Pick It Up America: Life is a Beach, 10min., USA
Directed by Kimber Leigh
Filmed at Hawai‘i’s Hapuna Beach, one of the most beautiful and dangerous shorelines in the islands, Pick It Up, America: Life Is a Beach is a heartfelt call for stewardship, ocean safety, and respect. Through interviews with lifeguards, keiki, locals, and dive experts, this short documentary reminds us that caring for our oceans means more than picking up your trash it means picking up awareness, responsibility, and love for the ʻāina. A vital message for families, tourists, and communities everywhere.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

As an avid daily beach walker, I witnessed countless dangerous situations involving unprepared visitors, from first-time beachgoers to confident swimmers who underestimated the power of nature. I would come home and share these alarming experiences with my husband, and one day he said, “Kimber, you’re a filmmaker — do something about it.” That was the turning point. I created Pick It Up America! to educate, raise awareness, promote beach stewardship, and showcase the beauty of this incredible island while offering forward-thinking guidance for beaches around the world.

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

Approximately a year to a year and a half. Once filming was complete, the editing process required additional time to ensure the film was crafted thoughtfully and responsibly. I also intentionally waited for the right moment to release it.

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

Aesthetically educational.

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

Encouraging people to feel comfortable being interviewed was a significant challenge. Many were unsure of their expertise or nervous about being on camera. I reassured them that we were simply having a heartfelt conversation. Filming underwater also presented unique challenges. Maintaining safety while capturing marine life in motion required patience, skill, and deep respect for the environment.

5. What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

Pre-production is my favorite because it’s where creativity is born and the idea takes its first breath. I also love post-production, where the project is prepared to meet the world and the marketing journey begins. Distribution is the one stage I have yet to fully experience, and I look forward to embracing it in the future.

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

Around 2009–2010. I initially enjoyed acting, but I realized how fleeting teams and opportunities could be. That was the moment I decided to become self-reliant — to write, direct, and produce my own work. Once you find the right editor, the entire creative process becomes even more powerful.

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

Goodfellas. Everything about it remains timeless — the performances, music, storytelling, and characters. It’s endlessly compelling.

8. In a perfect world, who would you like to collaborate with?

I already feel grateful for the collaborators in my world. I believe great work comes from passion and alignment rather than name recognition alone. Everyone begins somewhere, and meaningful collaboration can happen at any stage.

9. How was your experience using FilmFreeway?

FilmFreeway has been an extraordinary platform for me. It has helped build credibility, connect my work with festivals worldwide, and serve as a central home for my films. I’ve proudly been a member since 2015 and hope it continues to support filmmakers for years to come.

10. What is your favorite meal?

I tend to eat lightly throughout the day — fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein drinks. Living on an island encourages a fresh, natural way of eating, often sourced from local farms and trees rather than formal meals.

11. What is next for you?

I have two upcoming documentary projects I hope to complete by 2026–2027. One will focus on the Maui fires through the lens of a family’s experience, a story I deeply hope to tell. The second, The Sound of the Soul, explores healing through crystal singing bowls and sound therapy, a practice I’ve personally experienced and believe in, supported by growing scientific interest.

VALÈNCIA’S THE CITY THAT FUELS SUSTAINABLE CHANGE, 11min., Spain
Directed by PASCUAL IBÁÑEZ, CRISTIAN FONT
València is promoting a project to reduce food surplus in the meetings tourism sector, transforming events into more sustainable spaces.

https://www.instagram.com/cemasvlc/#

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?

What motivated us to make this documentary was, first and foremost, to
highlight Valencia’s role as a benchmark in sustainable food and
gastronomy. We wanted to showcase the work carried out by the city of
Valencia in recent years to move towards a more sustainable food model.
This is the context for the MagNuS (Magnitude, Nutrition and Sustainability)
project, whose experience we wanted to explain in depth. Promoted by
CeMAS together with the Lluís Alcanyís Foundation of the University of
València, the València Conference Centre and its catering company,
Gourmet Catering & Eventos, with the support of NARIA, MagNuS was
created with the aim of preventing and reducing food waste in the meetings
tourism sector.

