TURNCOAT, 28min., South Korea
Directed by Jason Montgomery
A shrewd merciless crime boss must investigate the scene of his brother’s assassination for answers, revenge, and to avoid the same fate.

https://www.facebook.com/turncoattheshortfilm
https://www.instagram.com/turncoattheshortfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I had spent the last several years living in South Korea; teaching English and writing screenplays. I got the itch to actually shoot something and direct it, as it had been way too long. Even though I didn’t have much of a network, few resources, and little money, I decided to use what I had and make something. My ex-teaching colleague and neighbor Maurice (Rob in the film) had left our teaching academy to pursue acting, and over some drinks in the local bar the film was shot in, we got the idea for me to write and direct something with him as the lead.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

About two and a half years. I started two other scripts that didn’t work out; one became too big to be a short and the other became so twisty and complex that even I didn’t know where it was going. On the third attempt, I came to the concept of Turncoat, then Maurice and I had to assemble the people and resources to do it, raise some money, and plan it out. Once we got it shot (at the tail end of COVID), one of our key postproduction people (Will, also the cinematographer) got stuck outside the country for about two years, so we had to handle a lot of post at a distance.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Darkly introspective

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Coordinating such a big cast and crew for production. Most of them had other professional commitments that were higher-paying, and just life issues, that we had to work around. Luckily they all liked the material and were extremely dedicated getting it made.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It was kind of surreal. I’ve seen, heard, and given reactions like that many times, but to see people I’ve never met giving such deep and intelligent consideration to my film was amazing.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

Around age 6 I started idolizing movie characters, which made me want to be an actor, then a few years later, maybe around 11 or 12, I developed a desire to take the helm and tell teh stories myself. That’s when I started writing scripts that I had no means to make, then finally pulled all my friends, family, money, and resources together and make a feature-length action thriller in my 20s.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

It’s between The Godfather and Back to the Future.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

It’s aleady a fantastic festival experience, but maybe I would add

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

It’s been great. The platform makes it easy to view, compare, categorize, and apply to the most suitable festivals.

10. What is your favorite meal?

A medium-rare ribeye, mashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese, and an IPA.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

I’m writing a feature screenplay, also featuring Turncoat’s main character Rob. It was actually the first concept I tried for this project, but was too big for a short.

WAKING CONUNDRUM, 11min., Canada
Directed by Dale Loon, Alyssa-Rose Hunter
Waking up in a room with a ceiling that seems to never end. A man struggles with his memory of recent events but remembers everything else from the past. The man meets a woman and brings him down to great disbelief and shock that shakes every atom in his body. A scheme is planned to escape this room. But is the plan for real?

Get to know filmmaker Dale Loon:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Your not gonna be so impressed, but at the time when I was in school. I came to a point where I needed a script in order to advance in the Toronto Film School program. And I only had one class, 4 hours to do it. 20 minutes was spent making beats of the story. Another 40 minutes character building. Then the last 3 hours was spend writing the script in a rush.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

When I wrote the idea I actually put the script on the back burner because the class was done. So, in between terms there is a 1 week reprieve for students. I got bored during that week and decided to shoot it. I grabbed the laptop and made a post online facebook for people. Then, 2 days after? We shot Waking Conundrum in one day.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Unseen Betrayal

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

The biggest obstacle in completing this film was the production design, I gave $2,900 and after all was shot I got $1,900 back. But we made things work with what we had.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

The one thing I expected for sure was the unseen betrayal from Venora. The audience saw a connection sparking between them, then at the end? They were shocked and shooked. Everything I wrote is what I wanted in the audiences reactions, and it was puuuuurfect!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

. I didn’t realize, I was actually a homeless drunk who drank everyday on the streets back at home. As I was drinking with my usual drinking buddies, I once stood up and said. “I’m going to film school!”. As I walked away, my drunk friends thought I was joking. Then next day i borded the bus and made the 53 hour bus ride to Toronto.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

The one film I have seen the most was Space Balls. I love to laugh. I also love to watch the reactions of people who never saw it before with the endless ship at the beginning. It will never get old!

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I just want to say to the festivals that no matter where you come from and who you were. An idea can actually make people entertained and make them think or keep them at the edge of their seats.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Working on the film festival site was a very easy experience. Before my 11 years of being homeless and drunk, I was very handy with computers and repaired them. So point and click interfaces were clear instructions

10. What is your favorite meal?

Tacos. Always Tacos.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

The next move for me is to produce and direct waking conundrum 2 next year. And while waiting for the time, I’m going to be writing episodes 3-7 of Waking Conundrum. Gotta find out what is gonna happen to the handful of men, right?

