Today’s Festival Deadline: Toronto/Los Angeles DOCUMENTARY Festival

DEADLINE TODAY: Submit to the Festival via FilmFreeway:

IN-PERSON screenings and HYBRID Festival Mode: Entering its 9th year, the Toronto & Los Angeles Documentary Festival now gives filmmakers 5 tiers to showcase and promote their film. (All accepted films get all five tiers).

1) Screening #1: Where you will obtain your audience feedback video.

2) Screening #2: (optional) virtual festival (48-hour promotional showcase) on the film festival streaming service.

3) Screening #3 at a sold-out public screening at the Carlton Cinemas in Toronto OR the LA LIVE Regal Cinemas in downtown Los Angeles. (note: 3rd screening only for short films and also not guaranteed for the guaranteed submission option.)

4) Podcast interview at WILDsound Radio on ITunes

5) Blog interview promoting you and your film.

The first film festival screening gives you our award-winning audience feedback videos made for the short & feature films.

Since 2016, the FEEDBACK Film Festival has been showcasing the best of documentary short films. We now will be showcasing a documentary film festival every month in the heart of downtown Toronto at the Carlton Cinemas.

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Watch Today’s FREE Film Festival: MUSIC Shorts Fest

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

Watch the festival here: https://www.wildsound.ca/events/music-shorts-festival

Watch over 480 award winning short films now: https://www.wildsound.ca/watch-award-winning-short-films-1

MAUTHAUSEN, 10min., Greece
Directed by Panagiotis Kountouras, Aristarchos Papadaniel
Swan song of the world-renowned Greek composer, freedom fighter and cultural icon Mikis Theodorakis (ZORBA, Z, Serpico). Resurrecting the memory of the concentration camp survivor and founder of the modern Greek post-war theatre Iakovos Kambanellis.

https://www.behance.net/Aristarchos

https://www.instagram.com/aristarchos_p/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-mauthausen

clipping. – Run It, 5min., USA
Directed by Lawrence P. Klein
Sub Pop Music Video – International Spy Game of Shadow characters and conspiracies set to the clipping. style of cyberpunk future,

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-clipping-it

I’m back, 4min., Ukraine
Directed by Ilya Noyabrev
“I’m back” is a heartfelt song about coming back home after a long absence. The singer reflects on the warmth and familiarity of her homeland, where every breath feels easier and every moment more meaningful. Through vivid imagery of maternal love and the embrace of the earth, the song captures the deep emotional connection to one’s roots, offering a sense of peace, freedom, and rediscovered desire for life.

https://www.instagram.com/anna_khanina/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-im-back

Cabaré, 6min., Brazil
Directed by Emerson de Lucca Brandt
Drama, body, poetry. Dude São Thiago breathes new fire into brazilians João Bosco & Aldir Blanc’s classic “Cabaré”—a standout from his debut double album O Sexo do Vento. This isn’t just a cover—it’s a reinvention. A ritual. A reclamation.

https://www.instagram.com/dudesaothiago/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-cabare

WINONA, 7min., USA
Directed by Nico Poalillo
Examining the lengths men go to love themselves — through deception, delusion, and the elaborate lies.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-winona

Today’s Writing Deadlines: July 17, 2025

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

PARANORMAL 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.


MAGICAL REALISM Short Story Festival (everyone wins):

Submit your MAGICAL REALISM Short Story to the Festival and we will automatically have it performed by a professional actor and turned into a promotional video for yourself.

Accept only stories that fit into the MAGICAL REALISM genre. Magical realism stories feature fantastical elements that seem ordinary and blend into the story.The focus is on what the magical elements mean for the characters, rather than the elements themselves.


LITERARY Fiction Novel Festival:

Literary fiction isa category of novels that prioritize style, character, and theme over plot.It’s often considered to be more serious than genre fiction, which is commercial fiction written for entertainment.

3 ways to submit: 1st chapter. full novel. performance reading.


1 Page Screenplay Contest (everyone wins):
https://wildsoundwritingfestival.submittable.com/submit/297775/1pg-short-story-contest-everyone-wins

ACTION/FANTASY/SCI-FI/THRILLER Festival:

Today’s Podcast: Producer Jay Stinnett (Bill W Conscious Contact)

Bill W Conscious Contact, 58min, USA

Directed by Kevin Hanlon

Conscious Contact explores the personal spiritual quest of Bill W and his thirst for transcendence.

www.instagram.com/billwconsciouscontent

http://www.billwconsciouscontact.com/

Subscribe to the podcast:

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

https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundp

Interview with Production Designer Jeremy Woolsey (Pitch Perfect, Hidden Figures, The Holdovers)

I was fortunate enough to sit down with Art Director/Production Designer Jeremy Woolsey to chat about the world of film-making. Jeremy has worked in the Art Department on over 40 Hollywood productions including Vacation, Ouija, The Haunting in Connecticut 2, Pitch Perfect, Million Dollar Arm, Dirty Grandpa, and Bastard.

Matthew Toffolo: Film fans always get Production Design and Art Director mixed up, thinking they are the same position? Can you tell people what the difference is?

Jeremy Woolsey: The Production Designer is the head of the department and lays out the visual look of the film (along with the DP and Director). The Art Director runs the department and makes sure that vision is executed on time and on budget. Scheduling, budgeting and planning are all key components of the Art Director’s job.

Matthew: You’ve worked in the Art Department in over 40 productions in the last 10 years. Is there one or two films that you’re most proud of?

Jeremy: I am proud to be a part of the runaway hit “Pitch Perfect” .. That film has touched a great deal of people. And I think our work on “Million Dollar Arm” was rewarding.

