August 2025 Toronto/LA Documentary (5 Star!) Testimonials

DEADLINE TODAY: Submit to the Festival via FilmFreeway:

One of the most incredible festival experiences. Thank you Toronto Documentary Feature and Short Film Festival for such a positive experience. Your out of the box four tier screening & promotion option for filmmakers is truly unique and sets you apart as a festival. Heartfelt gratitude to the festival team members, audience and reviewers for awarding my short film MITTI (discovering Ikigai) as the best environmental film at the festival.


It’s been an awesome experience with the team at Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival! We were honored to be the Winner of Best Short Form Short Film for our project The Lost Jews of Pakistan. And really Matthew and Allison were a pleasure to interact with and the festival itself really gives you so much exposure with blog write-ups, podcast interviews and your film streaming live on their app. This festival is definitely worth the time and effort to submit to!


It was an honour to be selected for screening and feedback for this festival, the communication was good and we’re looking forward to receiving the review video for sharing and taking part in other tier activities, thanks Toronto!


I’m very impressed with their feedback and communication skills. Feels like the “real” deal. I’m really proud to be a part of this festival.


Awsome festival!
Honoured and privileged to have participated in the prestigious Toronto Documentary Feature & Short Film Festival!
Lucky to have won a great prize!


Turning 43 Today: Abbie Cornish

QUOTES

[on doing nude scenes] The hardest part is getting your clothes off at first in front of the people who haven’t seen you naked before. The first time you get nude in front of someone, it’s hard, and then it’s, “Well, you’ve seen everything now; it’s OK, we can shoot the rest of the day”.

[on her parents’ divorce] I think as a child you know when it’s time for your parents to split. You realize they love each other, but they’re not in love with each other. And I think as a child it’s much better for your parents to split than for them to stay and have dysfunction within the family.

Whenever I am acting, it’s everything, you know. If I’m researching a role, I’m completely consumed in that and, between action and cut, I live in this suspended time. It’s a really amazing experience and the only other thing I get it from is music.

Turning 65 Today: David Duchovny

QUOTES:

  • I never, ever, ever cook. And I would never eat anything I might cook.
  • I’m half Jewish, half Scottish. It’s hard for me to buy anything.
  • Privacy is something I have come to respect. I think when I was younger I wanted to tell everybody everything, because I thought I was so damn interesting. Then I heard the snoring.
  • I’ve always been overly concerned about what people think which has resulted in a lot of in
  • ner turmoil. I try not to give a damn but inside I’m a huge ball of worry.
  • If you’re smart, you’ll always be humble. You can learn all you want, but there’ll always be somebody who’s never read a book who’ll know twice what you know.

Turning 62 Today: Harold Perrineau

Perrineau is his mother’s maiden name, and his father is Harold Williams Sr. His parents never married, so he used both names growing up, eventually settling on Williams. When he joined SAG there was already a Harold Williams, so he took the Perrineau from his mom and the Jr. from his dad for his stage name, even though there is no actual Harold Perrineau Sr.

Turning 51 Today: Michael Shannon

QUOTES:

  • [on if he’s inherently drawn to unhinged characters, or is this what people just tend to cast him in] It’s probably a combination of things. When people are casting things, movies and what not, they go on impressions they have of people, you know. The impressions they have of you are based on what they’ve seen you in. But I also think I find a lot of differences in the characters I’ve played, regardless of whether they may be violent or angry or act out or, you know, have lapses of control. I still find them all pretty interesting in their own regard, and not incredibly similar. I think if you took scenes from each of the films and put them on a loop, or played them back to back, you would maybe see more of the subtle differences between them. I think part of the reason I got into this was because I’m generally in touch with the uneasy side of myself and things in general, probably. I think the world’s an uneasy place, filled with anxiety and problems, so maybe the voices of the characters I play are representative of that.
  • [on what makes him smile] My daughter. She makes me smile, and my family. I think a lot of times what makes you smile is unexpected, it catches you off guard, surprises you; something may make you smile one day and it may not necessarily make you smile the next. It’s a mystery what makes any of us happy and [happiness is] usually fleeting.
  • [on if he feels he has an “intense” or conflicted-looking face as seemingly others do] Well, there seems to be something inherently intense about my face – I guess my bone structure. Even if I’m just sitting in a totally neutral state, not thinking about anything in particular, that [intensity] is projected on my face. I have wondered over the years why that is. A friend of mine once said it looks like I have psychic baggage, which I guess is true to a certain extent – although I have a hard time imagining anybody who doesn’t. I guess it just comes through maybe more clearly on my face than other people’s faces. I don’t know.

