DON’T LOOK AWAY, 36min., USA
Directed by Joseph Vitug Lingad
In the span of six years, the film follows Corey to show how his facial difference has impacted his life, friendships, family relations, romantic relationships, and careers, and how these experiences have shaped his personality and perspective. By capturing the daily life of Corey, the film shows the audience the challenges of living with a facial difference: being stared at, bullied, constantly having to explain your facial difference, the struggles of online dating, and the psychological and emotional impact of all of these experiences.

http://josephvlingad.com/
https://www.facebook.com/adultswithfacialdifference/?ref=bookmarks

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I was motivated to make this film due to my experience living with a facial difference. I was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. I wanted to make a film that shows how members of the facial differences community’s looks impact their daily lives and demystify stigmas of living with a facial difference that mainstream media has created and continues to perpetuate.

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

The short film took me a little over six years.

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

Unabashedly honest

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

The biggest obstacle in completing this film was to tell Corey’s story without sensationalizing his experiences.

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

I was very happy that Corey’s story touched viewers.

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

I wanted to make this film back in 2017.

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

Either the “Le fils” (The Son) by the Dardenne brothers or “Minding the Gap” by Bing Liu

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 wish this was also an in-person festival as well.

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

My experience with FilmFreeway has been great and easy to navigate.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Kare Kare – a Filipino stew

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

I plan to make a feature film on the same topic. In fact, I’ve been following three other characters with various facial differences as long as Corey (six years plus). Depending on how successful “Don’t Look Away” is in the film circuit, I plan to use it as a “calling card” to collaborate with partners to help me make a feature film.

AFROLISTIC: BLACK HEALING FROM ZIMBABWE TO THE BAY, 22min., USA
Directed by Nekia Wright, Shylet Ndarambwa
Black American healer shares about her practice and explores traditional healing, music, and dance in Zimbabwe.

Get to know filmmaker Nekia Wright:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I traveled to Zimbabwe in 2021 to study traditional healing and prepare for the Liberated Learning Teacher Fellowship. The trip had a profound impact on me and I wanted to share this experience with other Black folx. Especially those who haven’t had an opportunity to travel. I recorded entirely on my phone during that trip and began sharing clips during my community performances and sound baths. One audience member was so touched by this one clip from the Binga region that she began weeping. This was the final affirmation for me.

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

I drafted the idea for a grant on April 16th 2023 and completed the production by October 1st.

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

Black Holistic

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

This was my first film and I hadn’t taken any film or production classes. I was back in the US when I realized I needed to get releases signed by all the participants. It was a little complicated organizing this from here and took a few months but we all worked together to make it happen.

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

I wanted to make a film that engaged people’s heart, mind, and spirit as we explore African cultural healing and wellness practices. I felt like I achieved success. Watching audience members share how much they learned and one even expressed a desire to see more. This really affirms my vision of this becoming a series.

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

I began recording interviews with folx using my phone in 2021 during my first trip. This was my first time in Zimbabwe as well as Africa. I’m the first person in my family to travel internationally outside of the military and the first in this generation to travel to Africa. Many of my clients and workshop participants had never been either. I really wanted to be able to share with family and friends. I began to realize that my experience in international education, project management, and communication studies had honed the skills and discipline needed to make a film on a small budget in a short period of time in Zimbabwe. I applied for The Ubuntu grant through the African American Arts & Culture Complex to make the film on April 16, 2023 which was funded by the SF Office of Workforce Development. This was the day I decided to become a filmmaker.

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

My film, Afrolistic.

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 really enjoyed the process and love the audience feedback videos. I’m a brand new film maker and would love some technical and legal training

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

It’s been good so far. Can you please update my project to reflect the Best Direction award?

10. What is your favorite meal?

Soul food: Smoked turkey and brisket, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, black eyed peas, cornbread and peach cobbler with ice cream on top

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

I would like to turn this project into a series. There are several other magical regions in Zimbabwe including Great Zimbabwe in Masvingo. It would be great to explore a different country each season. I’d like to start with other countries where I have ancestral lineage.

