Submitted by:
Crystal Us
Runtime
17 min
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
A surreal, musical journey about a mother and daughter who end up in two different dimensions as the result of an ice skating accident. STRINGS deals with concepts of gravity and superstring theory, as well as the strings of the heart, while exploring the connectedness that exists between all humans and the universe in which we live.
Category
student college/film school
On September 17, 2006 James Chasse was stopped by three law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon in broad daylight. A dozen eyewitnesses watched in horror as the officers tackled, beat, kicked, and Taser’d James until he lay motionless on the pavement with 16 broken ribs and a punctured lung. He died in the back seat of a Portland Police car two hours later.
James had not committed a crime, so why did the officers attack him? Who was James Chasse? The officers told eyewitnesses he was a drug dealer, a homeless person, a non-person, a ghost. But that wasn’t true at all. James was a writer, an illustrator, and a musician; he had a home and a family and friends who loved him. He was a small, shy, gentle person who had been living with schizophrenia for most of his life.
Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse explores his childhood, his involvement in the early Portland punk music scene, the heart-breaking teenage onset of his schizophrenia, and his brave efforts to avoid institutionalization and maintain his independence.
submitted by
Evan Sennett
Runtime:
21 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
High school slacker, Max Abner, is in love with an intellectual. He tells her he is throwing a huge film festival in honor of one of her favorite filmmakers, Sergei Eisenstein. The only problem is, he’s not.
Category
student 1st-12th grade
Submitted by
Monica Stefanelli
Runtime
6:35 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
The story of a baby elephant who wants to jump like the other animals on the savanna, but the only problem is that elephants are the only mammals who cannot jump.
Category
Student
Runtime
00:08:18
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Rachael Sonnenberg
Synopsis
This is the story of 9-year-old Elian, and his stuffed bear that he loves more than anything in the world.
Category
Student 1st-12th grade
Runtime
00:15:52
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Jon Fraaza
Synopsis
Sergei, a recently naturalized American citizen, runs a polling location in a local election. Plagued by an overbearing superior and incompetent coworkers, he struggles to maintain his optimism (and patriotism) in the face of electoral disaster.
Category
student college/film school
Submitted by
Rachael Sonnenberg
Runtime:
4 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis:
8 year old Luke believes in the Toothfairy….do you?
Category:
student 1st-12th grade
Runtime
00:10:55
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Ruthie Marantz
Synopsis
An older woman from Bay Ridge Brooklyn dreams of hitting it big in Atlantic City. After her wallet is stolen she begins the search for her identity.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:03:06
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Crystal Holt
Synopsis
SuperDate is the story of young love. Two teens meet for the first time after months of dating via text only when their first date is nearly thwarted by the allegiance to competing super heroes. Will these young lovers compromise their beliefs and fall in love or stick to their guns and be alone?
Category
student 1st-12th grade
Runtime
00:13:13
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Michael Morgenstern
Synopsis
Stuck in a jobless rut, Ryan searches for meaning. When he encounters tragedy, everything in his life looks a little bit different.Bridging experimental and narrative form, this surreal film uses visual metaphor and an original string quartet score in an exploration of time and meaning. It posits the idea of a human life as a static, four-dimensional entity that exists at a specific moment in time and cannot be said to truly begin or end.The film feels like a visual projection of its string quartet score, washing over a listener. Ideally it is meant to be viewed multiple times, but even if everything doesn’t sink in at once, there is more than enough to hold onto.
Category
shorts narrative
A Standing Still is the second feature film from Scott Ballard Films. It revolves around a young woman, Allison, as she struggles with the future in the midst of loss and displacement. Allison works as a fire lookout in the Willamette National Forest. When she is called down early for a medical emergency with her father, she is forced to face the dynamics that have led her to lead such a recluse existence. The film is shot on three formats, one for each act of the film: Super 16mm, HD, and 35mm.
Country of Production
USA
Runtime
00:05:35
Submitted by
Steven Stensager
Synopsis
A routine scientific survey turns into a nightmare as Adrian realizes his interviewer knows more about him than he does.
Category
horror/sci-fi short
Submitted by
Wally Chung
Runtime:
3 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis
In this fast paced world, no one has time for diversity.
Category:
animation
Runtime
00:15:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Tracy Pitts
Synopsis
Richard and France’s shared history has begun to erode. Frances, tethered to her past as Richard’s spouse, reluctantly wades into her future as his caretaker.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:14:17
Country of Production
France
Submitted by
Guy-Roger Duvert
Synopsis
In a medieval world, two thieves infiltrate a besieged city, in order to retrieve an artifact. But when they are saved by a priest who mistakes them for mercenaries come to help the town, choices have to be made. What you do defines who you are, but the consequences define who you will become.