Turning 50 Today: Charlize Theron

QUOTES:
[on the revelation that her mother shot and killed her father while he was in a drunken rage, which was ruled self-defense] I was always Mama’s girl, and I always felt like her protector.

Women have conquered the world. And with everything we go through, it’s about time we had a female president. I don’t think we’re that far away, but it should have happened already. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary Clinton runs – I really admire her.

I’ve always been very proud to be a South African and I’ve always been very honest to people about that. And whatever I can do in my power, I promise you, I will do. I don’t think it’s too much pressure. I think it’s our duty as citizens of this country. You don’t have to win an Oscar to do something good for your country. We all can do that. If I can be an encouragement for that I’ll be glad to be that.

Watch Today’s FREE Festival: ROMANCE/RELATIONSHIPS Shorts Festival

FREE festival starts at 8pm EST tonight at http://www.wildsound.ca/browse

Watch the festival here: https://wildsound.vhx.tv/events/romance-relationships-shorts-festival

Moving Out, 20min, Austria
Directed by Marlene Auer-Pleyl
Ben has a hard time saying no, which is why he is helping at a friends move now. Luckily, he meets Elena, who is busy trying to prevent her sister from moving out. And then, his complicated private life also gets in the way.

http://alexanderweber.at/

https://www.instagram.com/acineweber/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-moving-out

Now it’s better, 12min., Romania
Directed by Alice Ioana Nicolae
In a world where it is easier to tear down than to build, to blame rather than to take responsibility, there are still resources for a better life. Although very painful and seemingly unique to each couple, the stories of our protagonists are almost universally valid, or perhaps very relevant in our current social and political context.Will the protagonist couples save their relationships? We will see in the short film ‘Now It’s Better.’

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-now-its-better

Frank Barnett in “Love’s Long Shadow”, 26min., USA
Directed Daryl Della
Frank Barnett, a San Francisco private detective, is pulled into a twisted case in West Texas as he tracks a mythical vial said to hold the secret to true love. As Frank digs deeper, he confronts his past, including a complicated relationship with his fiancée, Lena Mercer, and an unexpected tie to his old friend, Bruce Cummings, Librarian Extraordinaire. With danger closing in and betrayal at every turn, Frank must navigate a web of lies that threatens everything he holds dear. A gripping neo-noir filled with twists, emotion, and suspense.

https://instagram.com/dollarsdonuts

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-frank-barnett-in-loves-long-shadow

The Fourth Star, 15min., USA
Directed by Carrie Anne Hunt
An estranged couple comes to terms with their daughter’s death on the eve of her birthday. Pulled apart by what they love most, Carolyn and Bruce are forced into a situation where they must face what was left unspoken in order to reconcile.

https://instagram.com/thefourthstarfilm

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-the-fourth-star

Today’s Podcast: EP. 1558: Peter Gabriel Gagnon (Wukong Couriers)

Wukong Couriers, 15min., USA
Directed by Peter Gabriel Gagnon
An unwitting bicycle messenger is chosen as the mystical hero to save the city from an ancient horror.

www.instagram.com/wukong_couriers

Subscribe to the podcast:

https://www.instagram.com/wildsoundpod/

https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod

Today’s Writing Deadlines: August 6, 2025

Submit to these exciting festivals today. Festivals that offer feedback from the industry, plus performance videos.

WESTERN Screenplay Festival:
https://storypitches.com/western-screenplay-festival/

This festival has a guaranteed 4-tier set up for each accepted script. (No matter what, all screenplays submitted receive FULL FEEDBACK on their work.)
1) Full Feedback on your script
2) Actors performance video reading of your script
3) Blog interview promotion.
4) Podcast interview on the Film Festival ITunes show


PARANORMAL Short Story Festival (everyone wins):
https://fantasyscififestival.com/paranormal-short-story-festival/

A paranormal story is a work of fiction that explores phenomena and beings that are beyond the scope of scientific understanding. They include elements like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, and other entities that cannot be explained by the laws of nature. They can be set in the real world, but generally includes elements that defy scientific explanation.


MEMOIR & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Novel Festival:
https://documentaryshortfilmfestival.com/memoir-autobiography-novel-festival/

– 3 options to submit. (full novel. 1st chapter novel. performance reading.)

SAVE $40 off the regular submission for full novel submissions. Get FULL FEEDBACK on your novel by our committee of industry professionals. Get a transcript of your novel performed by professional actors at the Festival.

Deadline Today: Toronto COMEDY Film & Screenplay Festival: