Conversation with multiple award-winning screenwriter Ryan Armstrong. His recent screenplay, SADDLED WITH, is a western/thriller. Ryan is a huge fan of Westerns and there is an unique analogy with today’s world. So yes, Westerns are currently making a comeback and we’ll be seeing more of them.
A gunslinger is hired to rescue and return a young person to their family despite all outlaws, odds, and attire.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Western, Action, Drama
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
I believe, especially now, that understanding, listening, and accepting are something we need to get back to doing. Whatever form/medium necessary to push that, might be helpful.
Converstaion with filmmaker Clare McKay, on her personal story being adopted from Haiti with her 5 other siblings by a white family of farmers. Growing up adopted in a ranching lifestyle and how rodeo plays a part. A story of faith, passion, drive and following your dreams no matter where you’re from or plan to go.
This film was actually never meant to be but I’m a storyteller at heart. I started with the simple idea of creating short sizzle reels for my brothers who were avid bronc riders at the time and slowly but surely the story was born out of traveling around with them and capturing footage. I began to think how I could add more “meat” to what I was collecting and Living an American Dream was born.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Living an American Dream took 6 years to create.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
First child
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest obstacle was finding an editor or production company that understood my voice and vision without attempting to change the narrative. While I ultimately maintained creative control, the lack of collaboration made the process an “uphill battle” that I would not want to repeat.
Podcast chat with historian Tom White, director Daniel Matmor, & producer Jody Glover, from the feature documentary HIDDEN – The Kati Preston Story.
Conversation on how societies can descend into authoritarianism and vicious anti-semitism in a slow vicious way. It never happens overnight.
Daniel Matmor opines that the Hungarian film school, which was once a great place for storytelling, has sunk to idiots on the board wanting to make movies that are revisionisms of history (AKA: Pure propaganda films!) and brainwashing the next generations of filmmakers.
HIDDEN – The Kati Preston Story is a powerful journey seen through the eyes of a child—a firsthand account of a society’s slow and insidious descent into authoritarianism, dictatorship, and tyranny. Kati Preston’s joyful childhood in Hungary came to an end in 1944. Bit by bit, law by law, action by action, her world was dismantled. Everything she knew and loved was stripped away.
Award winning screenwriter Amy Kolquist (BEASTIES) chats about the movie “Shes watch the most times in her life”, TRUE ROMANCE, and how it’s influenced her writing style.
Desperate to escape her abusive, Christian Nationalist family, a teenage girl finds an unlikely ally when a female werewolf from a pack dead set on killing her family lands in her home, and the attraction they develop for each other forces them into a fight for their very survival.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
Beasties is a coming of age, horror story, about Mara, a late teen girl living on a remote ranch in Montana with her abusive, Christian nationalist family with dreams, but no means, of escaping. Her life changes when Lilly, the daughter of an equally toxic werewolf clan traveling through Montana, ends up saving Mara’s life and consequently lands in Mara’s family’s home during an extreme winter storm. As Lilly’s family descends on the farm to retrieve Lilly, Mara’s family realizes that Lilly and Mara have formed a romantic connection, going against the very roots of their family moral system. With Lilly’s family hell bent on destroying Mara’s, and Mara’s family hell bent on destroying Mara and Lilly, the two girls find themselves in a desperate battle for survival that forces them to each question their own moral compass if they are to win.
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Horror and coming of age
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
This movie works with current and relevant themes that are being questioned in our current political climate. The idea of “beasts” is examined in the film superficially as the werewolves, but more authentically of how we have characterized people as beasts within our society based on our morale beliefs. While Mara’s mom tries to initially save Lilly because it is the Christian thing to do, once she realizes that Mara and Lilly have connected romantically, she moves to kill not just Lilly, but also Mara, as her religious beliefs are so compromised by the thought of her daughter being a lesbian. The script also explores the hypocrisy of using our beliefs to defend our actions. In spite of his strong religious beliefs, Mara’s father kills Lilly’s father early in the script because he feels that Lilly’s father is morally beneath him. The script also explores themes of toxic masculinity and the difference in the rules in our society depending on gender. It’s also a fun horror movie set in a remote, barren setting, that has some good old fashioned fun horror scenes.
Conversation with the film team from the “DigiPen Institute of Technology” on the making of their short film MARIPOSA. It’s all about the pre-production. Creating storyboards and working on the tone and music before the drawing for the film begins.
Growing up, I, Brook Vitovsky, watched my great-grandmother struggle with dementia. From the time I was a toddler until I was thirteen, I saw how the disease slowly affected her mind and spirit. Witnessing that experience firsthand made me realize how deeply dementia impacts not only those who live with it but also their families. My motivation for making this film comes from a desire to honor that experience — to reach people’s hearts and create a sense of shared understanding and connection.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
Heartfelt and bittersweet
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest challenge we faced was definitely the layout. Matching the perspective from the storyboards to the 3D model in Maya proved difficult, especially when it came to controlling the camera.
Conversation with filmmaker Brandon Katcher, as he was travelling in the Swiss Mountains before starting his “castle” film Italy. He happened upon an amazing area to do a drone shot that would fit into the themes of his film. Good thing he had his equipment (always have your photography equipment with you) so he could do the shot.
Resonance in the Castle, 17min., USA Directed by Brandon Katcher A mysterious castle breathes with light and color, drawing all who enter into its shifting embrace. Stained glass spills vivid hues across ancient stone, golden reflections dance over strange artifacts, and ethereal performances flare up like living paintings. Surreal, electric, and unbound by space or time. Musicians, dancers, and performance artists bring their visions to life, each performance casting a ripple, before fading into the ether. A place of mystery and spectacle, this living museum exists only in the moment it is seen, leaving behind only echoes. Here, the castle is not a place but a state of mind, a dream in motion, inviting us to lose ourselves within its walls.