Category
shorts narrative
Submitted by
Patrick Mandeville
Runtime:
6 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis
A short comedy about a ‘Star Wars’ fan in Brooklyn hearing the neighbor he’s never met, and the ways in which we are involuntarily brought into strangers’ lives.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
01:45:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
John Burgess
Synopsis
Molly Mahoney (Aubrey Dollar) is flying home to Chicago for her mom’s wedding and bringing a ‘Mystery Man’ home to meet her family. When she discovers this Mystery Man has a Mystery Wife, she dumps him at the curbside check-in. She ends up crying on the shoulder of childhood friend Josh Shiffman (Shane McRae), who is flying home for the same wedding. Emotionally drained, Molly passes out in Josh’s arms just as he gets a phone call from his parents. Josh learns that his father is dying and his only regret is that he will not get to meet the woman who will one day become his son’s wife. Desperate to fulfill his dad’s final wish, Josh claims that his dad has already met that woman his close childhood and family friend: Molly Mahoney. When Josh sheepishly confesses his ruse in mid-flight Molly is furious, making him promise to right the wrong the moment they land. Only when they arrive – it’s too late! Word has leaked out and they are swarmed at the airport by BOTH FAMILIES with well wishes and congratulatory banners. Josh convinces Molly to play his fiance by using a deadly combination her Catholic guilt and his Playboy charm. But as they plan their phony wedding the two of them start to fall in love for real. This turns their dating lives, and family’s interactions hilariously upside down tugging on every heartstring in the process.
Runtime
00:19:58
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Christina Harding
Synopsis
Bill falls in love at first sight with a beautiful woman in a jazz club. She plays hard to get with him through her seductive wit, but Bill charms her and proves himself worthy of her attention. It appears that a romance is in bloom until Bill discovers there’s eyes watching his every move. He’s in a notorious mobster’s bar hitting on his girl. He must decide if this woman is worth risking both of their lives for a brief moment of passion in this charming film oozing with classic Hollywood Noir from the golden age of cinema.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:17:00
Country of Production
Germany
Submitted by
Alexander Bergmann
Synopsis
They see each other for the first time in a library. At a second meeting they notice that they have the same interests and needs. Their initial conversation develops into an intense discussion. Everything revolves around a mysterious book which offers wisdom from an ancient time. Based upon their past experience, they have a difference of opinion about the book’s message, which leads to a fundamental disagreement among them. They go their separate ways for the time being. Eventually they begin to acquire a better understanding of each other’s position. Forced to face their own doubts and misgivings, they begin to understand how their different approach to life complements each other. They learn to let go of the past and confidently look to the future.
Category
student 1st-12th grade
Submitted by:
Alvaro Riccardo Valente
Runtime:
17 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis:
Based on an oral history from the W.P.A. Writers, Tobacco Burn is a story set thirty-five years before the Civil War at the height of American slavery. Our story follows a slave community on a Kentucky tobacco farm as they struggle with the arrival of a brutal overseer. When two of the enslaved weigh the complexities of killing the man, each develop a different understanding towards violence, acting on which could cost all of them their lives.
Category:
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:13:56
Country of Production
Germany
Submitted by
Cate Smierciak
Synopsis
Claire arrives from Paris to her new home in Berlin in search of adventure and a new life, only to be met with a cold flatmate and a sterile white-walled room. Left alone to unpack, she decides to go out on her own and ends up at a local dive.As Claire nervously sits by herself at the bar, a regular engages her in uncomfortable conversation, but the tension is broken when an attractive young man interrupts them, pretending to be her boyfriend to shake the old drunk.After a friendly chat, the man excuses himself and Claire heads home. But when she runs into trouble on her way, she is forced to find the strength and confidence she’s lacked all evening.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
01:27:05
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Kori Feener
Synopsis
Sometimes the best way to let go of a troubled past is to literally walk as far away from it as possible. Hard Way Home is an intimate journey of the filmmaker as she struggles physically and emotionally to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Filled with a cast of misfit hikers, wandering poets and other similar souls to the filmmaker, the trek takes on surprising meaning about the values of human connection and freedom that in the process help the filmmaker overcome a difficult relationship. In the vein of classic first person documentary films like Sherman’s March, and the recently successful Maidentrip, this documentary is a personal journey with mostly point of view cinematography that takes its audience along on an experience of a lifetime.
