In the wake of a mysterious family death, a couple’s night of mourning is interrupted by a strange delivery containing an antique dollhouse and a terrifying tale about its lone occupant.
This short thriller/horror film was adapted from JC Bratton’s novella, Dollhouse with the screenplay written by Nicholas Chow. After the sudden death of her sister, a strange dollhouse is delivered with a note explaining “This belongs to you now”. Ken & Livi Zheng directed this delightfully creepy short.
I never read the novella by JC Bratton but I do really appreciate how the filmmakers built up the suspense within the story. If you think dolls have a sinister creepiness about them ( Hello Chucky ) then you will enjoy the mystery surrounding this film. Cinematography was really gorgeous and we have Jeff Caroli to thank for that. Gage Robinson and Autumn Rose Loose did a wonderful job as the couple buying their dream home and encountering the dollhouse. Also Clara Carlo did amazing as the grieving sister.
Who doesn’t love a story with a dark, supernatural twist? I am obsessed with them. The Zheng’s adaptation gives you lots of intrigue, well done special effects, make-up and suspense but it only skims the surface story wise. I can’t help but feel the story could have gone deeper and given the audience more clues as to the why of it all.
Story by JC Bratton
Screenplay by Nicholas Chow
Directed by Ken Zheng, Livi Zheng
Cast: Dorian Burks, Clara Carlo, Gage Robinson, Autumn Rose Loose, Akanksha Kataria
In modern day Chicago, three women operate as covert vigilantes targeting hidden human trafficking networks. After discovering a young woman left to die in a locked dumpster, they trace the crime through tagged drop sites, sanitation routes, and corrupt intermediaries. Their investigation leads to a violent confrontation that exposes a larger exploitation ring, forcing them to confront the moral cost of justice when the system fails the vulnerable.
Writer/Producer: Taylor Chayil McMullan Director: Phillips J.H. Payton
Review by Parker Jesse Chase:
Set in modern-day Chicago, Blood Pact drops us into a city where violence hides in plain sight and survival depends on who is watching. The film follows three women operating as a covert unit, moving through sanitation routes, tagged drop sites, and backdoor deals to intercept human trafficking networks the system refuses to see.
The inciting moment is blunt and chilling. A young Black woman is found barely alive, sealed inside a dumpster. The timing matters. These women do not arrive early, they arrive in time. What follows is less a procedural and more a reckoning. The film shows how trafficking moves through everyday infrastructure, trash collection in broad daylight, and quiet handoffs that no one questions.
One of the film’s sharpest choices is its opening sequence. A man calmly drugs food before serving it, the space clean and controlled, almost clinical. When the cameras roll, the danger is already in motion. This sense of interruption, of stepping into harm mid-act, stays with the story throughout.
As the investigation unfolds, the women connect patterns others ignore. Dumpsters are not random. Trash routes are not neutral. Power shields perpetrators. The trail leads to a politician, a man who treats exploitation like a business model. When the masks come off during the break-in, the film makes its stance clear. This is not sanctioned justice. This is vigilante action shaped by lived knowledge.
The interrogation scene is tense and unsettling. The man leans on threats and manipulation, dismissing the women’s evidence as fantasy. When pain is introduced, the truth surfaces fast. He claims ignorance of how victims are chosen, framing himself as a middleman, a seller. The banality of his cruelty is the point. Trafficking does not require monsters, just men willing to profit.
Parallel to the violence is a quieter story. One of the vigilantes recounts a medical experience of having her wisdom teeth removed without pain medication. It is not a throwaway anecdote. It grounds the group’s motivation in bodily memory, neglect, and the long aftermath of harm. Revenge here is not loud. It is deliberate.
The rescue is swift. The fallout spills into the open. Survivors are freed. News reports surface. The pact between these women is sealed not in bloodlust, but in shared responsibility.
Blood Pact is clear about its politics without grandstanding. Human trafficking generates billions of dollars annually in the U.S., with Black and brown women making up the majority of victims. The film does not try to explain everything. It shows enough to make clear how little most people want to know.
At its core, Blood Pact is about women watching out for each other in a violent world, when institutions fail and mercy has to be made by the femme fatale hand.
