Just a Girl is a romantic-comedy in which a transgender teen girl returns to her high school and comes out as transgender after transitioning in another town, only to have her former best friend fall head over heels for her. The romance plays out against the backdrop of an international high school robotics competition.

CAST LIST :

Crystal: Kristen McCulloch
Addy: Kyana Teresa
Espo: Julie Sheppard
Narrator: Carina Cojeen
Benji: Nikolai Afanasev
Jaden: Peter Mark Raphael
Ollie: Kaleb Alexander
—

Producer/Director: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com

Festival Moderators: Matthew Toffolo, Rachel Elder

Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne

Editors: Kimberly Villarruel, Ryan Haines, John Johnson

Festival Directors: Rachel Elder, Natasha Levy

Camera Operators: Ryan Haines, Temitope Akinterinwa, Efren Zapata, Zack Arch

On the hard edge of the urban west, Jess, an ex-con and single mother, strives to provide for herself and her own in the face of desperate poverty.

CAST LIST:

Various: Nikolai Afanasev
Carlos: Peter Mark Raphael
Narrator: Carina Cojeen
Jess: Kristen MacCulloch
JJ: Kyana Teresa
Various: Kaleb Alexander

Writer Statement

Danielle and I live in Denver, CO. It’s a confluence. Rivers meet here (anywhere else they’d be considered large creeks). Highways, too. People. In many ways, it’s the best of the West and the best of the Midwest. The weather is temperate. Some of the best skiing can be found a short drive away. Mountain biking, yoga, and live music. It’s all here, including a rapidly rising real estate market. The migration of the tech industry to its new Midwest hub, as well as the legalization of cannabis, has brought cutting-edge ideas and a population increase. At its peak…

AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:
BEST FILM: TEDDY MATE
BEST PERFORMANCES: PICTURES OF LEO
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: PICTURES OF LEO
BEST MUSIC: VIOLET

Theme of night: Lost Connections

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Videos:

The 2nd festival in Toronto in 2020.
30 more festival events in 2020.

See you at the festivals.

– Matthew Toffolo

MAD ABOUT THE BOY, 8min., UK, Musical/LGBT

Directed by Samir Bhamra

British born Pakistani singer and songwriter duo, Sidique and Kamaal are in love. They secretly elope and have a gay marriage in Leicester.

When Kamaal marries Rukhsana in Pakistan to maintain his heterosexual facade, Sidique is angry and lost. His marriage to Kamaal is completely disregarded in a country where homosexuality is illegal.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

VIOLET, 11min., Ireland, Romance/LGBT

Directed by Madeline Graham & Christopher Whiteside

Northern Irish teenager Violet struggles to come to terms with her faith and being gay, whilst burdened by overbearing and conservative parents.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

THE WAY THINGS END, 5min., Norway, Drama/LGBT

Directed by Anna Fredrikke Bjerke

Told from the perspective of Sofia, a queer woman discovering and asserting who she is as a young adult, THE WAY THINGS END is a poetic short film about two friends who are coming to terms with the painful truth that a shift in perspective can sometimes end a friendship. We hear Sofia’s emotional response to the friendship breakup, as she reflects on the conflict that has come between her and Isabel, her former ride-or-die; this internal voice is filled with sadness, guilt and confusion. Gradually Sofia begins to remember parts of the friendship that were good and honest, as she finds a new perspective; forgiveness.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

TEDDY MATE, 15min., USA, Fantasy/LGBT

Directed by Rommel Villa

In a world where children bond with magical teddy bears that eventually transform into their perfect, human life partner; an optimistic and strong-willed young woman struggles when her teddy mate subverts expectations.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

PICTURES OF LEO, 15min, Sweden, Drama/LGBT

Directed by Eric Rusch

Nicolas gets an unexpected visit from his past, and memories of life changing choices and long lost love are brought back to life.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

FUCK, 3min., USA, Drama/LGBT

Directed by Vern Hass

A one word journey through an unsuspecting freshman’s sexual trials, tribulations, and revelations during her first semester of college.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

DIMITRI, 15min., Italy, Drama

Directed by Marino Baciga

Alessandro is a young handsome man who takes advantage of a trip to Rome to catch fleeting meetings mediated by technology. The occasion becomes real when he meets Dimitri, elegant and refined, who after a moment of passion and understanding inexplicably disappears.

Alessandro finds himself stuck in a stranger’s house.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!