Matthew: Who is your Art Director/Production Designer mentor?

Jeremy: Barry Robison …. I have worked with him seven times and he has helped me get to a different level of filmmaking.

Matthew: Is there is a Production Designer working today that you haven’t yet met that you’ve a big fan of?

Jeremy: Jack Fisk …. Legendary figure and craftsman. We have a really good mutual friend, so maybe one day.

Matthew: 5) As of this interview, the film “Dirty Grandpa” is premiering, a film you were the Art Director on. How was working on that production with the legendary Robert DeNiro?

Jeremy: I normally don’t get too excited about seeing an actor on set, but the first day he stepped on set it was pretty cool. Was in the presence of a living master even if the subject matter was a raunchy departure.

Matthew: How did you get started in the studio film Art Director world?

Jeremy: Was it something you always wanted to do, or did the job find you? I started in the music production business in the 90’s then transitioned into entertainment production in New York in the summer of 2001.

Matthew: If there is a case of getting type-Art Direction casted!, you might be with the comedy/road trip movie. Bastards. Dirty Grandpa. Vacation. Is there is distinct different when working on these films in comparison to a non-road trip movie?

Jeremy: Not really … maybe more exteriors. And larger signage.

Matthew: How about working on a film like “Million Dollar Arm”, where the majority of the film was set in India. Does an art director move with the main crew when there is a major location change?

Jeremy: In that case, I was handling the Atlanta portion and Mark Robins out of New Zealand handled India.

Matthew: What type of film would you LOVE to work on that you haven’t worked on yet?

Jeremy: I just started a period show set in the 60’s. Great story and great group of people, so it is a welcome departure.

Matthew: What film, besides ones that you have worked on, have you seen the most in your life?

Jeremy: Goodfellas

Matthew: How often to you re-watch the past films you’ve worked on? If you’re flipping through the channels late one night on a random Tuesday for example, and “Pitch Perfect” is on, do you watch?

Jeremy: Most of them aren’t the kind you would watch more than once, but if Pitch Perfect is on the screen I will give it a watch.

Matthew: In a typical studio film, how many crew members are on the Production Design team?

On the budget sizes I work on (20m to 45M) … We will generally have 10-12 in the office.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK DAILY Festival held online and in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Watch the EXPERIMENTAL Film Festival (in case you missed it)

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

Watch the festival here: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/experimental-film-festival

Watch over 480 award winning short films now: https://www.wildsound.ca/watch-award-winning-short-films-1

Lakme, 1min., Mexico
Directed by Paulina Daemmrich, Piotr Redlinski
Gorgeousness, poetry and miracle of human body in motion. Evolving in spirals, dancing through spaces.

https://paulina.yoga/art-collaborations

http://instagram.com/paulina.dakini.art

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-lakme

WHERE DEATH DWELLS, 14min., Canada
Directed by Lee Levi Cochran
A chance encounter with the daughter of one of her victims forces Undead Skye Wallace to confront the dark reality of her existence.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-where-death-dwells

Yep, 6min., China
In the fluidity of identity, we are always at risk of becoming outsiders—watching the world unfold from the margins, caught between belonging and detachment.

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-yep

I love ABC, 4min., USA
Directed by JIA WU
Two girls, good friends. Side by side, room to room, they explore, invent, compete, confide. They remember being little and imagine being grown.
They dream of horses. Their journey has begun.

https://edge.aditude.io/safeframe/1-1-1/html/container.html

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-i-love-abc

Today’s FilmFreeway Testimonial: Toronto/LA LGBTQ+ Film & Screenplay Festival

Deadline to Submit to the Festival:

This was the best festival we’ve entered! It is DEFINITELY filmmaker friendly, and knows exactly what we need to help get our work out there. The quality of the marketing materials/audience feedback we got was awesome as well. Thank God for LGBTQ+ Toronto & Los Angeles Film Festival!

Today’s FilmFreeway Deadline: ENVIRONMENTAL Film & Screenplay Festival

Submit to the Festival via FilmFreeway:

We have created a hybrid festival with 4 tiers to enhance your film and your festival experience. All accepted films receive all four tier options:

Tier #1 – Your film plays at a public film festival event where the audience will record their comments/reactions to your film on their camera or phone, then we edit them and send you a promotional video. No matter what you will receive a promotional video of your film of people commenting on your film.

Tier #2 (optional) – Your film plays on the Film Festival streaming service for 30 hours and invite a select industry audience to watch it. With this system, some films have already received a distribution deal as many platforms are looking for solid feature and short documentaries. We can not guarantee anything of course but this has been very helpful to many in the past. (see testimonials below)

Then (Tier #3) we will send you a list of questions to answer for our blog interview that will promote you and your film. Then after that (Tier #4) we will set up a podcast interview on our popular ITunes show where will we chat with you about the process of how the film was made.

A festival designed to showcase the best of new environmentally themed films (shorts, features) and screenplays (shorts, features, TV pilots) from around the world. We accept any genre (animation, comedy, experimental, horror etc.) as long as it has an underlying environmental thematic. We seek to advance public understanding of the environment through the power of film and storytelling; which is why this festival has been created.

Today’s Podcast: Filmmaker Emmitt Thrower (DANCING WITH WAVES)

Dancing With Waves, 29min., USA

Directed by Emmitt Thrower

Tammi Judge, the founder of a transformative dance program, leads young dancers on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth, using the power of movement to heal, inspire, and change their lives forever.

Watch Emmitt’s other short film, DISABLED ARTIST SHOWCASE: https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/watch-disabled-artist-showcase

https://www.instagram.com/truth_thrower

Subscribe to the podcast:

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

https://www.facebook.com/wildsoundpod