TALKING TO MOON AND BAEK, 36min., South Korea
Directed by Francheska Dyne Hong
“Only four calls,” He says. “Starts at 11:11 ending exactly at midnight. Just 49 minutes. No more, no less.” And they say, be very careful what you wish for.

http://ceoh.creatorlink.net/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
+ One of the greatest film directors, Peter Chan, once spoke to me that “our greatest revolutions are begotten from our most intimate deprivations”.
And I have learned and experienced this to be the greatest standing truth – I think the magnitude of pain can sometimes determine the magnitude of one’s greatness.
There was a lot that inspired me to write, create, direct, and act “for” this film and I think pain was the greatest motivation. I knew what solitude, loneliness, and being hurt from the people you love the most felt like – and felt compelled to write a love letter to the past me, present me, and future me – which actually is the audience who are going through their darkest times (or have been). Most importantly, there were nights – even still today – I would just walk or bike endlessly staring at the moon in the middle of the night. It was the only place and moment I would find some form of solace and warmth, so that was another big inspiration.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
+ The pre-production and the filming surprisingly didn’t take as long – but also because I am very impatient and driven. It took about 5-6 months but the editing took a lot longer than expected. As a first time, well, for EVERYTHING, I struggled a lot to not only give directions but really find directions in the editing process. My editor did wonders but it was one of the most emotionally-draining parts of the whole process. There were days I had to literally force myself into the editing room because I was dreading the thought of staring at the project file not knowing what to do. So I would say a little less than a year but almost – but I really thought I would be done in six months 🙂

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
+ Love. Letter
I’ve said this in a few interviews but I really cried a lot during the writing process. It was a love letter to myself and all the audience out there.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
+ Myself – and funding. I ended up funding the entire venture by myself because I could not wait but I think it’s the obstacle for all filmmakers.
But probably the biggest really is myself – as in my own doubt, fear, and uncertainties. I wanted the film to touch people and mean something to them and I was afraid it would not because I wasn’t doing a great job. I did endless journaling, praying, meditation, crying to finally come to terms with the fact that at the end of the day, you have to let your art stand on its own to live and breathe with the audience.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
+ so much gratitude, joy, and heartache… just.. everything. Thank you so much!!!

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
+ Good question – I am not so sure. Not trying to sound all “destiny-wise” but I really never thought I would make films. I am an actress and a writer, and never saw myself as “ALL OF THE ABOVE”. But to quote some of the great players, one said “good players know how to play the game. the great players write the game themselves”. I think there was a part of me that wanted to create the entire playing field and see what it would be like – of course, once I started to realize how much of my bravery came from my naivety, it was a bit too late and I just had to keep pushing forward, with literal blood, sweat, and tears. Had I known it all, I am really not sure if I would have done it.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
+ Hrm, a lot of Richard Curtis films. I’ve “seen” different films but I study them more than watch them but if I am watching something to enjoy, I am a big Disney, Pixar fan 🙂

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
+ Podcast, interviews, and audience feedback are ALL so amazing, so thank you!
I think maybe a live-zoom call with the audience for a QNA? As a filmmaker, actor, the greatest reward and joy come from being able to hear directly from the audience so I think that would be something amazing 🙂

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
+ Really great – smooth. The only downside is I wanted to withdraw from a few festivals so I could apply to others.
The refund process has been completely non-responsive.

10. What is your favorite meal?
+ Korean food all the way – just the way they are prepared and served really feels like so much love was put into the whole process. And incredibly healthy is a pure bonus

11. What is next for you? A new film?
+ Yes and yes! Already finished about four different scripts. But now I think it’s time to secure funding since it was too difficult to fund the venture all by myself.
So whenever I can get the right investors, would love to start as soon as possible!