Category
student college/film school
Runtime
00:11:14
Country of Production
Australia
Submitted by
Edward Lyons
Synopsis
When a troubled man on a cliff top is on the verge of committing suicide, he is interrupted by a young vivacious woman. Through a series of heart wrenching flashbacks he reveals to her how he killed his wife. As he tries to come to terms with his grief, the woman offers him hope in a manner he never expected.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:21:06
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Sean Mitchell
Synopsis
Washington D.C., 1947: The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC,) stands in session. Film director Herbert Biberman sits in the witness chair. When asked, “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” Biberman refuses to answer. Chairman Thomas responds with a verbal lashing and has Biberman arrested. In an outer room, Bertolt Brecht, wife Hellie, and 4-year-old daughter Barbara sit and wait. Brecht wears a Chairman Mao style jacket while Hellie tries to get him to change into a suit. “You should wear the costume of your interrogator,” she says. “This is not a performance, Hellie,” Brecht responds. Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, the second to last witness, approaches Brecht to talk some sense into him. Trumbo is concerned that Brecht, a well-known Marxist, will revoke his past and spit on his work in order to stay out of jail. Brecht, obviously torn about what to do, provokes Trumbo by responding “Survival first, morals later.” As Brecht enters the hearing room, Chairman Thomas cites the other ten witnesses’ later to become know as the Hollywood Ten for contempt of Congress. The committee’s grandstanding, the audiences’ thirst for blood, and the photographer’s bulbs flashing in a surreal light display make an impression on Brecht. He turns to his translator and muses, “This isn’t interrogation; it’s theater!” As he approaches the witness chair, Brecht must choose between betraying himself and his friends, and jail. Or will he find a third option?
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
01:08:46
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Bryan Liedman
Synopsis
PUTCHA MONEY IN THE BUCKET is a feature length documentary about street performing in Portland, OR. The art of busking truly encapsulates this city’s spirit of individual expression while simultaneously providing an object lesson in the grit and determination it takes to live out one’s dreams. Though all performers posses their own unique talents and come from very different backgrounds, the buskers in this film have one thing in common: the vulnerability and strength required to perform their art for the general public. Whether their goal is to make it big, put a smile on a strangerΓÇÖs face, or anything in between – all of these artists are compelled to give their art to the streets of Portland. Putcha Money in the Bucket has been two years in the making: filming on the streets of Portland for several months followed by two years of intense editing. This film is not only a glimpse into the heart of a city that is becoming one of the country’s top places to visit and live, but also an honest narrative of what propels artists to create in an economy and culture that does not always appreciate their craft.
Category
documentary feature
Runtime
00:15:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Alexander Kohnstamm
Synopsis
An overworked lawyer, Kent, is given a tragic case that involves a grieving father, Greg. Kent connects with Greg, and because of Kent’s new understanding of fatherhood, he reexamines his life.
Category
shorts narrative
Submitted by
Sandra Capra
Runtime
8 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
Carrot Cake is a story about a 97 year old father wanting to meet with his daughters and their families to share some important news.
Category
short documentary
Directors (Film Title):
Trent Ludwig (Capably Able Man: Redemption), Jess Caudill (Scarlet), Reuben Betts (33 Days)
Submitted by:
David Fox
Runtimes:
Capably Able Man: Redemption - 8 min
Scarlet - 6 min
33 Days - 7 min
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis:
These three films are from the winning teams of the 2014 Columbia Gorge Film Project that took place in June. The Columbia Gorge Film Project is a film competition were teams with a list of rules and criteria set out to plan/shoot/edit and turn in a short film in only 2 days.
Submitted by
Andrea Nesbitt
Runtime:
2 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis:
Tackling a ‘spin’ around Mt Hood started as a crazy idea. We had done buildings in SF and Toronto and a mountain seemed like an impossible/possible extension of that – so we decided to try. Our motivation was really just to see if we could pull off such a crazy project. It’s one thing to spend an hour walking around a building, but a mountain would require months of planning, miles and miles of hiking, and some terrifying driving/exploring.
Category:
Adventure
Submitted by
Skip Armstrong
Runtime
5:30 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
I wonder… if… one day…
When a newbie kayaker goes paddling, he discovers a posse of pros on the river and wonders whether someday he could be that cool. A daydream in the eddy transforms the purple-helmeted rookie into a whitewater Adonis. Join kayaker Ben Marr as he takes us to a world where a paddler’s wildest fantasies come true.
Category
Short Adventure Documentary
Submitted by
Wiley Watson
Runtime
32:14 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
On November 15th, 2013, the world lost Kurt Caselli to the Baja 1000. The shock was immediate and powerful.
A once in a generation offroad racer, Kurt’s performance on his motorcycle was matched only by the dedication, passion, and love that inspired an era of racers, riders, family, and friends. Red Tide Pictures is proud to present Caselli 66. This is the story of Kurt and his legacy that lives on. Ride the dream.
Category
Short Documentary
Submitted by
Sarah Uhl
Runtime
15 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
With the weekend’s adventure plans closing in on you and too much indecision about which sport you want to pick this time, sometimes you’ve just got to combine them all into one. Last Weekend is a short film about enjoying life and celebrating the time we have to play together in the mountains.