The famous actor comes to Herman in a dream, convincing him to make his feature “Bear Naked Amazonians from Mars.” If he makes the deadline, the film will take Best Feature at South by Southwest, making Herman an international celebrity.
Irreverent and hilarious, the feature My Movie Starring Paul Dano follows the steps of a man working to create a masterpiece Indy film. And what a film it turns out to be! Structured around a zany comic strip, the cast and crew also await the arrival of A-list movie star, Paul Dano, to show up on set.
In the meantime, we get to witness the necessary steps in making a film, such as finding funding, writing, auditions, casting and eventual shoot days. At the same time, it is highly entertaining to witness the building of relationships, for good or for ill. In fact, competitive actors, on set romances and dubious funding methods all threaten to foil the film’s progress.
Fortunately, there are so many amusing, melodramatic scenes that we overlook some of the less positive interchanges of the people involved. In addition to lots of quirky banter between characters, the farcical wardrobe pieces and props add to the humour. Bright and colourful animated artwork during transitions adds a fanciful essence to the project.
It is a clever concept to pivot the piece to become a full-fledged documentary of the creator’s process, who is eventually offered a chance to make it big. Aspiring directors would really enjoy watching this one, to give insights about the wild west of filmmaking and to show how true friendships can result, long after the credits roll.
Journey behind the curtain to witness the creation of “Star Among the Cosmic Clouds,” a powerful new song from the album ALAN: Cosmic Rhapsody. This documentary delves into the creative process, tracing the song’s origins from its soulful roots with composer Joi Barua to its grand transformation into an orchestral pop masterpiece.
A recent musical masterpiece was created, Star Among the Cosmic Clouds, with the efforts of a huge team of talented artists. The steps in the creation of this epic piece are beautifully revealed in this short, yet rich “Making of” documentary.
Intimate commentary by the central creator of the project, Susan Lim, gives context to the origins, struggles and eventual triumph bringing these gifted people together to help elucidate her vision. Striking themes resound about the meaning of life in an age of AI, the power of storytelling and the balance between fact, fiction and folklore, and the importance of protecting the environment on Earth and in the cosmos.
The vibrant animation, often focusing on a small band of brave animal travellers, is interspersed with vivid close ups of the musicians showing their skill and artistry in the development of this remarkable, uplifting work. The documentary viewer is also given a thrilling “front seat” chance to experience the soaring orchestral and vocal refrains of a polished performance in front of an enthralled audience.
Ana travels to Paris to confess her love, only to learn that her beloved Suzanne is about to marry the man she once swore to forget. Confronted with this news, Ana opts for a final goodbye. But can she truly break free from a toxic idyll, or will she remain trapped in a relationship that slowly erodes her?
Review by Victoria Angelique:
The short film, IN THE ABSENCE OF YOUR SMILING FACE, is a beautiful allegory to friendship, love, and heartache. The story follows Ana and Suzanne’s relationship, with Ana not being able to support Suzanne’s engagement to Jean. The audience can understand the past with these women as words convey an entire history. Suzanne has been hurt by Jean before and Ana doesn’t want to see it happen again, to the point she’s willing to break off their friendship.
This feels like an ultimatum at first, though it is a light one. At first, it seems like Ana is projecting her own feelings towards Suzanne, not wanting her friend to marry for her own personal feelings. Once the story shows Jean, the audience can see that Ana’s concern for Suzanne is genuine. This is not a nice man. Suzanne doesn’t want to be alone for the rest of her life and should consider herself lucky enough to have a friend like Ana that was willing to travel to Paris in the hopes she could save her friend from a miserable and abusive marriage.
Jean isn’t abusive in the physical sense, but the way he speaks to Suzanne is a giant red flag. He is condescending towards this woman that he supposedly loves. It is natural to get annoyed when someone is texting while they eat with another person, it becomes an entirely different matter when Jean’s voice oozes control as he suggests to Suzanne that it is time to grow up. Ana watches from the cafe window, the look on her face showing that she knows Suzanne is doomed if she marries Jean.
The glimpse of hope is given in the final few seconds of the film. Ana is walking away from the cafe when she receives a text to meet her for breakfast the next morning. The film is left open, so the audience gets to decide if Suzanne actually marries Jean or if she is able to be persuaded at breakfast the next morning to not marry a man that will make her miserable.
Festival Reviews 