LAST STAND: SAVING THE ELWHA RIVER’S LEGACY FORESTS, 23min., USA
Directed by Dan Herz
When a large, ecologically sensitive legacy forest in the heart of the Elwha River Watershed was identified for harvest, the Earth Law Center, Keystone Species Alliance, and Center for Whale Research began using all legal means possible against the Washington State Department of Natural Resources in an attempt to halt the impending clear-cut. Through breathtaking cinematography and intimate interviews, witness the profound beauty and ecological significance of the watershed, as well as the dire consequences of unchecked deforestation.

Get to know director Dan Herz & Star Elizabeth Dunne

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Dan: I met a woman named, Missy Lahren, at an event in San Francisco and she told me about the legacy forests up in Washington state and how she and the law firm where she worked – Earth Law Center, were trying to prevent the state from auctioning off legacy forests for timber harvest. After she explained about the Elwha River, the undamming, the healing of the watershed, the salmon coming back, etc., and how logging could damage the watershed, after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to remove the dams, I felt that it was a story that needed to be told.

Elizabeth: I want people to understand the imminent risk to our last remaining older legacy forests in the Elwha Watershed and Washington state, and really throughout the Cascadia Bioregion. My hope is that through watching the film people will understand what is happening to our forests and why it is important; that they will take action – including by voting for Dave Upthegrove, who was featured in the film, to be the next WA Public Lands Commissioner; and will feel empowered to bring people together in their own communities to protect the places they love.

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

Dan: About 3 months

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

Dan: Powerful and Inspiring

Elizabeth: Heartfelt and Motivating

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

Dan:I went up to Washington in the middle of Winter, when days were very short and the weather was mostly rainy and overcast. It was challenging to get all the filming done in the week that I was there. Thanks to cinematographer John Gussman allowing us to use b-roll from his decades of shooting in and around the Elwha Watershed, we were able to complete the film. Also, the accelerated timeframe in which we wanted to get the film completed was challenging, as I had other productions I was committed to.

Elizabeth: It was on a very expedited schedule. I coordinated all the people to be interviewed in less than a week and did 4 days of filming straight while taking my son to and from preschool – the shoots during the weekday were in between drop off and pickup! I felt a sense of urgency since when we started filming, the “Power Plant” plant timber sale had not been canceled and logging was set to begin any day. So we didn’t know if we were potentially going to be filming the start of logging. The timing of filming turned out to be serendipitous as we didn’t know that the announcement to cancel the sale would be coming when it did. I had literally just finished filming with Dan and was headed over to the Dave Upthegrove fundraiser when I got a call with the news about the sale being canceled. I was ready for a break over the holidays, but we kept on moving forward with edits to the film as there is still urgency for the rest of the forests!

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

Dan: Very pleased and proud to have been a part of this film

Elizabeth: The feedback made me feel uplifted, supported, motivated, and grateful.

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

Dan: I have been working as a visual storyteller for over 30 years, mostly in TV. I have always wanted to make longer films, but never could figure out how to do it AND make a living. I knew from my first days as an intern at a TV station that I wanted to do this type of work.

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

Dan: Goodfellas

Elizabeth: The Snowman (1982). It’s a little under 30 min, with beautiful drawings and music and no words and my son loves it.

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

Dan: I love the opportunity to be interactive with an audience…answering questions after a viewing and hearing first hand what people thought of my work. It is rare in this business to get direct and immediate feedback, and it is such a valuable thing.

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

Karie – the FilmFreeway platform provided a seamless application process which made it a breeze from start to finish. I rate it 5 stars.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Dan: Grilled salmon, rice and sauteed veggies

Elizabeth: Any meal with fresh, homegrown veggies

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

Dan: No current plans for a next film currently, but we have talked about some other environmental films that I would love to develop and produce.

Elizabeth: I’ll continue to work for the forest and would like to do other films that help people reconnect or form a deeper connection with Nature and that counter some of the misrepresentations by the timber industry.