Category
Short Adventure documentary
Runtime
00:08:55
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Jack Livingston
Synopsis
A guy sits on a bench. He has brought a cardboard box along. A girl sits and references the box. Amazing that, after all they have been through, she can fit into one little cardboard box. Meet Me By The Lake is an exercise in the mind’s power of recollection and transportation. Memories, whether fond or putrid, exist as those moments themselves. In an instant, you can taste what it might have tasted like, feel what it might have felt like and live as you might have lived. And all of this is just one thought away. The characters of Meet Me By The Lake dive head-first into the recollection and experience journey–with you along as their passenger. What will you choose to remember?
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime:
20 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis:
At the age of 12, Giovanni Douresseau weighed 280 pounds when he was taken on a surf trip. He fell in love with the feeling of riding a wave and met a mentor figure who helped him move past his rough, fatherless upbringing to completely change his life around. 10 years later, Giovanni has lost over 100 pounds and attempts to give underprivileged kids the gift of surfing that was given to him many years ago.
Category
student college/film school
Runtime
00:25:00
Country of Production
Sweden
Submitted by
Andrej Landin
Synopsis
Alexander, a lone cosmonaut, is adrift in orbit around Earth, he has lost communications and life-support systems are dwindling fast. At the same time in Italy, a radio engineer is working the night shift. He discovers a voice amidst the empty static. Under desperate circumstances, and across vast distances, an intense connection is made.
Category
student college/film school
Runtime
00:27:46
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Alexander Reinhard
Synopsis
In 1970s America, the legends of free climbing start out as young outcasts who didn’t want any part of a respectable American dream. They wanted to create a world for themselves where the ultimate self-expression was a climb to nowhere. Up was down, poor was rich, and what everyone else found meaningless was worth dying for. With 16mm archival footage of their daring antics and vagabond lifestyles, as well as campfire interviews with John Bachar, Henry Barber, Ron Kauk, Lynn Hill and more, see how these young rock climbers created a Utopia out of risk and innocence.
Category
Adventure
Runtime
00:35:05
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Travis Shields
Synopsis
Forced to leave his mother’s house and get a job, 35 year old Labyrinth Jenkins, along with his best friend Eric, embark on a quest to find Bigfoot and claim a million dollar prize.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:09:32
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Alex Italics
Synopsis
In blissful 1950s suburbia, a love struck bobbysoxer and her no-good-nik boyfriend seek refuge from her overprotective and hot-headed father.
Category
student college/film school
Runtime
00:22:40
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Nicholas J. DeMicco
Synopsis
A car-jacker at a crossroads.We follow Kurt, an expert car-thief, whose life is suddenly complicated by offbeat romance and professional competition.Kurt works for Larry, a father figure who runs a chop shop disguised as a garage, but Kurt’s career is threatened by Joe, a lowly mechanic and aspiring car thief.Meanwhile, romance buds for Kurt with Emilie, a young mother with complications of her own. Kurt’s personal and professional life are speeding towards a dangerous intersection.
Runtime
00:09:27
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Robert Thomas
Synopsis
Jake has found inspiration while visiting his family cabin. As he recounts his spiritual journey, Jake makes sure to include all details, real and completely made up.
Category
student college/film school
Runtime
00:06:31
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Hadley Hillel
Synopsis
A cook working at a small mountain inn must deal with unexpected consequences when his plan to poison one of the guests for money goes awry.
Category
student 1st-12th grade
Submitted by
Jason Kummerfeldt
Runtime
10 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
A story about a man whose job it is to make light bulbs. His relationship with his wife causes him to sink into a depression that disables his ability to do his work.
Category
Student/animation
Runtime
00:08:36
Country of Production
Germany
Submitted by
Markus Kaatsch
Synopsis
The poor yet smart trickster Si Lunchai triumphs over the cruel king. An adaptation of an Indonesian legend, inspired by the style of the Southeast Asian shadow puppet play Wayang Kulit.
Category
animation
Runtime
00:07:50
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Greg Emetaz
Synopsis
When a nervous wife has her suspicions of infidelity confirmed, she makes her husband a killer omelette.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:04:22
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Tony Gioconda
Synopsis
Two friends are taking a break from the day’s wedding festivities. What begins as a simple discovery quickly escalates into a battle for enlightenment.
Category
short narrative
Runtime
00:14:19
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Jordan Liebowitz
Synopsis
Bingo Night! Is the story of Ethel, a retiree on the brink of eviction and out of time, short on money, and without options. Desperate, she recruits her friends Vivian and Ruth, and devises a plan to rob the cash cow of their small Midwest town: the local bingo hall.
