Shanaya’s Path follows the intimate journey of Shanaya, a young person from Darjeeling who identifies as a woman and dreams of transitioning despite immense social and familial resistance. Since gender norms are rigid and visibility for trans people is scarce in her home town, Shanaya leaves for New Delhi, but her desire to become her true self is met with hostility, shame, and fear.

Review by Julie C. Sheppard:

Shanaya’s Path is a film that highlights how important it is to have self love, in a world that so often can be harsh and judgmental. We are introduced to Shanaya, a transgender woman in India, who is confident and self-assured despite the reluctance of many of her family members to accept and understand her. This documentary also does remarkable job of showing her transitioning journey from 2019 to 2025, as she goes through tangible steps such as growing her hair longer, working on removing facial hair, taking hormones and the necessary steps to surgery. 

The film reveals also her beauty, inside and out. We are treated to intimate footage of her warm, gentle manner, and her skillful eye for fashion items and colour, and her talent for make up and hair design. In addition to showing Shanaya’s beauty, the camera also captures the vibrancy of many parts of India – – from gorgeous misty trees and valleys to populated streets, to modern corporate thoroughfares.  

While Shanaya is shown going through her transitioning with hope and optimism, the interviews of the various people who do not understand nor accept her were challenging to watch. However, Shanaya’s inner spirit and determination show through repeatedly in this film. In addition to showing her resilience, there is a real sense of her relief and joy during special events that she attends, such as transgender fashion shows and festivals. You sense her inner peace that comes from being around other people who do not shame, but the exact opposite – – who celebrate, love and accept her.

When the fourth wall breaks, a young filmmaker must find his inner creative confidence and take control of his story before it takes control of the world around him.

Review by Victoria Angelique

The path filmmakers take isn’t an easy one, particularly when strong personalities enter the picture, which is depicted in HERO’S JOURNEY. Artists are typically quiet and just want to get their vision completed in the least continuous way possible. The majority of creative people are like the protagonist, Cal, as he bites his tongue to let Tommy override his vision. 

Cal is the epitome of most independent filmmakers. He wants to complete his film, but Tommy is calling the shots and no one wants to call out his ego. Tommy is the egoistical actor that projects his own insecurities onto Cal and the Stuntman to dominate the set. When Tommy is finally called out for his behavior, he tries to silence Cal by reversing the script to accuse the filmmaker of doing everything that Tommy has done since the beginning of the shoot. 

Once everything goes quiet, Cal is able to focus as he attempts to rewrite the story to appease Tommy’s massive ego. This is the moment in the short film when the mind of an artist literally comes to life. If anyone doesn’t understand the way filmmaking or artistry works, this would be the film to watch. Cal’s characters literally come out to meet him as they play out the story in front of him. This is how most stories come to life for writers, they can see and hear their characters as if they are standing directly in front of them, just like Cal’s characters.

It is this moment that gives Cal the ability to fight for his story and fire Tommy. He knows his characters better than the egotistical actor that claims to have connections, when really Tommy simply doesn’t not want to be called out for his atrocious behavior. Cal is able to fight for the story he envisioned because his characters are people that he knows and loves. He created them and the only way his film will be a product he’s happy with will be if the vision reflects his story. 

This short film is about a comedian getting super frustrated because his comedy career stinks! So he decides to do some crazy violent stuff. It is a scripted fictional comedy, but it is based on the anger, depression, and anxiety I’ve seen first hand from my unsuccessful comedian friends. (Don’t try what you see in this film at home)

Review by Andie Kay:

Comedians have it rough. Endless open mic nights, workshopping material, writing then re-writing and there’s always someone in an audience who makes it their personal mission to destroy your set by heckling you. Being a stand up comic is difficult on so many levels.

Everyone has a different idea of what is funny and as a comic you have to find your niche.

2 Comedians Trying to Go Viral was written, directed, edited and starred Alden Skeadas. This character driven story shines a light on the anger, frustration and depression that so many comics go through trying to create a break and how far they are willing to go to get one. The film’s soundtrack was provided by a midi library from 1983 with some really nice cinematography from Nathan Paul Szoch. The story is dealing with some wonderfully honest issues and pursuing them in an over the top way.

This is a film that can’t be pigeon-holed into a single category, it’s not strictly a comedy, it’s more of a thoughtful dramedy.