UNTYPICAL, 95min., Belgium
Directed by Michael Jimmy DUPRET, Marion VAGNER
The documentary is cameos of five neurodivergent adults who are witnessing the radical changes happening by being more and more in touch with their neurodiversity. Atypical adults in Europe are often undiagnosed and having to mask their whole lives. They face discrimination in their professional lives and often struggle with low self-esteem and feel worthless. Through their journeys they will see their neurodiversity not as a deficit or dysfunction but as a distinctive cognitive style, with its own strengths and benefits. An estimated 20 percent of the world’s population are thought to be neuroatypical.

Get to know the filmmakers:

MV Marion Vagner) and Michael’s (MD Michael Dupret) :

1. What motivated you to make this film?

MV : As a journalist, I love telling people’s stories but I find documentaries in which people tell their own stories extremely powerful.
“Untypical” is about people having a different cognitive style and thinking outside the mold. I really wanted to meet neuroatypical adults, because we often talk about atypical children and the difficulty of raising atypical children but there is less talking about what these children become.
When the topic is neurodiversity, there is no one else than neuroatypical people themselves able to explain what their lives are made of.
Having a few neuroatypical persons in my life, I also knew many diverse conditions are misunderstood at best, and mostly stigmatized. It is hard to relate to it and hard to explain. Hard to get the big picture.

MD : This project interested me as soon as Marion proposed it. The first thing I love about a documentary is the discovery: showing viewers another side of a societal issue and also being able to learn new things myself. I was also attracted by the opportunity to offer our interviewees the chance to present themselves as they truly are. Working in fiction as well, I love the truth in documentaries: it’s “real life.” What I enjoy most when working on a documentary is being able to show the daily lives of the people we follow. I want to be able to transport the viewer alongside the witnesses we follow to better understand what they are going through.

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

MV : It took me 2 years to find 5 adults representing the 5 different ways of thinking or functioning which are ADHD Autism, dyspraxia, Tourette’s syndrome and giftedness. Then we started filming in August 2022 and finished in May 2023. Editing took us a month or so. We were a very very small team which made the whole process very special.

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

MV : If I have to pick up two words to describe the film I would say “all different”. I am hoping that at the end of the film, it is understood that brains can process information differently without it being an issue. We are all different in the way we think, solve problems, love, understand. That makes us as humankind a community.

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

MV : The 5 persons I filmed had issues with their professional or educational environment. None of their employers or schools agreed on being part of the documentary and on telling one of their employees were neuroatypical. One of them has even been fired. There is such a lack of awareness about neurodiversity among employers and even healthcare professionals. It is part of the problem.

MD : With this subject, there was a challenge: showing the invisible, showing without staging, showing to create change. I love when the camera disappears, when the technique fades away to highlight the people we are following. The idea was to make visible to the viewers what our interviewees experience from the inside.

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

MV : I was really really moved. First because they watched the film which I find amazing ! And also because the message we wanted to pass on was understood. The stories are relatable.

MD : I was really happy that all these people watched our film. It’s also interesting to see that so many people are concerned by this topic.

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

MV : At 13 I was fascinated both by journalism and cinema. I was not allowed to watch TV or the news, so I still find it amazing that there was way to mix both my teenage passions.

MD : I was 7 when I watched the movie Poltergeist. I was not supposed to watch this movie at that age, but I was totally fascinated by it, by the emotions we can feel and share while sitting on a couch.

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

MV : It would be the first movie I have ever seen, “Le grand bleu”. It moved me so much at the time it remains my cult classic.

MD : “Jaws”. I love the way the “monster” is shown by Spielberg. The music, the shark’s point of view. I’ve always been fascinated by how we can be so afraid of something we almost don’t see in the movie.

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

MV : I think feedback are what we thrive as filmmakers. Being selected or not, having an award or not, we progress with feedback.