The documentary, therefore, not only explains a specific project, but also
shows how Valencia is consolidating its position as a benchmark where
collaboration between institutions, universities and the private sector
translates into real and measurable actions towards food sustainability.

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

The idea for this documentary began to take shape at the end of 2024,
driven by the desire of all those involved in the MagNuS project to showcase
more of the work we had done, as well as to highlight Valencia’s role as a
leader in sustainable food and gastronomy.

Work on the idea began in early 2025, but it was not until June 2025 that
the project really took off. The final version of the documentary was finally
presented in October.

It was a long process, but a very rewarding one

How would you describe your film in two words!?

Power of collaboration

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

As this was a collaborative project, perhaps the most difficult part was
coordinating our efforts quickly and efficiently. However, we believe that
this is also the key to our project: collaboration.

There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. PreProduction. Production. Post-Production. Distribution. What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

For us, the best part of the process was distribution, as this is when you can
finally see the result of the documentary and share it with the public, which
is the ultimate goal.

When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

The idea for this documentary began to take shape at the end of 2024,
driven by the desire of all those involved in the MagNuS project to showcase
more of the work they had done, as well as to highlight Valencia’s role as a
benchmark for sustainable food and gastronomy.

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

The process through the FilmFreeway platform has been straightforward,
and it is also easy to track the status of applications through the platform.
It is a platform that we would recommend.

What is next for you? A new film?

Our intention is to continue promoting the documentary to share the work
we have done and our experience, as this is a project that can be replicated
in other cities. Thus, the various actors who have collaborated remain in
constant contact, eager to continue advancing and promoting projects that
enable progress towards a more sustainable food model.

THE FLESH PEOPLE, 105min., USA
Directed by Keshav Srinivasan
Two roommates, desperate to feel successful in the milieu of New York City, turn to macabre money-making schemes by performing underground surgeries and serving human meat to unsuspecting customers.

https://www.instagram.com/thefleshpeoplefilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
Honestly, a lot of it was be channelling post-grad anxiety, especially in the midst of 2020. I graduated in 2019 for reference, and so that feeling of uncertainty was even further compounded by being stuck inside all day. I started writing the first draft of the film back in 2022 and was trying to think back to how I felt during that time. I thought to myself: “what could be the worst possible outcome of living with this mindset?”. I’m a big lover of horror films, especially the stuff in the 70s and 80s like Evil Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, so I was really interested in exploring that anxiety and insecurity through that genre lens.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
About 3.5 years! Funnily enough, the production itself was only about 3 weeks. It was the pre-production and post-production that took up most of the time. But that’s the case for any independent film, I think. It’s all dependent on the budget you get.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I think with any independent film, there’s gonna be a whole cornucopia of obstacles, from budgeting to scheduling to permitting to time management. But ultimately, the most difficult aspect of it had to be spending so much time in one location. The majority of the film was shot in this one house in Queens that we intentionally dressed to feel as claustrophobic as possible. So, if it felt claustrophobic for the audience, it felt 10x more claustrophobic for the cast and crew during production. Spending very long days stuck in that space definitely gave us a lot of cabin fever.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development.
Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
I love writing, even more so than directing, so it’d have to be the development stage. The great thing about writing is that you can do it anywhere at anytime, so being able to carve out that time to let my imagination wander is always really fun. It’s the part of the process that’s least constrained by practical realities so I find that freedom really invigorating.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Honestly, I think the earliest moment I found myself fascinated by cinema was when my grandpa took me to see Hugo in theaters. There’s that particular sequence where they show a montage of moments from silent films that made me feel like I was transported to this completely different reality. I especially remember seeing that moment from The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari where the somnambulist is staring at the camera. It creeped me out so much, but in a way where I couldn’t get that one image out of my head.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
It’s hard to pick one, so I might have to throw out a couple! Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead really seared itself into my brain when I first watched it in high school-that’s been a favorite of mine for years. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is a movie I constantly find myself coming back to time and time again. And Terry Gilliam’s Brazil was also incredibly formative when I first saw it as a teenager-I’d really never seen anything quite like it at the time (and honestly, I still haven’t)!

