Year: 2025

Interview with Writer Kira Morris (CATHARSIS)

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Performed by Val Cole

—
Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?
This short story was about my relationship with my mom and the way she
passed. I wanted to capture all the little moments I had with her, whether
it was in love or heartbreak, they were the moments that characterized our
relationship and they became emboldened in my memory.

2. What genres would you say this story is in?
This story was nonfiction, or realistic fiction. I probably dramatized some
aspects considering I was a bit younger when they took place, but to the
best of my ability I wrote from memory.

3. How would you describe this story in two words?
Emotional terrorism.

4. What movie have you seen the most in your life?
I’ve watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower more than a dozen times.
There’s just something heartbreaking about Charlie confessing his best
friend killed himself and not admitting to being abused by his aunt. There
was so much that was said so plainly or not said at all that just twisted
something inside me.

5. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most
times in your life?)
I’ve probably played Mr. Brightside by The Killers an abnormally large
number of times through my life. The lyricism was so clever when I first
discovered it and the way the music splits if you listen through earbuds
just scratches an itch in the back of my head.

6. Do you have an all-time favorite novel?
Ah where to begin? I can’t say I could ever pick a single book because I
love reading and consume too many books to ever commit to one single
favorite. That said, the ones that stand out the most are the Good Girls
Guide to Murder books by Holly Jackson and Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
by Leigh Bardugo. Beautiful writing and memorable plot twists and character
arcs.

7. What motivated you to write this story?
I wrote this story when I was missing my mom. Even as time passes, I find
myself trying to think of ways to honor her and her memory and I knew that
this would be a good way to do that. Writing helps me process my grief and
I’m glad I was able to do so in a healthy and creative way.

8. If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that
be?
I think I’d like to have dinner with Edgar Allen Poe or Mark Twain. They
were decisively two of the most renown writers in terms of short stories
and especially horror or macabre. I took a lot of inspiration in their work
and found their writing to be fascinating when I was still in school.
Personally picking their brains would be enlightening for sure.

9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
I really love to read, I love watching movies, dancing, and my dog. Most of
the time I can be a workaholic, but in my free time, I’m usually cramming
in books or movies and cuddling with my German shepherd, Mikey. I do like
to dance whether it be a routine in a fitness class or just moving to a
good beat. Most of my hobbies revolve around being comfortable and relaxing
for sure.

10. What influenced you to enter your story to get performed?
Part of me wanted to have another work of mine published and experience
what it would be like to see it spoken and performed instead of written.
But another part of me wanted to know how people perceived my writing. What
does it sound like when someone else is reading it? Do my feelings come
across? Is this the way I intended my writing to be understood from an
outside perspective? I had to see it for myself and know what it would be
like.

11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Honestly, just write whatever is in your head. A weird phrase you thought
of but done even have a plot to put it in. A character without an
antagonist or even a problem. A complex plot that couldn’t possibly fit
within a word count maximum limit. Write it all, because inspiration will
keep feeding the more you listen to it. Your mind is a powerful thing and
giving in to it can create some amazing stories.

Interview with Poet Deidre S. Powell (Advocate Plea – For the Child)

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Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the poet:

http://www.deidrepowell.com

1) What is the theme of your poem?

The poem explores justice, advocacy, and compassion — giving voice to the child whose story is often buried beneath legal arguments and adult conflicts. It reflects both the fragility and resilience of children caught between systems meant to protect them.

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

As a family lawyer and mediator, I have witnessed how children’s voices can sometimes be lost in the process. Intimate partner violence affects children deeply and leaves lasting effects. This poem was born from a desire to speak for them — to remind the world that behind every case file is a child longing to be heard.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

I have been writing poetry since I was about ten years old, but I began publishing recently. Poetry has become my second vocation, a bridge between law, faith, and love.

4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

Maya Angelou. Her wisdom, courage, and cadence taught me that truth spoken with grace can move nations.

5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I’m a writer, not an actor. I prefer to hear other people’s interpretations of my work. I wanted to hear the poem interpreted through another voice , to see how its emotional truths would resonate beyond the page. The idea of transforming advocacy into performance felt both healing and necessary.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc.?

Yes. In addition to poetry, I write children’s books and short stories. I have a few upcoming poetry collections such as Echoes from the Unseen and Who Else Cries in Silence. These poems examine global injustice and faith, while my children’s book Tell Me a Story, Grandma celebrates intergenerational love, faith, and storytelling.

7) What is your passion in life?

My passion is giving voice to the unseen, whether through advocacy in the courtroom or witness through poetry. I believe words can heal, illuminate, and restore our shared humanity. My passion is also leaving a lasting legacy of love, faith, and justice for my family.

POEM:

Justice,
before you rule,
Please hear me—
not as counsel,
but as one who has stood in that midnight kitchen
through her words,
through her trembling hands,
fighting for Pêpê’s best interest—
a child the law claims to protect,

yet leaves trembling.
It is not enough
when his hand explodes against her mother’s face,
the sound sharp as a rifle crack,
making the glass in its frame shiver.
It is not enough
when her cheek blooms red,
then fades too fast for the lens to catch.