MD : As Marion said, feedbacks are definitely great. It would be nice to get pictures from the movie projection.

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

Great, it is the second documentary we present, and it is so easy and a great way once the film is over to give it a life.

10. What is your favorite meal?

MV : I would say a French dish called quenelle. Is is a mixture of creamed fish and breadcrumbs and I am crazy about it.

MD : Definitely Quenelle!!! It’s a specialty from Lyon in France.

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

MV : I am working on a documentary about Sanda Dia, a Belgian student who died in 2018 as a result of a fraternity hazing ritual. I work with his family to raise awareness on hazing, class-based justice and systemic racism.

MD : I just finished a documentary about the 1989 Tour de France, the biggest cycling event in the world. 1989 was a remarkable year when the American Greg Lemond made an incredible comeback. He won the race over the French favorite, Laurent Fignon, by 8 seconds on the last stage. It’s a kind of sports thriller. Now, I’m working on my second feature film, a horror movie.

PEACE IN MY NIGHT, 13min., Canada
Directed by Abigail Mascher
“Peace in my Night” is a compelling documentary that follows the extraordinary life of Elsie Mascher, a woman whose unwavering faith in God guided her through the darkest chapters of World War II.

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

This film is one I have been wanting to create for a while. I recently moved to Canada for university. While I’ve been here I have been living with my grandmother (Oma) and I have been able to have many conversations with her. She has taught me a lot and it’s been interesting to hear her perspectives on life. I always felt her story would be one that could encourage others. Although it wasn’t easy for her, there was hope within the difficult experiences. Many people today struggle a lot in life. I wanted to share my Oma’s story so that those who watch it may feel encouraged and realise there is hope even in the darkest of times.

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

It took me a whole year, two semesters, to make this film. It was a capstone project for my degree. The first semester was spent on pre-production while the second semester was spent filming and editing.

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

Emotional but hopeful

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

One of the biggest obstacles I faced was trying to cut down the huge amount of my Oma’s story into a short twelve minute film. She has so much to say and has experienced many things. There was a lot I wanted to include in the film but wasn’t able to due to time. But she is working on writing her story so hopefully soon there will be a book out to find out in more detail all the things she went through. 🙂

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

My first thought was, “I can’t believe all these people I don’t know watched my film and actually enjoyed it!” 🙂

I was encouraged by the comments and it was interesting to see all the different interpretations. I am mostly glad that my Oma’s story could make a positive impression on the people who watched it.

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

I started making films during the pandemic. I was bored and wanted to use my time so I began making short videos on my two dogs. I enjoyed the process so much I decided to study it in school. I want to make films because I love telling stories in a creative way. I feel like I can make a difference with the stories I share through film.

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

A film I love is the Sound of Freedom. Although it is very intense, I love the way it was made. The visuals and music are beautiful and draw you in. But my favourite part was how they were able to share a true story and use it to raise awareness. I want to make films like that, where I share stories that have meaning and make a difference in the world.

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 honestly do not have much to say. The Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival has been incredible. I never expected all the opportunities given to continue showcasing my film. Thanks for sharing all the extra resources to increase the popularity of my film and share it with more people.

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

FilmFreeway has been amazing. A professor first told me about it. I had never even heard of it before when I was searching for places to showcase my work. I love how it’s a reliable place to connect with festivals and share my films with the world.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I grew up in Kenya so one of my all time favourite meals is a Kenyan dish called mukimo. It is basically made by mashing green peas, potatoes, maize, and spinach leaves altogether. You can have it with stew and chapatis (flatbread). It is so yummy! The crunch of the maize with the softness of the potatoes mixed with stew will always be a nostalgic meal for me. 🙂

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

I am actually heading to the University of British Columbia next year to complete an education degree to become an elementary teacher. I wanted to give myself as many options as possible and my dream would be to teach during the year and make films over the summer. That being said, I have started working on the script for a narrative film I hope I can make once I have finished school. 🙂