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
There’s so many incredible actors I can only dream of having the privilege of working with, but if I were to create a shortlist: Willem Dafoe, Dev Patel, Cate Blanchett, Robert Pattinson, Song Kang-ho, Christopher Walken, Nicolas Cage, Tom Waits, and Lakeith Stanfield.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your
experiences been working on the festival platform site?
It’s incredibly convenient for me to have so many festivals organized under the same umbrella. I think that, after finishing a film, the festival application process can be really overwhelming, so it’s nice to have it streamlined.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Poke!

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I’ve just been writing a bunch as of late. Hopefully, a new feature will be in the works!

The Duet, 5min., USA
Directed by Gica Pucca
A dancer and a violinist, isolated yet connected by sound, break and rise through the silence between them.

https://www.instagram.com/_the.duet_

Get to know the creative team:

Director Gica Pucca
Writer Kristina Perez
Producer Karyante Franklin

1. What motivated you to make this film?

GICA: I met Kristina at school and since the day she invited me to direct “The Duet”, I’ve discovered a passion for silent movies. This story is a delicate piece about artists and their power of picking themselves back up again, and again.

KARY: Kristina’s desire to tell a mental health story. She came to me with an idea that, initially, wasn’t this, but I was very interested in writing the script for her based on what she had in mind.

And the more we developed the story, the more the vision changed from the initial idea to something more artistic and beautiful.

KRISTINA: As an actress in LA there were many auditions, call backs and rejections that definitely made me question if I was good enough or if I was on the right track. As a young adult, I was learning how to balance surviving in LA, my personal life and my goals. I wanted to create a film that welcomed the audience into the mind of an artist. The mental battle one deals with while they’re at constant war between themselves and who they want to be.

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

From the first pages of the script, until the last cut; it took around one year to produce “The Duet”.

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

Symphony within.

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

KARY: Scheduling conflicts.

GICA: We had to postpone the shooting for later that year, giving more space for pre-production.

KRISTINA: Because it was my first personal short film it would have to be the process of learning how to be a producer effectively and while also working with Kary on the script it would have to be learning how to take the actor hat off and learn how to think as a writer for a film project.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development: Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution. What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?

KRISTINA: My favorite stage would have to be Production. There’s something magical about seeing your story come to life and witnessing the amazing hard work and creativity happening from the cast and crew.

KARY: Development. I love writing and creating, the story is everything to me.

GICA: Post-production, specialty because I love working with our editor Marco Labate; I feel like a happy kid seeing the shots coming together in the editing room.

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

KARY: After I took an acting class. I really liked it and that made me want to learn more about screenwriting, and I’ve been in love with the craft ever since.

GICA: I’ve always dreamt of being some sort of a painter. And movie making feels like painting, but with image and sound.

KRISTINA: While I was studying at a two year acting program. I knew I wanted to create something of my own one day.

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

KRISTINA: “The Wizard of Oz”

GICA: probably “The Witch” or the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.

KARY: Either Dreamworks “The Prince of Egypt” or “Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland”

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?

KRISTINA: I would love to collaborate with Guillermo del Toro. I really enjoyed his take on Frankenstein and Pinocchio. I think his way of painting the human experience in his films is beautifully and creatively done. I would also like to work with Jenny Han. I think she does a really good job in writing stories about young women who are just trying to find their way in the world and I admire how she always tries to make sure she represents Asian cultures in her films.

KARY: Viola Davis, Regina Hall, and Taraji P. Henson all together in a comedy/drama movie

GICA: I would love to be directing something with A24.

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

The WILDsound Film Festival has a well organized collection of films on the platform and with the support of the organizers, submitting your movie turns out to be a unique experience, while inviting growth into our artistic career.

10. What is your favorite meal?

KRISTINA: It’s definitely hard to choose just one but my top two would have to be red enchiladas or a Filipino dish called “Sinigang” . I grew up with these dishes and they’re definitely my top two favorites from both of my cultures.

KARY: I love pasta dishes! Especially Lo Mein!

GICA: Ramen it’s my favorite!

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

We’re looking forward to collaborating once more on a new title! “Invisible Strings” is in pre-production at the moment, and we are hoping to begin shooting end of June 2026.

Ex-Killer Collective, 4min., UK
Directed by Leon Lopez
An unwitting volunteer happens upon a unique group of people, trying to overcome their addiction to a seemingly unusual vice.

https://instagram.com/psplimited

Get to know the writer. Daniel Hypolite:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Leon Lopez contacted me from Parliament Street Productions, a new company he was building with Cherise Weaver and Brodie Arthur; they were looking for a comedy script and so I set to work on some top lines. As the four of us are each connected to Liverpools Black Actors Collective, we knew that we were surrounded by a breadth of talent and we really wanted to create a piece that would showcase that. Along with my writing partner, Emma Hippolyte, we began thinking of scenarios in which lots of people would meet, some kind of group gathering came to mind, possibly in a circle to give each character space. We soon stumbled on the idea of a support group for struggling vegans. Whilst Emma is vegan, I predominantly follow a plant based diet and we regularly see the juxtaposition between the perceived reality and actuality of vegan existence; we thought it would be fun to explore!

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

From idea to finished product, it probably took around a year. We began writing in the winter of 2024 and everything was completed by December 2025.

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

Meaty. Fun.

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

The biggest obstacle in completing the film, was scheduling and time. Everyone involved is both talented and busy and ensuring we could get together at the same time was challenging. The time factor wasn’t helped by the need to keep straight faced on set. It was genuinely funny. Devon Anderson, Kieran Foster and Maxine Okpala’s expressions, the energy from Wendy Okoli and Sinead Renaye, and the subtle reactions from Patrick Graham, Winston Branch and Brodie Arthur; it was a very entertaining shoot day with lots of laughs!

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

I loved that people felt a sense of inclusion coming from Devon Anderson’s performance; he captured the journey of the character perfectly and to hear audience members feel they were with him was really important to us. It was also nice to see that it made people feel thoughtful around our food choices.

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

I realised I wanted to make films shortly after my dad’s passing in 2016. He was an actor and great story teller. I’d been writing stand up for a number of years prior to this but I strongly felt that I wanted to move from live comedy to recorded works of multiple genres.

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

The film I have probably seen the most is Absolute Beginners. It’s a musical film exploring the Notting Hill Race riots of 1958. My dad played Mr Cool and whilst it was exciting to see him on screen as a child, it’s become a sentimental staple in my film collection.

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

We are all really happy with the festival experience. If we had to think of something? Perhaps more social media presence or online collaboration highlighting both the festival and the entrants.

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

We have to credit Leon Lopez for all of the hard work behind the scenes to submit via the platform. He didn’t complain too much so we can only assume it was a straightforward task.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Steak and chips. Just joking, it’s pizza.

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

We’re still very much enjoying the concept of the Killers Collective and are currently writing more group scenarios! Who knows. Maybe we will see the group return!

The music of Erich Zann, 15min., Hungary
Directed by Dóra Barbara Sánta
The story features the figure of a silent old man who feverishly plays the violin in his attic room every night to stave off some unimaginable horror, which is not explained at the end of the novel. The story is told from the perspective of a student who moves into the same building as the musician for a short time. The young man wants to find out the history of the scary-sounding music and asks the musician to play it for him and also to explain the curtained attic room window, which visibly upsets the musician. In the end, the student pulls the curtain and flees from the building in fear and never finds the street where he used to live. We will never really know or understand the explanation for everything.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I’ve always liked dark psychological horror films where you can’t clearly describe the monster and what’s causing the tension. I think it’s much scarier when you can’t see the monster and don’t name what you see behind the curtain. I’m originally an architect, but I’ve always been interested in how films are made, especially the sets. Halfway through my one-year film training (after architecture), I decided I wanted to adapt an existing short story, so I chose this.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I made the decision at the end of January that I wanted to adapt this short story. That’s when the script writing began. In mid-February I started preparing and organizing the team. In April I set four days of filming. The post-production had to be completed by the end of May and there was a private screening in the cinema in mid-June. It was a total of 4 months of work.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I had to fill a lot of positions at once, which was very exhausting, especially since I financed it out of my own pocket. Besides that, twice during the shooting they almost called the police on us (even though we had permission).