Category
short narrative
All is not lost - by Ok Go
White Knuckles - by Ok Go
Situation Vacant - Andrew Murchie
The Simple Carnival- Jeff Boller
The White Washing of 5 Pointz - Ben Schwartz
Music for Self -Transforming Machine - Aaron Ross
The Hot Shaolin Chef
Laspe of Time-Celine Tricart
Runtime
01:55:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Nathan Nazario
Synopsis
A romantic-drama, “Old Fashioned” centers on Clay Walsh, a former frat boy who gives up his reckless carousing and now runs an antique shop in a small Midwestern college town. There, he has become notorious for his lofty and outdated theories on love and romance. When Amber Hewson, a free-spirited young woman with a restless soul, drifts into the area and rents the apartment above his shop, she finds herself surprisingly drawn to his noble ideas, which are new and intriguing to her. And Clay, though he tries to fight and deny it, simply cannot resist being attracted to her spontaneous and passionate embrace of life. Ultimately, Clay must step out from behind his relational theories and Amber must overcome her own fears and deep wounds as the two of them, together, attempt the impossible: an “old-fashioned” courtship in contemporary America.
Category
feature narrative
Runtime
01:15:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
shane anderson
Synopsis
In November of 2012, Shane Anderson made a pilgrimage back to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state to the rivers he once fished as a boy. This was a once in a lifetime fishing trip, he soon discovered wild steelhead and salmon were disappearing from the rivers and were now appearing as federally listed under the Endangered Species Act. How could the icons of the Northwest slip toward the abyss of extinction?This discovery left me asking many questions so I decided to take off the rest of the year, cash out my life savings and embark on an adventure up and down the west coast to document and learn about the current plight of wild steelhead and why this fish is so revered. We are constantly mis-informed on information about the reality and the status of our fish until its too late. The effects of shifting baselines is more evident then ever. He wanted to find the truth, look at history and hard scientific fact as well as talk with people who have dedicated their lives to studying and advocating for wild steelhead and salmon. This is a story of personal transformation and a quest to reconnect to the spirit of the wild.
Category
documentary feature
Runtime
00:23:52
Country of Production
Brazil
Submitted by
Jin Park
Synopsis
The notice received that an old friend that is just about to die brings Amar back to India 40 years after he left in order to deliver a mysterious box.
Category
shorts narrative
Runtime
00:50:46
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Noam Osband
Synopsis
“Adelante” shows the heart of Mexico beating strongly, just outside of Philadelphia, where Mexican newcomers are revitalizing a dying Irish-Catholic parish in Norristown, PA. Now, the sounds of children giggling have returned to the church, and mariachis join bagpipers in celebrating community events. Focused on an American priest and a young Mexican couple, we learn how this shift has brought new challenges and energy to this old parish located outside of Philadelphia.
Runtime
00:14:45
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Christopher G Moore
Synopsis
Disengaged is the story of Wendy Pickett (Alena Koch), a determined young woman who faces the daunting task of taking care of her neighbors after a post-apocalyptic event leaves them frozen in place.
Category
horror/sci-fi short
Submitted by
Molo Alcocer
Runtime:
20 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis
One year after the mysterious disappearance of his father, Chris has taken on the responsibility of raising his rebellious younger sister, Julie. Haunted by memories of his father’s obsessive belief in a supernatural threat to the family, Chris has done his best to move on, keeping the struggling family unit on track. As Chris finally begins to make a clean break with the past, tensions between the siblings reach a breaking point and something terrible descends upon the house…
Category
horror/sci-fi short
Runtime
00:08:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Ryan Gard
Synopsis
On a dark night deep in the woods, a girl finds herself in a cage, held by a mysterious mountain man with a very large hunting knife.
Category
horror/sci-fi short
Submited by
Mike Woodward
Runtime:
7 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis
While home alone, three sisters conduct a Japanese ritual of Hitori Kakurenbo or ‘One Man Tag’ with their beloved doll. Terror ensues as the girls realize that one should never play a game with the Devil.
Category:
horror/sci-fi short
Runtime
00:20:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
PJ Germain
Synopsis
With only a day left on their roadtrip from LA to St. Louis, estranged father Harvey Reynolds (Abraham Benrubi) and son Brandon (Jordan Michael Thompson) find themselves lost and broken down on the ruins of Old Route 66. Stranded miles away from any sort of help, Brandon ditches his dad, sending Harvey on an odyssey through the night that will test the very fabric of being a father.
Category
student college/film school
Runtime
00:03:40
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Levi Caleb Smith
Synopsis
A man struggles to contain his growing paranoia, his appearance may be more incriminating than expected.
Category
horror/sci-fi short
Runtime
00:01:33
Country of Production
Australia
Submitted by
Jim Zounis
Synopsis
After a sudden turn of events, a zombie is suddenly brought from the world of fiction into the world of reality.