The opportunity to make Resonance in the Castle came at a key moment in my life, when I felt directionless and depleted. I had just wrapped a grueling, two-year documentary production, and like so many filmmakers, I found myself in that fog of burnout and uncertainty. What’s next? And then, pure coincidence gave me the opportunity to join an artist residency in a century-old castle in Italy. I traveled there with only a few basic ideas, the glimmer of a story. But through collaboration with musicians, dancers, sculptors, and actors from around the world, a film was born through the freedom of creating without expectation.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Not knowing what to expect from the location or the artists involved, I arrived in Italy with only basic ideas and visuals in my head. Once I was able to see the castle in person and meet the artists, those ideas became collaborations, and the scenes took shape. Each artist had a plan for their live performance, which we adapted for each room and scene. The actual filming took place over two days and became an improvisation as I learned to “dance” with each performer. During the week in the castle, we also performed live in front of an audience and filmed a documentary of the event. Once I returned home, the editing process took about two months.
Blade Echo is a gritty, tactical tokusatsu-inspired episodic series following Derek Castle, a wrongfully convicted underdog recruited to become an Echo—a government-deployed warrior equipped with an adaptive combat suit and a personal AI partner.
Review by Andie Kay:
Exciting, fast paced and with a killer soundtrack, this action/sci-fi short film delivers a great edge of your seat experience. The filmmakers open by succinctly explaining what these Echoes are and that sets the tone for the entire film. At an undisclosed time in the future, the government is recruiting convicts to help fight off a sinister alien invasion. They are called “echoes”. Derek Castle is a wrongly convicted man who finds himself with no choice but to become an Echo.
Visual Effects, CGI and costuming were all done amazingly well. As was cinematography, it gave you this feel of a gritty, futuristic world. Stunt work was incredibly well done and the actors portraying Derek Castle and our government handler were believable and had a great rapport. The storyline was engaging and keeps your attention from start to finish, with a twist at the end that you don’t see coming. I loved the attention to detail the film makers did in using a muffled sound effect when our lead was speaking with his helmet on. The only downside was it was a little hard to hear the dialogue.
There was a lot of hard work that went into this film and I wish there was an end credit roll to commend the individuals who were responsible. All I can say is this was highly enjoyable and I look forward to more of the story of Blade Echo.
When a bitter nobody becomes convinced that Tom Hanks is the cosmic reason his life sucks, he drags a new friend on a chaotic cross-country mission to confront destiny-and maybe punch America’s dad in the face.
Conversation with Evan Neill on screenwriting, and the art of storytelling.
Lana Tong, a tour guide who migrated to Hong Kong less than a decade ago, guides audiences through a post-pandemic Hong Kong undergoing rapid shifts in its political and socio-cultural landscape. Her journey is disrupted by two disembodied voices—native narrators steeped in Hong Kong’s 80s to 00s ethos. Offering corrections rooted in a native perspective and drawing from their upbringing in Hong Kong’s 80s to 00s milieu, they recount the city’s geography and the values of freedom championed by earlier generations, paradoxically steering Lana to rediscover the city through their lens. Amid the tides of time, questions arise: Can a city’s soul survive relentless tides of change? Will its people cling to inherited ideals, flee, or forge new meaning from the fragments?
What motivated you to make this film?
This film was born out of a need to hold onto fleeting moments in Hong Kong, moments that felt especially fragile during the severe pandemic and political upheaval of 2021. Homebound with my partner, we found ourselves reminiscing about childhood and quietly mourning how the stories that shaped us seemed to be dissolving, not only through the passage of time, but also because of the shifting political landscape in Hong Kong. In response, I began filming the city’s landscape and eventually created this short film.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
The script and dialogue were written at the very beginning, but the images were filmed gradually over four years—from the lockdown to the reopening of the city. I wandered with a handheld camera and sound recorder, capturing fragments of memory from crowded streets to the city’s border, trying to sketch a map of change through rapidly shifting visuals and evolving soundscapes.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
Questioning identity.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The biggest difficulty lies in the relevance of the content over time. Since the text was written four years ago, some of the topics became outdated during production. I even considered amending or removing those parts. Interestingly, some of these outdated issues have now become cross-generational matters, so I decided to keep the original script.
Conversation with Experimental filmmaker Sary Andre El Asmar, from Lebanon on being influenced by classic Hollywood directors to make his films.
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Turmoil – Chapter One, 6min., Lebanon
Directed by Sary Andre El Asmar
A young woman lives between two worlds: Europe, where she’s built a life, and Lebanon, the home she can’t stop longing for. Torn between memory and desire, she drifts back and forth, riding the emotional rollercoaster of exile, identity, and belonging.
Get to know the filmmaker:
What motivated you to make this film?
What motivated me to make this film was the complex feeling of belonging and displacement that many Lebanese expats carry. I started filming randomly with no clear plan.When my friend, who lives in Germany, came back to Lebanon we spent many days together, and after that i began to sense the constant push and pull, the urge to return to her home but at the same time the desire to leave again. For me home is where your roots are, but it’s also where safety feels uncertain. The film became a reflection of living between two places, two lives, and two versions of what “home” means.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Well actually, I have been shooting randomly for about 1 year and a half. I am a sea lover and mountain lover. So I used to shoot randomly every time I went out. But the idea of putting those shots into the final product took me like 3 months.
How would you describe your film in two words!?Wandering Roots
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?Emotional breakdowns
There are 5 Stages of Filmmaking: 1) Development. 2) Pre-Production. 3) Production. 4) Post-Production. 5) Distribution.What is your favorite stage of the process and why?4) Post-Production because this process is where the real story telling happens , where I can put all my emotions and meanings to start to take shape.
Festival Reviews 