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.
What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
Development – world planning

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
They asked us a question at the beginning of the year in film school, who would like to direct at the end of the year. I applied, I didn’t know how to do it, but it sounded adventurous.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
Harry Potter series

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
Tim Burton and Guillermo del Toro – production design

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Unfortunately, I’m not a great marketing person, the interface was easy to use, but I must admit that organizing a festival at your own expense is an expensive hobby.

10. What is your favorite meal?
Vegan lentil stew

11. What is next for you? A new film?
I am currently working as a set designer on international films from Budapest (Hungary). I would like to gain more experience and save some money before starting on a new project. But I already have some ideas in mind.

Knife, 3min., USA
Directed by Michael Kuciak
A slasher told from the point-of-view of the murder weapon.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

The short film KNIFE is a proof-of-concept for a feature I’m working to get made.

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

I got back from Illinois/Wisconsin from having directed another short film. I decided to jump right into shooting a proof-of-concept for KNIFE. I reached out to Jason, and offered him the role; he was gracious enough to volunteer his apartment for the shoot. David Gordon (my DP) did a walk-through with Jason and Anthea while I was traveling. I got back to town, and we shot out the film in one 12-hour session. I cut it together, and worked with Adrian Innaimo on the sound and score, a process that took several days. David Gordon did the final composite shot of the Knife looking at itself in the mirror, and handled color correction. And that was that – KNIFE!

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

Cutting edge.

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

On the technical side, David had to handle the final composite shot. It wasn’t something I was able to pull off in the initial cut. Story-wise, I was looking for an ending that would put a nice button on the short. I reached back to an earlier version of Knife the feature script, in which part of the mythology is the killed then gets up and kills. That aspect has since been dialed back in the feature version for narrative reasons. But in a short, it works just fine.

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

It’s a lot of fun. You make these things, and you want people to watch them. In the course of our festival run on Knife, we’ve gotten a lot of great feedback.

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

Very young. Growing up in Chicago, my favorite part of the week was watching horror movies on Son of Svengoolie. I had an uncle who was a co-owner of a theater. My parents weren’t super-rich, so the free tickets we got from him meant that a frequent family outing involved seeing movies at his theater. When I was a little kid, I thought the people who owned the theaters also made the movies, so I would pitch him ideas for films; they were always monster movies. As a teen, I set aside film for music, and played in bands for a while. When I didn’t become a rock star, I started looking for something else to do, and I realized that if I didn’t at least give film a shot I would always regret it. So here we are.

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

I have certain comfort food movies that I’ll spin on a whim: Evil Dead II, Fellowship of the Ring, Big Lebowski, Spider-Man 2, Goodfellas, and so on. But the films I’ve seen most in life… I would give that a split decision between Conan the Barbarian, Robocop, and Road Warrior.

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’m not sure. You seem to be doing a great job already.

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

I’m a big fan of FilmFreeway, which makes it incredibly easy to submit films. The only downside is it’s so easy that you can let your eyes get bigger than your wallet. You go through the available festivals and think, “This one! And this one! Oh, and this one!” And then you go to checkout, and the tally is over a grand. So you have to dial it back, get more selective.

10. What is your favorite meal?

Whatever craft service has going on set.