STAY HERE, 12min., Canada
Directed by Amelia Mitchell
A troubled young man’s infatuation with his coworker spirals out of control after she introduces him to a dangerous coping mechanism.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

It probably shows, but when I made this film I was going through a pretty rough patch of my life. I began thinking lots about loneliness, and how someone in my situation experiences it–while living away from my parents and hometown, working a minimum wage job, and spending a vast majority of my time alone. I feel that this is a relatable situation for people my age, particularly for university students. What we don’t tend to talk about very much is that loneliness makes us vulnerable in ways we might not imagine. This story is meant to show the dangers of isolation, but part of why I felt the need to tell it was to put it in context. I really wanted this to feel like a plausible story in a specific place and at a specific point in time. This is how it feels to be alive right now.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Most of the planning, shooting, and editing happened within the winter semester, so it technically took four months. However, I came up with the idea two months before, and spent way too much of my Christmas holiday on it. So, about half a year.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Very dark!

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Being a fourth year completing my final film in an entire class of other fourth years completing their final films was definitely the biggest obstacle. Everyone is busy with their own projects!

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was grinning the entire time–I loved hearing their interpretations of the events and their takes on what it all meant! There were different opinions, too, so it’s cool that so many people got different things out of it.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

Since I’ve been old enough to string words together I’ve known I want to tell stories in one way or another. I used to spend all my time writing, but I’d daydream about some famous filmmaker adapting my ideas for the screen. Soon enough, I was like, why don’t I just do that myself?

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably The Lord of the Rings. The entire thing. I grew up on those movies but I still adore them as an adult, they’re incredible!

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Anything to do with networking! I would love to meet other people, however I could not attend due to the distance.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Pretty good, the festival site is pretty intuitive and I really don’t have any complaints. I only wish it could somehow filter out festivals that are regional-specific. It would save me so much time.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Sushi!

11. What is next for you? A new film?

I always have a million ideas swimming around in my head! For now, I’m focused on finishing my final degree of university. Once I’m done, however, I’ll have lots of time to sit down and write another short film. There’s a great community here in Saskatchewan and I can’t wait to get another idea up off the ground!

ALISHER’S GIFT, 16min,. USA
Directed by J Matt Wallace
An Uzbek and Kyrgyz blended family learns there are more than ethnic issues behind their historic misfortune. The recent death of their uncle Alisher prompts the delivery of gifts to a nephew and niece who learn important truths about both their recent and ancient past.

https://jmattwallace.com/alishersgift/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Another person who lived under the USSR in Tashkent – a person with a deep, long, love of Central Asian history (especially ancient Christianity) – asked me to help him with a massive media project. Over the years, he couldn’t make up his mind if we needed a series, a fictionalized narrative story movie, a documentary movie, or a web-based tool. After learning a bunch from him, I told him that I was going to use some of what I learned to construct a short story/film. In the meanwhile, he’s still working on his project. Just helped him recently.

Plus… I’ve always wanted to go to Central Asia. This gave me a reason.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

Idea came in 2018…. crowdfunded early 2019… into production March-April 2019.

I edited to 90% complete in spare time over the next year with intentions to finalize it and release mid-2020. When COVID hit and all of the festivals shut down, I held onto it. Attending festivals is great fun and I didn’t want to miss that with this film. Life was weird…. things happened…. about the time when festivals started being a thing again, I was too busy trying to pay bills. It wasn’t until summer 2024 that I did the last 10% of the post-production.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?

Difficult History

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Everything related to producing something like this in other cultures/languages/countries. That magnified all of the typical & substantial challenges of film.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

Very positive. It was gratifying to hear what they (total strangers) garnered from the film… where you could see them reading in their own experiences & priorities. It also felt like they picked up on the things I was most proud of.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

Initially in the 1990s. However, I treated that as a silly trope… not wanting to think I would be a good director, since everyone thinks that about themselves. However, after doing video assist from 2012-2021, I saw up close and personal directors, DPs, producers, and everyone else around the video village. I worked on big projects, series, and TV commercials… and it became clear I would be a good director, and the evidence is (per recent crews and cast) that I wasn’t wrong 30 years ago… but just maybe not ready yet.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably Monty Python & the Holy Grail. (maybe 50 to 75 times – especially in college)

Favorites: Aliens, Galaxy Quest, Patton, Blazing Saddles, Wedding Singer

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

Not sure. Be fair. Promote actual quality. Make sure you don’t add to “award factory” elements of the entire festival space. The whole feedback thing is fantastic. If it were slightly less expensive OR had more people, I’d not hesitate doing this for every film.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Excellent. I’ve got multiple projects out through them.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Depends which country I’m in. But probably medium rare steak cooked properly.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

Recently inspired to produce a theatrical short film version of an original song my wife and I wrote. We were at a festival where the music videos were not inspiring… except for maybe 2. This song has the potential to be festival & visually friendly.