Category
horror/sci-fi short
Runtime
01:15:00
Country of Production
United Kingdom
Submitted by
Rebecca Kenyon
Synopsis
For some, the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, is a tourist playground. Beneath the surface however, is a rapidly increasing demand for resources available to those affected by poverty. The face of homelessness is changing rapidly. Former business owner Vince has slept under a stairwell in a parking garage for the past year. Currently sober, he’s determined to turn his life around. After aging out of foster care, Jerome followed in his mother’s footsteps by setting up a tent under a bridge, from which to attend college and perform as a female impersonator. Melody is an educated ex-Marine, who lost her local government job and now fights imminent foreclosure. In desperation, she considers sending away her two sons. Karen and feisty daughter Chemaiyah escaped domestic violence to move between church shelters every week, swallowing pride when belittled by the organizers. Meeting through common goals, we observe the lives of our characters organically interweave. They cast their votes but what can a new term in office really change? As the tough holiday season approaches, tensions and hopes run high. Several months later, has anyone found a solution to their predicament and is it sustainable? What does this growing trend mean for Middle America? Some make the transition to the fragile stability of employment and housing; others fall deeper through the cracks. With touches of dark humour and an intimate, honest style, “Something You Can Call Home” freshly explores what’s essential for physical and emotional survival, and evokes dialog long afterwards.
Category
documentary feature
Runtime:
9 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis:
Experiencing adventure is an important part of life for all people. The filmmakers explore what adventure means by talking to guides, adventurers, and those that have obstacles to getting outside. This documentary short explores what adventure means to Ed, a paraplegic, as he has the chance to kayak and cross-country ski after years of feeling limited by his disability. Ed and his wife, Patricia, shares how important getting outside together has been to their relationship.
Category:
documentary short
Runtime
00:33:57
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Robert Holmes
Synopsis
Fred Noble lived life full of life-threatening adventure. He skied in the films of Warren Miller, established the Columbia River Gorge as a windsurfing mecca, para-glided throughout the world and along the way had many near death experiences. In 2011 he received the devastating news he had ALS, Lou Gehrigs disease. Prognosis was he had only a few years to live. The usual life expectancy is in the range of 3 to 5 years. Fred skipped the denial stage and went straight to acceptance vowing to make every minute he had left count. There was no time for self pity. He embraced life as he always had with a positive can do attitude during his final years made the first ever sit-ski descent in the Bugaboo Mountains of Canada and paragliided above the Oregon coast after he had already lost use of his legs, Fred retained his infectious sense of humor. This documentary is about living and making the most of life. It is a positive message that we can all make the most of what we have and live life to the full even if facing a terminal illness. This is not a documentary glorifying an adventurer, it is a heartfelt story of a man raised in an orphanage who become an inspiration to everyone he met. We hope this inspiration continues through this documentary.
Category
documentary short
Runtime
01:34:45
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
John Coffill
Synopsis
“Healing Magdalene” is a feature film about female genital mutilation (FGM). Female genital mutilation is predominantly practiced throughout Eastern, Central and Western Africa, and also extends to the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, some occupied Palestinian territories, and certain immigrant communities in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States of America. Over 130 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. The story behind “Healing Magdalene” begins in Houston, Texas where Donna L. Valverde, writer and director of the film, learned about FGM from Magdalene, her father’s healthcare provider. Donna’s father had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, hospice was called in as well as round-the-clock care. Magdalene worked long, twelve hour shifts, compassionately providing care for Donna’s dying father. Magdalene and Donna Valverde became close during those intense days and nights. This 96 minute film is intended to generate global awareness about the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in an effort to evoke universal change. The film challenges the viewer to ask whether or not our lives are truly significant and whether or not our actions truly do make a difference. One candle will light a dark space; a multitude will turn darkness to light.
Category
documentary feature
Runtime
00:24:00
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Anuradha Rana
Synopsis
Variations, is a documentary about three artists with disabilities. The film seeks to convey varied human experiences and promote the belief that disability is a natural part of human diversity and can take pride in its heritage and culture.
Category
documentary short
Submitted by:
Eli Brown
Runtime:
15 minutes
Country of Production:
Netherlands & USA
Synopsis
Stories in the Streets shows the educational work that storyteller Karel Baracs performs with children from different backgrounds and cultures in a school in a neighborhood in Amsterdam. Taking the children on his special bicycle-wagon, Karel introduces the children to people in the street and elicits interesting personal narratives from everyone he meets. By interacting with the people in their neighborhood and being introduced to Dutch vocabulary, Karel makes a lasting impression on the importance of storytelling with his unique program.