Pêpê—her mother’s pet name,
whispered like a shield.
At night she lies rigid in her bed,
listening to her mother’s muffled whimpering,
each sob a small surrender.
She learns too early that comfort is dangerous,
that silence is armour.
I hear her in the pauses her mother cannot fill,
in the way fear wraps itself around every word.

She is six.
Only six—
and already her eyes know how to measure a room,
track his every move,
clutch her mother’s skirt as though it’s the only thing
anchoring her to safety.
She memorises the path to the door,
ready to run before she’s learned to ride a bike.

Do you know what it is
to argue a case with your throat closing?
To know that “best interest of the child”
is not a theory,
not a balance sheet,
but a warm bed free from dread—
and still watch the law lean to “access”
and “parental rights”
as if they outweigh
a child’s right to breathe without fear?

He does not feed her.
He does not clothe her.
He does not keep her warm.
Yet he claims the right to hold her,
to call it love,
to shape her into a silence that will last her life.

The mother is shamed as bitter if she speaks,
while he—
who punched a hole beside her face—
walks away smiling.
And Pêpê learns to fold herself into small spaces,
to call fear normal,
to believe this is what families are.

Justice—
I see her years from now,
laughing in a sunlit kitchen,
her footsteps light,
her nights free from dread.
Your choice can make that real.

You are not deaf
to her small voice asking:

“Do I have to go?”

Your gavel can crush—
or shield.

Choose her.

Carve a future
where Pêpê wakes to mornings of peace,
where only her cereal crunches.

This Month’s FilmFreeway Festival Discount Codes – 50% off codes!

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This Month’s FilmFreeway Festival Discount Codes – 50% off codes!

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November 2025 THRILLER/SUSPENSE Festival Testimonials (45 FIVE Star Reviews!)

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Really cool hybrid festival. Great communication. I would definitely recommend this to any other filmmakers based on the feedback videos alone.

Submit to the Festival via FilmFreeway.

What an amazing festival! The feedback I received was extremely helpful, thoughtful, and detailed. I was honored that my short script, “Not My Secret to Tell” won the Thriller/Suspense Festival. It was wonderful to have the Best Scene from the screenplay performed by professional voice actors and I felt respected and engaged during the podcast interview.
Really, this film festival is one you should enter! So much more than some others that are simply laurel factories.

Awesome festival, but what really sold me was the audience feedback videos they made. Great marketing material for the project! Would definitely recommend for indie filmmakers.

Great festival with many interesting events. Feedback from real people. Great communication and very fast. Thank you for giving opportunity to show our work to the world! Strongly recommend!

Podcast: EP. 1623: Filmmaker Claire Tomlinson (Surviving Alone: The Tale of Simone)

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Simone is the last Greater Bamboo Lemur in Ranomafana, a protected rainforest in south-east Madagascar. After a happy start in life, surrounded by family, Simone finds herself alone, as members of her family disappear one by one. Three years on, and she’s still alone – a social animal, a primate, just like us; how has this isolation affected her mental state? Through primatologist Dr. Patricia Wright and researcher, Alba Schielen, we witness Simone’s desperate bid for companionship, as she takes a bold step for survival. At last Simone is happy again, but is all as harmonious as it seems?

https://www.instagram.com/ct_wildlife/

Director Statement

I had a chance encounter with the lemur featured in my film whilst trekking in the rainforest during my honeymoon in Madagascar in 2022. Upon hearing that this lemur was the last of her species in the area, I was eager to find out more about her and tell her story, which serves as a poignant reminder of how the global biodiversity crisis is affecting animals on a personal level.

——

Subscribe to the podcast:

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Interview with Filmmaker Angy Antonios Akly (The Way Back Home)

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The Way Back Home is a two-minute poetic film that unfolds underwater, where a woman’s expressive movements accompany a powerful monologue on identity, womanhood, and self-ownership — written, directed, and narrated by the filmmaker herself. As the performer drifts through silence and resistance, the voice rises against the weight of judgment and expectation — reclaiming scars, softness, and the right to become. A cinematic meditation on finding one’s way back to the self.

Project Links

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I wanted to create a visual letter to my daughter—and to every woman— and I had created this film for women’s day, and all I could think about is that I am the mother of two beautiful daughters and mostly because I know about the invisible pressures we carry from before we are born, especially in the Middle East. The underwater space became a metaphor for silence, strength, and survival. It allowed me to express what words alone couldn’t say: the constant act of rising back to the surface.

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

The idea came very instinctively, and the film was created within just a week, I had a clear vision of how I wanted to do it. I gave my friends a call, they jumped on board and off we went to filming… everything flowed naturally. The post-production, sound, and narration were done also within another week where I completely isolated myself and did the edit and all voice recordings.

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

Depths of a woman

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

It was the funding, but it didn’t take long before I contacted a friend of mine who offered the full funding of the film. Keeping in mind that many people worked on this project voluntarily as well, believing in the project.

5. 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?

My favorite stage of this project was its filming because it felt very soothing, very spiritual and the energy in that aquarium studio was magical.

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

Ever since I was 18, now I am 44 years old.