Also, I’m about 70% done on the first draft of a feature RomCom. And I’m still sitting on an original SciFi comedy screenplay I wrote, but may be converting it into a book series.

Plus, I forgot that we have a feature length music documentary “7lbs of Bacon” coming out within the year. Not my primary baby, but a key producer.

WHAT ARE WE?, 15min., USA
Directed by Eileen Hanley
Jess and Kayley, two platonic queer bffs with benefits and unfortunately both bottoms, have a threesome with the top of their dreams and define their unorthodox relationship.

http://www.eileenhanley.com/
https://instagram.com/theeileenhanley

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I am fascinated by different human relationships and how complex our dynamics can be. I wanted to showcase multiple queer relationship dynamics while normalizing these relationship styles: anything goes if everyone involved is on board! And I wanted to show that in a way that was playful and not taking itself too seriously to demonstrate that it can be easy and simple.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

I wrote the film in August 2023, we shot it in March 2024, and finished post in August 2024. So one year from conception to delivery.

3. How would you describe your film in two words?

Fun & Gay ❤

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

I self-funded this film so every expense came out of pocket. We had a few hiccups while shooting but nothing crazy, and all of which could have been easily solved with more money.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I am so happy that people liked it and that they seemed to understand the relationship dynamics between the characters. I think I was expecting perhaps harsher feedback (which is welcome to me as I always want to learn, grow and improve), but was pleasantly surprised to hear that it was well-received.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

I grew up in the theater and really love to be on stage. I started off making a web series in 2018 as a way to put myself on camera for reel material, and I loved the immediacy of seeing the results of my efforts rather than waiting to be cast in something. I started writing roles for myself, specifically ones that I wanted to show myself in. I’ve now made 6 films, and I love using the process as an opportunity to explore the areas where people are grey, good people just struggling to do the right thing, and the nuances of humanity.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Hmmm… I have rewatched Parasite many times. It is one of my absolute favorites.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?

I think you guys have done a great job! I’d love to have facilitated intros to other filmmakers, perhaps through an NYC networking event or even introductory emails between filmmakers and executives/producers.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

Great! I love FilmFreeway.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I love steak.

11. What is next for you? A new film?

I am acting in a few projects and working on a couple features and TV series. I have so many ideas and it is hard to find the time to really flesh them all out. But I’m chugging along.

ATLS, 11min., Canada
Directed by Mishka Balilty
In a dystopian future where a powerful elite class prolongs their lives by exploiting young women for their babies’ organs, two women, find themselves on the run from their oppressors. Desperate to escape a fate of forced impregnation and organ extraction, they flee to a remote cabin. Their refuge becomes a sanctuary where they share their dreams and fears, finding solace in each other’s company. However, their fleeting happiness is overshadowed by the ever-looming threat of capture. Their love story, which began in desperation and hope, culminates in a tragic and devastating finale. ATLS is a powerful exploration of love, freedom, and the inescapable shadows of a world that seeks to tear them apart.

https://www.wtfimproductions.com/registration
https://www.facebook.com/wtfim
https://www.instagram.com/whothefuckismishka/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I was inspired by Romeo and Juliet one day while listening to the soundtrack from the movie, I started to see this film come to life in my mind. I always loved the reading the play when I was younger… and so I began writing a tragic love story and soon I had a script.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
2 years.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Tragic Love

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I don’t think there was anything super big. But the person who was going to play Arielle’s role dropped out. However, it was very early in the process. And I cannot imagine the film without Arielle.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was very nervous how it would be received. But I was overjoyed to see that people understood our creative vision and enjoyed the film.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? When I was ten maybe even younger. I love movies and I have always loved the art of storytelling. When I hear music, I see visuals in my head. It’s what I am meant to do.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life? That’s a hard question but there are three ( Beetlejuice, Drop dead Fred, Girls just want to have fun).

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career? I think having a meet and greet even if its via zoom or almost zoom speed dating, but for filmmakers. Would be helpful to meet others in the industry.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site? Great!

10. What is your favorite meal? Fresh rolls ( I dream of them)

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I hope so. I have written a lot. I would like to create a new project. I also want to direct a music video.I think having a meet and greet even if its via zoom or almost zoom speed dating, but for filmmakers. Would be helpful to meet others in the industry.