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

My next hitter project is a sci-fi thriller called Innescape that I’m working on with my writing partner, Jeff Connell. It’s a high-concept mystery thriller in the tradition of Blade Runner. And of course I’m always looking for financing for the feature film version of Knife.

SCALES – THE TIPPING POINT, 40min., South Africa
Directed by Bruce Young
Bruce Young is a deeply curious filmmaker from South Africa who is fascinated by pangolins, an animal on the edge of extinction. Scales is his third film about the animal. This time he is on a personal quest to find out why these quiet, shy, harmless, and yet charismatic little creatures are the most trafficked mammals on the planet. And if there is any hope that they will survive.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
• I fell in love with pangolins during the making of my first film about them. We made Eye Of The Pangolin in 2019 to raise awareness about their plight. While making this film I knew I wanted to dig deeper into the question of “why?”. Why are they on the brink of extinction after over 80 million years on the planet? Why now?

• I also realised that so few people even knew that pangolins exist, so making another film would contribute to awareness about the animal and hopefully people who watched the film would begin to re-examine their own relationship with our natural world.

• Making films for me has become more and more about helping people to look at themselves and their lives and so learn and grow.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
• We began developing the film immediately after finishing Eye Of The Pangolin in 2019. We were able to raise some money fairly quickly and so travelled to Cameroon for our first shoot with the team at the Tikki Hywood Foundation rehabilitation centre in that country.
• The Covid period slowed us down significantly, although when pangolins were briefly linked to the transmission of the virus from bats to humans, it did bring the animals into the limelight and people began to ask about them. Eye Of The Pangolin was on You Tube and views climbed steeply during this period. We have 439K views to date.
• Fund-raising slowed down after Covid and so it took a few years to raise what we needed to travel to Nigeria and Zimbabwe for our shoots in those countries and the shoot in South Africa, where we live.
• We finally completed the film in 2025. So it was a six year journey in total.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
• Raising funds to make a film that was not aimed at making a profit, but rather raising awareness, was probably the biggest obstacle to completing this film. This made us increasingly grateful to those funders who did help us make the film.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
• Gratitude. Gratitude for so much – to the people who care for these precious animals; the opportunity that they gave us to film them; the team who helped us make this film; the people who funded us; and now these people who are taking the time to watch our film and respond with their thoughts and feelings about the film and pangolins. All of this is such positive energy which can only help the pangolins in their struggle to survive.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
• I have always loved stories. As I became aware of their importance and power in people’s lives, I started to want to tell stories. I began as an actor, telling stories. First in theatre and then film and television. Then I began to write screenplays. Eventually making films where I was responsible for the story on the screen became the most satisfying way to help people understand themselves, their lives and how they could contribute to improving our world.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
• The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I have been a big Clint Eastwood fan ever since I first saw this film as a small boy in our local movie house. It never ceases to keep me engaged.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
• This is a tough question because I have been so pleasantly surprised by this festival that you have created to give filmmakers all kinds of unique support and tools to help forward their careers. Right now, I have nothing to suggest that you add to what you are already doing.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experience been working on the festival platform site?
• The FilmFreeway platform has been absolutely invaluable in helping us get our film into festivals all over the world. It is incredibly user-friendly and intuitive and has made our process extremely smooth and efficient.

10. What is your favourite meal?
• Sushi.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
• Yes. I am developing a new film which is still confidential at this stage. But it is about people this time. And family. And their stories. Of course.

Asheville is Calling: A Climate Change Emergency, 6min., USA
Directed by Hai-Lam Phan, Olivia Mowry
Extreme weather disasters are becoming more common, more powerful, and more deadly. Today, more than ever, federal agencies that help Americans prepare, respond, and recover from natural disasters need to be fully funded and ready to act. Changes enacted by the Trump administration are leaving communities to fend for themselves against extreme weather disasters, and the oil and gas CEOs behind these fossil-fueled climate disasters are fueling, funding, and concealing it all. Americans deserve better than a government that abandons them when disaster strikes.