Category:
documentary short
Runtime
00:59:00
Country of Production
Ghana
Submitted by
Alan Thompson
Synopsis
We Stand Alone is a feature-length documentary that follows the Liberian national amputee soccer team from their homes in Monrovia to their championship bid at the 2011 CANAF Cup in Accra, Ghana. The film chronicles the daily struggles and triumphs of these players as they try to prove that they can still bring pride to themselves and to their nation, even after the civil war has drastically altered relationships across the country. By working together, these ex-fighters and casualties of war will overcome the pain of their past and use amputee soccer as a means to improve the future.
Category
documentary feature
Submitted by
Studio Swine
Runtime
3:51 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
Since the discovery of the Pacific Garbage Patch in 1997, which is predicted to measure twice the size of Texas, five more have been found across the world’s oceans with the Atlantic gyre predicted to be even larger. This plastic takes thousands of years to degrade, remaining in the environment to be broken up into ever smaller fragments by ocean currents.
More of a ‘plastic soup’ than a tangible mass, the gyre stretches from the coastlines of California to the shores of Japan. Recent studies have estimated 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer of the world’s oceans. The number of plastic pieces in the Pacific Ocean has tripled in the last ten years and the size of the accumulation is set to double in the next ten.
Sea Chair is made entirely from plastic recovered from our oceans. Together with local fishermen, Studio Swine collects and processes the marine plastic into a stool at sea.
Category
short documentary
Submitted by
Studio Swine
Runtime
4:28 minutes
Country of Production
China
Synopsis
Hair Highway is a contemporary take on the ancient Silk Road which transported not only silk but also technologies, aesthetics and ideas between East and West. Investigating the global hair industry in the Shandong province of China, Studio Swine followed the journey of the material from the people who sell their hair through to the hair merchants, markets and factories. The project documents this journey in a film and a collection of highly decorative objects. China is both the largest importer of tropical hardwood and the biggest exporter of human hair. By combining hair with a natural resin, Studio Swine has created a composite material that provides a sustainable alternative to the planet’s diminishing natural resources with an aesthetic that evokes the palettes of tortoiseshell and a grain resembling that of polished horn or exotic hardwoods. The result is a unique collection of exquisite objects inspired by the 1930’s Shanghai-deco style. As the world’s population rises, human hair is one natural resource that is increasing. Asian hair regenerates the fastest, growing 16 times more rapidly than tropical hardwoods; it is also incredibly strong – a single strand can take up to 100 grams. Hair Highway reflects on China’s relationship with the rest of the world, while exploring the idea that trade has the ability to not only transport products but also values and perceptions.
Category
Short Documentary
Submitted by
Christoph von Toggenburg
Runtime:
28 minutes
Country of Production:
Switzerland
Synopsis:
Alegria – A Humanitarian Expedition tells the story of an epic solo expedition across the Himalaya that changed the lves of hundreds of people in need. Supporting leprosy patients and mentally destitute women, Christoph von Toggenburg cycled 3200km on the world’s highest tracks pulling a 40kg trailer packed with survival gear.
Facing temperatures between minus 15C to plus 45C he crossed mountain passes higher than 5500m mastering a total of 50000m, Christoph fell altitude sick and was hit by rock fall.
Crossing Nepal during the Maoist unrests, conflict stricken Kashmir, he encountered wonderful hospitality, found new friends, and saw some of the worlds’ most spectacular landscapes.
He became film maker, actor, fundraiser and awareness raiser in one person capturing this epic adventure entirely by himself.
Category:
Adventure
Submitted by
Paula Ascher
Runtime
5 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
See British Empiricalist philosophers John Locke, David Hume, and George Berkeley debate on the game show ‘How do you know what you know?’ for the title of Who is Right.
Category
shorts narrative
Country of Production
USA
Runtime
01:32:00
Submitted by
Manny Marquez
Synopsis
‘Psychopath’ is the story of Oklahoma garbage man, Victor Marquez, who had dreamed of becoming a Hollywood Make-up artist and working in the movies. When he was 18, he fell in love with his high school gym teacher, and he put his dream on hold to start a family. 25 years later, the couple decides to take their life savings and invest it in property to build a haunted house theme park where Victor will finally be able to create and showcase his talent. Issues of land use arise with the local neighbors; Victor can’t find reliable people to work with him; and his money starts to run low. This is his attempt to achieve the American dream, through a haunted house theme park.
Category
documentary feature
Runtime
00:18:21
Country of Production
USA
Submitted by
Melanie Star Scot
Synopsis
Addictions, we all have them. Whether it be food, cigarettes, the internet, alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping and more. Quitter is the story of one young mans journey…. and the insanity that accompanies him.
