Archives

by Film Fest Admin

Loop-Da-Loop And Giuseppe

Written by Noel Robichaux; Directed by Jason R. Jaworski; Produced by Jason R. Jaworski & Noel Robichaux

Loop-da-Loop and Giuseppe is a silent film that drew inspiration from the life of an actual Victorian era transvestite prostitute who went by the moniker Loop-The-Loop. With the help of his secret lover, Brooklyn Police Captain Giuseppe Baldi, Loop-Da-Loop escapes from his menacing pimp, Big Earl.What follows is a madcap romp through turn-of-the-century Prospect Park. Ragtime and Stride Piano great Terry Waldo composed and deftly performs a whirling ragtime score. Anchored in Victorian homosexual New York, LOOP-DA-LOOP AND GIUSEPPE is a heartwarming love story, complete with classic chase scenes, pie-in-the-face humor and murder!

16 min
by Film Fest Admin

Betania

Written/Directed/Produced by Andrea Giomaro


Serena is a doctor in a city hospital. Her life is quite and systemic until the day she has a call from the priest of the small village of Betania. He informs her that her grandfather has passed away. Serena takes a symbolic and actual journey to that strange and forgotten town, where death is not so well defined.

24 min
by Film Fest Admin

Abra Cadaver

Written by Josh Heisie; Directed by Jay McBeth; Produced by Kurt Ogilvie

One saw, one box, no magic!

A failed magician just needs an assistant to pull off that one great trick. His choice of a streetwise hooker might not have been as clever as he thought.

12 min
by Film Fest Admin

Cleaning House

Written by Jaime Byrd & Matthew Montgomery; Directed by Jaime Byrd; Produced by Adam Cohen & Matthew Montgomery

While on probation from a previous mishap and now under the watchful eye of the “Agency” they work for, Denver and Dallas are called on to remove an unwanted ghost from the home of Charlie, a reclusive toy maker. The “procedure” is not what the toy maker expected as the two women blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not in Charlie’s life.

14 min
by Film Fest Admin

Ambition Of Love

Written/Directed by Christopher Zatta; Produced by Christopher Zatta & James Caffery

A noir in five vignettes, with an ex-boxer turned bodyguard for the mob, the femme fatale who lures him in, the aging gangster they scheme against. and the outsider poised as a threat. When all’s said and done, ambition may be the downfall of them all.

My love of noir inspired this film, while its haiku story design stemmed from my time as a TV and webcomic writer for the series HEROES. Using this structure, paired with voice-overs that expose each character’s inner workings, the viewer is slowly lured into a sinister underworld.

18 min
by Film Fest Admin

The Furred Man

Written/Directed by Paul Williams; Produced by Paul Terry

A bruised and battered Max sits in an interrogation room dressed in a ghoulish costume caked in dried blood. With his alibi littered with two corpses, blood-curdling screams and a tale of “the beast”, this furry man swears he can explain…

15 min
by Film Fest Admin

The Absence

Written/Directed by Alex Demille; Produced by Alex Demille, Dane Reiley, & Dagmar Weaver-Madsen


An assistant manager in the Records Department of Black House Securities, is sent on a mission to a mysterious and barren rural landscape. There he crosses paths with an eleven-year-old boy who is beginning to wake up to the dark forces devastating his town. The bureaucrat confronts the truth behind his company’s work and must choose whether to continue to obey his messianic boss.

29 min
by Film Fest Admin

The Offering

Written/Directed/Produced by Michael Huber

Surrounded by peace, tranquility and the lushness of nature, a young, innocent woman gathers water from the river. She plucks a lotus blossom and tucks it behind her ear. As she passes through the jungle her grace, beauty and purity is evident but the sway of her hips hints at her budding maturity. Irresistibly drawn to the abandoned temple, she hesitates unsure whether she should enter. As though compelled by an unseen force she takes her first tentative steps and the transformation from girl to woman begins. When she steps in front of the statue of the temple god, she feels the goddess within stir and senses the universal power that women possess. The dance begins naïve and stylized, to impress the being within the statue. Her attempt fails to illicit a response. She turns, discouraged but even gods are not immune to a woman’s power.

9 min
by Film Fest Admin

Four Days at Dragon*Con

Written/Produced by Gordon Ray, Jack Walsh; Directed by Jack Walsh

As any visitor to Dragon*Con knows, every Labor Day weekend, tens of thousands descend upon Atlanta for the largest convention of geeky pop-culture fandom in the Southeast. From science fiction celebrities and their obsessive fans to colorfully costumed characters engaged in mock combat, this documentary explores the Woodstock for nerds known as Dragon*Con.  Featuring interviews with fans, staff, performers, artists, stars and would-be superheroes, Four Days at Dragon*Con examines the sense of community and acceptance that draws together what is often seen as a marginalized subculture.  With footage of the magnificent Dragon*Con parade, the greatest collection of homemade costumes to be found anywhere, and a stirring climax centered around an ambitious attempt to break the world record for dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,”  Four Days at Dragon*Con is quirky and fascinating fun.