1. What motivated you to make this film?
We really wanted to show the human harms of climate change. Fossil-fueled extreme weather disasters like Hurricane Helene, lead to loss of life, homes, and businesses, but there are additional health harms and economic impacts in the aftermath that most people don’t think about unless they’ve been through it. And the effects are long lasting. Not just weeks or even months, but in many cases it’s years long recoveries.
We also wanted to show how important an entity like FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is. They are on the frontlines of rescue and response efforts. They save lives. They help communities recover. And the current Trump administration’s gutting funding, response, and staff capacity of FEMA will make people more vulnerable to these climate disasters
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Around 4 months (3 months too long)

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Hai-Lam Phan: Climate Emergency
Olivia Mowry: Concisely stylized
Margaret Cooney: Human consequences

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
In the edit, this film took a while to come together. There was so much great footage but not everything could fit into a short film. But we’re also in the unique situation of being part of a think tank, so beyond the story there are also policy considerations. Just as with any plot there are certain story beats that need to be hit, for our work there are also “policy beats” to hit as well.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It was amazing and we really appreciated them! What resonated with folks was exactly what we were aiming for. That it was a compelling story to tell, and that viewers took away the message that climate change is a here and now problem, not a future one, and that it’s harming people and communities that look just like them. Climate change doesn’t respect state or country or political boundaries, and should be a unifying issue for humanity.
As filmmakers, it can sometimes feel like you’re creating in a void. Recognition from festivals as well as audience members can help validate all the creative blood, sweat, and tears.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
We all came to this work from different backgrounds – Hai as a cinematographer; Olivia as an editor and communications person; and Margaret as a scientist and policy person – but each of us believes that film and storytelling can be an instrument for positive change. Films are one of the most powerful ways we can tell stories in this day and age, and are one of the most accessible storytelling mediums.
We work for the Center for American Progress (CAP) which is a progressive policy think tank. We call the storytelling work we do, “emotional policymaking”. It’s the “why should we care about helping one another”, and “how will this help me, my family, my community” piece; the heart of it all. That can sometimes be a key missing part of policy work – who will this effect and how will it affect them.
This kind of on-the-ground mini documentary storytelling we do can be an impactful medium to bring progressive policies to a wider audience. Because when we showcase someone telling their story the audience can always find a piece of it they can relate to, no matter how small, which connects us all. And because everyone’s story is unique, we always learn something new about one another. One of our goals is to broaden the tent of people who care about progressive policies and build towards a more equitable, just, and resilient future for all.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
HP: Citizen Kane A walk to remember
OM: Casablanca
MC: E.T.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
Being able to get audience feedback. It is really validating that our film resonated with so many people, and our messaging came through.

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

So easy. It’s a fantastic, intuitive platform with everything in one place.

10. What is your favorite meal?
HP: Pho
OM: Charcuterie board
MC: My dad’s homemade lasagna

11. What is next for you? A new film?
We’re currently finishing production on another mini documentary telling the story of a cancer survivor; the toxins and pollutants from the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries that are bad for our health; and the environmental protection rollbacks the current Trump administration is doing that will make us all sicker, especially children.

Echoes of Antietam, 6min., USA
Directed by Christopher Vallone
Echoes of Antietam is a haunting post–Civil War horror short film set on the blood-soaked farmlands of Maryland.

https://www.instagram.com/valloneworks/

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
I love history and a good father son story, so I thought that we really haven’t seen a “zombie civil war” film. So I thought one night before bed about a father and his two sons defending their home against an army of confederate zombie soldiers, the next day, I started writing!

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

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
When working with AI, many times there is a lot of censorship, it does not like to show blood, especially if there are kids in the film, so I had to word the prompts creatively to make the blood FX in this film.

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution.

What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process?
I love post-production.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
Since I was kid watching terminator 2.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life?
Terminator 2.

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film?
Morgan Freeman

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

10. What is your favorite meal?
Nice big fattie ribeye

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Resurrecting more stories I wrote 18-25 years ago using AI. My latest is based off of a true story from WWI called “One Man’s Land”