree in architecture and urban design. Some of her movie credits include All Through the Night (2020, Iran), Hotel New Moon (2019- Iran, Japan), Hello Mumbai (2016- Iran, India), Immortality (2016, Iran),… A Morsel Of Love (2022, Iran) & The Bench (2022, Iran) is her first directorial debut.

AWAKENING

Faissal Haiki | US

Runtime: 15:00 min.

Synopsis: “Awakening” is a short film about a young woman’s worst struggle with opioid addiction. The nameless and only character in the film starts her daily routine by visiting the bathroom and taking a handful of prescription painkillers. The effect of chemicals in her body coupled with a disturbing package delivery deteriorates the story to lower grounds. When she opens the package, she takes out a rope and literally embarks on a suicide mission. She delays hanging herself from a tree in the yard, by bathing ceremoniously, beautifying herself with makeup, and wearing a white wedding dress. When she stops at the noose to entrap her neck, a sort of revelation comes upon her and she changes her mind. She then concocts a swing from objects that lie on the ground, and swings back and forth to the end of the film. she gives her life another chance.

Bio: I am a first time filmmaker. My interest in making my own movie started in college, when I took the "novel into film" course within the humanities major at the University of Mohamed V in Rabat Morocco. This course dealt with adopting Vladmir Nabokov's "Lotlita'' into Adrian Lyne's namesake. This has opened a new way of viewing film, not only as a consumer but a participant critic and potential filmmaker.

breaking the silence.

Lauren Gill | United Kingdom

Runtime: 5:20 min.

Synopsis: A film to break the silence.

Bio: Lauren Gill is a filmmaker based in West Yorkshire where they also gained a BA at the University of Bradford. Lauren has worked on many local productions in the area, before making their directorial debut with Breaking the Silence. They believe films can be an important tool to highlight social issues with the aim to continue working on films that can make a difference.

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Cabarrus

Andrew Huggins | US

Runtime: 9:31 min.

Synopsis: Cabarrus offers a glimpse into the life of a struggling family in North Carolina.

Bio: Andrew Huggins has been making films professionally for eight years and works full time as a freelance narrative filmmaker in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been a storyteller since he was seven years old and has made over thirty short films that have cumulatively screened at five hundred film festivals and garnered over one hundred awards.

Personal Website

Closest to the Pin

Andrew Broadhurst | US

Runtime: 5:00 min.

Synopsis: A competitive couple ups the ante during a friendly round of golf.

Footsteps

Hamed Bahrami | Iran

Runtime: 7:27 min.

Synopsis: Due to the playfulness of the family's twelve- and seven-year-old sons, parents had to leave the party the night before, and now, as a penalty, they are not allowing the sons to join the birthday party of their cousin Hiva, and their begging and insisting is not useful. When the parents leave, they start playing together, and the older brother, in the role of a judge, trial the younger brother for breaking the football game CD and, as they describe, for killing world-famous football players ….

Bio: My name is Hamed Bahrami. I'm a Kurdish-speaking teacher from Iran, living in the city of Mariwan in Kurdistan. I attended filmmaking classes at age 44 and I made a short film as a class project, and at 46 I have written and directed a film ( Footsteps ) and produced it with financial help from my wife as a last assignment for the filmmaking class. I consider it my first movie.

Heroes' Honeymoon

Rich West & Sheri Ratick Stroud | US

Runtime: 13:00 min.

Synopsis: In October 1938, Burt Kempner’s parents set off on a bus headed for Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. It was the same night that Orson Welles made his infamous War of the Worlds broadcast, throwing America into a panic. It’s hard enough to embark on a new marriage – but when the world is ending, too? HEROES’ HONEYMOON is a love story and a comic fable!

Identibye

Sajjad Shahhatami | Iran

Runtime: 15:00 min.