(Screened out of competition)

55 min

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by Film Fest Admin

Treevenge

Written by Jason Eisener, Rob Cotterill; Directed by Jason Eisener; Produced by Rob Cotterill

Treevenge details the experiences and horrifying reality of the lives of Christmas trees. Clearly, for trees, Christmas isn’t the exciting “peace on earth” that is experienced by most. After being hacked down, and shipped away from their homes, they quickly become strung up, screwed into an upright position for all to see, exposed in a humiliation of garish decorations. But this Christmas will be different, this Christmas the trees have had enough, this Christmas the trees will fight back. Treevenge could be a short film about the end of days for Christmas trees, or perhaps, the end of humanity?

16 min
by Film Fest Admin

Hands Off!

Written by Carl V. Rossi; Directed/Produced by Patrick Bosworth

When John is visited by an Angel he learns a disturbing truth about how he spends his time on the Internet.

7 min
by Film Fest Admin

Rantdog’s “Zombies of the Tar Sands of Death of Doom”

Written by Norm Fassbender, Dave Clarke; Directed by Norm Fassbender; Produced by Kate Holowach

A four-part animated series following Rantdog and family and their encounter with the Zombies of the Tar Sands of Death of Doom.

14 min

Episode 1: The Quackening, Redux

Can a flock of ducks and a cute bunny dodge the grasp of the Tar-Zombies?

Can Rantdog and family have a happy holiday at Tar Sands National Park–a nature preserve as gooey as the La Brea Tar Pits, but with the added bonus of being infested with industrial-strength Zombies?

4 min

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by Film Fest Admin

One Night

Written/Directed/Produced by Laura Jean Cronin

The idea for this film first began with the question, “what would you do the morning after you took a human life?” This is where we begin with Allie, a little bruised up and very self-reflective. I had only then to figure out the why, when, where and how. I also wanted to bring the audience down an unexpected path while they think they are watching the “expected”. Allie’s flashbacks keep bringing her back to the Dance Club where she awkwardly put the moves on her long time crush. Did Allie stab Nicole to death? All too often “psycho lesbian” has been a cinematic archetype. One Night turns that archetype on its head and makes us examine our own boundaries and social anxieties as Allie, our protagonist, must examine hers.

13 min
by Film Fest Admin

Lorelei

Written/Directed by Steffan Schulz

Filmed partially underwater and loosely based on the poem by German writer Heinrich Heine, “Lorelei” is a story of lost love. The original poem tells the tale of a maiden on a cliff overlooking a bend in the Rhine River calling out to her former lover, a sailor navigating the treacherous curves below. Similar folklore of maidens, mermaids, and sirens seducing unsuspecting sailors can be found throughout literature. This experimental film tells the tale of a sailor drowning his sorrows in drink as he ponders the lost love of his life. Haunted by images of his former lover, the sailor finds refuge in drink, but a constant barrage of sublime reminders beckon him.

7 min

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by Film Fest Admin

Alternative Dragon (Orutana Doragon)

Written/Directed by Takehito WADA; Produced by Takehito WADA, Naoko NAKAMURA, Kohei ANDO　

Serena had just started to work for a door-to-door sexual service when she accidentally kills a customer who got out of hand. Sayama, her driver, treats this as an unfortunate business situation.

Out of panic, they cut the body into 6 pieces and load it in the back seat of their car. They decide to dump the body somewhere remote–the nearby woods.

On their way, they are stopped by basic human needs: food, washroom, and sleep. Each time they stop however, they encounter a new, annoying, and nearly surreal circumstance.

40 min
by Film Fest Admin

Merlot

Written/Directed by Eduardo Munoz; Produced by Eduardo Munoz, Marchette Stamps

Carol is a classy and sophisticated woman with a superhero boyfriend. The only problem is, he rarely spends quality time with her because he is always off saving the world. Carol truly cares about her boyfriend and wants to make their relationship work, but she isn’t going to stand for the rejection any longer. She wants to regain her dignity. The two have a typical dinner date; only this particular evening is anything but typical. Unpredictable and catastrophic events occur as Carol tries to make their relationship work one last time.

Merlot is about dignity; the dark side of a superhero’s perfect, intimate life, which leads to his girlfriend’s ultimate alternative. Merlot is a drama with a slight taste of humor.

5 min
by Film Fest Admin

Leave Me

Written by Dustin Ballard, Ryan Dunlap; Directed by Dustin Ballard; Produced by Ryan Dunlap

A recent widower deals with his grief through his wife’s broken camera as he relives through her photos one last chance to be with her. Meanwhile, his father must decide whether to let his son go or move on himself.

5 min