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

Malèna by Giuseppe Tornatore.

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

Connecting filmmakers with curators, writers, producers, and distributors through creative talks or one-on-one mentorships would be incredibly helpful. We need not just exposure but genuine dialogue and exchange.

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

It’s been easy and inspiring. The platform gives independent filmmakers visibility and accessibility that once felt impossible.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Anything Mediterranean—simple, fresh, and full of flavor. I am also a great cook, and always prefer homemade meals that are cooked from the heart, and food that has soul!

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

I’ve just filmed a new underwater piece with artistic nudity — imagined as a parallel world where a woman finally feels safe to be her truest self. It’s the beginning of a narrative short that continues my exploration of women’s emotional and visual freedom.

Interview with Filmmaker Michele Fraternali (Devil’s Cry)

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“Somewhere.. between reality and dreams, The Artist begins his Descent… towards the light”

“Devil’s Cry” is a short film that blends visual art and music.

All Music and Sound Design were Composed and Performed by Michele Fraternali using only electric bass.

This Opera and the Caracters were inspired by the timeless journey of Dante’s Divine Comedy and the magical world of Devil May Cry.

Project Links

1. What inspired you to make this film?
Hello everyone, and thank you for this interview! After experimenting with directing my first music videos, I felt the need to challenge myself further and create a short film that could capture part of my introspective and spiritual journey — through the characters, the story, and the music.

2. How long did it take to make this film, from the idea to the finished product?
I’d say it took about as long as a baby’s gestation — roughly nine months from conception to the end of post-production.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Definitely composing the soundtrack for the film’s most crucial moments. I set myself the challenge of using only electric bass for the score, and together with my brother Gabriele — who directed the music production — we managed to find solutions we were truly satisfied with.

5. Making a film consists of five phases: 1) Development. 2) Pre-production. 3) Production. 4) Post-production. 5) Distribution.
What’s your favorite part of the process, and why?
I prefer the production phase, especially editing and composing music, because that’s when all the pieces come together and the work takes shape. It’s a stage that requires a lot of focus and care.

6. When did you realize you wanted to make films?
I never really did — I just followed my need to express myself when it became too strong to ignore.

7. What film have you watched most often in your life?
The Matrix.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you advance your filmmaking career?
I think personal feedback is very important — it can help audiences better understand the film’s key themes and encourage more people to watch it.

9. You submitted your work to the festival via FilmFreeway. How was your experience working on the festival platform?
It was very rewarding, I must say — especially unexpected, given the numerous awards and official selections I’ve received, both nationally and internationally.

10. What’s your favorite dish?
Pizza — I’m Italian.

11. What’s next for you? A new film?
I still need to bring several ideas into focus, but it will certainly be a continuation of my journey of spiritual discovery.

Interview with Filmmaker Dana Play (SIBLING ARRIVAL)

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Filmed in an intimate setting supported by a mid-wife, an eight-year-old sibling’s delighted reactions and questions of birth are heard off-screen while her baby brother is being born – with all who are present also experiencing the elation of birthing.


1. What motivated you to make this film?

A neighbor-friend was about to give birth to her baby and we both were eager for me to capture the moment with my 16mm film Beaulieu camera.
 
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

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

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

This was one of the easier of my films to make – after transferring the sound captured separately, I edited the film with a Steenbeck flatbed editor, and then prepared the A/B rolls myself, and sent it out to the lab for processing at W.A. Palmer Films, in 1983. After receiving a faculty research grant, I sent my original 16mm out to ColorLab in Rockville, Maryland where the film was scanned to digital. The film has had selected screenings, in both forms, projected in 16mm and digital.
 
5. 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?

Production (filming) – I love the act of filming and capturing the action on film. It’s immediate, challenging aesthetically to get all of the right angles, and allows me to “be there.” I love post-production also, but it is a more solitary meditation experience.
 
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

As a child we had a regular-8 camera when I was about nine years old, when I was able to do some of the filming and photography on family trips. After taking darkroom photography courses at Miami-Dade Junior high-school, I began with 16mm experimental filmmaking at the California College of the Arts that brought this all together and launched my career in filmmaking and teaching production on the university level.
 
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Most memorable was my orientation into art film when I saw The Red Balloon (1956 directed by Albert Lamorisse), at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore, that inspired me at age five.
 
 
8. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?

The ease of having a one-stop distribution website helps  with an easy process – upload the movie, poster, etc., and find festivals – that facilitates getting the work out to world-wide audiences, attending international film festivals, and deadlines that prompt completion.
 
9. What is your favorite meal?

Mediterranean sampler.
 
10. What is next for you? A new film?

I’ve recently completed or completing Charlotte Salomon’s Letter and Ottilie Moore Heiress in the Resistance, and Charlotte Salomon Portrait of the Artist, in my trilogy related to my great aunt Ottilie Moore who sheltered and rescued refugees in the South of France during WWII, including the artist Charlotte Salomon, and then finalize my mini-series Ottilie Moore and Charlotte Salomon in the Nazi Era. As far as other new work, I plan to continue with experimental and independent production on various films currently in development.