Category
shorts narrative
Submitted by
Shane Burley
Runtime:
36 minutes
Country of Production:
USA
Synopsis
Expect Resistance looks at the Take Back the Land and Occupy Wall Street movements as they began to respond to the foreclosure crisis. The film follows Leonard Spears, a man fighting to keep his home after a foreclosure has passed and an eviction notice has been filed. We meet activists who are willing to put themselves on the line and take direct action to keep people like Leonard in their homes. They also even move homeless families into bank-owned homes that are sitting empty from previous foreclosures.
Category:
student college/film school
Runtime
78 minutes
Country of Production
USA
Synopsis
Amid the bustling world of Central Oregon’s wild mushroom hunting camps, the lives of two former soldiers intersect. Rodger a 75 year old sniper with the US special forces in Vietnam, and Kouy a 46 year old platoon leader of Cambodia’s Khmer Freedom Fighters who battled the brutal Khmer Rouge, come together each fall to hunt the elusive matsutake mushroom, a rare mushroom prized in the Japanese culture and cuisine. However the pair discovers more than just mushrooms in the woods, they find a new life and livelihood and a means to heal the scarring wounds of war. Told over the course of one matsutake mushroom season; The Last Season is a journey into the woods, into the memory of war and survival, telling the story of family from and unexpected hidden place.
Category
feature documentary
Country of Production
USA
Runtime
01:03:50
Submitted by
Bryce Newell
Synopsis
For centuries, survival in the unforgiving deserts of the American Southwest has hinged on one’s ability to locate natural cavities or wind-carved cisterns in rocks called tinajas (tee-NAH-hahs). Capturing rain during rare desert storms, these catch-basins are often only inches across, centimeters deep, and teeming with insects and their larvae and are precious, lifesaving treasures to desert-dwelling animals and desert-traversing humans. It seems reproachfully paradoxical, then, that this region would today host the primary trail of hope for thousands of people seeking gainful work and the promise of a brighter future. It’s a desperate journey, one that has cost the lives, and ended the hopes of hundreds of people per year since 1999. It is likewise a politically supercharged arena; a legal, moral and political maelstrom poised like a flame near a tinderbox of sentiment. For years, volunteers have dropped water and aid containers along popular routes of migration and have searched the desert for dying immigrants. In one case, the Transborder Immigrant Tool presents itself as a technological tinaja: an art project that promises to guide migrants to caches of water placed along migratory trails. To some, these are selfless and inspirational efforts that give new and poignant context to the phrase “the Art of Survival.” To others, such action irresponsibly induces illegal border crossing, tantamount to aiding and abetting unlawful conduct. From the perspectives of both the undocumented migrants and the aid-givers, the Art of Survival provides a compelling tale of life and death on the Tinaja Trail.
Category
documentary feature
This is the story of the Historic Columbia River Highway (HCRH), the first modern roadway through the Columbia River Gorge and one of the first in the United States.
This preview of Laughing Deva Productions “King of Roads” elicits the original and on-going “scenic” vision of the men who built the highway as well as those who are currently involved in recreating the dream. Our intention is to tell the story with an underlying understanding that roads, cars, bikes, and transportation in general bring with them a certain freedom and harmony. This is a celebration of the freedom to go places, get things done, and explore the world in a new way that roads made possible. Our story not only tells of roads in the Gorge, but also draws the viewer’s attention to scenic wonders and the rebuilt HCRH as a premier recreation and tourism destination. The Columbia River Highway opened the way to the Sunday drive, the open road, and the ability to move products and people from their doorstep to their business. This movie is a celebration of that road and the car culture that made that possible.
Country of Production
USA
Runtime
01:23:00
Submitted by
Geeta V. Patel
Synopsis
MEET THE PATELS is a laugh-out-loud real life romantic comedy about Ravi Patel, an almost-30- year-old Indian-American man who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams … and his family. Filmed by Ravi’s older sister, in what started as a family vacation video, this hilarious and often heartbreaking film is a tribute to the aches, the sacrifices, and the overwhelming awesomeness that comes with being in love. In this case, love is a family affair. Directed by siblings Ravi Patel and Geeta Patel, MEET THE PATELS had a sold-out world premiere at Hot Docs and won an Audience Award. Fresh out of a break-up and freaked out that he’s almost 30 and single, Ravi Patel goes on a family vacation to India with his head spinning. Ravi is desperate to find love and is willing to do whatever it takes. Ravi turns to his parents for help they send him on a whirlwind of dates around the country through an Indian matchmaking system called Biodating. You see, Patels marry Patels, and this is the system that’s used all over the world to help people do it. What Ravi has not told his parents is that he just got out of a two-year relationship with a “white girl.” Now the only thing between Ravi and his perfect Indian wife is a redhead from Connecticut named Audrey. Meet the Patels speaks to anyone who wants love, is in love, or wants to hold on to the love they have.
Category
documentary feature