Synopsis: The protagonist of the story faces a dilemma of choosing between sense and sensibility regarding one's innermost feelings. He has been judged from the very beginning by the ones closest to him. The fear of these never-ending judgments fills him with doubt and he has to work against the clock to achieve his goal as he knows that one's true identity is what matters most to them.

Bio: Born in 1994, Tehran, Iran. Student of acting Theater and Directed in Azad University Tehran

Jess at Christmastime

James Freda & Will Freda | US

Runtime: 14:59 min.

Synopsis: Jess landed an audition and her friends are here to help, whether she likes it or not.

LAS HORTENSIAS

Lucía Malandromio | Uraguay

Runtime: 10:00 min.

Synopsis: Jorge Corrieri, a film director in decline, and Deysi, his wife and editor, finish editing the film they have shot as an extension of their lives. Both of them star in the film together with Hortensia (a mannequin made in Deysi's image and likeness). The plot, woven by Jorge as a Deja Vu, absorbs its protagonists in a game of mirrors, whose outcomes lead to the impression that it is their lives that are being edited.

My Brother's Back

Jeffrey Madzia & James Wodarcyk | US

Runtime: 14:49 min.

Synopsis: Two brothers meet again after being apart for centuries to try to fix their relationship with each other and with their dad.

Murder Failed Successfully

Filmmaker's Finest | US

Runtime: 6:58 min.

Synopsis: A murderer finds himself in an unusual position when each of his intended victims die before he can strike.

Row A, Number 79 : Her Seat

Lee Hyung-suk | South Korea

Runtime: 8:00 min.

Synopsis: Father and daughter visit a theater where there's no one.

Bio: Born in Seoul, South Korea.
He is currently studying at Graduate School of Communication and Arts Yonsei University.
His first short film, Templementary (2001) was screened for the Wide Angle section in the 6th Pusan International Film Festival. Chapter 2 ; How To Breathe (2002) won Best Short Film Award at Pusan International Film Festival. Under Construction (2005) won Best Asian Short Film Award at Bangkok International Film Festival. Western Movie (2010) was screened for the Dragons & Tigers series in Vancouver International Film Festival.

SWEAT OF HIS COW

John Wildman & Alan Smithee | US

Runtime: 5:54 min.

Synopsis: From the depths of someone's lost VHS tapes is this story of an impossibly gorgeous doctor lawyer who runs out of gas next to a barn where an impossibly sweaty man is milking a cow. A sexy relationship ensues where they learn that gas is just the beginning, milk is always the end.

”Sweat of his Cow” is my love letter to Zalman King's Red Shoe Diaries and all the "Skinimax" shows that helped teen boys through puberty until the internet became a thing.

Bio: John Wildman is a multi-faceted presence in the entertainment world, known for his work as a film and film festival publicist, consultant, filmmaker, journalist, and critic. Currently, Wildman is the publicist and consultant for a number of national regional film festivals, including; the Oxford FF, Bentonville FF, Harlem International FF, San Luis Obispo International FF, Naples International FF, Sound Unseen, Cucalorus, Hot Springs Documentary FF, CineCina FF, Deep in the Heart FF, Sidewalk, Cine Las Americas, and Out on Film.

The Damned Thing is of Such a Color!

B. R. Tatalovic | US

Runtime: 14:59 min.

Synopsis: While visiting uncle Hugh's remote property in Ohio's countryside, Dr. William Harker encounters an entity that attacks the human senses.

Bio: B. R. Tatalovic, Serb-American motion picture artist and media educator. Immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia in 1988 (as 22-year old). In his 20s and 30s worked as: union steelworker (USWA), milling machinist, VHS rental clerk, and home repairs "handy man". Known today (or, since early 2000s) as: multimedia artist, screenwriter, college professor and an independent film producer/director/actor.

The Ending of Thunder

Donnie McDonnell | US

Runtime: 8:48 min.

Synopsis: A story about a veteran being pushed to the limits as he deals with the memories of the horrors of war. Desperation has him on the edge as he is amidst one of the toughest battles of his life.